Chapter 1

She saw herself in a dark forest. Where there were dense trees and sunlight could not reach the earth. It was daytime but there was darkness in the forest. Dressed in a black gown, she seemed to be a part of this darkness. She did not know why she was there. In front of her was a palace. It was very beautiful. She wanted to go into it. She took a step forward and a sound hit her ears.

"I want you …," that was the gorgeous voice of a man. She looked around in surprise but there was no one.

"I want you," again repeated. Her heart pounded. Then her eyes opened. She was on her bed in her room and was having a dream. Now she was awake. She looked like a fairy tale Barbie because of her extraordinary beauty and pinkish color mixed with white. Her brown wavy hair was very long which was scattered on the pillow and bed and she was hidden in a blanket up to her chest. She blinked for a while and thought about that strange dream. That was the third time she had the same dream. She did not know why this happened.

"Who wants me?" She questioned herself. There was someone who wanted her. that was a man's voice. Did any man want her? She was confused. When she didn’t understand this dream she shook her head, stopped thinking about it and sat up looking at the clock. It was eleven fifty-five at night. She felt thirsty. She looked at the side table. The jug had run out of water. Now she had to fetch water from the kitchen. It was very cold. She got out of bed, put on her shoes, picked up the jug, and walked towards the door. The whole house was made of wood. It was a small house built on an icy mountain at the end of the Fairy Meadows area. It had two floors. Her room was on the second floor. She left the room and came down the stairs. She saw the lights in the dining hall were on. Maybe Mama forgot to turn off the light. She came to the dining hall to turn off the lights but was surprised. Mama was awake. She was decorating a cake by putting candles on it. She remembered that it was her eighteenth birthday at twelve o'clock.

"Mama!" Her tone of speaking was beautiful. Zaria looked at her and smiled with pleasure.

"Hey, Anna! My daughter. Did you get up? I was about to wake you up. To wish you a birthday. Look, I made a cake for you." Zaria spoke enthusiastically.

"It looked pretty. Thank you." Anna thanked as she approached the cake

"Come here. It's about twelve o'clock. Let's celebrate your birthday together." Zaria spoke. Anna stepped forward and sat down on a chair.

"There are only ten seconds left. Until then, think of your wish. I will accept whatever you ask me." Zaria lit the candles and sat down on a chair near her. Anna closed her eyes and thought. A wish that she had wanted since childhood first came to her mind.

"It's twelve o'clock." she opened her eyes at Zaria's voice.

"Extinguish the candles," Zaria said and Anna blew out the candles. Zaria applauded.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to my dear daughter. Happy birthday" Zaria sang and she smiled happily.

"This is your gift." Zaria handed her a necklace made of diamonds. It was very alluring.

"Oh wow. It's so beautiful." Anna beamed.

"So wear it now," Zaria said and she put this necklace around her neck.

"Make a wish Anna," Zaria touched her face.

"I want to visit Fairy Meadows." The whole valley of Fairy Meadows was visible from the window of her room. She loved a small lake that was on one side of the valley. She wanted to go to that lake. But Zaria never let her out of the house. Maybe she still would not let her go. Anna was looking at her, chewing her lips.

"Okay. You're allowed to go anywhere today." After a short pause, Zaria approved and Anna's face lit up with happiness.

"Really? Thank you so much. You're the best mama in the world." Anna hugged her and chattered. There was a mysterious smile on Zaria's face.

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Today was a full moon night. A caravan was passing through the forest in the moonlight. There were seven people in the caravan, all men. They had black clothes on their bodies. There were swords in their belts around their waists. They were all talking casually, laughing, and moving forward. Maybe they were friends. One of them was central to the group. He was everyone's favorite person. All the friends were preferring to talk to him. And that conversation was about him.

"Prince! As much as you run away from girls, I think you have to be a virgin all your life." One man said. He smiled while everyone else was laughing.

"Every beautiful girl In this area is your lover. I don't know why you didn't like any girl." The other joked sweetly.

"The girl who can conquer my heart has not yet been born," he said in a proud tone. That was the reality but he was unaware of it. That girl wasn't really born yet.

They had crossed half the forest. They came to the forest to hunt. They were too late due to running after a deer. After hunting it, they were now returning to their city, which was adjacent to the forest. Suddenly they heard someone growling.

"It's the sound of a wolf. Be careful." The prince drew his sword from its sheath. Everyone else followed his instructions and drew their swords. Then a wolf-like creature came out of the trees on the left and fell on them. He was bigger and stronger than a normal wolf. It had long teeth. There were big hairs on the body. Toenails were also large. He had killed two of the prince's companions in two blows. Seeing his friends dying, the prince stilled for a moment, then he angrily ran towards the wolf. By then he had killed another man. The prince stabbed the wolf in the neck with a sword. A slight scratch appeared on the back of its neck. It turned and attacked the prince with its claws. The prince retreated quickly, but the wolf's claw mark appeared on his arm. He felt pain in his body suddenly. He fell to the ground and his body began to move in a weird way. While the rest of the prince's companions attacked the wolf, it turned to them. The prince could not help them even though he wanted to and they were all killed by the wolf. The prince's eyes turned red with anger. The veins of the whole body emerged. Suddenly his body began to grow larger than its size. The teeth grew long. The hands and feet took the shape of the wolf's claws. Screams like wolf growls began to come out of his mouth. Soon he was in the shape of the wolf that had attacked him. He was standing some distance away from it. The prince snarled furiously to see it. They both were now face to face and ready to rush upon each other.

