He listened for his wife's steady breathing next to him, a clear indication that she was fast asleep. He turned and glanced at her, and then rolled over to his side of the bed again. He was wide awake, with all the thoughts and questions plaguing his mind with all that transpired recently. Taecyon's and his wife's behavior, his mother's actions,...He just didn't know what to make of them. But there was one thing he knew for sure.

Whatever it was, it had to do with the woman he saw from that stormy night. 

His mind conjured up her image, and there was something about her that wouldn't leave him alone. Her face, her fragility, her anxiety, and faint uneasiness when he spoke to her. There was something about the way Taecyon behaved with her that made him feel like the woman wasn't just someone passing by.

Who exactly was she? Did she live in town? If she did then what made her go up here and discovered his son? And why did his wife seem tensed when the woman was around?

His eyelids slowly closed as these questions floated around his mind like elusive ghosts. He drifted into a deep slumber, that was until his ears picked up sounds from outside.

He groggily opened his eyes, and looked to the clock to find that it was midnight. He heard sounds again, and whipped his head to the direction of the doors. He made out shadows underneath moving in the small slit under the doors. Someone was outside.

The doors started to creak open and he hastily turned around and pulled his covers up to his chin. Even with eyes closed he could feel a shadow casted over both him and his sleeping wife. After a few moments, the doors clicked shut and whoever it was went down the hall, shuffling footsteps barely audible in the quiet of the night.

He waited, then slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He put his coat on, and with utmost stealth, opened the doors and peeked through the crack. He could still hear footsteps down in the living room, and the hall was clear. He went outside and looked both ways before following the sound of footsteps.

He pressed his back against the wall, and heard the front doors opened and closed. He waited, then opened the doors and stepped outside. He scanned his surroundings, and in the dark of the night, he couldn't see nor hear whoever it was anymore. 

After a few minutes, he contemplated going back in. But right then he saw a figure emerging from the family boat anchored in the lake in front of the mansion. The figure stealthily went in the direction of the wood that led up to the hills, as soundless as a cat. He quickly followed.

Footsteps crunched on branches, and he did his best to blend in with the noises the person's footsteps were making. He pressed against some trees here and there, and waited for whoever it was to get far away enough before resuming his stalking again. He could see the person's back and slim figure, and judged that it was his mother.

What kind of business did she have up here in the middle of the night? She was the one who strictly forbidden anyone from entering the hills, and yet here she was contradicting herself. His hunch was right, her vehemence about the hills was definitely for a reason. He fol