Chapter Text
“Just keep going, just keep going… almost there…”, you thought between pants. Your plan to escape your current life was finally coming to fruition, if you just made it a little bit further! You could see the cave enter your vision and start to get closer. You could no longer hear shouting from behind but didn’t trust that you were safe just yet. You picked up the pace. While climbing Mt. Ebott was considered foolish and dangerous, after weighing your options with your home life, you decided it was worth the risk. You didn’t necessarily wish for death, but wouldn’t exactly object to it lest you stay one more second in your village. Finally, you made it to the caves where you had supposed you could survive.
On closer inspection, the one you found was closer to a crevice, but it would do for now. You army-crawled through the undergrowth until you could stand up normally. As you-
Wind was blowing in your hair and you could feel a lurch in your stomach. The world was getting darker, save for an ethereal golden glow below. You desperately tried to claw at your surroundings but to no avail, as you recognized your fate was officially one of many before you. There had been tales of people entering the forest on the mountain before, but all reported cases were to have gone missing; never to be seen again. You closed your eyes, accepting you would hit the ground soon. But nothing came. You carefully peered around from where you sat; surely this was your brain preparing you for your eminent and unavoidable demise… but as you took in your surroundings, you realized you were indeed, alive. Seated below you were an unnaturally luminescent patch of buttercups. They almost seemed to have broken your fall… not possible.
You brushed yourself of the dirt from crawling and tried to find where you came from. Looking up resulted in staring into seemingly an abyss of darkness above. However, ahead of you was a trail of what appeared to be the flowers’ petals beckoning you forth to continue onwards. For the first time in stars knew how long, you felt a sense of… purpose. Reason.
You continued to follow them, as you assumed it was the only viable option given the scenario. You walked slowly, however, as every couple steps you would stumble over the uneven ground. Save for the uncanny aura of the petals, you were completely shrouded in darkness.
At the edge of what looked like a withered old doorway of vines, sat a large golden flower situated in the centre of the room. It had been violently trampled on and clearly destroyed. What struck you as alarming, however, was the fact that someone was here… recently. You tried not to think about it.
Through various hallways of what seemed as though dilapidated ruins, every so often would rest a single pile of dust of varying size. Cracks in the walls revealed remnants of plant life, but had clearly been sliced off by a blade. Ancient-looking depictions of creatures and humans danced along the walls along with signs in writing you couldn’t understand. Finally, you reached the end of a long hallway and at the end found a large clump of dust with a violet gown collapsed in it. Weird. Lining the floor, ceiling, and walls were scorch marks and- smears of blood…? Best to keep trudging down your no-doubt perilous journey with no destination.
After passing through a few more corridors, you reached a looming set of double doors. Stepping through, you immediately regretted your decision as you were greeted by a harsh wind and sub-zero temperatures. But the doors shut before you could change your mind. Damn. Turning around, you appeared to be in an underground forest with a thick blanket of snow on the ground and a light shimmering wave of it falling down. At least you could see a bit better. With nowhere else to turn but onward, you trod carefully so as to not alert any potential inhabitants.
Not equipped for such weather conditions, you started to shiver. Figuring continual movement was your best bet, you made your way through the icy terrain. The forest was dense, to say the least, and with the snow picking up, you couldn’t see your footsteps anymore.
After what was a few hours, judging by the light in the sk- ceiling, you found you had ended up right by the door at square one. Excellent. With the rising dawn, however, you could make out the remnants of a trail up ahead. By this point you were shaking like a leaf and walking very stiffly. Any form of warmth or reprieve from the biting cold would be worth finding out what was waiting for you at the end of the trail.
Eventually, a small wooden box came into view. At least it could shield you from the wind. The box was on its side and faced into the woods. Ducking down, you noticed there was an iced-over plate of spaghetti positioned there. Suspiciously so. But stars, when was the last time you had had a proper meal? Figuring it would at least have been refrigerated, you grabbed the fork next to it and took a bite. Despite being frozen, it wasn’t half bad. Not that you had ever really eaten proper food, mind you. Deciding you might as well finish what you started, you squatted down to the box and crawled inside. Bad idea. The moment you did, you set off a pressure plate that triggered a flap, rendering the box inescapable.
Frantically, you scratched at the hinges, attempting to break the door. From outside, you could hear footsteps shuffling towards you and two voices; one significantly louder than the other. This didn’t alleviate any anxiety in the slightest, and you started kicking. Suddenly, you felt the box being shifted and lifted. The pattern of bouncing and rocking being the telltale signs they were carrying you away. With so little food in you, wandering for hours in the cold, and the now obviously negative turn, you couldn’t handle any more. You simply passed out from exhaustion.