The huge strange animal

'Where am I going to find that stone,' she pondered as she moved around the town.

While she was looking for the stone mentioned in the letter, she bumped into someone.

"Watch were you are going!" the person she bumped into yelled.

Athena looked up and began to apologize. "I am so... Viola?"

Fortunately, the person did not hear her. She turned a corner and disappeared from her sight.

The person she had bumped into was Viola. However Viola did not recognize her with the big black hat she was wearing.

What was she doing here? Feeling curious, she decided to follow her. She then followed her stealthily. Viola walked into the darkest parts of the street until she stopped at a strange tall building with broken and dirty windows and looked around.

Athena quickly hid behind the building. When Viola was certain that no one was following her, she pushed the door open and got in.

Athena moved away from her hiding place and went to the closed door. What to do next? She tried to open the door but it was locked.

She narrowed her eyes. There was something fishy going on here. She was certain that Rebecca and James did not send her here. This place gave off a strange vibe that can make one's scalp tingle.

She then decided to not act rashly and look for a hiding place. She would just wait patiently for her to come out.

Inside the building...

Just as Viola entered the building, a heavy kick landed on her back, sending her flying across the room and crashed into the wall. The sound of bones cracking was heard. Viola was sure that she had broken a rib or two.

Many punches rained on her abdomen, making her cough out a mouthful of blood. She turned to look at the man who was wearing a mask.

"You failed me again Viola," the man whispered as he stepped on her abdomen, showing no ounce of mercy. Instead his eyes blazed with fury.

Viola gave him a sweet smile despite all the pain she was feeling. She was already used to his rough treatment. "Get this thing off me first," she said as she pointed at his shoe. The man narrowed his eyes and pressed his foot harder on her abdomen. A dull crack of bones was heard. She gasped in pain.

"Stop playing around or else..." he said as he gave her a wicked smile. Viola's toes curled in delight at the sight of his wicked smile.

"Or what?" she asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.

He snorted at her and removed his foot. She slowly sat up. She groaned in pain but still looked daringly into those intimidating and evil eyes.

"Don't you miss me?" she asked in a coquettish tone.

The man bent down.

"You know if you were not of use for me, I would have thrown your corpse in the forest a long time ago," he whispered as he dug his long sharp nails in her shoulder. Viola closed her eyes and groaned in pain.

"You failed to complete a simple task. I am giving you one more chance. I want you to find that girl and bring her to me. Do you understand?!" He raised his voice a little.

Viola clenched her fists. Why did it have to always be her? She first stole her parents away from her, took the king away from her and now he was also interested in her? What did he want from her anyway? What was so special about her? She was way better than her in every aspect... She was beautiful, intelligent and talented. She could play any musical instrument. She was also good at embroidery. She was also the real heiress of the Carter family.

If she ever finds that stinky rat, she was not going to bring her to him. No. Instead she was going to make her cease from existing.

'I am coming for you Athena!'

However she hid her true feelings and nodded with a sweet smile.

"Good girl," he smiled broadly and patted her head. His smile was as scary as hell but to Viola it was the sweetest smile that she had ever seen. She felt hypnotized by it.

"You are the best weapon that I currently have. If you manage to bring her to me, then I will give you a reward but if you fail again..." He dug his nails deeper into her flesh. "Then you will have to say goodbye to this lovely world."

Viola walked out of the building. Blood gushed out of her open wounds, soaking her blue dress. She seemed to not be in the least bothered by it nor did she seem to be in pain. There was a wild look in her eyes. A sinister smile appeared on her face and she let out a bone chilling laugh, sending chills down Athena's spine.

"Just wait till I get you..." she said as she walked away, her voice was cold. It felt so foreign to Athena. She looked at her almost unfamiliar face and felt the hairs on her back stand on end.

After she was certain that she had left, Athena stepped out of her hiding place and inhaled sharply. She patted her chest. Her heart was pounding so loudly. What was that?

She did not linger at that place for another second and immediately scampered away.

After she left that scary place, she began to look for a carriage to take her home. Unfortunately, she could not find any. Athena did not want to stay there any longer. She was afraid that she might meet Viola again. Who knows... Maybe she would recognize her. Athena bit her nails nervously and looked at the dark sky. Lightning flashed and there came the crash of thunder. A raindrop fell on her cheek.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath.

Left with no other choice, she began to go home on foot. It was already getting late. The cold wind blew harshly. The trees swayed because of the heavy wind. She shivered uncontrollably.

An image of Viola's vicious look popped in her mind. Various questions formed in her mind but there were no answers to them. What was she doing here in the first place? Why was she in this town? Who did she want to see in that building. And why did she come out wounded?

That sinister smile that she wore... There was something strange about her. She could sense it. The rain began to pour hard. Athena groaned in frustration and quickened her pace. Soon she was drenched from head to toe. Her shoes were soaked and were now uncomfortable to walk in. Her dress stuck to her body like a second skin. Athena gritted her teeth, feeling cold.

