The scene I had the privilege of witnessing metamorphosed into one of the most awe-inspiring moments I have experienced in a considerable span of time.
Suddenly and in a bend of the forest, in the bosom of my sacred territory, an unknown young woman manifested herself, having managed to cunningly elude the skirmishes and impediments that guarded the castle.
Her unwonted presence roused me from my slumber and, hearing the ominous creaking at the door, I could not help but question whether that melodious voice I had earlier perceived emanated from her.
However, as I looked at the young woman, I immediately sensed that something was out of balance.
She was alone, trembling with fear, like a frightened prey thrown into the unknown abyss, unable to comprehend what lay ahead.
While it may seem disdainful to equate a lady with a creature, at this particular juncture it is appropriate, for she reminded me of a vulnerable and bewildered being in the midst of oppressive darkness.
The damsel bore a peculiar appearance, as if emerging from a remote land, and her features were exotic, departing from any form my eyes had hitherto beheld.
Her dark, almond-shaped, piercing eyes revealed an abyss of inscrutable mysteries, while her pale, snow-soft complexion and thin, delicate lips gave her countenance an overwhelming singularity.
Her dress was indescribable, defying any conventional classification of fashion known to me.
Tight but delicate, with white highlighted edges and an extravagant belt framing her waist, she looked more like a maiden spawned in dreams than an ordinary young woman.
Her intriguing and inscrutable appearance was captivating and, at the same time, aroused a disturbing uneasiness.
The young lady seemed to boast an almost childlike lushness, out of place in the twisted surroundings of the castle.
However, the only thing that seemed to be in harmony with the macabre scene was her hair, ash-white, lifeless and unkempt, flowing freely down past her shoulders and reaching almost to her waist.
As time passed, I also noticed that her clothing exhibited strategic tears, details that had escaped my first scrutiny, but which now revealed themselves as signs of a tangled and disturbing past.
The young woman exuded an air of fatigue and desolation, as if she had gone through terrible torments to reach this enclosure.
As for her footwear, she wore clogs that, despite their apparent fragility, seemed to adhere firmly to her feet, as if they had been molded by the thresholds themselves.
Immeasurable strength emanated from that fragile appearance, as if the young woman had faced and overcome harrowing trials on her journey to this watchtower.
Yet her vulnerability was palpable, as if she were trapped in an incomprehensible reality.
This fact awakened my curiosity and insatiable desire to learn more about her and the events surrounding her....
The scene I had the privilege of witnessing left an indelible mark in my mind, shocking and thrilling, feeding my intrigue to unsuspected limits.
That unknown young woman radiated a singular appearance that was impossible to ignore.
Her presence seemed out of place, but at the same time, she emanated a penumbral and enigmatic vigor that left me perplexed.
My yearning to discover its history and the secrets that enveloped it became relentless....
I wished to unravel the enigmas that tormented her and understand how she had come to this point, in spite of it....
In an impassive and commanding voice, I questioned her:
"What has guided you to this sacred precinct?" - as we stood in my personal seclusion, the sanctuary that houses my own demons.
Nevertheless, she maintained a funereal silence, as if fearing the consequences of unveiling the truth hidden among the blindness.
"Answer. How did you reach this execrable spot?" - I insisted, yearning for diaphanous answers that might shed light on the enigmas that surrounded us.
In a trembling, barely perceptible voice, the young woman murmured, "I-I..."
Intrigue consumed me voraciously....
"Who instructed you about this abode?" - I asked more vehemently, pursuing the source of her unsettling presence.
With a look full of dread, he answered in a whisper, "N-No one..."
The tension in the atmosphere became oppressive.
"Then how did you come to this abyss?" - I inquired, straining to unravel the enigma unfolding before my eyes.
"I find myself... disoriented..." - she whispered, as if every word was imbued with abyssal suffering.
My imperturbability remained unchanged.
"That does not concern me.
You must withdraw without delay" - I replied in an icy tone, without showing the slightest hint of compassion.
In desperation, she pleaded in a broken voice: "Please! Gentleman, I beg you to allow me to stay overnight.
If I leave this place, my fate will be death.
Allow me to spend the night here..." - his plea echoed in my ears, causing a deep disturbance in my being, while hesitation took over my mind.
"This enclosure is not the ideal place for a damsel .... you will undoubtedly perish if you venture beyond the castle walls" - I proclaimed serenely, wrapping my words in a dark and mysterious cloak.
