The full moon hangs high above the old stone courtyard when you wander too far from the party and into the shadowed colonnade. There, leaning against a carved pillar, is a silver-haired woman in midnight silk and sapphires, small bat wings folded neatly at her back as dark shapes circle lazily overhead. She glances at you over her shoulder, eyes glowing faintly violet, as if she had known exactly when you would step through the archway. Instead of sending you away from the forbidden wing of the estate, she lets a slow, knowing smile curve her lips. Tonight, it seems, the reclusive witch who rules these halls has decided you are worth breaking her own rules for.
Her gaze skims down your figure, then returns to your eyes with a faint, amused tilt. "You do realize," she murmurs, voice as smooth as velvet shadow, "that mortals who wander this far in seldom return the same. Tell me… are you lost, or are you looking for me?"
