Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMMC98DXYRFYV41PJXJXP7A

The crescent moon hung low in the sky, casting an eerie blue light over Richmond Park. Aurora shivered despite the mild night, her breath misting in front of her face. The ancient oak trees seemed to loom taller than usual, their branches reaching towards the dark heavens like the fingers of some skeletal behemoth. She'd come here for a reason, driven by curiosity and perhaps something more — a sense of destiny, of inevitability. The Heartstone Pendant weighed heavy against her chest, its deep crimson gem pulsing with a faint inner glow that matched the quickening beat of her heart. Aurora had never seen the standing stones before, but she knew exactly where to find them, as if the knowledge had always been tucked away in the back of her mind, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself. They marked the boundary of the Fae Grove, a hidden clearing that existed in a pocket between her world and the realm of the Fae. Time moved differently here; an hour inside could be mere minutes or endless days outside. The wrongness of the place crept over her slowly, like a chill seeping into her bones. The sounds of the night — the rustling leaves, the distant hoot of an owl, the whispering breeze — they were all familiar, and yet not quite right. There was something off about the quality of the sounds, as if they were being filtered through water or played back at a slightly different speed. A flicker of movement caught her eye, and she whirled around, but there was nothing there. Just the shadows playing tricks on her tired mind. Aurora shook her head, trying to dispel the growing feeling of unease. She was here for a purpose, and she wouldn't let her imagination get the better of her. She stepped closer to the standing stones, their gnarled surfaces seeming to writhe beneath the moonlight. The air was thicker here, heavy with the scent of wildflowers that bloomed year-round in the grove. Aurora reached out a hand, her fingers brushing against the rough bark of one of the oaks. A sharp crack echoed through the clearing, and she snatched her hand back with a yelp, cradling it against her chest. That was when she heard it — a soft rustling from behind the stones, like the swish of fabric or the scrape of a foot against the ground. Aurora's heart leapt into her throat, and she spun around, her eyes wide and searching. There, just at the edge of her vision, she caught a glimpse of something moving. A shadowy figure, tall and slender, with long, spindly limbs that seemed to bend and twist unnaturally. "I know you're there," she called out, her voice trembling despite her best efforts to keep it steady. "Show yourself." For a long moment, there was nothing but the stillness of the night and the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears. Then, slowly, the figure emerged from behind the standing stones, stepping into the moonlight with a fluid grace that was at once beautiful and deeply unsettling. It was taller than any human, its limbs elongated and its features sharp and delicate. Its eyes glowed a brilliant gold, seeming to pierce right through Aurora as it fixed its gaze on her. The Fae creature tilted its head, a silent question on its lips, and Aurora felt a strange compulsion to answer, to reveal her purpose in coming here. "The Heartstone," she whispered, her hand closing around the pendant at her throat. "I was sent to bring it back to you." The creature's lips curled into a smile, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. It held out a hand, long fingers beckoning her closer. Aurora felt her feet moving before her mind had fully processed the action, drawn towards the Fae as if by some invisible force. She was close enough now to see the intricate patterns woven into the fabric of its robes, swirling lines that seemed to move and change before her very eyes. The scent of wild heather and honey filled her nostrils, intoxicating and overwhelming. "Give it to me," the creature whispered, its voice like silk brushing against her skin. "Give me the Heartstone, and I will grant you a boon beyond your wildest dreams." Aurora's hand shook as she reached up to unclasp the pendant from her neck. The gemstone pulsed with warmth, seeming to resist her touch even as she felt the pull of the Fae's words tugging at her very soul. She hesitated for just a moment, her resolve wavering in the face of the creature's promise. But then she thought of her friends, of Eva and Silas and all the others who had helped her along the way, and she knew that she could not betray them, no matter how tempting the offer might be. "No," she said softly, her voice trembling but her words clear and certain. "I won't give it to you. The Heartstone belongs to the mortal realm, and that's where it will stay." The Fae's eyes narrowed, its smile twisting into a sneer. It took a step closer to her, its presence seeming to fill the entire clearing, and Aurora felt herself shrinking back, her courage faltering in the face of its power. "You foolish girl," it hissed, its voice now like the scrape of metal against stone. "You dare defy me? You dare to keep what is rightfully mine?" Aurora's hand tightened around the pendant, her knuckles turning white with the force of her grip. She looked up at the Fae, meeting its golden gaze with a trembling but determined blue one of her own. "I'm not giving you the Heartstone," she repeated, her voice growing stronger with each word. "I don't care what you do to me. I won't let you have it." The creature stared at her for a long moment, its expression unreadable. Then, with a sudden movement, it turned on its heel and vanished behind the standing stones, leaving nothing but a faint shimmer in the air and the distant echo of its laughter. Aurora stood frozen for a moment, hardly daring to breathe. Then, with a shuddering sigh, she released her grip on the pendant and stumbled back from the boundary of the grove, her heart hammering in her chest. She had done it. She had faced the Fae and survived. But as she made her way back through the dark forest, the echo of its laughter seemed to follow her, a haunting reminder of the danger she had barely escaped and the price she might yet have to pay for her defiance.