Chapter Text
A woman with stark raven dark hair, wearing a wet and muddied evening cream coloured dress, riding on a horse she hastily stole from her family’s stable after a grueling, draining dinner party argument. A violent night storm raged its unending downpour and its howling, cold winds over the woods. The night’s dim full moon gave her enough moon light to show her whatever path she could run through. She shuddered the cold away as she hitched her long evening dress, tearing the excess frills and ribbons with her small sewing scissors she took from the satchel she took with her.
In the process of tearing the long evening dress that her father paid a fortune to make, and custom fitted to her specifically. She screamed in pain the moment her scissors gashed her left thigh as she tore the last frills off the dress. Blood, rain and tears mixed as she snapped the horse’s reins. Pushing forwards and far away from that damned manor she used to call home.
Lenore didn’t even think of running away in the first place; the plague of suitors her father placed upon her were too much to bear. With nothing but herself, a satchel of her own personal belongings and a stolen horse to escape her life. Lenore sought freedom from her fate, a fate she’d rather die than commit to being a matriarch to someone’s house and to a man she doesn’t love nor adore.
~
Looking at the full body silver mirror in her grand sleeping chamber, the long, elegant evening dress; cream in colour, the nape of the dress embroidered in intricate lace and the fabric that drags along the polished floor; covered in frills and ribbons. She saw someone who wasn't her. But someone who is a made-up expectation of her; covered in ribbons, frills and an expensive ruby necklace around her neck. She glanced at herself again, is this really what she looks like, to be a lady?
All of her classmates in her all girls' school are all enamored with the idea of a wealthy, prince-like, charming man to sweep them off their feet, have an extravagant marriage and dash them off to an estate, douse them with gold, gems and even more frilly dresses to stuff their antique closets - and ignore their presence them like they don’t even exist.
And Lenore believed the same as her friends, the thought of all of the luxurious grand getaways and daily gifts felt so flat now. Lenore realized that she could or could have lived a life of her own independence if she snapped out of this unrealistic daydreaming earlier. Because this is something they planned for her; have her become a young lady, well enough to marry off to some businessman. Have her mind be plagued with enough mindless needlepoint by the garden alone and a tea party gossip that she always has to catch up to.
Knock
“Lenore. Be ready in 10 minutes” Thaddeus spoke on the other side of her chamber doors, his voice emanating like a doomsday clock.
“Yes father.” She spoke timidly, adjusting and pulling the tight corset strings to give her enough space for her lungs to even exhale, “Damned these corsets”, she begrudgingly thought. As she approached the bronze doorknobs out of her bed chamber, something stopped her. She tried turning again, again and again. A cold chill ran down her spine.
“Say it properly, Lenore.” Her father’s cold confident voice seeped through the cracks of the double door and into Lenore’s ears, palms sweating at the bronze doorknobs. Lenore’s only escape at this moment is through these doors. So, she complied with her father’s order.
Breathe in, Ow.
Breathe out, “ Yes father .” She spoke through the double door, a manufactured confidence to oblige and escape her father’s tormenting life lessons.
“Good. I can’t have a daughter who walks weakly, speaks weakly and abides no one’s words; even your family have made sacrifices for you to represent us, Lenore.” He forcefully opened Lenore’s bed chamber wide open. Lenore stumbled, almost falling to her face.
“You are a lady now, Lenore. Now act like one and don’t be an embarrassment to our family. It’s for your own good.” Once Thaddeus opened her bed chamber doors, he glanced away and focused his eyes on them. Lenore being out of his peripheral vision. All his attention at the dinner party is currently in full swing.
~
His black cloak drenched, his low pony raven dark hair tied in a white ribbon, gifted by Lenore personally. All disheveled from miles of sweat and constant travel he took on horseback. Determination filled his eyes as he scoured every possible path in the forest with his keen sapphire blue eyes; Unrelenting might focus on one objective: Find his dear sister, Lenore.
The moment Lenore stormed off during the dinner party in the Vandernacht manor earlier this evening, Theo couldn’t even bother to ask for their father’s permission to lead a squadron of searchers with him; He went after her, alone. With nothing but his own horse and himself. In this unforgivable condition, he desperately focused his might on his only mission.
Theo snapped his horse’s reins as he traversed through the muddied grounds of the woods. His pure white stallion, now their hooves dirtied and tired from this long search. He tracked Lenore’s track and followed them till evening to night. When this wretched weather stormed down upon his path, Lenore’s tracks were becoming more and more incoherent as the hours passed. Yet, Theo prevailed further down the woods no matter the conditions that carried on forth.
Thunder cracked its frightful power in the dark dim skies above him. The full moon is hidden in the stormy clouds. The tree branches violently snapped and whipped against each other just as the howling winds of this storm continued to ravage the woods non-stop. He heard a scream, a scream he thought he would never hear again. The same scream even pierced through the constant howling of the storm. If he didn’t recognize his sister’s agony, why would he call himself a brother?
