Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ninety years ago, the tale of the runaway bride and her mysterious kidnapper became legendary throughout the northern and southern villages. While the Southern clan tried to bury the scandal, the Northern family remained deeply sympathetic to Laura's plight. Generation after generation, descendants searched in vain for any trace of her fate.

The last person to ever search the archives had locked the final relics away in a secret room, passing the iron key down through the head of the family until it reached David.

When the exhausted girl appeared at the palace gates claiming to be Laura herself, David had initially suspected a fraud or a desperate runaway. But his doubts vanished the moment he retrieved the framed portrait gifted to her uncle ninety years ago. The girl standing before him was an exact match, though looking slightly older—disappearing at seventeen, she now carried the appearance of a nineteen-year-old.

Later that afternoon, David walked into the guest room.

Laura sprang up from the edge of the bed. "Did you find the picture?"

David nodded slowly. "Yes. I found it."

"Can you believe it's really me now?" she asked, her eyes searching his face.

"I still can't fully wrap my head around it," David admitted, "but I know beyond a doubt that you belong to our bloodline. You are safe here in the palace, and we will protect you from whoever it is you're running from."

"I told you," Laura sighed in relief, "I'm running from Sean."

"Right. Well... whatever you say."

Overwhelmed with gratitude, Laura suddenly rushed forward and wrapped her arms around David in a tight hug. "Thank you so much! You're an incredible person. The heads of the Northern family have always been wonderful."

David stiffened, gently pushing her back at arm's length. "Whoa, hold on. Don't go hugging me just yet. I barely know you."

"I'm part of your family!" she protested. "Consider me like an older sister... or an aunt!"

"If anything," David muttered, "I'd consider you my younger sister."

"No, no! I'm ninety years older than you—wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!" she stammered, flushing red.

David let out a long, weary sigh. "Alright. Come downstairs with me for breakfast. Let's go."

At the grand dining table, only one other person sat waiting: Kevin, a nineteen-year-old cousin who looked up as David and Laura entered.

Kevin blinked, staring at the newcomer. "Who is she?"

"She's a relative of ours," David said, pulling out a chair. "She's going to be staying with us."

Kevin frowned, tilting his head. "I don't recognize her. I've never seen her before."

"I believe she's an ancient relative," David explained cautiously. "She bears an uncanny resemblance to our long-lost descendant, Laura."

Kevin's eyes widened in disbelief. "Laura's descendant?!"

Laura slammed her hands on the table, her face flushing with indignation. "I am Laura, not her descendant!"

As they all took their seats, Kevin chuckled skeptically. "Wait a minute. Wasn't Laura supposed to be a little seventeen-year-old girl? You look..." He paused, eyeing her appearance. "...old enough to be an adult."

Laura glared at him. "First of all, seventeen is not a 'little child'! And second, I am nineteen now, which is still very young!"

Kevin burst out laughing. "You're full of contradictions. What happened to you? Did some vampire or werewolf bite you?" He muttered the last word in bewilderment. "Vampire..."

Laura shot him a withering look. "Are you an idiot? Those things only exist in fairy tales."

"What, did you make a pact with the devil, then?" Kevin teased.

Laura's expression suddenly turned dead serious. "Worse."

Intrigued despite himself, Kevin leaned in. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Laura said bitterly. "Sean—the man who kidnapped me—wanted us to stay together forever. When he realized I would never willingly choose him over another man, he made a dark contract with a witch." She shivered at the memory. "They froze our lives so that time would stand still, binding our destinies together for eternity."

Kevin burst into laughter again. "Your story is crazier than any monster myth I've ever heard."

"It's not a myth!" Laura argued passionately. "Witches have been known across every age. They exist. All it takes is a single contract."

"Eat in silence," David interrupted, rubbing his temples. "You two are acting like children."

Laura turned her glare toward David. "I'm not a child! Didn't I just tell you I'm one hundred and nineteen years old? I'm practically your elder; you should show some respect!"

Kevin snickered. "That means she's our great-grandmother, and you're just an old lady."

"I am not old!" Laura shouted, springing up from her chair. "I'm just frozen in time!"

"That's just another way of saying you're ancient," Kevin shot back with a grin.

"I said, sit down," David said, his voice dropping into a stern, authoritative tone.

Chilled by the sudden command, Laura shrank back, her defiance instantly evaporating. She slowly sank back into her chair. "Fine..."

"Eat your food," David instructed sharply.

Mtering under her breath, Laura picked up her utensils and ate in silence. Yet, despite her unwavering insistence that she was the girl from ninety years ago, her behavior and youthful appearance gave away no proof—she simply looked like a stubborn teenager.

Later that night, Laura stood out on the grand balcony, gazing up at a star-studded sky. She let out a quiet sigh. "Why have the days grown so quiet and strange?"

A small, weary smile touched her lips. At least... this is peaceful.

She stepped back inside, sliding the glass window shut, and prepared for bed, soon drifting into a deep sleep.

Unknown to her, down in the mansion's shadowed garden, a young man stood motionless. He looked to be about twenty-one, with tanned skin and striking dark red hair.

Watching the window where Laura's light had just gone out, a dark, possessive smile spread across his face. "My sweet honey... I'm still right here. I know every place you could possibly run. You can never escape me. You belong to me, and only me."

***

Eighty-eight years ago...

When Laura was nineteen, she found herself running frantically through a dense, unfamiliar forest. Suddenly, a figure stepped out from the shadows, blocking her path.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sean asked, his voice chillingly calm.

Panicked, Laura drew a small dagger from her belt, her hands shaking. "I'm done with you! I'm going far away, where you'll never find me."

Sean stepped closer, completely unfazed by the blade. With a single, effortless motion, he flicked his wrist, knocking the knife from her grip and sending it clattering to the ground. "Wherever you go, you are bound to me."

"I will never love you!" Laura cried, tears spilling over. "I'd rather choose any other man in the world than you!"

"Then I'll make sure no other man can ever have you," Sean replied darkly. "Your destiny is locked to mine."

She tried to bolt past him, but Sean caught her with terrifying ease, sweeping her up despite her desperate struggles.

Moments later, he dragged her into a secluded, rotting wooden hut deep in the woods. Waiting inside was a hunched figure cloaked in shadows—a witch, her face completely concealed beneath a heavy hood.

"You brought her," the witch rasped, her voice echoing unnervingly in the dim room. "Now, do as I ask, and you shall have the eternal bond you seek."

Sean gripped Laura tightly as she thrashed against him. "Make sure she can never leave me. Bind our lives together so that no matter the passage of time, she can never belong to another man—make us both immortal and unbreakable."

In an instant, strange, glowing runes flared up across the floorboards. The air grew heavy and suffocating as the witch began chanting a powerful, agonizing incantation. Dark energy swirled around them, tearing at their very souls.

All Laura could remember through the blinding, suffocating agony... was pure terror.