What Lurks Behind The Trees

He hoped

Edmund pulled his daughter's head back by her hair, he lifted his hand to her face.

"No... stop...please," Isabella pleaded through clenched teeth as her father pulled her hair harder.

He held her face with his hand, his eyes fluttered shut. Isabella sucked in a nervous breath, the women in the room stood frozen in fear, knowing they'll be next. Edmund's eyes opened, but they weren't their usual brown colour, they were green like the dark stygian forest, a striking strange green, Isabella could see them between her father's fingers that were still covering her face. His irises were so dilated, they almost covered the white of his eyes. His lips started to move, muttering a spell from the book of dark magic.

Isabella's breathing quickened, she started to panic as she felt the pain spread in her face.

"F...father- FATHER STOP!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Edmund's eyes blinked quickly and the green had disappeared. He removed his hand from his daughter's face and stared at her.

"What did you just say?" he whispered.

Isabella gulped away the fear "...father."

The corners of Edmund's lips lifted into a smirk "This is the first time you call me father, you should have swallowed your pride long ago, maybe you would've seen a different side of me. Maybe I won't start with you," he pulled her away by her hair and looked at the other women.

Isabella held her face in pain.

"You, come here," he beaconed another woman to come closer, though this woman did not dare disobey. She walked straight to the king, dread evident in her trembling lips.

He did the same thing to her, he put his hand on her face and his eyes turned an evil shade of green. His lips moved ever so slightly, muttering what seemed like nonsense to the rest. Isabella's lips hung open when she saw what was happening. Is this why she felt pain?

The veins on the women's face started to appear, slowly, though they weren't the normal blue or green colour, they were black like coal. The blackness spread from his fingertips to the rest of her face. When it reached her eyes, the woman's blue eyes swirled in red, the red dominating the blue before her eyes completely drowned in the bloody colour. The woman was screaming, her body was shaking uncontrollably as the king continued to mutter some words.

The black veins spread down her neck and shoulders, under her clothes where they peaked out of the sleeves again, through her arms and legs, her fingers and toes, to every inch of her body. The king moved back. It wasn't long before Isabella saw what was very much a nightmare. The woman's limbs started to extend, her fingers became claws, her mouth started to disappear, her body started to grow taller and taller, hitting the ceiling. Her hair faded into her grey skin and her clothes ripped away as her shapeless, hunched body came into view. She was no longer a woman, no longer a man. She was a creature of the dark. She was a Night-Slayer.

"So, who's next?"

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After their long journey, they finally reached the cold crystal castle. The others were waiting for them at the entrance. The queen herself stood in the cold with the guards around her.

Gregor's smile reached his ears when he saw Finn standing on his prosthetic legs, waving at them.

"Hey, Finn! You look great!" Aden beat him to it and rushed to hug him and the others.

"How did everything go?" Felton asked.

"We ran into some trouble." Raymond glanced at Gregor.

"But Serlon accepted our deal of alliance!" Alan said.

They all cheered and howled in happiness.

"The battle is not far now, we have little time to prepare. I'm proud of you all, though this is not my battle to fight, I have known Raymond and Julian for a long time and I support you in every way," Queen Ivedelia said, smiling at them.

"Thank you, my queen, now boys let's get back to training," Julian said to the rest.

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"Gregor, what's your weapon of choice, not including your slayer arm?" Alan asked Gregor as they walked through the training grounds.

"Short Bow and a dagger." Gregor spoke as he chewed on some fresh bread. "You?"

"The long sword, fast and easy to control." Alan said, demonstrating with the long sword he held.

"I'll be using whatever feels light and swift, probably a dagger or short sword," Aden shrugged.

"An axe is the way to go," Felton grumbled.

"Shields anyone? They're weapons too," Vince said.

"Spears." Gil said.

"Bows!" Rowan yelled from the back.

"Um, just a sword?" Finn said, unsure.

"Well whatever you're using, you have to train to use them properly," Julian said.

Aden saluted Julian playfully and ran to where the soldiers were training, soon everyone followed him.

Gregor was unsure of how he felt at that moment, training with Rowan. He felt scared yet excited, he felt the thrill running through his veins as he watched the men move in sync, as he heard the generals yelling words of command. This was finally happening, all these months away from home and it was finally reaching an end. He hoped...

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Whaaaat?!! She turned into a night slayer! the king turned her into a night slayer!!! What do you think about the forest creatures then? 

Also the war is very near. Grolgots (the queen's people), the cursed, magicians, Serlon's people against the humans and the king! 

This story is slowly reaching its end, I'm so excited to write the next parts! But don't worry, once this story is finished, it will need a lot, A LOT of editing and so many things will be added, so many characters who have similar names will have their names changed, I feel like each chapter will be double what it is now, and once I do that, I will be publishing it on Amazon!!! I will be informing you when that happens and stay tuned for that in the future!!! :) 

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