"Evelyn, please… just come out. Your father just wants to talk to you, okay?"
Jane's voice had been repeating those words for over two hours that morning.
But Evelyn didn't respond.
Inside her room, she lay fainted on her bed, her body weak from starvation and exhaustion.
Dream
This time, the silver-eyed stranger appeared differently.
His white shirt was stained with blood, ripped and harshly bound by heavy chains. He lifted his face, his silver eyes blazing—not with pain, but with an even fiercer rage.
He smirked dangerously, and Evelyn's heart skipped a beat.
She tried to step closer to help him—but an invisible barrier stopped her. She stared at him, searching for answers, but he didn't speak.
Finally, his voice cut through the silence.
"You want to help? Come… to Dark Thorn Cave."
Evelyn's chest tightened. Impossible, she thought. Dark Thorn Cave was a place no human could reach.
"There is nothing impossible," he said, chuckling devilishly, as if daring her to defy him.
Suddenly, the world shifted beneath her. She was falling—deep, endless darkness surrounding her—until she landed softly on a bed of plucked roses.
She stood in the middle of a lush rose garden, petals scattered around her. A cave loomed ahead, and the deafening roar of a waterfall echoed from its depths. It all felt terrifyingly real… and intoxicating.
"Come and have the best time of your life, princess," his voice whispered. "Here… rather than letting your father push you around. You know where to find me."
A rose drifted from above, and she caught it. Then she began to fall again, letting the rose slip from her fingers.
Evelyn awoke with a start, sitting upright in her bed.
"Oh my god," she breathed, looking around her room.
No roses. No silver-eyed stranger.
Only the soft glow of the setting sun through her window.
Her heart raced. He was real… at least in her dreams, and he was tempting her in ways both her mind and heart understood.
But her father's voice echoed in her mind: Do not move an inch.
She hesitated, torn between desire and obedience.
Her stomach growled—she hadn't eaten in hours. She couldn't resist anymore.
Silently, she left her room and discovered a tray of freshly made sweet puddings. A smile curved her lips—Jane had left them for her. Evelyn returned to her room and ate them all, savoring every bite.
Then she rose again, this time with a new purpose.
This was it: her first real act of rebellion. Sneaking out to find the stranger from her dreams—into the most forbidden place imaginable.
She made her way to the palace gates, her steps light and careful.
"I can do this," she whispered to herself. "I just need the keys."
A guard snored softly nearby, keys dangling from his belt. Evelyn tiptoed closer, her heart thudding in her chest. Slowly… carefully… she reached out.
With a quiet flick of her fingers, she had them.
Her chance had come.
Evelyn's pulse raced as she crept into the night, leaving the safety of her palace behind.
She was finally stepping into the dark world that had haunted her dreams… and she would not turn back.