The young woman, with a face marked by anguish, pleaded:
"Could you not grant me your help?"
"Unfortunately, such a possibility is beyond my reach" - I replied in a forceful tone, resolutely establishing the limits of my influence.
"Y... why...?" - she mused in a piercing, monotonous voice.
"Because we must atone for our sins, so it has been decreed by my Father" - I answered with a burden of remorse, as if I carried on my shoulders an ancestral guilt.
"Your father?" - he asked in astonishment, his eyes reflecting dismay at the revelation.
"No, our father" - I solemnly affirmed, hinting at a more abysmal and disturbing link.
"... Why, I have committed no offense.... I only long to live..." - uttered the young girl in a perplexed tone, her words imbued with a fragile innocence.
"Although your countenance may boast an immaculate appearance, I am not in a position to state with certainty that you are what your features hint at" - I replied shrewdly, cautiously introducing the seeds of uncertainty into his tremulous mind.
"I feel... an overwhelming fatigue..." - she whispered, as her figure slumped with a leisurely cadence in the direction of the ground.
"You may be perplexed by my apparent insensitivity to your misfortune, but nothing and no one will be able to disturb the inexorable course of your destiny.
If you fail to evade the confines of this enclosure before daybreak, your fortune will be irrevocably sealed" - I sentenced with an icy coldness, evoking a fatal and macabre culmination....
"My prayers will be directed towards you" - I added in a distant tone, hiding behind the mask of my indifference the dark intentions that were lodged in my being.
I was aware that his ears could no longer catch my words because of his fainting, more I uttered them without hesitation.
I concluded by taking her body in my arms, protecting her from a violent impact against the ground, as if she were a fragile petal caught in the imminence of a maelstrom.
She lay in a state of total unconsciousness, vulnerable to the unfathomable horrors that lurked in the shadows of that dark place.
In an instinctive act, I gently slid my hand over her forehead, sensing the burning fever that consumed her.
However, I felt powerless in the face of her anguish, unable to alleviate her suffering that was fading into the limits of the darkness.
I then decided to remove the cloak that had rested on my shoulders for so long, and meticulously laid it on the floor, as if it were a sacred mantle imbued with ancestral mysteries.
With great care, I placed it under her exhausted body, longing to offer her a brief respite from the gloom that enveloped her, like a faint light struggling to break through the eternal darkness.
As I confirmed his condition, my attention was drawn to an opening in his skin, nestled near his right cheek.
With measured steps, I cautiously approached to inspect the wound that defied the immutable laws of nature.
As I brushed his smooth cheek with my leather gloved fingers, I witnessed with astonishment how the injury began a process of supernatural closure and healing, as if an elusive and unknown force was manifesting itself through it.
That phenomenon transcended the limits of my capacity of comprehension and defied any rational explanation.
My gaze was fixed on her as she plunged into an uneasy sleep, as if her being was immersed in an enigmatic symphony that could only be captured by the most subtle and perceptive senses.
Indeed, something about her awakened an eerie familiarity with my own being, a transcendental connection that transcended mere physical resemblance.
It may seem an extravagant assertion, but my unwavering priority was to watch over her momentary well-being and grant her a brief respite amidst the shadows that stalked her.
However, the enigma surrounding that wound on her cheek persisted, keeping me in a constant state of alertness and expectation.
Plunged in the darkness of uncertainty and fascination, I was determined to unravel the confidences hidden in that countenance marked by the inexplicable.
However, in the innermost realm of my being, the painful certainty resounded with inexorable force that manipulating the occult forces would entail an imminent danger, capable of unleashing an ineffable situation, whose consequences would unleash the deepest and most execrable horror.
I was aware of the insidious presence of a warning that, like a stealthy serpent, slithered through the very folds of my mind, whispering ominously about the dire consequences that might arise from my daring incursion into these forbidden domains.
Although I was still immersed in the painful search for my own identity, I could not escape the disturbing awareness of the sinister abysses that lurked behind the nebula of my memories, like disturbing shadows that, in the mysterious gloom of the night, wrap their cloak around the darkest and most cryptic secrets.
Confusion, like a dense and inscrutable mist, loomed menacingly over my being, embracing me with its abject embrace and bringing with it the indecipherable enigma of the unknown.
My mind, captive of a macabre fascination, was dancing in a dance of restlessness and a magnetic attraction towards the forbidden, longing to unveil the answers that were jealously hidden behind the diaphanous veils of reality.
