Strings - Camp NaNoWriMo 2017

«Castle in the Woods - 1»

{Start of Story One: Castle in the Woods}

The sun had just begun to set as Aurel made her way up the stone steps of the castle. The sky had begun to blush a soft pink, wispy clouds casting thin shadows on the forest foliage. Aurel hesitated, arms half raised to the weathered wooden door, second-guessing herself. The castle looked long abandoned, the once majestic peaks and towers now crumbled and caved in from years of erosion. But despite all this, it was still quite a sight, overgrown stone against the faded rose gold sky. Besides, it was Aurel's only option.

And so, she knocked. The dull resonance shook layers of sediment off of the wood.

To her surprise, she received an answer.

"Who is it?" called the voice of a young girl. It had an air of idleness about it, as if it were no big deal to be hanging out in an ancient castle as the sunlight faded away.

Aurel breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god," she said, allowing herself a small smile. "Um... well, you see, I'm-" she trailed off as the door creaked open, revealing a face framed with dark waves of hair. Her deep emerald eyes shone with curiosity.

"Oh," the girl said as she took a few tentative steps outside, shutting the door behind her. "It's ok. Continue.."

"Yeah... um, well, I'm a bit... lost," proceeded Aurel.

"Is that so?" murmured the girl, releasing the door and beginning to walk in a slow circle around Aurel.

"Er, yeah," she stammered, a bit startled by the girl's behavior. "I was wondering if you could maybe point me in the direction of the nearest town? I would really appreciate it." Aurel fiddled with the frill of her blouse, uncertain whether to stay in place or to turn in order to uphold eye contact.

"Oh, I'd be happy to," the girl replied with an odd smile. Aurel noticed her fingers twitch. "But first- you must be hungry. Please, come inside."

Aurel paused for a second, wondering if she should simply politely refuse and be on her way. But all of a sudden the scent of chocolate and some sort of pleasant spice reached her, and Aurel was compelled to accept. She smiled warmly, thanking the girl.

The two enter the castle. Inside, the furnishing struck Aurel with a soft, homey feel, like a 'cottage in the woods' straight out of a fairy tale.

"You have a nice place," remarked Aurel, sitting down in the chair the girl had gestured to earlier.

"Thank you," she replied warmly, reaching up to open a cabinet. "I've grown to think of it as a second home."

"Oh," replied Aurel, mentally chiding herself. Stupid me. Of course she doesn't live here. It's an abandoned castle in the middle of the woods.

The girl turned back to Aurel, holding out a rather chipped plate containing a few thin slices of some sort of meat and some cheese. Aurel gratefully accepted, digging in.

"So," said the girl once she was settled. Her bright green eyes were fixed intently upon Aurel, watching. Her fingers tapped against the wooden table in an uneven beat. "What's your name?"

"Aurel," replied Aurel, wishing she had something to wipe, or at least cover, her mouth with. "And you?"

"Selphie," said the girl.

"Thank you so much, Selphie," said Aurel, finishing her food. "Sorry to be such a bother. If you could just point me in the direction of-"

"Whoops, almost forgot," butted in Selphie, standing up. "Oh. Sorry if I interrupted you. Please continue." She stood up and walked back to the cabinet, grabbing a few napkins. Then she strode over to where Aurel was sitting, setting them down right next to her arm. Aurel felt the girl's fingertips brush against her forehead as she withdrew.

"Oh- thank you," said Aurel, wiping her mouth. "Well, er, I was saying, I'm sorry for being such a bother, I'll be on my way if you could just tell me which direction to go."

"Leave?" asked Selphie, once again flashing that strange smile, the one that never quite reached her eyes. Her finger tapped faster and faster, as if she were anxious for things to move along quicker. "I hope you're not planning on leaving in this downpour?"

"Downpour? Rain? What are you-" Aurel's eyes flicked towards the window. Indeed it was pouring rather hard, the raindrops splattering against the castle walls.

"Oh... I suppose you're right..." said Aurel, blinking a few times. She could've sworn that the sky was practically clear when she came.

"Mm-hm," agreed Selphie. She seemed lost in thought, eyes trained on something in the distance. "Well, I don't know when this is going to clear out," she continued. "We might have a little time to ourselves."

"Oh," said Aurel. "Um... ok." The scent of the strange chocolate hit her once again and she smiled, suspicion ebbing away.

"I'll show you around, if you'd like," offered Selphie. She spoke in a low, sweet voice, as if not to wake a sleeping child.

"Ok."

"But first, I need to check on something upstairs, ok?"

"Ok."

"You don't mind waiting, right?"

"Not at all."

Selphie stood up and strode up the stairs in slow, smooth motions. She emerged a few seconds later, holding something in her cupped hands.

"Come here, Aurel," she said softly, coming closer. "Come look at this."

Aurel leaned forward obediently.

In one swift motion, Selphie opened her hands and blew lightly, spreading some sort of dust into the air. Aurel jerked, snapping out of her trance-like state as a surge of panic flooded her.

"Sh-shh..." cooed Selphie as the edges of Aurel's vision went dark. "You'll be fine. You'll be fine."

Aurel could do nothing to struggle as the light faded away, leaving her with only a faint outline of the outside world. She slumped, pitching forward and landing in Selphie's surprisingly strong arms.

"Wow there," Selphie remarked, but the noise sounded distant, distorted. "Careful."

And that was the last thing she heard before all her senses went black.