Until she came face to face with a frightened Anastasia. "My queen, can that really be you?"
Before the queen could answer, a raspy, whispery voice called to them from above: "if you value your lives you will leave the underground immediately.... The creatures are coming!"
The Queen knew to whom the voice belonged. It was a voice she had not heard for many years... The voice of the dryad, the tree spirits. The question was, could they be trusted...

until the screams were heard from manholes around the town. The Queen was not afraid of these screams, she followed them thoughout the nights, and on October 20th at 8:00 pm, she open the manhole and climbed down the spider webbed ladder into the deep dark batted holes, until she came face to face with?

Anastasia knew that she was on her own. She tried to remember the details of the stories she had always ignored. Old Nan had said there was only one way to escape the Dark Forest—something about following the path of the Golden Tree. What did that mean? All the trees ahead were dark with leaves of fire. But she had to keep going if she were ever to find her way back home.

She moved forward—slowly and carefully. Those stories –those horrible stories--returned to her in a rush. A young man who had mocked the Queen was lost when he stumbled over a tree root. The root wrapped around his leg and pulled him underground. His screams had been heard for hours. The Queen just laughed. Then there was the King’s cousin who challenged his rule; she was driven into the Dark Forest and never heard from again.

Anastasia looked behind her and saw the door was gone. She looked ahead and saw the dark trees she had heard stories about, with their leaves the color of fire. That’s when she knew the stories were true. She had stumbled upon the Dark Forest, and if she wanted to get out alive, she would need to find her way home and make sure she didn’t come across the evil King and Queen.

Once upon a Halloween eve, a young woman found herself lost in a darkening forest whose paths she had traveled since she was a young girl. She had heard the stories told by the townspeople, but had paid them no mind. The air was chill and damp. She clutched her cape close and hurried toward what looked to be a clearing. She hoped she would find one of the fields surrounding her house and be able to laugh at the fear growing inside her.  A twig snapped behind her. She remembered a story about a creature with glowing red eyes.

 She stepped into the clearing and saw a stone cottage bathed in soft light. Leaves rustled in the shadows behind her and another twig snapped, this time closer. She hurried through the growing darkness toward the cottage and saw crumbling gray headstones emerge from the misty dark on either side of her. The woodland spiders had put out their webs to catch their dinner. Usually she was afraid of them but tonight she broke through them and brushed the sticky, and sometimes wriggling remnants from her face.  The stories came back again. A graveyard, the black wolf, the evil King and Queen... More rustling behind her. Something was definitely following her.
 The cottage was just ahead. Tendrils of musty-smelling mist curled toward her. Somewhere in the darkness a creature screamed, and another howled. Were those bones she saw? She broke into a run.
 Reaching the cottage, she banged on the rough wooden door. It was unlatched and creaked open at her touch.  Behind her, heavy breathing and a low growl. She caught a glimpse of a shaggy black head and those glowing eyes. Seeing no choice, the young woman rushed through the door and was immediately transported into a forest.