As a little girl, she had been afraid of the dark and what could be lying in wait there. Most children had this fear at some point in their young lives until finally the day would come that they grew brave and dared to explore it in search for the monsters and demons their wild imaginations once created. And, when they realized that the very things they'd once feared of finding in those shadows were nothing but childish things, that there truly was not a terrible and hideous beast lurking there with teeth bared and blood-red eyes gleaming despite the lack of light that many young hearts clung to so tightly in those moments where they were entrapped by darkness. Never again would they try to pull the blankets of that warm bed over their head as if doing so would make all the scary things in the world disappear. They would no longer be afraid of the shadows cast across the walls of their childhood as moonlight poured into their bedroom through linen curtains, branches that once looked like ghoulish hands with long and boney fingers reaching into the quiet through the window would become just that - branches of an old tree swaying in a gentle midnight breeze. The tapping on the glass of that bedroom window once believed to be some monster trying to get inside would become what it really was, the soft rattling of bare branches brushing against one another as the wind blew and nothing more. All those eerily silent nights where the creaking of old floorboards would seem as though someone or something was creeping through the hallway with wicked intentions, all those twilight moments spent staring fearfully at the closet door having accidentally been left open ever so slightly and thinking that some ghost or dark demon would slip slowly from the shadows to steal them away from their sheets and their parents... Everything that had once been thought to be stalking the dark of the night would be gone and instead seen for what they truly were. Those creeping steps through the house just outside the closed door would only be the sound of the old building resettling. The shadows would look like the things casting them, no longer appearing as wicked claws grasping and scratching. The arm of that sweater only just barely able to be seen through the dark from the safety of one's bed would no longer seem to be the shoulder of something waiting for tired and heavy eyes to close so that it could snatch away the young soul who'd once feared it. Nightmares would become just another silly and childish thing that would melt away as the years came and went, irrational and naïve fears left behind - for the most part - as the threshold between childhood and young adulthood was crossed.

Just like most of these children, it was when those nightmares would come, waking her in the middle of the night with her small heart pounding wildly in her chest, breaths quick and shallow as though she'd been running. How real they had often been, her growing legs almost seeming to burn as though she had truly been running from the monsters that chased her, snarling and starved like savage wolves driven by the thrill of the hunt and the promise of blood to sate their gluttonous hunger. She remembers, when those nights had been particularly frightening, how she would slip out of her own bed, and pad softly to the bedroom where her mother and father would be sound asleep. The blue-eyed blonde would stand there in the doorway that was always just a little bit opened, tight curls frayed and askew from tossing and churning as she fled from the shadows in her sleep, her favorite stuffed animal clutched in her small hand as she waited there to see if either of them would awaken. Her parents had always seemed to have that sixth sense of when their daughter was there, hardly leaving her waiting long before perhaps her father would lift his head drowsily from his soft pillow, eyes blinking open to find little Beylani standing there in her powder blue night gown embroidered with small lambs and pale yellow stars."Did you have a bad dream?", the man had asked her once, graveled voice groggy and yet even when woken from his own restful sleep, there was never anger or annoyance in those gently ushered words. She had nodded to him then, baby blues glassy with tears that had yet to fall. He smiled to the girl then and gestured for her to come in, and she would walk over to the bed and climb across the covers of that bed once so large to her. She would nestle there between her mother now awakened whose soft and loving smile would find young Beylani and her father as he would take her into his strong arms, the knight in all of her bad dreams and imaginary games."It's okay, Lamb. You're safe here", he would whisper gently to her then as he would stroke her hair to comfort her until finally those innocent eyes would grow too heavy to remain open and she would fall into a dream where the shadows did not dare to wander. There had been no place where Beylani had felt safer than there with her mother and father beside her, knowing that if ever the monsters would reach from the depths of her dreams and try to take her, they would be there to vanquish them. That feeling of security, that comfort she found in her father's tight hug or her mother's gentle kisses placed into those blonde curls, it never really left her even as she grew older, and ultimately, braver. Even as she became a young adult, she knew there would never be a moment in her life where they would not be there to comfort her for as long as they lived.