A pair of glowing golden eyes were watching her closely. Unfortunately she was unaware of that. Her eyes were half shut and she could not see things clearly as the rain hit her face hard. Athena puffed her cheeks. She had to find a temporary place to hide from the rain. She suddenly sneezed loudly. She was sure that she was going to have a fever.

Something suddenly moved swiftly past her and disappeared within a blink of an eye. She did not notice. She was busy cursing her stupidity. If only she had not told Luis to leave... She felt worn out. Her fingers were numb with cold.

The rain did not seem to stop anytime soon.

A howl was suddenly heard. Athena stiffened. She had heard it... She looked around but did not see the source of the sound. She tried to stay calm. Another howl was heard. This time it sounded closer than before.

Without a second thought, she took to her heels. The howls seemed to be coming closer and closer... She panicked, knowing that she could not outrun it. She ran briskly through the forest. Was she done for?

She did not notice the rock that was in front of her. She stumbled over the rock and fell. Lightning flashed and a huge black ferocious animal appeared in front of her. She almost jumped out of her skin in fear. It bared its huge yellowish canines at her. Athena screamed on top of her lungs.

The huge black animal growled at her. She had never seen such a huge dog in her life. A very scary one too. Athena moved away, her whole body quivering in fear. "Stay away from me!" she yelled in a shaky voice. However it took a step closer to her. When she looked into its fierce glowing golden eyes, her throat went dry.

"Please, don't come any closer!"

The strange huge dog growled louder. Athena froze and looked fearfully at the scary animal. It moved slowly closer to her. She could not move away. She felt rooted on the spot and remained motionless like a statue. She knew that she could not escape. She was done for...

She closed her eyes and silently murmured a prayer. She hoped that she would be accepted in heaven. Goodbye dear world... She suddenly felt something hit her head hard and she lost consciousness.

* * * * * * * *

Athena slowly woke up when she heard something creak. A cold gust of wind blew, making her shiver. She frowned and sat up quickly. "Where am I?"

Was she in heaven?

She looked around to only find out that she was in her room. She was puzzled. So she was not dead? How did she end up being here? It was dark outside. The rain seemed to have stopped some time ago.

"Little Snow?" she called out. The little rabbit did not appear. 'Maybe he is with Sophia,' she thought.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned. She stretched her body. All she wanted to do right now was to go to sleep. She would ask Lady Alisha later how she ended up being in her room. She looked at the open window. She felt lazy to climb out of bed to close it. Lightning suddenly flashed and the last thing that she wanted to see at that moment appeared in her room. Athena screamed and moved into a corner. The black huge ferocious animal moved towards the bed slowly. Athena screamed until her throat began to hurt.

The scary looking animal bared its huge canines at her and growled.

"Please don't come near me," she whispered. Her heart was thumping loudly. The animal only growled. Athena picked up a dagger that was on the table near the bed and threw it at the strange huge dog. Unfortunately she missed. The dog snarled. She had angered it.

Lightning flashed and it suddenly disappeared. Athena looked around in bewilderment. Where did it go? When lightning flashed again, the animal appeared right in front of her, startling her. Athena screamed. It raised its left paw and moved it towards her...

She could not take it anymore and fainted.

"Kiddo? Kiddo!" someone shouted while shaking her. She slowly opened her eyes to see a worried Trisha. She quickly sat up and her eyes swept around the room in panic. "Where is it?"

Trisha pulled her into a hug. "It's over. It's just a nightmare, okay?" She said in a soothing tone.

She still could not calm down. Her heart was beating erratically. She was still alive. Her clothes were drenched with sweat. Those fierce glowing golden eyes... She could not erase them from her mind.

"Stop thinking about it. It's just a dream and nothing more," Trisha said. Athena snapped out of her daze. "It's just a dream," she murmured. "A scary one too." But she was sure that she was not dreaming. It felt so real...

They both fell in silence. Trisha stroked her hair gently. Athena closed her eyes, finally calming down.

"You are going to be okay."

"It felt so real Trisha," she whispered. "That strange huge dog..."

"Dog?"

Athena nodded. "Yes. It was black in colour. It had scary glowing golden eyes." She shivered. Silence followed.

Trisha suddenly chuckled. "You are so stupid and naive." Her voice sounded cold and sinister. "Don't ever get deceived by appearances."

Athena looked up, startled by her abrupt change. "Trisha?"

A sinister smile appeared on her face. Her eyes slowly turned golden. Athena tried to move away from her but she tightened her grip on her. "Not so fast," Trisha whispered eerily sending chills down her spine. Her hands turned into paws. Its claws dug into Athena's soft flesh.

Athena shrieked in pain. Trisha gave her an evil smirk. Her ears turned into black dog's ears. Her small white teeth turned into huge canines. Athena watched her transformation in horror.

"It's you," she said in a small voice which was barely above a whisper. The animal snarled.

The poor girl opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. It inched its head closer to her. An evil and powerful aura surrounded it. Athena's eyes widened. Was she really going to die this time?