The light faded when you reached it, leaving you confused and utterly lost. You heard your name being whispered again off to the left, or was it the right? Nearly all sense of direction had left you as you stood within a copse of trees, certain only that the ground remained beneath your feet and the stars above your head.
The stars. You nearly laughed aloud in relief. Why, yes, you could use the stars to guide you out of this wildwood. Throwing your head upwards, a triumphant smile spread slowly across your features as your face was bathed in the silvery glow of the stars. You laughed and began to take your bearings. Neither fae nor forest would conquer your this eve, you thought to yourself as you determined your course.
Your laughter echoed among the trees, but rather than fading, grew stronger and strangely garbled, becoming a hollow an empty sound that carried only a dark and twisted mirth. You tried not to notice it, but it was hard to ignore the speeding of your heart and the quickening of your breath as it flowed past your dry and parted lips. The laughter grew louder still, gaining strength from your fear, until it seemed to be just behind you. You spun round to discover nothing but the leaf-strewn floor of the forest. You sighed in relief and swallowed hard, allowing your heart and breath to return to normal. But when you resumed your gaze towards the heavens, the icy hand of fear gripped you once again. The stars had changed.
Disoriented and near frantic, you heard a rustle and something familiar . . . a voice, perhaps . . . somewhere off to the left . . .
