She threw her exhausted body onto her worn-out wooden bed, and exhaustion quickly dragged her into a deep sleep...
But it was not a peaceful sleep.
It was a descent into the abyss of nightmares.
In her dream, a man wearing a long black cloak appeared, his face hidden behind a cold iron mask. He carried a dagger dripping with black blood and walked toward her very slowly.
With every step he took, the grass beneath his feet died.
She tried to step back, but her body would not move.
She froze in place.
And when he reached her, he grabbed her wrist with merciless force and began carving the letter L into her delicate skin with the blade of his knife.
She felt the pain pierce through her, not only her body… but deep inside her.
She tried to scream, but her voice was trapped in her throat.
And somehow, Aras appeared as well.
His face was serious, his eyes gleaming with a dark red color. He was holding the same apple he had given her, but it was bleeding.
He stood directly in front of her, looking at her coldly, without moving an inch.
"Aras, help me, please!" she cried, her voice trembling.
But he did not move, despite her pleas.
Instead, he said in a deep voice that echoed like a sound from the bottom of a well:
"You rejected my gift, Ezel…"
He paused for a second, then continued:
"And now… you must face your demons alone."
Ezel jolted awake in her bed, screaming.
Her breathing was rapid, sweat dampening her forehead. Her heart was pounding so violently that she felt as though it would burst from her chest.
Her eyes slowly moved toward the pillow beside her.
"The apple."
It was there.
Right beside her head, as though someone had placed it there while she slept.
Her eyes widened in shock.
She whispered:
"But… I already ate it… so where did this come from?"
Her trembling hand reached toward it, but she suddenly stopped.
Something else caught her attention.
She looked at her wrist, and her heart clenched.
There, on her skin, was a precisely drawn mark, resembling a delicate tattoo of the letter L.
Exactly as it had happened in the dream.
An eternal witness that the nightmare had been nothing more than reality hiding beneath the clothes of a dream.
She touched it as though she had touched fire and whispered in a trembling voice:
"No… this isn't real…"
But she had no time to fall apart.
"Ezel! Wake up, you lazy girl!"
Her uncle's wife's voice echoed throughout the house, harsh as always.
Ezel jolted, wiped away her tears, then hurriedly got up.
With a cautious instinct, she carefully pulled the sleeve of her long dress down to cover the strange tattoo.
She did not want to leave room for her uncle's wife's curiosity or her sharp questions.
As she hurried toward the kitchen to answer the harsh call, she made sure the fabric remained neatly draped over her wrist.
She prepared breakfast with exhausted hands, trying to hide their trembling behind an appearance of quiet obedience and her usual orderliness, as though nothing had happened to disturb her morning.
Then she began waking everyone one by one.
She entered her cousin Rose's room.
Rose was lying there lazily, as though the world had been created to serve her.
"Wake up… it's time for school," Ezel said calmly.
Rose slowly opened her eyes and looked at her arrogantly, then sat up and said coldly:
"Wipe my shoes first."
"What?"
Rose pointed toward the shoes beside the bed.
"I said wipe them… I don't want to go out wearing dirty shoes."
Ezel clenched her fist, then said in a low but firm voice:
"I won't."
Silence fell for a second.
Then Rose suddenly screamed, her sharp cry tearing through the quiet:
"Mom! Ezel hit me!"
The blood froze in Ezel's veins.
"What?! I didn't do anything!"
But the voice had already reached them.
Her uncle's wife rushed in, evil flashing in her eyes.
"What's happening here?!"
Rose pointed at Ezel, pretending to cry.
"She hit me… just because I asked her to do something simple."
Ezel panicked.
"That's a lie! I didn't touch her!"
"Shut up!" the woman shouted harshly before slapping her.
Then she looked at her with contempt.
"You dare raise your hand against my daughter?"
Ezel quickly shook her head.
"I didn't… I swear."
But the woman did not listen.
Instead, she said in a cold, deadly voice:
"This is the last year you'll go to school. After this year, you'll stay home."
She said it without hesitation.
"We've wasted enough on you."
Her eyes widened in shock.
"But… I don't cost you anything! The school—"
"Shut up!" she interrupted sharply. "Don't argue with me."
Ezel felt as though a wall had collapsed on top of her.
School…
It was the only thing she had.
The only thing that made her feel like she was… human.
