Hovering close to the nearest building, Amber looked around carefully as she tried to spot what creature might have made that sound.  A nervous glance at the walls told her she was essentially trapped in here with the thing, but that didn’t mean she was helpless.  She just needed to find some kind of weapon or something to help her in the meantime.  Sneaking to the next house, she waited for what felt like several more moments and finally took a breath when no more noises emerged.  

                “Think, Amber,” she whispered, patting her person to see what she had on her.  Not very much.  Her belt, clothes, the necklace her father gave her, and… yeah.  That wasn’t much at all.  Granted, she hadn’t really planned on having something like this happen when she left the estate, but still.  “Ugh…” she groaned, taking a deep breath to try and gather her thoughts.

                So she’d been running from the estate and they’d gone into the Eldren Forest.  But something had spooked Andante and he tossed her.  Whatever it was that had frightened him must have brought her here too.  It had felt kind of like when she went through the portal when her father and Seungho had disappeared but no one had created a portal.  But her necklace was also warm.  She picked the amethyst jewel up to stare at it with a thoughtful frown.  It only tended to react around magic.  Like it had with Changsun – arrogant cad, and… wild magic.

                “It’s not impossible,” she mused, chewing on her blunt thumbnail as she considered it.  “No one really knows what wild magic does or is capable of because no one throws themself into it,” she spoke aloud, moving in a small, agitated circle.  “But what else would have the ability to bring me here, where a Mobian portal keeps everything in?”  Amber chewed her lip to run through the possibilities and she couldn’t come up with any.  Not without the help of another Mage, and it was even more impossible that one would have just happened to have been in the forest and decided to catch her in… this place.  What was this place anyway?!

                It didn’t look familiar and yet there were elements that reminded her of buildings she’d seen before.  The colors, the placement of windows and doors, even the cryptic signs hanging over a few of them.  Shops?  Casting a nervous glance back at the castle, Amber shuffled closer to the nearest shop-like building she could see and inspected the signage first.  The letters were written in a language unfamiliar to her; if it was a language at all.  It seemed all jumbled to her.  But this one had a strange, frumpy looking piece of what she assumed was clothing on it.  Peeking in through the window showed her a twisted world of fabric and thread and buttons and lace and all manner of items one would see in a tailor shop.  Though none of the organization made any sense.

                A shadow moved inside and she jumped back, both curious and afraid.  “Hello?  Is someone there?” she called, checking to her left and right where she could have sworn she saw more shadows moving; flickers of darkness on the ground disappeared behind buildings, becoming one with the shade again.  “If you can hear me, it’s alright.  I won’t hurt you,” she called softly, padding around the building as she slowly looked for whoever or whatever was there.  She could hear something moving and noticed very odd tracks in the dirt but it sounded small and fidgety.  “My name’s Amber,” she offered, carefully peering around the corner where another flicker of movement caught her eye.  “What’s yours?”

                Everything stilled then and Amber had the strangest feeling that the somethings were… talking.  Holding her breath, she inched around the corner of the house again, finally coming full circle.  As expected, she didn’t see much but there was something new resting on the ground a few feet from the door: a mortar and pestle.  Tiny strange tracks, not the footprints of another human, showed that it had come from near one of the other houses.  Amber’s eyes widened as the mortar jumped in place and the pestle hopped out to start scratching on the ground.

                “Magic…” she whispered, inching closer to get a better look at what it was writing.

                The pestle spelled out a single word: Amber?

                “Yes,” Amber nodded, kneeling next to the magicked item with breathless hesitation.  “That’s my name.”

                More words followed: Look stranj.

                How the hell fires did this thing know she had changed?  “Since when?” she squinted, positive she’d never met this thing in her life.  “What are you?” she asked instead, poking at the mortar inquisitively before it danced away and the pestle came to smack her hand.  “Ow!  That hurt,” she frowned, watching as the item seemed satisfied she wouldn’t touch it again before it went back to writing.  Before it had even finished its response, Amber stood up and took a step back in surprised disbelief.  “It can’t be,” she whispered with hanging open.

                Scrawled in the dirt next to her name and the strange comment was: Auntie Park.

