Take another look at The Hidden Princess, the first story of Whispered Tales. Enjoy!

Night has fallen again and sleep failed to stick to her eyelids. After so much twisting and turning, that the sheets became tangled in knots, Eliza figured she was not going to catch any sleep very soon. She started counting sheep instead, although this never helped her before. She didn’t get to count three before something caught her attention. Somewhere in the corner, by the giant mahogany wardrobe, she heard the scraping. At first quietly, hardly distinguishable; then harder, louder, enough to wake up Tommy. The cat suddenly awoke and the hair on his back stood straight from the tip of his ears to the tip of his tail. The poor animal had his eyes fixed towards the corner of the room. Eliza mustered the courage to get out of bed, stepping slowly towards the place where the scraping continued. When her eyes got used to the dark, she made out in horror a black silhouette, blacker than the darkness surrounding it, scratching with a crane on the rocky slabs.

“Who’s there?” shouted Eliza in a strangled voice she couldn’t even recognize. “Who let you in my room? Don’t you know you are not allowed in here? I am Princess Mara and I forbid…”

The black silhouette continued scratching the rocks like it didn’t hear her. Like it was a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. With her heart beating so hard, ready to jump out of her chest, Eliza rushed to the fireplace to light a candlestick. When the light flooded the room, the scratching noise suddenly disappeared along with the phantasm. As if it was never there. Tommy stood in place all roughed up, letting out a deaf growl, like a dog. However, the shadow – for Eliza was clear that this was the same shadow that followed her ever since she left home – had left something behind. On the cold slabs Eliza found a message, scratched in black letters. A message for her:

If you want to gain your voice, go to the Forest of Whispers through the hidden tunnel.