The man in the tattered cloak stood at the edge of the dimly lit room, his eyes scanning the space. The air was thick with the smell of smoke, sweat, and cheap perfume. Ladies whose faces were dowsed in paints and vibrant colors danced on tables and in men's laps, their laughter and giggles mingling with the music.
The man's gaze settled on a small, raised platform in the center of the room. He climbed onto it, his movements calm and deliberate. From beneath his cloak, he produced an ancient-looking flute, its surface marked with strange symbols. As he raised the flute to his lips, the room fell silent. The ladies paused in their dancing; their eyes were fixed on the mysterious musician. The lustful men turned their attention to see what the cloaked man had to offer.
The first notes of the flute's melody floated through the air, haunting and mournful. The ladies swayed to the music; their painted faces were mesmerized in the flickering candlelight. The men watched, entranced, as the musician's fingers danced across the flute's holes. As the final notes faded away, the room erupted into applause. The ladies cheered and whistled, their painted lips curled into bright smiles. The men stamped their feet and shouted and tossed coins onto the platform.
It was a wonderful performance that ended greatly. The cloaked man, Rwaine, was done, and he walked away gracefully.
Miss Kobo, the owner of Sodom, a statuesque woman with a commanding presence, walked outside and saw the cloaked man; she threw a little sac at him, and the sound of it assured there was gold in it. The man opened it and counted the gold with his eyes; his eyes were of disagreement.
"This is not what we agreed," he said softly.
"I have a lot to run at Sodom; accept it or leave it,"she said and walked away.
The man kept quiet. He was deceived again; he would play instruments every single day to get money to earn a living. That was how he met Fanaza the other night; she was about to be assaulted. The payment he received was small, but he had no choice; he wanted the money so badly.
He took the money and walked off into the woods straight to the mountains; in his hideous cave, a man approached him.
"Where have you been?" He asked as he removed his cloak, his golden eyes shining bright under the sun. He didn't get a reply from him.
"Did you play the flute?" Moaz the eunuch asked after he took out the flute from his cloak.
"I had to," Rwaine replied.
"Rwaine, I want you to know I am not against you leaving the mountains and going into the village; I am just worried abo-----."
"About my deformities?" Rwaine interrupted his words.
Moaz's face fell flat. He was a trusted eunuch; King Loban and Queen Lorraine left their child in his care. He had taken care of Rwaine since he was young as a duty to the king; he took him as his own son and acted like a fatherly figure to him, but he was always worried the child would find the truth about his background and the prophecy that was foretold.
"You know, I always wonder if it's a crime to be deformed. I had to hide my face, and I have no confidence to face the public. I actually wished you had killed me since you saw my deformities.' Rwaine said unremorseful.
"It's never about your deformities, son; there are some things that are left unsaid and unknown, and this is one of them."
Rwaine had grown up and spent his 20 years with Moaz, whom he called father. He always told him to be careful of the human world and never to reveal his face to anyone.
That's why he would always wear a cloak that covered his whole body so no one would see his deformities or mutated body. He knew he was an outcast, but he wanted to belong so badly; he wanted to have friends, meet people, and go on adventures without his body being a hindrance.
He had lived in the mountains and made a cave his own mansion for years. He was lucky Moaz wasn't just an ordinary eunuch but a skilled fighter who taught knights and princes from different kingdoms martial arts. He learned a lot from him, and he could defend himself whenever the need arose.
"You shouldn't go out tonight; it's the night of the Wendigos,"Moaz reminded.
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Dear Father, Fanaza wrote, pouring out her mind, how she couldn't get along with the royals, how she had been insulted and disrespected by everyone. No one liked her, and even the man she was in an arranged marriage with never liked her. She was getting frustrated. She wrote all in the hopes that maybe her father would speak to the king and withdraw her from the marriage. She knew this was not possible, but she had to try her best.
The palace is toxic, Father, she ended the letter. She folded it, opened her door, and gave it to another one of her guards.
"Make sure you deliver it to Father," she said.
"Yes, my lady," he bowed before he left to deliver the message.
Let's just hope for the best, she thought and closed the door shut behind her. She slumped recklessly on the bed, breathing and sighing with relief; a knock came through . The door creaked open to reveal Sage.
