Her head spinning, she ran across the woods, ignoring the chilly breeze that sent shivers down her bones. There was no time to think. She wanted answers and if she waited any longer, she would lose her opportunity. 

Although, deep in her heart she knew that she should probably wait to tell Gloria or Montgomery first. It was certainly not a good idea to be wandering by herself at night in a place she wasn't familiar with.

There was no time.

'Where are you?'

How did her mother even get there? One of the reasons why she agreed to travel to Azelrya in the first place was because she wanted to run away from her. To run away from home. But now, she was staring to realise that there was something she didn't know. Something was off. 

She wandered around the woods for a while, finally catching her breath, until she started to realise that she may have acted too quickly.

She was lost.

'No. You have to find her,' she thought to herself, her hands shaking and gasping for air, breathing faster. This was not the time to be having a panic attack.

"Should we really be here?"

"Not now..."

Reina stopped walking and fell onto the floor, her body could no longer move in the freezing cold and her world started to spin around her eyes.

"We really shouldn't be here."

"Not now, Ana."

She took a few deep breaths, trying to get her breathing back to normal. Why was it so hard to catch her breath back?

"Please, Reina. It's not safe," Ana whispered. She could barely hear her among the rustling of leaves and a strange noise in the back. It wasn't a hooting noise. It wasn't an owl. But she kept telling herself that it was. Or some other type of harmless creature in the hope that it would go away.

"What's wrong with you? Find out where that noise is coming from and run!" Ana yelled at her.

"Run where?!" She almost cried, "Where do you want me to run?"

They both stared at the darkness.

"I know I shouldn't have come here. I know it was a mistake," Reina panted, "but I couldn't help it. I really couldn't. And if you really cared you should've stopped me before I got here."

Ana didn't utter a word and continued to stare at her. Her eyes wide, her body shaking. And maybe it was the darkness or that she truly felt alone this time, but Reina could no longer differentiate between her dream and the reality in front of her.

And suddenly, it all broke loose.

Snakes crawled from above the ground and flowed down the trees. Large, massive giants. Teeth sharpened and hissing. They crawled over to her leg and tightened themselves around her. Crawling up to her body, her stomach. Wrapping themselves around her neck. Choking.

And out far in the corner, a shadow of a woman. A woman with no face, her feet twice the size of her body, growing taller and taller. Almost as tall as the trees. Walking towards her, legs like a spider. 

Her knees shaking, almost finding it hard to balance. And a tongue slithering and dangling out of her mouth. Hissing. And hissing again. It wasn't a dream, unless she wanted it to be. It couldn't be a real, unless she made it so.

And at that moment, whether it was real or not. Reina wanted more than anything, to disintegrate into the soil, her body to break into pieces and let out her last breath among the cold, hard rocks.

They                      were           crawling     closer  and   closer andcloser.

She needed to die.

Hiss.

"Reina, are you there?"

Ana's voice in the far distance.

"The biggest mistake is that you forgot your wand."

A piercing scream.

"Listen to me, the biggest mistake-"

"This isn't a dream," Reina cried.

"Of course it's a dream."

And a voice that wasn't Ana's broke her from her from the grip of the snakes and standing next to her instead, was a fox. Not Ana. But a fox. A fox with a large tail, almost shining and its eyes bright golden green, almost hypnotising and the moment Reina's eyes met with it, she could swear it was a human.

"You're in my territory."

"I...I was looking for someone," Reina replied.

"You're in my territory," it repeated.

"I just...I really need to find my-"

"Do you want me to eat you?"

"No," Reina quickly shook her head.

"Then. Go."

Reina slowly stood up, shivering, "I'm lost," she whispered in shame.

The fox didn't reply. It didn't even budge. It stared in her eyes, without blinking and Reina started to wonder if it would really eat her. Maybe this was her end.

"Where did you come from?"

"The Gremlin's toyshop."

"Never heard of it."

"Really? It's just outside..."

"Where?"

"I don't know..."

The seemed to have lost interest and starting walking away, jumping into a tree. Reina didn't know they could do that.

"Wait! Please don't go."

Yes. Getting help from a fox that literally said would eat her. She should be grateful it decided to leave her alone but it seems this was the day for all the illogical decisions.

The fox turned around and looked into her direction.

"There was a woman that walked through here, and I really need to find her."

"I can't help you."

"Please, I'm desperate."

The fox immediately jumped towards her, and smirked. Yes, a smile lined across its face, almost like a clown. Its teeth a weird shape and its eyes suddenly darkened, "Then let me eat you."

Reina gulped, walking a step backwards, "What? How can I find her if you eat me?"

"Just your arm."

"No."

"Your leg?"

"No!"

"Well you're an awful negotiator."

"Who even are you?"

"The guardian of the temple," it replied, candidly.

"The what?" Reina groaned in frustration and started looking around, muttering to herself, "I should find Gloria."

The fox's ears twitched, it looked up and the smile was gone, "Come to my temple."

"What?"

"I'll help you if you come."

And at that, the fox ran, its legs jumping into the air.

"Wait! Can you promise you won't eat me first?"

Reina ran after it, without receiving any response. If she followed a cat before and was safe, what difference would a fox make? Granted, the situation was slightly different, but if it really wanted to eat her, it would have done so by now. She did find it suspicious that it changed its mind so quickly when it was so adamant in helping her before.

And she ran. She ran for what felt like hours. And days. And years.

"It's been two minutes."

Reina rolled her eyes, "Thank you for that information."

They ran and ran and into the hills, above the trees there and there it was. A small temple like place made of rocks and stones and statues with wings surrounding it.

"Rule number one. Do not make eye contact with the statues," the fox warned her, "or you'll turn into stone."

Reina gasped and immediately lowered her gaze.

"Rule number two. Gloria is a liar."

"What?"

Reina turned around and the fox was no longer there. Still shocked by everything that happened, she took a few more deep breaths and quickly pushed everything at the bottom of her mind, she can process it all later. 

She walked into the temple, through a corridor with dimly lit lights and opened the door. She wondered where she got the courage to do all that. There was a large room, with bright lights and purple flowers on each opposite ends of the room, with lavender and rose like scent flowing through.

And in the middle, a table. A table and some chairs.

A table and some chairs and two people sitting together.

Two people that looked a lot like Gloria.

And her mother.