                “That’s impossible,” she shook her head.

                More scratching in the dirt.  No.

                “She was in the village when it… disappeared,” Amber gasped, looking at the rest of the buildings in dawning comprehension.  “This is a village.  My village, isn’t it?” she asked rapidly, squatting close to read the answer.

                Karith.

                “Holy e,” Amber muttered in a deadpan tone.  “I found it,” she breathed in disbelief.  “I found it!” she spoke again, grinning this time.  “I found it,” she stated yet again, frowning.  Not Changsun who could cast magic.  Not the High Mage at the King’s court.  Her.  A Mage’s magicless daughter.  “Yes!” she cheered in excitement at the revelation.  Her happiness quickly turned to worry of another kind.  “No…” she bit her knuckle, staring around at the massive amount of magic at work here.

                She’d found it after three incredibly long and fruitless years of searching; years in which she’d changed and lost much of who she used to be; years where she’d accomplished things she never thought she would and went to dark places she never dreamed she might have to worry about.  But now that she was here after everything… what could she do about it?  Oh bugger.  Overwhelmed for the moment, she threaded her fingers together over her head and squatted down, trying to make herself as small as possible.

                She might have stayed there longer but more scratching on the dirt and the sounds of several other things approaching made Amber look up with wide but curious eyes.  “Eh?” she blinked, standing upright again when she saw a small army of various utensils, cookware, and tools hovering around her.  “What the…?” she trailed off, finding the writing on the ground.

                Vilugers.

                “All of you?” she whispered, catching sight of the rolling pin and mixing bowl; the wire frame mannequin, cutting sheers, and pin cushion; a hard to miss scythe and long-toothed rake; a wicked looking cleaver; and a trio of beauty pots and facial creams that looked suspiciously familiar, among other things, including a long-handled broom.  “But how?” she murmured to herself, staring at the collection of non-humans with a puzzled look.  “Tranation!” she exclaimed suddenly, making the group jump at the outburst.  “Sorry,” she cringed when she saw Auntie Park writing again.

                Shh.

                “Why?” she wondered aloud and nearly every item turned, as much as they could anyway, towards the castle in the center.

                Monster, was the answer.

                “That would explain the roar,” Amber nodded to herself, rubbing her arm for comfort.  “Do you know what else is inside?” she asked, looking at the general collection.  Auntie Park hopped back to her original ‘No’ and Amber shrugged in understanding.  “Okay then.”  She chewed her bottom lip and shook her hands out, already feeling the nerves begin to settle in.  “I don’t think I’m going to find much out here and there’s nothing I can do to help.  But maybe, there’s something useful inside,” she explained, as much for herself as for the villagers.

                Immediately, they crowded around her as if to keep her from going anywhere and she waited uncertainly when another message was scrawled out for her.  Daynjer.

                “I know,” she admitted, her lips.  “But I’ll be careful,” she promised, eying the items around her.  Nothing was a weapon exactly, but plenty could be used as such.  While it might have been rude, Amber figured it couldn’t hurt to try so she carefully reached for the cleaver, leaving her hand hovering just above the handle as it moved back uncertainly.  “Can I… uh… borrow you?” she asked awkwardly.

                Auntie answered: Butcher.

                “I figured,” Amber agreed with a nod.  “But Youngwoon is a cleaver and quite frankly,” she stated, focusing her attention on said cleaver, “you’re the best weapon I see right now.”  Maybe the broom or rake would be good for better range – the sickle was just clunky and heavy, but the big knife was as close to a short sword as she was going to get today.  After a brief moment of deliberation, the cleaver actually tottered into her palm and Amber smiled, “Thanks,” before holding it close.  “Now let’s go see what this monster business is about,” she whispered, trying to gather her courage once more.

                Using the buildings as cover, Amber flitted from one to the next.  There weren’t that many to go through though, since the entire village was spread out around the castle and it was large to begin with.  She could see two sparse rings of houses and shops around the outermost walls.  Black stone very like the kind that had made up her tower at home created another barrier between them and the hard to see interior.  Fortunately there was a heavy looking door she could see on the next wall over when she skittered around.

