"My lady, be safe"
The carriage man greeted her farewell.
Isabelle walked ahead, leaving her carriage men back with the carriage and the horses.
Walking alone in this scary forest, hearing the sound of something or someone calling her from behind in a whisper. Her steps being followed.
"Stop calling me, if you don't want to die"
Isabelle said to something or someone calling her from behind.
The calls stop soon after her warning. But, whenever she moved, her steps would be followed by a moving shadow on the ground which looked like a human.
"How annoying"
She stepped on the shadow following her, suddenly on the touch of her heels, the shadow started burning, the shadow screamed, then the shadow came out from the darkness showing its full form.
"A ghoul"
After some more walking, a town came in view.
The town in the neverwas came in view, the streets were empty, the houses empty, not a single soul in the town, not even a mice or stray dog, not even crows which was in the forest.
But, the strange thing was this that everything was okay, everything in its place, the town looked like, the citizens of it were enjoying a fastival before everything happened.
The decorations in its place, the clothes was still hung on the clothes line, water inside the glass, food served on the table, were the people was going to have a feast after the festival.
But, the trees was not green, it was black and dry, grasses turned in black colour.
One house door was opened a little, this much open that you can have a peek inside a little, and inside the house was a dead body, who looked like before his dead came, he was rushing for the door.
No one knew, what actually happened here.
What can happen? No sign of struggle, no sign of thugs, no sign of magic.
What happened here?
The villagers from neighbour villages was terrified and devastated, they soon fled from their own towns, unknown about the mystery of Neverwas town, and in the risk of their lives.
Cuz soon after the missing of the villagers of Neverwas happened, there was disease spread in the neighborhood towns and villages, killing thousands of people and no cure of it.
Which made this mystery more mysterious.
Villagers or town people never entered the Neverwas, leaving this place like a mystery and still unknown for many hundred years.
After some more time walking, in her sight a big, old Castle, came in view.
A burnt castle.
The garden was black not green just like a cemetery, dead trees, dead grass.
She walked inside the main entrance of the castle.
The spirts or other creatures who were following her, stopped as soon as she entered the castle, leaving her all by herself.
Stepping further inside, she came in the Ventibule. The curtains had a burnt look and some were wholly brunt like the window did not had any curtains from the start.
Spider webs all around, filling the corridors in a criss cross way.
Coming inside the main hall,
The ball room.
Duke Vladimir was sitting on a chair, waiting for Isabelle.
A smirk shined on the Duke's handsome face, making him look more attractive.
He clapped his hands and started laughing.
"You know, why I like you, so much?, because you know me so well, my lady"
"You always amused me, if it could been someone else, he or she would have visited my current castle not this old one"
"Enough with the rabbish, my lord, where is Andrew?"
She came close to Duke Vladimir like a gust of wind and held him by the collar, making a eye contact.
"Are you seducing me, my lady? Alone in the castle, just us two"
He said holding her hand which was holding his shirt's collar.
The smile not leaving his face.
"Where is Andrew, Vladimir"
She said holding his neck, griping onto it.
Her voice demanding and her black eyes shining in red colour.
The smile left his handsome face.
"Why Andrew?"
"Who is he?"
"Why is leaving in your castle"
"Why he talks to you so disrespectfully?"
"You have so many questions, regarding Andrew, Vladimir"
Her grip on his neck tighten, the nails digging inside his neck, making Duke struggle in pain and suffocation.
"O..kay... I will tell you"
The duke said struggling for his life.
Soon as she left go of his neck, he smirked.
"I really like you, my lady"
Where she held him had her fingers mark and a little blood escaping from the area where her nails dug.
"You should had been carefully, now I had to wear a high neck cloth in summer"
He took out his handkerchief and placed it on his neck where the blood escaped.
"Andrew?"
"Why Andrew, I am here, why you need that kid?"
She looked at him with her shining red eyes, making the duke fear her.
But, more he feared her, the more his obsession for Isabelle grew. He wanted her all be himself by a good way or by a bad way.
"Yeah yeah, Andrew, that kid, he is over there save him if you can"
He pointed at the window in the ball room, and Isabella turned her gaze away from Vladimir to the window where he was pointing and Andrew came in view.
Andrew was blindfolded and tied with the tree, the tree was by the cliff.
"Vladimir!!"
Isabelle angered called his name.
"Save him or let him die"
"you know, him making his struggle to free himself, can lead him to dead?"
Duke Vladimir said chuckling.
"Dead is just right beside him"
He said adjusting his sit, making himself comfortable.
"I will be interested on knowing why you played such a disgusting joke"
Isabelle vanishes from the ball room.
The duke smiles wide in amusement and runs his hand through his hair in frustration.
Isabelle appears at the scene, watching Andrew being tried with the tree by the edge of the cliff, her black eyes turned burning red.
"Andrew"
Isabelle calls him.