"Sage She said surprisingly, "She wasn't expecting anyone, especially Sage. Maybe he came to invite her to dinner, she thought.
"Sister-in-law, I was thinking if you'll be free this night so we can go to the festival." Sage said excitedly and sat on her bed.
"What festival?" She asked,
"It's outside the palace."
Outside the palace, she was excited and was not bothered about the place they were going as long as it was outside the palace. She was ready to leave the suffocating palace even if it was just for a day.
She was ready to go out with Sage.
"How do we sneak out?" she asked.
"I have people on the inside,"he winked.
Fanaza loved things like that; it gave her joy. Finally, she found someone who could match her energy in this big, suffocating place.
Night falls, and Sage and Fanaza sneaked out of the palace and rode out on two horses quietly without anyone knowing . They rode into the village and saw the villagers were all festive ready; their horses were tied to a tree in a nearby woods.
Their horses were royal ones; it was obvious it was of royalty, and anyone who saw it would be able to identify it.
"Are you sure it's safe to keep the horses here alone?" She asked,
"It is fine, sister-in-law,"he assured her as they both walked into the village square.
Seeing the beauty, she was happy and joyous; the fresh air meant a lot to her, and she really cherished the moments. Guess Sage was the only normal person among the royals . He was nice, calm, and gentle towards her, and most importantly, he respected her. He also wanted to make friends with her.
She had never had any friends except for Sally, but now she had seen one whom she kind of liked and cherished, Sage.
The festival began with a lot of designs and displays from villagers; they enjoyed the festival, munching on various food they saw on the street side; they watched every performance and cheered for them; Sage even threw gold at them to show his appreciation.
Sage and Fanaza were finally getting along; she wished he was the crown prince; their love story would have been perfect, and she would never have thought of running away from her arranged marriage. Sage was perfect; she noticed his blonde hair was the same as hers; the wind swept his hair backward that revealed his forehead and his sharp jawline; he was stunning; she couldn't resist his beauty.
She admired him; as she saw a cloaked man performing some stunts on the platform in front of them, she immediately remembered the man who had saved her from the bandits the other time, and the necklace she held onto was still kept hidden in her boots, as she wanted to carry it along every day in case they met again.
She wanted to know who he was.
She finally jolted back to reality and continued to enjoy the show, but time was not on their side. They realized the festival was suddenly brought to an end when the clock struck ten and the village bell rang loudly. This came as a shock; everyone started leaving one by one and locking their doors tightly. It seemed weird, but they didn't take it seriously.
They walked round the village and shopped for things; they also realized the people were packing up suddenly and going to their various homes.
"Isn't it surprising?" Fanaza asked, looking confused.
"It is why they are all rushing home tonight; the festival was not even up to an hour." Sage said he was also getting suspicious by the villagers' actions.
"Maybe that's just how the villagers are."
"No, the villagers spend more time outside; they don't sleep, trust me,"he said.
"And have you ever attended a festival to know how it's done? She said but got no response from him; this made her feel uneasy.
"We should just leave Sage."
It was really dark, and the moon could hardly be seen. Sage and Fanaza went to the woods to get their horses, but a huge horror befell them as they saw their horses were eaten up and dismembered brutally.
They were shocked and scared. What could have done this, they wondered. Could it be an animal? Hold on, animal? That is not possible; they could clearly see the horse's bones and dismembered parts scattered around.
"What's going on?" Fananza? asked looking worried.
A loud, eerie sound was heard; the duo was on another level of jump scares.
"Fanaza, that was you, right?"
"How can a woman of such huge dignity make such a sound?"
It was the night where the wendigos would attack and kill anyone they came across. According to legends and tales, the wendigos are cannibalistic monsters, and tonight was their night.
Legend has it that they always come to the village to attack every festival that was celebrated after the full moon; once the clock strikes ten on the night of the festival, their hunting season begins, and that was the reason all villagers were packing up and going to their various homes.
A wendigo came out of the shadow sprawling towards them; it attacked. Having no way or idea on how to fight back against the two sustained injuries. They were able to flee from the scene, but their wounded body drew the monsters closer.
Fanaza tripped and fell badly, twisting her ankle; she could not walk any longer, and her screams drew Sage's attention.
