Yelen and Yelena

ONCE UPON A TIME… In a rural corner of the Provinces simmering with civil unrest, Laundress Yelena’s village is plagued by a dangerous fungal rot oozing from the forest. When she is falsely accused of dark sorcery and evicted from her cottage so her landlord can sell up, Yelena is forced to leave her home and loved ones behind, and entrusts herself to the wind-borne voices of the restless dead to see where they lead her.

Yelen is a forgotten tyrant, turned into a monster hundreds of years ago after accepting a cursed flower, and left to stalk his enchanted castle all alone. Despite becoming a better person over the centuries, Yelen’s aromanticism means he can never fulfil the ‘mutual romantic love’ condition of the curse, and to his relief, he will never have to return to form of the power-hungry brute he once was… But he craves companionship and an end to his lonely existence.

When the wind leads Yelena to Yelen, she discovers a kindred spirit in the aromantic, bi-attracted monster, and their relationship quickly escalates. But being a guest in a cursed castle with a lonely, amorous Beast is not all fun and games – while exploring, Yelena makes a disturbing discovery about the source of the rot, and starts showing symptoms of infection herself.

Can Yelen and Yelena work together to find a lasting cure for the rot seeping beyond the castle walls, or will the curse claim another victim?