But even that was being taken away from her.
She went to school that day…
Her body was there, but her mind… was drowning in chaos.
She heard nothing.
Understood nothing.
And when she returned, she was even more exhausted.
She slowly pushed open the door of the house…
But suddenly, she stopped.
Ezel froze in place, her eyes fixed on her uncle's wife's injured foot.
The pain was obvious on her face… but she was not screaming.
"Where have you been?!" the woman suddenly shouted, her voice sharp, but this time… it was not as strong as usual.
Ezel swallowed.
"I was at school… but what happened?"
The woman narrowed her eyes, as though searching Ezel's face for something.
Then she muttered angrily:
"Damn it… I slipped, as if someone… pushed me!"
Ezel's breathing quickened.
"Pushed you?"
But she did not finish.
Because she felt him.
"Poor thing…" came the voice beside her ear, low and mocking.
Her eyes widened, but she did not turn around.
She knew that voice.
"Aras."
"Looks like your lady won't be able to chase after you today," he said lightly.
Ezel clenched her fist and whispered through her teeth without moving her lips:
"Did… you do this?"
"Me?" he said with feigned innocence. "I was just… watching. But perhaps I made her fall on her own…"
"Go get the water!" the woman shouted at her, exhausted but angry.
Ezel nodded silently and turned toward the kitchen.
He walked beside her, as though his presence had become normal…
Despite the fact that he was invisible.
She reached the kitchen and picked up a glass, pouring water into it.
But Aras was unusually quiet.
"What's wrong?" she suddenly asked impatiently.
"This silence doesn't suit you."
She did not turn toward him.
"And you never stop talking," she replied calmly.
"I thought you'd thank me."
She answered cautiously:
"Don't say ridiculous things."
He was standing close…
Closer than he should have been.
His eyes did not carry their usual mockery.
Instead, there was something in them that made her heart flutter for no clear reason.
"You…" he said slowly, as though thinking aloud, "are different."
She frowned.
"How?"
He did not answer immediately.
Instead, he reached out… as though he were about to move a strand of hair that had fallen across her face.
He stopped before touching her.
Then slowly withdrew his hand.
He remembered that she belonged to someone else… and that he should kill her.
That look disappeared quickly, and his expression returned to its usual careless coldness.
"Nothing," he said simply.
She narrowed her eyes.
"You started the sentence… finish it."
He smiled slyly.
"Curious… just as I expected."
She sighed in annoyance and turned her face away from him.
"You're annoying."
He stepped closer, leaned toward her, and whispered:
"And yet… you never ask me to leave."
She stopped.
She did not answer.
Because he was right.
He smiled faintly to himself.
She returned to her uncle's wife, who was trying to stand but failed, groaning in pain.
"Why are you standing there like a statue?! Move and help me!" she shouted sharply.
Ezel jolted and quickly stepped forward to help her up, despite the frightening turmoil inside her.
She carefully grabbed her arm, trying to lift her gently.
But—
"Get away from me, you useless girl!" the woman shouted angrily before shoving her hard.
Ezel was not prepared for it.
She lost her balance and fell to the floor.
Her body struck the cold ground, and she let out a quiet groan as a sharp pain shot through her palm.
"I don't need your help!" the other woman continued harshly. "You're bad luck… your very presence brings disaster!"
Ezel clenched her teeth and slowly tried to get back up without answering.
"At least…" she murmured calmly, "someone deserved what happened to her."
Aras smiled, clearly this time.
"Ah…" he said softly. "There you are at last."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"That face." He said it with gentle mockery. "I didn't like your little act of being nice."
She sighed in annoyance, but she did not deny it.
Instead, she murmured in a soft tone, almost a whisper:
"I never said I was sad."
Then, after a brief hesitation, she added:
"I think… you did the right thing."
"Bravo to me, then?" he said provocatively.
She raised an eyebrow and answered with quiet sarcasm:
"Don't ruin it."
"Sharp tongue…" he muttered.
The necklace suddenly appeared and began to glow.
This time, Ezel did not feel the transition the way she had before.
There was no sudden darkness or complete loss of sensation.
It was more like a sudden withdrawal.
But this time…
She was not outside the castle.
She was inside.
She disappeared…
Leaving Aras behind, muttering irritably:
"Looks like he doesn't like us talking for too long."