In the end, when she'd finally grown enough, Beylani had conquered her fear of the dark. At least, she thought she had. Like many, she came to understand that all those monsters weren't real, that they couldn't truly hurt her. All she needed to do was wake up, and they would vanish like morning dew in spring when the sun would rise over the eastern mountains that towered over her beloved home in Willowhaven. She would find herself tucked into the warmth of her blankets, returned to those familiar pale-yellow walls of her bedroom from the dark forests where the wolves had howled in the shadows. There would only be silence in place of their terrible snarls and growls as they would move through the trees, their circle tightening until they were nearly upon the young girl. She would steady herself with a few deep breaths as she replayed her mother and father's gentle and encouraging words. They can't hurt you... There are no such things as monsters... Just like dreams, nightmares are only imaginary... Over and over, she would hear the voices of the two most important people in the world to her, and the more that she repeated them, the more she came to realize that they were right. Just as the monsters would descend upon her, she would awaken, untouched and safe within the shelter of her home. There had even been a moment when, as the shadows closed in on her and she stood there frozen and helpless, a bright and shining light had appeared. Borne from this light, there had been a figure whose face she did not know, and yet he would draw that mighty sword from the sheath at his side and slay the beasts that hunted her. And, when the last of the shadows had been cut down, the dark forest would suddenly become light, the dark sky turning a clear and bright blue as birdsong would begin to fill the trees which would no longer look eerie and foreboding, instead suddenly sprouting lush green with radiant flowers. Just like that, young Beylani had discovered that even the darkest and scariest of nightmares could be taken and turned into something warm and bright. All it had taken was for her to be brave. How proud she'd been when she woke from that dream when the sun rose and beckoned her from sleep's embrace, that she'd leapt from her bed and bust into her parents' bedroom. She'd moved to her father's side of the bed, the man awakened by his daughter for the millionth time, only now he would find a beaming smile upon her young face as he blinks away the tiredness."Daddy! I did it! I was brave and the shadows went away!", she'd exclaimed in that youthful and pitched soprano voice. And oh, how he'd smiled then, taking little Beylani into his arms and pulling her into the bed beside him to give her the same tight hug that had been everything to the little girl."I told you, Lamb. All you need to do is be brave, and nothing can ever hurt you"... From that day on, while she would still have the occasional nightmare, never again did she fear them as she once did.

And yet, what no one had ever told the little girl was that those nightmares would only ever change as she grew older. No one ever told her that while those monsters could not hurt her, that all she needed to do was be brave and they would disappear, there were real monsters out there in the world that could hurt her. It was then, as she would sit there in that empty room, trapped in the dark on what she could only guess to be some farm in the middle of nowhere, that those sweet memories she tries so desperately to hold onto so that she might draw some sort of comfort and courage from them are consumed by those moments where she had been far from asleep only to find herself in a very real nightmare. Were they even considered nightmares then? She is taken back to the clearing hidden somewhere in the dense woodlands on the furthest side of Hyde Park. Fear grips so tightly at her heart that she can hardly breathe as that figure descends from the tree and comes towards her with startling speed and fury. She sees massive black wings as they reach far above her, flared and every bit as threatening as the shadows in her childhood nightmares."Hello, darling", midnight tenor tones purr down to her, predatory hazel eyes glinting in the dim pre-dawn light, a dark smile adorning his shadowed face. That had been the very first moment in all her short years that she had felt true and real fear for her life. She remembers how her heart had raced within her breast, how she had been unable to move away from the dark figure that towered over her in that clearing. There is no longer fear in this memory though, and as it envelops her, there is only pain and heartache enough to make her dizzy as her thoughts immediately recognize this figure in the dark. Before she can relive this moment, her heart pushes it away, pushes him away... just as he'd pushed her away... But, instead of being returned to that cold, damp room, she is thrust into another nightmare as a part of her mind registers the pain that seizes her entire body curled so tightly against the wall amidst those old, stained sheets. It intensifies as she remembers the night she nearly lost her life. Almost instantly, the scars on the side of her neck ache almost as they had the day they'd been given to her. She remembers his cold hands on her warm flesh."Don't worry, my sweet. I'll make it quick", whispered the wicked and deathly voice into her ear only fleeting moments before the pain overwhelmed her, electrified her every nerve slender frame beyond anything she'd ever felt before until slowly, everything began to fade away...