                She didn’t hear much of anything but Amber waited a long moment before she tried to make a move.  With Youngwoon the cleaver held tight in her hand, she edged her way up to the door, staring at the wrought metal barrier set in the wall.  Her left hand trembled when she reached forward to grab the iron ring.  Glancing back, she could see the rest of the villagers peeking at her from behind the nearby houses, as safely out of sight as they could be while still watching her.  “Okay,” she breathed, giving an experimental tug.

                With the barest whisper of sound, it actually opened, allowing Amber to carefully peek through the crack.  There was a courtyard of sorts leading to the actual building in the center.  It looked to have three floors though the top one may have only had a single room.  Like in the village, nothing actually grew inside and it was strangely bare but she could see peculiar tracks marking the interior.  They were large and appeared to have some kind of claws.  She couldn’t tell if it walked on two legs or four though.  Just as Amber was about to take a step through, she froze when a roar echoed off the walls and reverberated through her bones.

                “e!” she hissed, closing the door immediately and turning to sprint for the villagers.  One group peeled off to the left and the other went right; Amber followed the latter.

                Ducking behind a house, she heard the door burst open and clang against the wall, sending a spike of fear through her.  The door for the nearest house opened almost magically and she lurched inside as if pulled by the cleaver.  She let go of her weapon as the door shut behind her and immediately scrambled to press herself flat against the wall under the window.

                Something large came padding up, the sound of steps echoing through the seemingly flimsy barrier and Amber clapped her hands over as she practically held her breath.  It sniffed noisily at the front and she could see a looming shadow blocking the light under the door.  With an agitated growl and a huff, it walked off, bumping the house before it left entirely.  Oddly shaped dishes rattled on the counter but nothing fell.

                Amber flinched and whimpered when something else banged nearby, followed by clattering as if something had been thrown against a wall.  Holding still for what felt like forever, Amber waited.  Under her breath, she whispered, “You know.  There’s a very good possibility this is all a strange fever dream from when Andante threw you and you hit your head on a rock instead of any of this being real.”  Silence continued to answer her.  “The same possibility exists that if you go out and meet the monster, nothing will happen,” she added, motioning for Youngwoon again.

                Clustered together with a brown teddy bear she hadn’t seen yet (quite likely his son), a cast iron skillet, the bakers, and Auntie Park, he hesitated.  By the way they huddled closer, Amber could guess they were talking, though she didn’t know how.  Granted, magic allowed for many strange things she couldn’t explain: like the whole village at the moment.  But he eventually hopped over with very tiny jumps to make the least amount of noise possible.

                Without hesitation, Amber picked him up again and felt much better for having something in her hands.  “You can do this,” she told herself, gingerly standing up and hunching over to stand by the door as she cracked it open just a touch.  No beast stood there waiting for her.  Taking a hesitant step outside, Amber looked around and blanched when she noticed the mangled, broken shape of the wire mannequin.  She could only guess that was one of the tailors and she hoped it wasn’t permanent.

                Another nervous look around showed the area to be otherwise clear.  The door leading back to the interior was still open but she could neither see nor hear the monster.  Ever so cautiously, she edged towards the downed mannequin and then froze when a very real looking creature stepped out from behind the same building in front of her.  It was lying in wait…

                “Oh hell fires,” Amber inhaled sharply as she got her first brief look at the thing.  About the size of a small horse with golden fur, a large wide head, and a toothy, elongated maw, it reared up halfway and roared at her before springing from its hind legs.

                Marks of training with Sungmin and Minho saved her as her body reacted before her mind realized what was happening.  She threw herself to the side so she could run around the house to use it as a barrier.  The beast crashed into the building when its momentum carried it forward.  Amber scrambled for cover, searching for a place to hide.  Claws scraping against wood and the creak of the home made her look up.  She screamed.  The beast swiped at her.  And Amber fell back, swinging the cleaver reactively.

