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Part One

She ran through the dense woods, dirt spraying the worn trail behind her. Her chest rattled, fighting for breath as her exhaustion tried to take over her senses. Tried to get her caught. Her own body was in betrayal of her; she needed to run, yet her knees were giving her up. She needed to breathe but she couldn't. It was almost as if the air passed straight through her. 

Her legs were slowing down, making it easier for them to catch her, but she still sprinted away, praying, hoping for an escape. Somewhere to hide. And then, there it was. A clearing with low hanging trees, trees she could easily climb despite wearing a dress and being barefoot. She took a deep breath before climbing a tree that overlooked the fountain in the center of the clearing. 

She hadn't noticed the square fountain before. It was a grey marble that was elaborately decorated with flowers and elven-like-creatures, and each edge with a small lit lamp on the corner. She wondered who had lit them, as it looked like this place had been deserted for years. It looked ancient, maybe going as far back as the stone age. 

That was when she finally noticed the water. It, unusually, was a molten gold, light as though there was some sort of fire underneath it. She squinted harder at the substance, wondering if it was actually gold. No, she eventually decided, it wasn't gold. It was fluid like water,  she could tell you that, but it was also gold. And water wasn't gold. 

Before she could ponder this any further, the loud thudding of boots echoed in her ears, making her again aware of the danger she was in. "Where are you, Princess? We know you're here somewhere." A bodiless voice sneered, closing in on her as it spoke. She shuddered as its voice cut through her, sounding old yet young. One yet many. 

An arrow was shot at her, landing just above her head, shot so harshly that the arrow shook in it's place. She let out a gasp, still trying to get her breath back as she held on shakily to the tree. She dared to look down, only to find three black-eyed creatures staring back at her. Her breathing, somehow, increased as she tried to find a way to stifle the fear that had suddenly risen in her. As she tried to put on that cold, unfeeling mask that she had perfected when she was younger. 

The three creatures shared an identical laugh, making the fear creep even further up her spine. She couldn't move. "Why don't you come down Princess?" They said simultaneously, eyes lighting up with mirth as they grinned the same wicked grin. She shook her head frantically, but they just rolled their eyes and shot at her again. 

This time, however, she ducked, the arrow rooting itself into the tree where her haed had just been. However, despite narrowly missing the arrow, she lost here balance, her bare feet scraping against the rough back as she fell. Despite her impending doom, she didn't scream. But, as her hair flew around her head, her crown still somehow on her head, her mouth opened as she prepared to say goodbye to the world, the kingdom she loved. 

But, instead of hitting the edge of the fountain like she expected, her body plummeted into the fountain, the gold overpowering the senses. At some point, she trued to breathe. At some point, she tried to reach for the edge. At some point, she tried to go back, she tried to live. Yet nothing worked. It felt like hours, yet it was only seconds later, when an arm grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of the golden water. She prayed and hoped with her eyes closed that it wasn't the black-eyed demons she had been running from. She prayed that, for once, she was safe.