“Lenore???”
“LENORE!?!”
“ LENORE!!! ”
Now with a clear sign of Lenore’s whereabouts. Theo snapped the reins of his white stallion in the direction of Lenore’s scream and dashed deeper into the woods. Weaving through the tall oaks and their swaying branches at full speed. Everything around him seems to blur as he continues to dash on forward.
“I'm coming for you Lenore.”
~
Venturing into the heart of the woods. Where nature’s darkness engulfs and the storm’s howling winds became more of a whisper at a distance, the rain however still persisted, but only rained its heavy downpour on the sprawling leaves of the oak trees. Lenore found herself in a situation where her path to nowhere within these woods became more obscured.
“I need to find a way out…” Lenore thought to herself. The now quiet whispers of the woods hushed an ill wave of malice in the air. Something’s watching her every move, it follows her, and she sensed that as deeper and further she galloped her horse into the darkness. Her left thigh still bled through the torn evening dress.
Weary and tired in her escape, the moment Lenore slowed her horse down; a fast blur passed both Lenore and the horse. An indescribable silhouette of what seems to be a creature of some sort made an attempt to strike first at her. The horse bucked in time.
The creature lunged at her horse, if she didn’t dodge this creature’s ambush, she would’ve been dead, and her corpse probably eaten afterwards. Her horse bucked again at the sudden attack, but she still persisted until she could no longer hold onto the reins of the horse.
“ AARGHH! ”
Lenore screamed in pain when her horse’s constant, erratic bucking finally dismounted her from its saddles and now into the muddy, wet and cold grounds of the oak forest. Groaning in pain, crawling and digging her pale hands at the wet mossy dirt; Lenore continued to use her might to bring herself to stand up. Digging through her satchel, dirtied palms and in search of her sewing scissors, her only choice of protection against the creature that lurked and stalked within the dark.
It’s snarled at her. Mocking her own struggle. A deep distorted laugh emanated in the dark, it came closer, louder as she backed herself up against a tall oak tree. Her tears streamed down her cheeks and. Lenore gripped her sewing scissors on right while closely clutching her satchel to her heart. Soaking in all her despair and the rain that soaked her torn (and bloodied) evening dress, Lenore prepared herself to come face to face with the unknown creature before her.
Thunder crashed through the forest. The storm now infiltrated through the thick branches of the oak branches, now the environment around Lenore and the creature became even more extreme.
Now with her sewing scissors at, and a hidden weapon on the other hand.
She faces the creature.
A dirty blonde wolf lunged at her from the pitch-black darkness. Fangs and claws bared at the sobbing woman, this is the end of her predestined fate and Lenore is ready to embrace it.
Thunder crashes again.
The moment the wolf lunged at her, she rolled to her side and threw the mossy dirt in her hand at the wolf’s snout. It screamed.
The very same scream, felt, human. It stumbled back into the shadows of the forest, back into the darkness.
SNAP
In the shadows, the creature’s quadrupedal body shifted. Bones snapped and twisted, Flesh and fur transformed. There in the dark stood someone .
“Stubborn are yer’?” its, or his whisper carried through the howling winds of the woods. It howled at the dim moon and more rustling surrounded her. Even more snarling and inhumane snickers can be heard in the shadows.
Lenore backed herself to a nearby tree.
“drats” she quietly cursed at herself; she sees her hands shaking. The man and the creatures surrounding her rushed after. In one swipe, sewing scissors quickly used to barely slice one of the creature’s faces. Blood trickled into the wet grounds. It whimpered and retreated, limping behind the pack.
“You’re one feisty little meal. Already dying, yet you fight back.” he laughed at her, his tall silhouette emerging once more. He wiped the mossy dirt in his face and looked at Lenore with such disdain. They’re coming closer, out of the dark.
“C’mon, Miss Jane Doe. Just give yourself to us. We’ll make it as painless as possible, just for you.” He smirked, the same dirty blonde wolf, well, man stepped out the shadows. His tall, lanky form, dressed in a tattered shirt and pants.
“NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!” Lenore immediately sprinted out of the area, despite her limping condition, she bolted. Behind her were the man and the pack of creatures chasing her. As she ran through the woods, they gained speed under the dim full moon. Their ragged, inhumane pants and chitter taunts Lenore as she runs through oak branches that whipped her tired body.
“There’s no need to run!” He laughed behind her, Lenore looked back to see his hands with inhuman, wolf-like claws protruding out of his fingers. The other creatures are closing in on both sides. The woods continued to twist and turn at every path she took.
Ahead of them is an obstacle, a creek. The same creek that once was known to peacefully flow through the woods now violently raged its unforgiving current in front of Lenore. His wretched, distorted laugh faintly echoes as her feet drags the mossy dirt as she hastily limps as far away as possible from this wretched man.
