Oubliette

1

He could hardly remember anything as he came to. Quite literally.

His name, what was it?

With a small groan, he stirred to lift himself, his body felt heavy and strange to him as though something had been messing with it. He was laying by a pool and considerably thirsty now that he'd seen it.

Leaning over, he'd come to realize why he'd felt strange- staring back at him was a gigantic wolf. Startled, he yelped and nearly fell in but managed his balance enough not to.

𝑊𝑜𝑙𝑓.

Something was coming to him. Trying again as he thought, tentatively he lapped up at the water.

𝐴ℎ, 𝑦𝑒𝑠, ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠. 𝑆𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑑𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡.

No, that last part didn't seem right. No, he worked for the adversary-𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑟. Here at this gate.

Lifting his head, the lord of wolves looked around himself and at the gate. He could smell the stench of goblins all over it, past it and so many other little creatures and Fables. It was a wasteland on the outside, except for this little pool.

"Excuse me?"

His head whips around to regard a woman who was looking at him curiously. Her skin was fair, hair black as coal and lips red as blood. That scent of hers was... pleasant. He has never smelt anything like it before. Wasn't he told by the Emperor about such a woman? She was going to come here, try to get in and he was supposed to let her, the Emperor has something of hers she wants back. Yes, that's it.

"What is it?" He questions her, padding toward the large wall that surpassed even him, a rogue Fable catching his eye trying to escape. He lunged and captured them in his powerful maw, devouring them in a brutal and quick manner.

"You're horrible!" She cries suddenly, having witnessed it all, appalled.

He heads back toward the pool to wash the Fable down and clean up, but he interjects a defensive remark, "No I'm not, I am Gaffer. Who are you?"

"I'm Snow White." She answered, her chin lifting proudly as she spoke the name.

"That's what I thought." He replies and carries on to the pool, lapping up the water when he gets there. Yes, this was the woman the Emperor spoke of.

"I need to get inside, do you think you could help me find a way in?" It was bold of her to ask, but then again, she had to have known that if he was going to eat her that he would have done so already.

"You get in through there." He says, lifting his head and taking a step forward, he planted himself firmly before giving a mighty blow to push open the gate he was speaking of. A labyrinth. He was guarding a labyrinth. "You sure you want to go in there?"

"I have to." She responds near immediately, determined though, her voice was soft.

"Which way will you go, left or right?" He questions as she starts for the opened gate and curiously he follows after. Of course he knew about the labyrinth, how could he forget.

She looks either direction, debating on them and frowns before looking up at him. "They both look the same to me."

"Thinking like that won't get you very far in this place. Won't do you any good to take things for granted around here." He himself does his best version of a frown that he could, being a wolf, after saying this. Something felt off. Like there was a fog hanging in his mind, that only lifted in sections when triggered.

"Well, if that's all the help you're going going to be, then you can just leave." She says in a near huff, bringing him out of his thoughts and turning that frown into somewhat of a scowl as he turns back to saunter to and wait by the pool. "Thanks for nothing, Gainor."

"It's Gaffer." He growls and the gate comes to swing shut behind him, leaving her to fend for herself and him... he'll be waiting for the Emperor's next orders, or set of Fables.