The fortress stood looming before her. Lightening flashed in the sky illuminating it's tall dark spires, large stone walls and iron spikes lining their tops. It was, to say the least, intimidating.

In the fortress ahead was the most fearsome man who ever lived. No one knew his real name, he was simply known as the Dark Lord. No one could remember when he appeared here, or why he came. They knew only that he was to be feared and loathed. The eater of young, defiler of women, and also known to be downright rude. To say he was unwelcome to the people of BrightWood village was an understatement.

So, the people of BrightWood had secretly gathered one evening to come up with a plan to rid their wonderful village of this dark hanging cloud. It had taken them all of 30 minutes before they had their solution. Which is what had led to this very moment.

The young woman stood at the edge of the forest that led up to the fortress of the Dark Lord. A small dirt path wound it's way up the hill to the big wooden gates. Small flames bobbed up and down along the side of the path, no wax or wick to hold them there. The young woman glanced up the path, her eyes that were a dark brown, looked almost black in the dim reflection of the flames. She heaved a sigh before taking a step forward and beginning her way up the path.

Candy thought back to how she had gotten where she was now. Never one for a great life, even her name was something of a reminder of just how unlucky she was. Someone had once told her "you give me the same feeling I get when I first eat a sour candy." Somehow, after roars of laughter, she had been dubbed 'Candy'. Her real name was Caroline. Caroline L. Ryner. Candy is what everyone used though, and so she had accepted it, like all other things.

See Candy was born unlucky. Or at least she thought so. Always handed the short end of the stick, always in the crowd but never the reason for one, just one card short of a full house. So it didn't surprise her when she was the next one chosen to take on the Dark Lord. They said the lottery pull was random, but Candy was starting to suspect otherwise. After all, the only ones chosen thus far had been like her, the outcasts.

Candy shrugged her shoulders as if dismissing the thought. She pushed her long and tangled black hair from her face and continued walking up the path, shoving her hands into the pockets of her hooded sweater. The wind was picking up, bringing with it the promise of a storm. She quickened her step, whether from fear or excitement she wasn't sure.

Finally she reached the great big wooden doors. Her body began to shake. This was it. She was about to die. Or so she assumed she was, as the others that had been sent had never returned. Her body shivering, she lifted her hand to knock against the thick doors.

Before she could even bring her fist down to knock the doors gave a great heave and sigh as they were pulled open. Candy jumped back, startled. As the doors opened and her eyes adjusted she saw the frame of a man standing before her.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE GAMES!!!" a deep voice bellowed. The man stepped forward from the doorway, the light from inside illuminating him to her. He was...a guy. Just a guy. About average height. Short dark hair, with light blue eyes and round cheeks. He was in a robe. Just an average house robe, even complete with slippers.

"You! Are you the one who keeps knocking on my door and running away every week?! It's not very funny you know! Twice now you've made me ruin a perfectly good spell." He crossed his arms over his chest, his brow furrowed as he looked at her disapprovingly.

Candy opened her mouth to speak but found she had lost her voice. She closed it, cleared her throat and tried again. "Uhh, I...this is my first time here...." she managed to spit out.

The man moved a little closer and looked her over. "Then what exactly are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well you see, it's just...uhm...." she began before a thought struck her, "Wait, what did you mean by knocking and running away? So you didn't kill them?" she blurted out, a thing she did rather often without thinking. Surly she had angered him and now she'd be next.

The mans face momentarily fell into one of shock before his brows once again furrowed forward. "Kill? What on earth..." he said with a sigh, "I haven't killed anyone. Once a week now for about two months I've had someone come and knock on my door and by the time I answer no one is there but I can see them running away through the woods!"

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Now, what is it you wanted?"

"Oh!" Candy exclaimed. "Well, actually, you see....the village people would like you to...leave..." she trailed off, her body tensing ready for the attack.

"Leave!? What on earth for!?"

Candy began to rub her hands together, folding them over one another this way and that. "Well, I mean...don't you think it could have something to do with the baby eating and, ya know, defiling women thing?" She asked nervously, her heart beating a million miles a minute.

The amount of emotions she witnessed cross the Dark Lord's face were far too many to happen in the span of just a couple of seconds. What finally came to rest on his face was a look of pure, well, bafflement. His face had turned a deep red, his eyes had seemed larger and a look of pure confusion washed over him.

"Eating babies and defiling women!? What in Gods name is wrong with you people!"

"Woah, hey now man, don't lump me in with them. I don't even want to be here but I 'won' the lottery." Seeing the look on his face worsen she continued with a sigh, "Every week the village gets together and has a lottery to decide who is going to come deal with getting rid of the Dark Lord," she paused her and looked at him, "that's you."

He nodded his head and rolled his eyes but did not interrupt.

"We are to get rid of you by any means necessary. They say that everyone's name is in there but I don't believe it. They just send the ones they don't want in the village anymore." she said with a shrug.

The man stood quiet for a long moment before heaving a sigh, as he did so his body seemed to relax a bit.

"Gods, this always happens." he said while rubbing his eyes between his fingers and thumb. He lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Look I don't eat babies and I don't defile women. I don't even like women!" He said while throwing his hands up in the air. "This is ridiculous. Anywhere I've moved this happens. People are just..."

"Awful, horrible, disgusting...." Candy added with a grin on her face. She rather liked this guy.

He laughed at this and nodded. "Yes, indeed." He paused for a moment and looking at Candy. "So, how awful are the village people anyways?"

"Oh, the worst of the worst."

"Hmm..." he stood to the side, sweeping his arm inward. "Would you like to come in for some tea? I have a wonderful book 'Village Curses: How and when to use them' that I think you would find very interesting." he smiled at her, revealing a long line of jagged pearly whites.

Candy beamed back at him, practically skipping over herself to get inside. "I think you are correct in that assumption!" Candy followed the man inside, instantly warmed and with a new feeling of excitement. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.