Chapter Five — Closer Than Before
I didn’t move from the window.
Not for minutes. Not for hours.
I just stood there, frozen, staring out into the trees where the shadow had been.
He had pointed at me.
That was no mistake. That wasn’t a trick of light or a dream. It was real.
Someone—something—was watching me. And now it wanted me to know.
My heart thudded hard in my chest. My fingers were cold, wrapped tight around the curtain, but I didn’t let go.
I wanted to run.
But where would I go?
This room was all I knew.
These walls… this window… this silence.
I pulled the curtain closed and backed away slowly, one step at a time, my feet light against the wooden floor. I didn’t take my eyes off the glass. Even though it was covered now, I could still feel him out there.
The shadow.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
Still getting closer.
---
The next morning, I didn’t speak.
Mira brought in my breakfast like she always did, her smile a little tighter than usual, her words more careful.
“My lady, you barely touched your food yesterday. Please eat something.”
I gave her a nod but didn’t answer. My throat was dry. Words felt stuck somewhere deep inside me, like rocks I couldn’t swallow.
Mira sighed and glanced toward the window. “I’ve asked the guards to patrol closer to the house now. Just in case.”
“In case of what?” I finally asked, my voice quiet.
She paused. “In case of anything unusual.”
I didn’t ask her what she meant. I didn’t tell her about the handprint or the figure in the trees. I didn’t say that last night, I was sure I heard footsteps outside my window again.
Because if I said it out loud, I was scared it would all become more real.
And it already felt too real.
I spent the rest of the day sitting on the floor near my bed. Not on the bed itself—somehow it felt too soft, too open. I wanted something solid under me, something that wouldn’t shift when I breathed.
I kept all the curtains closed, but every few minutes, my eyes would flick toward the window.
I told myself not to look.
But I couldn’t stop.
Something in me kept waiting. Kept expecting to see a face there, pressed against the glass. Or worse… the hand again.
But the window stayed quiet.
For now.
---
By nightfall, I was shaking again.
The feeling was back. That heavy, crawling feeling, like someone breathing too close behind me.
I lit all the candles again, even the ones I had hidden in the drawer. My room glowed with their soft flames, but the light did nothing to calm my nerves.
I sat on the bed and pulled my blanket over my legs, but I didn’t lie down.
I didn’t even blink too long.
I just waited.
Waited for the moment he’d return.
And deep down, I knew he would.
It started with a sound.
Very soft.
Like fabric dragging across stone.
I jerked my head toward the window.
Nothing.
Then it came again.
A little louder. A little closer.
I stood, careful not to make a sound, and stepped toward the window.
I wanted to scream for help, but my voice was gone.
I wanted to run to Mira’s room, but my legs wouldn’t move fast enough.
So I stayed still.
Frozen.
I crept to the window, breath caught in my chest.
My fingers gripped the edge of the curtain.
I didn’t want to open it. But I had to.
Slowly… very slowly… I pulled it aside.
And my heart dropped.
He was there.
Closer now.
No longer at the edge of the trees. No longer far away.
He was standing just outside the garden wall.
His figure tall. Dark. Still.
He didn’t hide this time.
He wanted me to see him.
And even though the night was dark and I couldn’t see his face… I could feel his eyes on mine.
He raised his hand again. Just like before.
But this time, he didn’t point.
He placed his hand against his chest. Slowly. Firmly.
Then he took one step forward.
I gasped and dropped the curtain, backing away so fast I almost fell.
No. No. No.
He wasn’t supposed to move. He wasn’t supposed to come closer.
My back hit the edge of the bed. I sat down hard, shaking from head to toe.
What did he want?
Why was he coming here.
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not even for a second.
I sat with a candle burning low, eyes on the window, blanket wrapped tight around me.
Every sound outside made me jump.
A branch tapping. The wind moving. An owl crying.
Every tiny thing felt louder than it should be.
But nothing happened.
Not yet.
---
The next day, Mira came in again.
“My lady, you look worse than yesterday. Have you been sleeping at all?”
I shook my head.
She knelt beside me, brushing my hair out of my face gently. “You need rest. Whatever is troubling you, you must let me know.”
“I think…” I paused. Then whispered, “I think someone is watching me.”
She blinked. “Who?”
“I don’t know. But he was there. He’s getting closer. Every night.”
Her face paled. “My lady… that’s not something to ignore.”
“I’m not ignoring it,” I said, voice sharp. “I see him. I feel him.”
She swallowed hard. “I’ll send word to your father. Maybe—”
“No!” I snapped. “Don’t tell him.”
She looked confused. “Why not?”
I looked away. “Because he’ll only make things worse.”
Because if Father knew… he’d send his guards to kill the shadow.
And something in my gut told me… that would be a mistake.
A very dangerous mistake.
---
The day passed in silence again.
I didn’t open the window.
I didn’t leave the room.
I just waited.
And when night came… I felt it again.
Stronger now.
The presence.
The fear.
And this time… I heard something more.
A voice.
Not loud. Not clear.
But a whisper.
Calling my name.
“Ayla…”
I froze.
It came from outside the window.
“Ayla…”
I stood slowly, heart pounding so hard I felt dizzy.
No. This couldn’t be real.
I stepped to the window and looked out through a crack in the curtain.
The shadow was at the edge of the garden now.
Inside the wall.
He had passed the boundary.
He was getting closer.
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.
“Ayla…” the whisper came again. Deeper now. Softer. Still calling.
Then… a second shadow moved behind him.
Another one?
I blinked. Rubbed my eyes.
No.
Not another shadow.
An animal.
Big. Tall. Fur as dark as night.
A wolf.
Standing beside him.
Staring at me too.
I stumbled back and tripped over the corner of the bed, falling to the floor with a cry.
My candle went out.
The room was dark.
I scrambled back to the corner, pressing myself against the wall, breathing fast.
What was happening?
Who was he?
What did he want with me?
Why was there a wolf?
Why was he getting closer?
And why did he know my name?
I heard something again.
Not a whisper this time.
Footsteps.
Inside the house.
Coming from the hallway.
Coming… closer.
I looked at the door.
It was locked. I ha
d made sure of that.
But the footsteps didn’t stop.
They came right up to my room.
Then…
Knock.
Once.
Twice.
Three slow knocks on the other side of the door.
I covered my mouth with both hands.
Not Mira.
Mira never knocked like that.
And then…
A voice, low and deep, just behind the wood:
“You can’t hide forever, Ayla.”