TAHLIA~
I scanned the banks of the lake and the treeline behind looking for the source of my pausing. It proved little use as I could barely see past my immediate surroundings, much more whatever creature lurked in between the trees.
It was not Archibald. That much I was sure of because if it were, he would march right up to me, eyes brimming with his displeasure and others, or possibly drag me back to the castle.
“Who’s there?” I demanded, though no response came. I turned, my legs made sluggish by the water, and scanned the treeline.
As luck would have it, the moon was high and full tonight, its softer rays illuminating the lake and its bank sufficiently. I could see as far as the second row of trees at the mouth of the forest. Yet I couldn’t spot anybody on second and even third gla
