After wandering all night Sir Frey finally broke through the trees and saw the bright castle in the distance.

His bones ached. Sweat covered his face. His strong muscular frame slumped at the weight of the armor. The gash across his face still bled and he could smell the metallic scent as it ran down his mustache. He fell to his knees and wept.

The ordeal left him alone, his two men or at least what remained of them slumped over the horses in tow, along with the beast that ended them. He closed his eyes and played the nightmare over again.

They gave chase to a man seen leaving the Princesses quarters after the maids heard a scream and found her covered in blood, writhing on the floor. Three of the strongest men of the royal guard, Sir Frey included, pursued the man into the forest, their horses struggling to keep up with the man’s unnatural speed. The men tracked him to a pathway that led to a clearing. They dismounted and surrounded the tattered man covered in royal blood. The moonlight glistened off their swords and the woods fell silent, as if every branch and creature sat unnaturally still.

The men all stood at the ready, trying not to be unnerved by the eerie deafness surrounding them. The man let out a gut wrenching scream, startling two of the men to the ground, Sir Frey kept his stance frozen in horror. The man’s arms and legs stretched and expanded, contorting into monstrous limbs. The snapping of his bones echoed between the trees as his muscles grew and ripped his already torn clothes. The nails on his hands and feet formed long dark claws, shadowy brown hair began to burst from his pores. His face deformed, his nose and mouth elongated to a snout, his teeth grew longer and shaped into long fangs. It’s eyes turned pale with death then clouded pitch black they reflected the moonlight, and began searching for prey.

Sir Frey and the other man closest to the beast lunged their swords at it. The beast gripped Sir Frey’s sword while the other man’s pierced into its thigh. Letting out a howl, the beast swung the sword and Sir Frey holding onto it into a tree behind him, then spun around to the man with the sword now stuck in its thick barbaric leg. It opened its mouth and thrust down encasing the mans head in teeth. The man let go of the sword and began screaming as the jaw of the beast closed on his skull, smashing bone and ripping through his neck. His armor crashed to the ground as the beast opened his snout again, covered in blood he let a howl as the mans head fell to the ground. In horror the remaining man dropped his sword and fled. The beast leapt and tackled the man.

Sir Frey arose seconds later to the sound of flesh and teeth and armor all clashing together. Muffled gurgled screams coming from the victim on the ground. He crept closer and closer to the creature using its distraction as an advantage.

Making his move he bolted toward the creature aiming for the protruding bones of its spine. The creatures ears perked as it turned toward the man charging forward. With all his might, he thrust his longsword into the beasts now exposed chest. The speed of the attack pushed the beast back against a tree. A yelp clamored through the forest as Sir Frey forced harder and deeper, blood spurting from the growing wound and covering his face. The creature snarled and snapped trying to subdue his attacker. In one last attempt the creature swung its claws and slashed Sir Frey’s face. He leaned back a moment as fire etched across his skin, blood gushing from his face, then pushed further and further until his guard met the beast’s chest. It’s hollow dark eyes, clouded over as it slumped and then fell to the ground.

Sir Frey opened his eyes as he kneeled at the edge of the forest. He took a breath, gathered all his remaining strength, lifted his worn out body and trudged toward the castle gates.