The Woods

Chapter 5 - Sins of the flesh

Shadows were emerging greater as the ruffles of her dress wrapped tighter; her breathy moans escaping through the darkness of the night. Black and dark - the light of the day slowly seeped away. Her hands clutching wildly on soft ground, leaves lay destroyed by her lustful grasping, the light dissipating from the air. Thick raspy moans continued to escape her deep red lips which were slightly parted contrasting with her yellowing teeth. He continued, rhythmically invading, back-and-forth as the trees rustled and the wind blew. Her legs were wrapped loosely around his body, her dress ruffling at his waist.

She reached, with one hand upwards - clasping his neck, throwing her head backwards to emphasize the motion, her fundament scraping harshly against the grimy layer of soil and rotten leaves. She let out a gasp, as he continued, her grip strengthening – his determination growing. Her moans grew louder, his pounds faster as the night enclosed. The sack of money remained stationary on the ground, as she writhed with an accustomed pleasure. Her head remained tilted, his loud breaths became growls. The leaves shook, as she groaned, her hand massaging the customer’s neck. His breathing louder-and-louder, yet the growls remained. They seemed more distant than she first thought; the man’s breaths masked the deep snarls, they were not alone something else was actualizing the rancorous sounds.

She tossed her head around to find the source of the noise; in the gloom her vision was poor, the man pushed deeper inside her as she worriedly writhed in search of the creature. The growls grew louder – so did his breaths, she thrashed trying to pin-point the foreboding sound. The leaves rustled and the wood was alive, with the sounds of sex and peril.

***

The scream shattered the frail sense of comfort felt by Rapunzel. She jumped, as did her two visitors as the sound of pain and terror escaped from its owner and penetrated the serenity of the mid-night air.  Rapunzel fell backwards, her back now resting on the wall her eyes wide and her expression wild.

"I hear such sounds often, wailing in the night, I often think there's a beast out there... in the dark, forever searching" she said as the leaves rustled as she looked over across the expanse of the forest and at the castle that stood boldly out of the tree tops. The lights twinkled, figures could be seen in the row of 5 tall arched windows - Rapunzel often watched the figures to amuse herself during the lonely nights a top the tower.

"A beast?" repeated Vesper in skeptical fear, as she joined Rapunzel looking out over the inert landscape. Rapunzel nodded fearfully, closing the rotting shutters, and banishing any thought of danger.

"You'll be safe all the way up here" Cinderella reassured kindly, stroking Rapunzel's arm, her kind blue eyes glistening - gracious in nature. The circular room seemed to shake due to the guttering candle-light; Vesper stroked her hair wondering, lost in endless thoughts about her own life and how it differed to Rapunzel's incarceration. She wonder whether ignorance was bliss, whether she would have been happier unaware of the horrors of the world. She sighed, looking around at the small room, it was circular and cosy, an ornate chair and table pushed into one corner, and a small stain glass window opposite.

"Where do you sleep?" she asked inquisitively pointing her gaze at a slightly perturbed Rapunzel, who merely pushed aside a curtain to reveal a much larger circular room. Red embroidered satin, shimmered as the candle light licked the room; floral blooms were embossed into the shiny wood, and the satin hung loosely from the frame. The four-poster bed stood gloriously under a vaulted ceiling which had been angelically hand painted with images of cherubs and lustrous golden clouds.

 The room glowed with palatial grandeur, the white plastered walls contrasting to florid ceiling and bed. There were other objects in the room, also grand but none matching the celestial magnificence of the ceiling.