Arden

The princess had barely stepped through the gates when the castle behind her seemed to melt into the fog. The night embraced her with a chilly freshness. The forest breathed. The branches reached out to her like crooked fingers, trying to hold her back, but she walked forward, illuminating the path with the pale glow of the moon. Her white dress glowed in the darkness like a lonely ghost, and the wet moss muffled her steps, as if the forest itself were helping to hide her tracks.

The forest turned out to be ordinary, but after running a little further, going straight into the depths of the trees, Giselle came across a “miracle”.

Instead of the sound of the wind, there was a ringing sound—as if a billion glass threads were stretched between the tree trunks. The air was violet with spore light, and the path beneath their feet didn't crunch but springed like the back of a huge sleeping beast. The trees here grew not upwards but sideways, intertwining in spirals, and within each spiral a drop of pure silver shimmered.

Sitting in the castle, Giselle had never seen anything like it. It was like a waking dream, but so realistic... Finally, the girl was able to get out and see the world differently. The beauty of this unusual forest was mesmerizing and captivating. She looked around curiously until she spotted a dark silhouette. Her gaze was fixed on the figure, the shape of a human body, but there were some nuances.

The unknown creature twitched, realizing it had been spotted. It slowly approached from behind a tree, and as it drew closer, its distinctive features became apparent. This creature possessed an ethereal, almost divine appearance, combining the traits of an elf and a water or night spirit. Its skin was a pale, phosphorescent hue with shimmering highlights of cool aquamarine and emerald.

Giselle became wary and stepped back. The creature's face remained calm, but it was clearly afraid of somehow frightening the girl in front of it. Stepping into the light, it tilted its head to the side, examining the man before it. After a moment of tense silence, it asked.

"Listen, human, what gender are you? I don't know much about people..." It was a strange question, but it seemed this creature named Arden had never seen another race besides him.