Take my Breath Away

Anden

The Sun and the Moon
In an endless game of hide and seek

He wasn't sure why now of all times he thought about the travelers who stayed at his family's inn. They would venture into the Evergreen Forest, not knowing what waited for them on the other side. Not certain they would even make it out alive. They were the reason he started exploring the forests in the first place. They were brave. They were strong willed, and they wanted to find somewhere safer for their families. Anden always dreamt of taking Eloise with him through the forest one day, to a world safer than the one they lived in. Far from the kingdoms grip.

"You are not dead, trust me... why do you think you are?"

Not dead? Anden paused. The tales were clear, there would be people who would try to deceive you in the afterlife. If you wanted to find peace you had to be true to yourself and trust your instincts. Everything about this man seemed... safe. Maybe that was the problem for Anden. Nothing was ever safe. Even back home at the Inn, they were trapped between the kingdom's reach and the darkness within the forest.

"I'm not breathing." Anden offered. "Only the dead have no need for air." He stood up, his height towering over the man. Were all the demons in the afterlife this short? Shouldn't they be more... scary?

"Can you describe to me what happened before you came here? If Eloise was fine before you came then I can assure you: she is absolutely okay." The man... Demon? Anden still wasn't certain who or what he was continued to talk. It took all of Anden's ability to concentrate on his words.

"She ran off. She was upset. I had to bring her back before it got too dark." Anden's eyes widened. "The darkness brings nothing but horrors to those untrained." Anden relaxed slightly at even the possibility of Eloise being somewhere safe. "Did you see her come this way? She shouldn't be alone."

"You were brought through a portal to Caido."

Was Caido the true name for Hell. Anden couldn't recall. The stories from home were just a jumbled mess in his mind. Would he forget everything about his home... Were his memories stored in his beating heart, now that he had no need for it, would everything he cared for simply fade away. Panic crept into his mind, he almost didn't hear what the demon-man-thing-person said.

"A portal?" Anden asked. "I don't understand what that means." Whoever it was that he was speaking to, it was clear they knew more about this Hell than Anden did.

The Sun and the Moon
In an endless game of hide and seek