Iwaizumi had no idea this delivery trip would lead to him being locked up in a dungeon of a forgotten castle.

He was headed down the path through the forest between Itachiyama and Fukurodani, barely and hour into the trip, when nearby, he heard scuffling in the woods. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Iwaizumi spotted a blur of grey.

Wolves, his brain told him.

Out of nowhere, something pounced out the trees, and Iwaizumi reacted on instinct, hurrying Tsukishima as he held on for dear life.

They zoomed down the path, Iwaizumi unsure if the wolves were right behind him or completely ignoring him.

In the distance he saw the fork in the road. His usual path, the left side, appeared to be blocked by a tree. To keep going, his only option was to go right. To try to go around the fallen branch was to risk his life.

With that split-second decision, Iwaizumi was rushing across the unknown road. The path was windy and overgrown, and if he squinted, he swore he could see something resembling a castle in the distance.

***

The witch stood at the fork in the road, patting his pet wolf.

"Good boy Kyoutani! Scared the hell out of that kind-hearted, hard working hunk. Maybe that stupid king will take this as a chance to lift his curse." He told his pet, who huffed below him.

Oikawa grinned.

"This is going to be so much fun. I can't wait to see how it all plays out!" He said cheerfully, before walking into the woods, wolf by his side.

***

Nearing, Iwaizumi realised it was indeed a castle.

"All the way out here? How have I never heard of this place before?" he wondered aloud.

It was fair to ask. The castle was magnificent, towering over him surrounded by a frozen moat and snowy trees. There was a garden out fron, surrounding the path Iwaizumi was taking to the main doors. He saw in a window on the left side a light flickering, possibly a candle.

He shivered. It was rather chilly, and with the setting sun it would only get chillier. Iwaizumi spotted a barn like structure, where he decided he'd keep the horse for the night.

Tsukishima neighed in protest, but Iwaizumi shushed him and left him in the slightly warmer, hay filled barn.

Iwaizumi noticed in the garden, all that grew were roses. They were a gorgeous red, but that was all. So many red roses.

Soon, he reached the imposing double doors. He knocked loudly with no response. Feeling the cool around him, he let himself in.

The first thing he noticed as he walked in was how empty the room was. He looked around, his eyes adjusting to the lack of light, observing the high ceilings, light tiles. There was a staircase in the middle, leading both to the left and right of the castle.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Iwaizumi called to the open air.

"It's not him"

The 3 words seemed to come out from nowhere. As Iwaizumi turned around, all he saw was a clock and a coat hanger in the corner of the room.

What weird decoration, Iwaizumi thought to himself, wondering why the two items were there.

Iwaizumi shrugged it off, believing himself to just be tired, He continued walking in search of a place to stay the night. He wandered up the stairs and headed left, knowing that there was a light there he could see from outside.

He wandered down the hallway, having a look through empty rooms. They were mainly bedrooms, some storage rooms, and one suspicious room containing nothing but a chair.

"It's not him."

Another whisper made Iwaizumi whip his head around, searching for whoever uttered those words. He saw from where he had come, behind him was a feather duster and candle. He swore he hadn't seen them a minute ago, yet again shrugging it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

"Is anyone there? What do you mean 'it's not him'" Iwaizumi shouted, his voice echoing around him and through the corridor.

Cautiously, he made his way through the near-darkness. Iwaizumi couldn't tell if he hoped to see someone or hoped not to.

This castle gave him the creeps.

Moving along the corridors in search for the light he had seen from the ground, he decided it would be better to rest so in the morning he could talk it out with the castle owner. Iwaizumi headed into a vacant room, this one with only a bed and a wardrobe in it.

Assuming it was a guest room of sorts, Iwaizumi decreed he could sleep in it. He undressed and lay down on the bed.

"It's not him."

Iwaizumi blocked his ears, not wanting to hear anything. Fatigue washed over him, the 'it's not hims' blending together, turning themselves into a creepy lullaby to send him off to sleep.

"Who are you?"