Leon Kennedy

For centuries, life in the village went on as usual, calmly and quietly as a river. There were no people left who remembered what this place used to look like, but the rumors that passed from mouth to mouth, from parent to child, remained alive. Many years ago, there was a forest on the site of the village – dark and creepy, inhabited by creatures that are difficult to even imagine. But people came, built a village, and fenced off the forest and its dangers with a wall so that no one would ever become an accidental victim of the creatures living on the other side, those about whom legends and rumors were now being made.

Little Leon grew up with his father, never knowing his mother, but hearing a lot about her. Her father told her that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and he was very sorry that his son did not know her. The only thing left of her is a candle, which, as his father said, could one day help the boy meet her.

As Leon grew up, he became more skeptical. His father told him fairy tales, legends, and he heard the villagers whisper about witches, unicorns, and other magical creatures living outside the wall, but it all seemed like fiction to him. He used to believe only his eyes, not stupid rumors. Of course, he was also curious to find out what was behind the ancient wall, but he didn't think there was anything there besides forests and wild animals.

But still, more than learning about the secrets of the forest, he wanted only one thing – to marry Victoria, the most beautiful girl in the village. He wanted her to be his only one, because all the young men fought for her hand. He was so attracted to her that when he saw a shooting star, he recklessly promised Victoria to find and bring it. And the girl agreed to marry him if he really could do it. Realizing that she was serious, Leon decided to find the fallen star at all costs, even if he had to look behind a wall.

Having received from his father the very candle that he faintly believed could transport him to his mother, Leon could not stop thinking about the star he had promised his beloved. These thoughts did not leave him even at the moment of lighting the candle, and before he could blink, everything suddenly blurred before his eyes, and in a moment he found himself not in his warm house, but in the middle of a dark forest. The young man could not believe what had happened to him, and he seemed paralyzed when he realized that the candle had worked. Miraculously, he was transported beyond the wall, to a place that was feared, but about which everyone spread rumors.

The forest around him seemed dark and eerily quiet at first, with only the moon shining over his head, and the cries of night birds echoing between the crowns of tall trees. Leon felt his body gradually becoming fearful and anxious–he was in the middle of a dangerous forest at night, and he didn't even know how to get back, and all because of the damn candle. But as soon as he went a little further and looked around, he noticed a faint glow among the dense bushes, like a ray of hope in the pitch darkness. He quietly crept up to the bushes, pushed aside the branches, and found...

... A girl?

She was lying on the grass as if she was sleeping, dressed in a white dress that shone like the stars in the night sky. Her skin was so pale that it seemed to glow too. The girl looked so vulnerable and exhausted that Leon's heart sank with pity. What is she doing here, how did she end up here? And suddenly, as if waking up from a dream, Leon had an idea. Could this stranger be the fallen star he had promised his beloved?.. After all, anything was possible in this forest. The young man was overcome by a feeling of greed – if she really was a star, then he was obliged to bring her to the village, as promised to Victoria.

Sneaking closer to her, Leon fished a rope out of his bag and tied it around the girl's wrist so that she wouldn't escape.