Chapter 1

Trapped on a sentient island, Acacia is imprisoned in a castle that feeds her, clothes her—and impregnates her. With time running out before the birth, she must unravel a primal ritual binding her to a phantom captor. But escape is futile when the island itself conspires against her.

**The whole book shall be written in Acacia Point of View only.

**Acacia Dawn Winters Point Of View**

Life is a maze; just follow it like your life depends on it, because it does.

I've heard this quote from when I was a kid and always wondered why we should struggle so much and run along to follow the course of it.

I've always been a slow person. Contrary to the quote, I always tried to make a slow paced life for myself to breathe it, live it and enjoy it.

I've always been a person who tried to live up to things that life threw against me and I was always happy to overcome them. I never run to keep up with the other's pace. I didn't ever try to solve a maze as soon as possible. I enjoyed it too.

I never run.

I walked through all my life.

But not now...

For the first time in my life, I felt anxious. I felt confused, clueless and lost.

I felt like I need to run. And this is the time I need to run.

I felt a weird electric sensation in my legs and itched to run as far from here as I can. But how can I?

I cannot leave from here.

I am stuck here for life, alone.

I looked around the place I am currently at and stumbled to get on my foot. How did I get here?

Where are others?

Where are my friends?

I yet again looked around the island I am currently standing on and tried to figure out what is happening with me.

There is nothing but trees and plants here.

How did I get here?

Are my friends pranking me?

"Ruby? Ruby where are you? I know you are trying to get me scared. Get out from you hiding place" I yelled loudly expecting a big laughter as an answer.

"Ruby?"

"Damien? Da...Damien?"

"Guys, where are you all hiding? I know you are planning to get me scared"

"Guys, get out from your cover."

"G - Guys. Damien! Carter! Anne! Ruby!" I called out their names.

I started getting anxious yet again and started running along the shores of the white sand beach trying to look for someone. Anyone.

I walked through the shore for more than two hours and found none. I am now confident that it's not a prank played on me by my friends. If it was, they should've revealed it by now but I see no one here at all.

Where are others?

I shook my head to recollect all the memories of the trip, our gang of friends were taking from past week.

It was Carter's idea to take a trip. He was always the one to push us on a travelling spree while I and Anne are lazy bugs of the group. No matter how much we like to travel, I and Anne would still choose to cozy up at home.

Damien, was the neutral one of us. Always the balanced one of us; contrary to his girlfriend, Ruby, who is downright the crazy one. A little extreme and extra she was.

From high school to sophomore of university, we've been a blast of a group even going for the same course of study. Architecture.

We took a direct flight from London to Chile to roam around and sometimes just get lost with wind. Being interested in Architecture can do that to a person. Your eyes are designed to see the art in everything.

Plaza De Armas was beautiful with it Baroque style. The statues there were so amazing and so beautiful that we had lots of pictures taken.

From there we travelled to Milodon Cave and by God, was it breathtaking! It was the most beautiful cave I've ever seen. It was so deep and there are varieties of new kind of animals you might not find in other places.

Art at its prime.

The trip was going so well with planned visits to nomadic approach to food. From land, air to sea, we were going for every means of delight.

Until -

Until we thought of going to Pantagonia to visit waterfalls and glaciers.

That was when it started.

We were travelling in a boat to the land of waterfalls, happily chatting, teasing each other, threatening to throw each other in the sea when something felt off.

One moment I was wrapped in the embrace of joy and in the next moment there was a weird sensation I experienced in the pit of my stomach.

It was a weird sensation that felt... ominous!

Like a predomination of a bad feeling.

I felt as if... like my soul and body was tearing apart and I was being summoned by a force that I couldn't see. My heart felt like it has a stake through it. Painful and deathly.

Goosebumps washed over my body and went stiff as the feeling only getting intensified every passing moment. Four pairs of eyes observed my sudden change in the mood and before I could tell them about it, something cold washed me down.

From there, my memory was a bit hazy. I fairly remember that I was getting faint and heard a loud crack before everything went blank.

Seeing how I found myself washed over by the shore of an island, unconscious and nearly dead, it was clear that the ominous feeling I felt was right.

Our ship was wrecked and I was the only one who was washed over to the present place. The forsaken island full of wild vegetation.

Oh dear heaven, my friends... did they survive like me?

I don't think anyone floated towards this island as it seems like I'm alone here. But how?

The so-assumed wreck took place in the middle of the sea so it's not possible for me to float all the way till here. And the odd thing is, my clothes are not all that wet.

It's not a sunny day that I conclude that perhaps my clothes and hair dried while I was unconscious. It's not possible too. And I feel alright.

Considering near death experience, I feel slightly weak but alright. Good enough that I spent two hours walk round the island shore.

What exactly is happening here?

Why am I alone on this island?

Tears rolled down my cheeks at the predicament I am in. I don't know where I am and how I reached here. I want to go back to my home, to my university and to my friends.

But how?

How can I go back from here? There is just water around here and no habitation anywhere. The land I currently standing on, is unused and un-discovered.

No traces of people or boats!

"ARGH!!!!" I bellowed in fright hearing the loud thunder sound.

I stumbled back at the sudden sound and fell down on the white sand, covering my face with my hands.

Parade of thunders struck in the dark clouded sky making me even more scared.

Seems like it's going to rain and I need to look for a shelter before I get fully drenched and die of hypothermia.

I looked around the vast wide shore and deep veil of tall trees lined up along the borders of the forest.

With another hard lightening, cold rain started to pour down with big hard drops, drenching me completely in mere seconds.

Shivering and stuttering with chattering teeth, I moved immediately towards the long bushy tree to protect myself from the cold attacks.

With every crash of cold swish of breeze, a cold chill started to strike deep into the spine.

I heard a loud animal cry from deep inside the forest making me choke into sobs. It was feral and sounded hungry.

Dangerously predatory, the growl was followed by another one and this time much more fiercely.

Sheesh! I was alive from a huge shipwreck accident only to be eaten raw by an animal?

Standing under a tree during a thunder storm is signing a death letter with a smile, so to avoid getting stuck by a lightening or roasted by fire, I looked around to find something safer to tuck my head in, seeing how the unsheltered shore and the shelter of trees are both currently joining hands to kill me either way.

With strings of curses, I rubbed my blurred eyes and walked around the twin trees to find something, a burrow a cave or something much safer.

The little warmth in my body slowly started to drain away. I can feel my lips chapped frozen. Slowly, I started to loose the grip over my body and the cold hell numbed every movement in me.

I was unable to move on my own. The eyes that were previously blurred by pouring rain started to loose its focus and my head started to give in; almost putting me into another sleep but this time, I'm sure I wouldn't wake up from it.

Crouching and hugging myself, my head leaned back against the tree trunk. My senses slowly started fail one after the other. Soon enough, my ears did not resonate the sounds of wind, waves and rain. My nose too cold and numb to smell anything, I did not feel my own skin.

The fuzzy parade of my brain continued to haze me into an eternal sleep. Few more seconds, I would be gone forever and I did not even have enough mind to say few last words for myself.

My eyes finally fluttered closed welcoming the torturing calm embracing me only to be broken with something that sounded like name.

"Acacia"