When Shinja of the Green Kingdom and Silver of the neighboring realm meet, their love promises a new dawn. But their union awakens the remnants of the Gipus Curse, a dark legacy from an era when evil reigned unchecked and wreaked havoc on their land...
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Shinja had gone past the last path that led straight to where her grandmother lived, where her soul resided and visited every now and then. It was all real to her and the thought that Terese was ever a spirit never occurred to Shinja for each time she came to the Secret Garden, Terese would come too and be with her.
If she were ever to find out that none of it was real, that her grandmother was long gone even from her favorite place, she would be distraught. She rode too fast that her satchel fell off the horse's back.
"Birds! Wooo Flower-bender wooo..." The mare came to a sudden halt, slowly pacing down its trots.
If she had not held on tight as Flower-bender engaged in this action, she would have fallen off due to inertia, the sudden movement causing her to jerk back and forth unsteadily. She dismounted the horse and ran back a few steps to where her satchel had hit the ground.
She made a move to mount her horse yet again but...as she did this, a pair of huge hands grabbed her by the neck, scratchy fingers covered her mouth.
The stranger began squeezing her throat, leaving marks on her tender skin causing the veins on the sides of her neck to pop dangerously on the sides. There was no way of telling who or what it was.
I am going to die here.
Night had fallen. A mist covered the place getting in the way of her vision. The stranger by the way they grabbed her, felt masculine especially his rough grubby hands, the grunts he made were a tell-tell sign. He pulled her off the horse and dragged her until Flower-bender was a mere thick white spot engulfed by the mist.
Am I really going to die here?
Not many people knew of this place. Who would find her body? She braved her mind to stop thinking the ill thoughts. She nursed enough courage and bit the grabber's hand so hard that a coppery taste hit her tongue.
Blood? She grimaced.
Her assailant's disgusting blood was in her mouth. Shocked by the action, he let her go at once, and she started screaming almost immediately; the two actions happening simultaneously. For an instant, Shinja thought she was seeing things when she turned to see the face of her assailant. The man glitched right before her eyes, fading in and out, in and out, until he was no more...
It cannot be. Ghosts? It felt so real. Ghosts can't touch the living. They definitely had no such grip.
It was a ghost and a man all at once. Ghost-man? What had she gotten herself into? She wondered if by seeking for clarity and space she had opened a can of worms inviting worse evil for herself. All in the name of seeking clarity and space! Stuck in wonder, Shinja could not tell what the creature had wanted from her.
What did he...it want?
There was no time to ponder on that. Squinting her eyes, she forged her way through the mist in search for her mare. The mist was too thick almost tangible. She walked straight ahead, afraid that a foot in the wrong direction could send her into a wall of another strange creature. First came a thud as she stumbled into something fluffy and swishy, then a bray. She had found Flower-bender.