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She was going outside today for the first time in her life. She did not know why Mama would not let her out of the house. she had asked Zaria but Zaria did not give her any answer. She was a very strict mother. Anna was never frank with her like normal children. Zaria taught her at home. Her hobbies were playing the piano, reading books, and painting. She could play every tune very easily. It was difficult to stay in one place for years but now she was used to it. All she wanted was to go to the little lake in the Fairy Meadows valley, which looked so beautiful from the window of her room. It was her childhood longing that was about to come true today. She was very happy.

After getting ready, she came downstairs and saw Zaria sitting in the lounge. She was reading a book, sitting on the couch with her head bowed.

"How do I look, Mama?" She approached Zaria and asked. Zaria raised her head and looked at her. Dressed in a black gown, she looked very cute. There was a strange gleam in Zaria's eyes.

"Very sweet." He said in an admiring tone and Anna smiled innocently.

"Mama, come with me." she requested.

"I can't go today. I'm not feeling well." Zaria wanted her to go alone.

"Oh. I won't go then." Anna was worried about that.

"No, you go. It was your long-held wish that can only be fulfilled today." Zaria said, and she bowed at her command.

"Okay." Anna was a little nervous. She was going outside for the first time so she was afraid of getting lost. Zaria had refused to go. Now she had to go alone. She came out of the house strengthening her heart. She had seen this place many times through the entrance when Zaria was leaving or returning home. But she never went out the door. She came out today. There was a path in front of her around which there was only snow. The path led down a mountain and into a field of fairy meadows valley after alpine trees. There was a small population. And a short distance away was Anna's favorite lake she was going to see today. She took a slow step forward. She was very scared when she came down from the mountain. The road was steep slope. It seemed as if she were about to fall, but after a ten-minute slow-moving effort, she came down the mountain and took a deep breath. After a while, she passed through the alpine trees and then entered the valley of Fairy Meadows. The valley was as beautiful to see closely as it was from afar. She was joyfully watching every scene of the valley and the people there stopped to look at her. They thought she was a fairy descended from the moon, who had strayed into their territory. When Anna realized that everyone was staring at her, she became more confused and started moving faster. Some moments later, she saw the lake she was looking for. There was a beautiful smile on her face. She looked at the lake mesmerizingly and started walking towards it. As she approached the lake, she bent down and touched the water with her hand. Waves formed in the water.

"Beautiful" She cheered. Then she started playing with water. After a while, a butterfly came flying in front of her eyes.

"Butterfly!" She exclaimed with pleasure and stood up. The butterfly was flying to the right side. She started following the butterfly, wanting to touch it. The butterfly was not so high that Anna could not catch it but its flying speed was very fast. Anna increased her walking speed but in vain. Then she started running fast. She did not know when she entered the forest. All her attention was on the butterfly. The forest deepened. She had reached the dense trees. The forest was getting dark. As the darkness deepened, the butterfly suddenly rose and disappeared from her sight. Anna came to her senses and when she looked around, it was the same scene as in the dream. She was in the same dark forest. she looked around frightenedly and saw the house she had dreamed of. She wanted to go back but because of curiosity, she walked towards the house.

"I want you," she remembered that voice. She was waiting for that voice, but it didn't happen. She put her hand on the wooden door. with a little push, it opened automatically. Anna began to see the inside scene holding her breath. It was an old-style house but very beautiful. There was a large courtyard in front and a tall building behind it. Anna thought it was a dream world. After pausing for a moment, she entered the house and started walking ahead. Sometime later, she was at the entrance of the building. The door was slightly open. She opened the door wholly and looked inside. She was stunned. It looked like an old royal palace. Its beauty had not yet diminished, perhaps someone still took care of the palace. Everything there was shining. It was a rectangular hall. There were chairs along the right and left walls and lots of beautiful pictures on the walls. All had natural scenery. Anna liked all the pictures. With the front wall, there was a stage on which a beautiful chair was lying. Maybe it was the king's seat. Just behind this chair was a picture of a wolf. She was scared for a moment but the picture was beautiful. She looked at this fascinatingly and came close to it. Seeing the wolf's gray eyes, Anna felt her head dizzy. She quickly looked away from it and then she saw a corridor on the left. There was a statue. Anna quickly approached it. He was extending one hand and stood as if he was offering dance to a girl. His face was very charming. Like the prince of stories. His clothes were also of old times. Anna stared at him for some moments. Then she came closer to him. And put her hand on his outstretched hand as if she had accepted his dance offer. She wished that she could dance with him. She was just thinking that when a movement happened in Statue's body. She was badly startled. The statue was now in the form of a living human being. Anna's heart was trembling with fear. She wanted to step back but she felt the man's grip on her hand tighten. The next moment he pulled her towards him and put his arm around her waist. His gray eyes were watching Anna's face with interest while Anna screamed and fainted.

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