A faint smile played on her whiskered lips as she bid him farewell, the promise of their reunion warming her heart. The thought of their next encounter, on the distant land of Tinuvel, sent a thrill through her. She had vowed to seek him out once her explorations of the crossing were complete. Images of towering, snow-capped peaks, icy streams, and meadows dappled with wildflowers danced in her mind, painting a picture of breathtaking beauty.

The land around her was buzzing with activity, other couples conversed, while some horses wandered alone. Gently, she maneuvered through the throng, a polite 'excuse me' and a nod of her delicate head clearing a path. Her silvery forelock, cascading in thick curls, framed a face softened by a smile, and her long eyelashes cast a veil over her eyes as she made her way out.

As her footsteps faded into the quiet path beyond the crossing, the dormant grasses gently brushed against her legs. The landscape before her underwent a palpable metamorphosis. Once-expansive meadows gave way to dense, tangled swamps. A symphony of buzzing insects, thick and oppressive, drew a frown to her lips. The air hung heavy, choked with the scent of decay, a stench rising from the stagnant water that pooled around moss-draped cypress trees. Wispy tendrils of mist danced across the surface, clinging to the gnarled roots like ghostly fingers. It was as if the water, thick and green, fed on the rotting carcasses of the trees themselves.

A rustle in the undergrowth caught her attention, drawing her dark honey gaze towards the source. A voice, rough with suspicion yet devoid of malice, spoke from behind a curtain of Spanish moss, "You aren't hiding very well."

Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat in her chest. "I-I-I wasn't trying to,"she stammered, her voice a mere whisper. She held her breath, her gaze fixed on the shadows from which a figure was emerging. It could be the monstrous figment of her own fears, or something unknown and utterly different.