“Why am I running away? Is this what it's like? To stray upon my own fate? maybe… he was right. To die as supper.”
Lenore looked left and right to find somewhere to lose her perpetrators. On her left, she threw her satchel on a red herring for her blood thirsty chasers. On her right, she ran to find a large boulder near a crooked, withered old oak tree.
Panting and coughing from her sudden sprint across the woods, she leaned into the boulder next to a withered oak tree, she shook her thoughts away and focused. Lenore grabbed the nearest rock and her bloodied sewing scissors.
She hid behind the boulder as the man and the pack of creatures passed her by. Any trace of that man and whatever accompanied him are gone to the satchel she threw.
Resting her head in the cold, wet touch of the boulder. A fast blur of ginger flashed by.
Suddenly. A soft voice whispered next to her.
“Psst. Come here…” A young woman wearing a hooded cloak covered her face, but her ginger bangs stood out.
She threw the rock at the hooded woman. She missed me terribly.
Then used her sewing scissors to attack; she missed, again as the hooded woman swatted it away from her hands and into the ground afar.
Lenore let out a sudden shriek but then silenced by the woman’s palms, hushing her out. She noticed the hooded woman’s hands; Sharp clawed fingernails that protrude the woman’s fingers; same as the blood thirsty man.
Fear painted Lenore’s face as she struggled under the hooded woman’s palm, who seemed smaller than her. Looking at the woman’s face, sharp blue eyes; same as the raging currents. Lenore saw those eyes hold no malice or pure intent to devour her. As much as she wants to calm down, her mind tells her otherwise.
The hooded woman sensed Lenore’s fear and erratic breathing. She suddenly retracted her clawed hands while hushing Lenore down, she complied out of fear.
Lenore’s breathing calmed down as the clawed hand retracted away from the moment she noticed the pale woman’s panicked state, and she noticed her fingers almost grazing the pale complexion of the woman.
“Wh-Who are you?” Lenore shivered; she sat huddling from the storm, with her legs closed to her face. The hooded woman detracted her clawed fingers and revealed herself.
The hooded woman blinked hesitantly before letting her hood down; ginger hair styled in loose double pigtails, soft round blue eyes, freckles across her face and a look of genuine concern as she revealed herself. A pair of wolf-like ears popped out, drooping as she spoke:
“I’m Morella.” She whispered, to Lenore’s bemusement at the unfamiliar ear Morella has, she questioned her,
“Your ear- what are you?”
“Uh- I’m a-”
“Morella!?!” The man shouted across far behind the boulder, holding Lenore’s satchel in one hand and a face of annoyance. Morella, the hooded woman peeked around the boulder to see the same man, his eyes narrowed at Morella. The rest of the pack caught up behind him, panting like desperate dogs.
“I am so, so sorry.” She apologized, the ginger haired woman turned around at the sound of the pack and the man approaching in their direction.
“What-” Lenore is fearing for her life and confused on what this cloaked woman meant.
“Run towards the creek as fast as you can.” She pleaded.
“Huh- No? I am certainly not going there! They want me dead!”
“Just run, trust me.”
“No!”
Morella sighed, shaking her head, then she heard the creek behind Lenore and Montresor coming closer than before.
At the edge of the violently flowing creek, she pushed Lenore.
“Hey!”
“You leave me with no choice.” Morella pushed her again, this time, Montresor saw.
“HUH?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Lenore looked at Morella, whom Lenore thought seemed to be determined to kill her off at this very moment, pushed her out in the open. Her eyes quickly darted to the man; running in her direction. The woman approached her, each step she took, Lenore took a step back.
“C’MON LIL’ LAMB, JUST COME ME!” He started sprinting at full speed at Lenore, her eyes barely turned before the ground beneath her heels turned into a muddy landslide.
The ginger haired woman swoops Lenore and jumps both of them over the raging creek. Lenore saw the faces of the man and the pack of creatures behind him; mouths slacked jawed when Morella made the jump.
“RUN!” Morella shouted while she hinted Lenore to hide behind the bushes.
Lenore limped after she and this mysterious woman hid her behind the tree bushes, away from the creek's unforgiving current.
“Act dead. Trust me, please.” She pleaded. Morella gathered leaves and dirt, smudging Lenore’s face and dress in the process.
“Hey?! What are you doing to me you-” Lenore retaliated and Morella hushed as she sniffed something. Blood. The hooded woman spotted Lenore’s bleeding thigh. A cold chill ran through her spine.
“They’ll be off your scent if you and I work together. And I have a plan.” Morella whispered in Lenore’s ear. Lenore's eyes widened, staring at Morella with pale shock of horror in her face. Much to her dismay, she nodded hesistantly.