Chapter Two: Falling from You

    Charlotte could hear them now. She was running. They were coming after her. Her heart was once again in her throat and her eyes looked around frantically to find the source of the smoke. The pitter-patter of wolf paws echoing close by spurred her on, deeper into the forest. Suddenly, the dense forest opened up to reveal a huge iron gate twice as high as her. She reached for the gate, but found it would not budge, perhaps because she was too weak to move it or perhaps because it was rusted shut. The howl went up again, much closer now.

    Though it was difficult as a human, Charlotte summoning her dwindling strength and sprang up, catching one of the lower iron cross braces. She struggled up higher, her left arm throbbing with pain. She looked down to see she had bled through the torn bandage she had made. Swearing quietly to herself, Charlotte continued to climb the huge gate. The wolves began pooling on the ground below her, growling and occasionally jumping up on the gate, trying to reach her. Charlotte swung her leg over the top. She pulled the rest of her body above the pointed daggers of metal that adorned the top of the gate, and slide down until she was face to face with her canine attackers through the bars. A couple of the higher ranking wolves growled a warning to her, while some of the lower ranks charged the gate, trying to bite her through the bars. Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief; the wolves could not reach her. Holding her injured arm against her body, Charlotte turned around.

    A magnificent castle lay before her. The highest towers were almost level with the clouds. Though it was a sight to behold, the gloom of this castle unnerved her. The mist that never moved from the upper reaches of the castle, the deafening silence that hung in the air, Charlotte trembled and tried not to dwell on it. Normal she wouldn’t be afraid of anything, but in her current condition fighting wasn’t willing to engage in. She staggered away from the gate and the wolves, heading up the long bridge to the castle doors.

    It was raining by the time she got there. A light drizzle fell from the misty clouds above and dampened her already dirty and torn clothing. Her brown hair hung down over her eyes and she smelled like a wet animal. The blood coming from the leaking bandage on her arm mixed with the rainwater and pooled in pink puddles by her feet. Charlotte shivered as the night wind whistled across the bridge to join the brewing storm. She reached for the handle on the door to the castle and pushed inwards. Similarly to the gate, the door did not budge. Biting her lip, Charlotte stared up at the sides of the castle. To her great relief, this castle was covered in gargoyles, parapets, balconies and ledges. Even in her condition, the climb to an open window would not be a difficult one. After carefully resetting her left arm, Charlotte climbed on a rail and leapt to the first huge gargoyle she could see. Instincts slowly taking over, she rebounded higher onto a ledge. She spotted the window with some light coming from it. Charlotte looked around, hanging off the edge of the ledge by her one good arm. There was another ledge across the way that was the closest object to the window. She swung with the grace of a dancer through the air and stood precariously on the ledge, overlooking a huge drop that disappeared into the mist below. Balancing on one leg, Charlotte hurdled up and grabbed the window ledge with her good hand. With the rain now falling in sheets on her back, she pulled herself up and carefully pushed on the window.

    It opened with a creak to reveal a well-lit hallway, lined with suits of armor from every army to ever exist. Huge pillars, at least thirty feet tall, held up the high ceiling. Charlotte was up near the ceiling, and it was a long way down. She could jump, but she might land on a suit or armor, or worse, a pointed weapon. She eyed the spears uneasily. After looking at the pillars for a moment Charlotte cautiously extending her claws, jumping onto one of the pillars, hugging it with her thighs. Her claws sunk in slightly and her left shoulder throbbed intensely. Damn this was hard as a human! She held on and slowly slid all the way down to the cold stone floor. A red carpet ran up the middle of the hall and continued on through an opening further down. Gathering up her courage, very little of which was left, Charlotte crept down the hall, making as little noise as possible. Her leg was getting worse and her left arm was nearly useless dangling at her side. The open doorway at the end of the armor hall led to a large entryway with a huge ballroom staircase that led up to a second floor.

    Charlotte’s wet feet padded softly on the carpet. She could hear the ominous drip, drip, drip from her wet hair on the floor. So far, she had not heard a thing; there was not a single indication that anyone was here in the first place, other than the light in the window. Charlotte began climbing the staircase that lead to the second floor. Her breathing was harsh and grating now, and she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. But she had to find the person this castle belonged to.

    Charlotte had made it to the top of the stairs when she felt the back of her neck prickle. She spun around, only to be greeting by shadows. Now on alert, Charlotte limped along next to the low railing, thirty feet up from the beautifully carved wooden floor. She turned her head from the floor to the walls. Opposite her, hung from the wall at perfect intervals, were more paintings and pieces of art than Charlotte could count. Each was beautiful, but one caught her eye. She limped away from the railing to take a closer look.
The painting was of a boy. He had dark blond hair and rosy cheeks. In one hand he held a small bouquet of many varieties of flowers. In the other hand, he held a rose, bright red and wet with dew. His eyes however, were not on the rose. They were staring at Charlotte. Deep blue, piercing eyes, eyes that seemed to look right through her. She shuddered and looked away to find something far more attention grabbing.

    A face. It was a foot from her own. Charlotte sucked in her breath, as her eyes slowly grew wider. How could she have not heard? The face was shaggy brown in color, and covered with fur. Two brown horns poked out of his forehead. Short tusks jutted from his mouth. His blue eyes glared dangerously at Charlotte who was frozen to the floor. The audible dripping was all she could hear, along with the creature’s breathing and the wild beating of her heart. He growled deep in his throat.

    “Why have you trespassed here?” His brow furrowed and he seemed to get angrier when she made no immediate response. Charlotte opened her mouth, but barely a whisper came out. She was dead for sure. With her body the way it was, she doubted she could even run quickly enough to elude him if he decided to attack her.

    The creature growled deep in his throat took a step towards her. That snapped her out of her frozen trance. She sprung backwards, landing on the top of the railing. She was off balance and put her bad leg down to steady herself, as her foot touched the rail, a jolt of burning pain ran up her back. She recoiled and lost her balance. The creature, suddenly spurred to action, ran for the railing holding his hand out to grab hers, but it was too late. Charlotte fell thirty feet down, hitting the wooden floor below with a dreadful thud. The creature jumped from the second level, and rebounded off a statue. Scrambling madly, he came to a halt in front of the Charlotte‘s limp body. He knelt down and rolled her over. A puddle of her red blood had already stained the hardwood floor. Her eyes were barely open.

    “Forgive me for intruding.” She whispered as her eyes shut out the light.