The two creatures backed out slowly as soon as they noticed the shadow approaching, and it did not take long for them to start running for their lives. In the darkness, I remained alone, with the shadow approaching me.

As I crawled my way under the protection of a big weeping willow tree. As I hid my body under the arching branches of the tree, I soon came to realize something strange about the shadow: although the creature appeared to be enormous, in all that silence that fell onto the forest, there was no sound coming as it approached me.

Coming up on the hill, a fluffy tail wiggled in the air, under this sight, I blinked several times.

‘Could that be… a fox?’

It did not take long for my guess to be proved wrong. The illusion of a tiger quickly faded away, making space for confusion to grow. What approached me was neither a tiger, nor a fox. Although the tail resembled the one of a fox, everything from its small head to long whiskers proved to me that the creature was in fact a kitten.

With an eye gouged off and with fur that resembled the one of a fox, the kitten approached me happily.

‘You must be dead, too, kitty?’ I asked as I picked the cat up, looking at her small head. ‘Poor you. Where are the humans that did this to you?’

Growing up, I was never allowed to have a pet of my own, yet I strive to know how it feels having one as your loyal companion. All those thoughts made me teary-eyed, as I wondered how much would this cat have to endure to remain with such scars. 

The moment the cat started licking up my right cheek, I felt the tears running down my face. As I looked into the cat’s eyes, I couldn’t stop but wondered why it showed me such kindness when it was clear that, for the other creatures, this cat was a reason to get scared.

As the silence that fell onto the forest got replaced with the purring that the cat made, for the first time since coming here, a smile rose on my face. I don’t know if I was testing my luck, but I asked the cat if she was aware of the place the boy headed to. It could have been a worthless attempt, but one thing was certain, if those creatures were able to understand who I was and talk to me, then there must be a chance for this cat to also understand me.

‘Would there be a chance for you to know where your master could have gone?’

Moments after I questioned the cat, she jumped out of my hands and walked towards a certain path. As I followed her with my eyes, I was certain the cat understood me at the moment she stopped and looked back at me, meowing at me.

A sharp sensation made me flinch, and I held my head tightly the moment I raised up. The view in front of me got blurry for a few seconds, and I clenched my teeth under the throbbing sensation that shook me.

Following the cat’s lead, the endless Forest of Wishes disappeared behind my back. What felt like an eternity for me as I was running from the creatures changed into a walk of barely half an hour. The moment we got out of the forest, a big Palace rose in front of our eyes, standing tall and bright. If I were to swear, I would have never imagined something like this could exist.

The Palace shined brightly, and I could hear the faint noise of the music. Soon, a crowd of human-looking ghosts walked past me. At that moment, I wanted to run, but the kitten started purring as she leaned onto my feet. Ghost ignored me, as it seemed the event that took place inside the Palace was much more important than my existence.

Dressed in glamorous dresses, the ghost gathered towards the entrance and took something that was offered to them.

‘Is this the place where your master headed?’ My question was quickly approved as the kitten meowed back to me.

Looking at my thorn dress, I did not know whether I would be accepted into the Palace. After all, how could I fit in, as a human, whose appearance could scare even those who had died?

I could not waste any more moments contemplating whether to enter, after all, I risked my life to arrive here, my plain appearance could wait. It was now or never. If I can’t make the ruler of this Underworld help me, then there isn’t anything left for me to do other than wait anxiously, wondering if I will ever be able to save my Empire.

When I arrived at the entrance, I was surprised to see that every ghost got handed out a glamorous mask that fit nicely with their outfits. 

‘Don’t tell me… is this a masquerade ball?’ I asked the woman at the front, whose cold glare changed quickly as she met me.