                She cut the air and it pounced after.  Dirt shifted under her hands as she frantically pushed herself away.  Back, back, towards the inescapable wall.  The beast stalked her, muscles bunching under taught skin.  Her breath came in tiny gasps.  The cleaver was heavy in her hand.  Not long enough.  Her eyes stared back at her opponent’s, mocha orbs of anger set in a sea of gold.  A lengthy tail thrashed once and it leaped again.  Amber rolled to the side, throwing the cleaver out in a desperate attack.

                The blade parted fur over a shoulder, tasting first blood.  The beast snarled as it landed and whirled with a savage paw.  Claws raked the air in front of her face and Amber lurched back.  The world spun when she rolled, twisting away so she could get to her feet.  A small expanse of foggy gray caught her eye, beckoning.  The Mobian portal!  Sprinting immediately, she could feel the beast right behind her.  Its breath was hot on the back of her neck, gaining ground.  Run faster!

                Her opponent snarled as she jumped, throwing herself into the fog with her weapon raised high.  It lasted for an eternity and no time at all.  Amber inhaled as she emerged to see the beast leaping at her, arms outstretched and maw open.  She growled, a garbled sound through her clenched teeth, and swung.  A pained howl was swallowed by the mist again when their bodies collided, jarring her nearly senseless.  Its greater mass caught Amber, stopped her in the air, and dragged her relentlessly along for the ride.

                They emerged again, falling and falling.  The breath ran fleeing from her lungs when her back hit the ground.  Fangs were right next to her face as the beast landed on top.  She met its eyes in a moment of perfect clarity: anger, confusion, pain.  Strong arms circled around her kept Amber from being crushed by its weight when it rolled over her.  But claws pressed into her back came free.  Skin and cloth tore, hissing agony’s song.  Amber couldn’t breathe much less scream.  Her back arched away from the wounds and her face was a mask of pain.

                Do something! she howled at herself, reaching blindly for the lost cleaver.  Craning her neck back, she tried to find it.  There!  Lodged in the beast’s shoulder.  It winced when it started to pick itself off the ground, hissing at the weapon embedded in its shoulder bone.  Amber jerked when it yanked the cleaver free with a semi-human hand and howled.  Perched on its hind legs, it reminded her vaguely of an injured man.  Then it threw the cleaver aside and fell back to all fours, the beast once more.

                Keening through her teeth, Amber choked for breath and rolled over, commanding her body to respond.  She couldn’t stay lying on the ground.  She had no chance there.  Weaponless, she finally managed to take a gasping breath when air returned.  It gave her the panicked strength to stagger to her feet with one hand steadying her on the ground.  The beast focused on her, lips peeling back in a formidable snarl.   “Courage, Amber,” she hissed through her teeth.  Don’t let it see the fear.  Lurching the rest of the way to her feet, she drew herself up and screamed at it.

                The beast roared back, crouching down low with its tail swishing in agitation.  But it looked confused.  Rage was gone, replaced by uncertainty and pain.  Its upper lip twitched and the shoulder wound wept down its arm, staining golden fur red.  A savage valley of cleaved flesh and chipped bone stared at her in ugly accusation before the beast turned the wounded side away.  With another tooth filled snarl, it swiped her direction with its good arm and spun around to return to the castle.  The limping gait was impossible to miss as it left.

                Amber watched it go until she heard the tell tale crash of the door.  Then she took a shaky breath and fell to her knees.  Her jaw chattered and she shook violently from the shock of the attack and her wounds.  They burned like acid against her back where the tatters of shredded cloth brushed against them.  “No.  Not a dream.  That was real,” she hissed with a voice that trembled as she continued to shake.  Staggering to her feet, Amber weaved back towards the houses and away from the wall she’d been cornered against.  “Auntie Park!” she cried as unbidden tears made their way down her cheeks.

                She didn’t know what the transformed woman could do to help her, but when a door opened in one of the houses, Amber blindly stumbled in.  As the door shut behind her, she could only pray that the beast wouldn’t be able to follow.  It wasn’t as if she had anywhere else to hide after all.

(a/n: Enter the vanished village and our Beast.  Tada!  So yes, twisting the fairy tale a bit more here, but I'm hoping you're enjoying the newest developments.  ;)  Thanks for reading and please look forward to the next chapter!)