"Oh God!" Sage saw her ankle and tried to help her walk, guiding her steps, but it was worse; she could not move or walk. Sage noticed the Wendigos' close movements; he had to do something.
Be a man, Sage.
"I will distract it, find a way to get to safety, and get help. Can you manage to walk"? Sage asked, holding her ankles.
"I can try."
"Now go,"Sage pushed her forward.
"I am not leaving without you," she said.
"Go and call for help," he said.
"Over here!" He called out to the wendigos.
Fanaza walked with her broken ankle deep into the woods, looking scared and worried; tears ran down her eyes as she was being chased by some group of wendigos. She screamed for help.
"Help! Please help!"
She screamed but tripped and fell badly, breaking her ankle and having a severe tear; she couldn't move or lift her leg no matter how hard she tried.
The three wendigos were moving closer to her, ready to devour the meat before them.
Delicious!
Suddenly, three different daggers were thrown at each of the creatures at the same time, targeting their hearts.
"Help me, please," she cried softly.
Rwaine saw her injured leg. He came closer to her, but she fainted immediately in his arms.
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Trouble loomed at the palace as no one could find Fanaza and Sage; there was chaos and trouble. Prince Percival had to set out a search party with the knights.
"Please bring back Sage." The Queen pleaded with teary eyes.
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The sunlight shone on the cave as Fanaza opened her eyes softly; she groaned as she realized her body was weak and was wrapped up in clothes. She couldn't really remember what happened last night; her memory was a bit vague. She came outside the cave only to see the cloaked man who sat on a rock close to a waterfall in the mountains.
"Hello!" she said.
She recognized the man; he was the one who had saved her the other night. Why was he still in his hooded cloak? She thought.
"I remember you,"she said as she moved closer to him.
"Don't come close! " He replied coldly.
Fanaza was surprised.
"I already treated your wounds; you should feel better now."
"I just wanted to say thank you; I never got to say it the last time." She appreciated his effort, and he replied with a calm nod.
Rwaine walked past her.
"Where are you going?
"To get breakfast in the forest."
"Are those things dead? I want to go with you.
"Your leg?" he asked out of concern.
"I can manage." She forced a smile.
Fananza felt warm and safe around him even though she knew nothing about him. She had met him twice now, and she could agree she was having a deep connection with him. She was eager and curious to see the face hidden in the cloak. His voice sounds so soothing to the ears, his aura was unmatched, and his steps were agile and strong, slapping on the ground.
She admired this unknown man, but the reason for hiding behind a cloak still remains a mystery to her.
They both returned to the cave with a big wild boar. Fanaza was so impressed with his hunting skills, his smile, and the way he hunted the boar and killed it; those moments still replayed in her mind, and she found herself falling deeply for this cloaked man.
"Who are you?" She heard an old, raspy voice speak from behind her.
"I am Fananza," she replied, looking around for Rwaine, but he had gone into the cave. Luckily he just returned.
"Why did you bring her here?" Moaz asked
"She was attacked by the wendigos and was injured. I could not leave her to bleed to death in the woods; her corpse will definitely rot," he said with no emotions.
Fanaza was confused about what's going on.
The old man does not look nice, and his attitude towards her was bad. Maybe he was not just used to strangers, she thought to herself.
"I'll have her leave after breakfast,"he said.
Fanaza's head was now clear, and she could remember what happened last night, Sage wasn't with her.
"Where is Sage?" she asked suddenly, and this made others so confused.
"My brother-in-law, we both came for the festival."
"Where did you come from?" Moaz asked
"Macabre Palace," Fanaza replied, still thinking about Sage.
"Leave!" Moaz screamed at her.
His muscles were tensed, and it was obvious he was hiding something . He was angry and demanded that she leave the mountain at once and never return. He pushed her hard until Rwaine held his hands.
"Stop!" he said. "I'll escort her away."
"I have to find Sage." Fanaza held onto Rwaine's arms with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Rwaine, you cannot be involved with the people of Macabre. Please send her out of the mountains and pretend this never happened." Moaz warned,"
"You have nothing to worry about; when I find her brother, I'll return," he said, indicating to Fanaza they should both leave.
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The search party still continues with dogs barking, but there was no sign of Fanaza or Sage, but what they saw next traumatized the party.