They force her down those stairs, the stagnant air leaving a foul taste in her mouth, though it is hardly the first thing that she thinks of in this moment as her struggle weakens until they are nearly halfway down the darkened staircase. She can hear her heart beating in her ears, every breath becoming harder and harder to take as they descend, that once childish fear of the dark suddenly returning ten-fold."Please...", she begs one last time, and yet her she cannot see the expression on Cass' face through the darkness, nor the features of the other fae man. They are silent, neither caring to answer her, and even she knows that it was a hopeless attempt. Finally, she can see a flickering light below them just a little way further, the flow of fire. She can hear the hushed voices of others, and her heart only pounds more frantically in her chest. This was it... This was the ritual that Andras had told her of...."Being changed is not something you agree to, it's forced upon the human. They are kidnapped and held hostage for a time before being murdered. Only the strongest of humans can survive the change"... She wants to fight harder, wants to wretch herself free. And yet... what good would come of it? Just how far would she get? In her heart of hearts, she knew that there was no chance for her now. There was no way she would be able to push her way through the two men only to race up the stairs and out into god knows where... All she had ever seen were endless fields, and if Andras hadn't shown her what it was that fae were capable of, she might have tried one last time. She wants to cry out, her vision blurring, and she isn't even entirely sure if it was the tears that spilled over her cheeks in silence of the lightheadedness as her heart continues to race in her breast and her breaths only come faster. There was no way she would be strong enough to survive this... They arrive at the bottom of the steps and that is when she sees what her final moment in this world will be. There is a stone table at the heart of the cellar, a foreign language etched into the stone that she can hardly see in the dim light of the torches hanging from the walls around it. Her gaze darts to the other beings that stand there around the table, counting three others, each dressed in drab brown cloaks with hoods drawn over their faces so that she cannot see anything beyond the shadows that hide them. There is silence... cold, dangerous, condemning silence..."The sun has set. It is time", Cass whispers into her ear, his breath brushing against her skin. She turns to look at him one more time, only just able to make out the wicked grin that etches itself onto his lips."What a shame that your Andras could not be here to see this", he adds then, and those words steal from the young woman every ounce of fight that she had left.

She does not even beg for her life one last time, knowing that it will do no good. This... this was it. And to think that she'd been certain her fate would have been sealed by the undead who'd attacked her what felt like a lifetime ago... And perhaps, it really was. He hardly handles her gently then, forcing her over to the stone table, easily picking her up and placing her there upon the cold and rough surface. Still, her heart races... He holds her there, though she hardly wriggles beneath his hands now as the other fae with cropped bright blonde hair turned amber in the firelight binds her ankles, and then her wrists. Cass looks to one of the cloaked beings, Beylani entirely certain that everyone here was fae, and it was this look that has the cloaked fae stepping forward to present a knife. The blade seemed to be made of precisely sharpened obsidian or perhaps onyx, the stone glinting in the dim light that brushed against its body, the tang a deep cherry oak perfectly polished, and it was at the sight of Cass taking this into his hand before turning smoldering earthen eyes over to her with a sinister grin that tells her all she needs to know... This was really how her life was going to end. He is standing so close now, reaching for her, and she wants so much to just close her eyes, to block out whatever was to come. Bringing the blade to the place where her right arm bends, he presses it ever so slowly to her flesh, cold obsidian kissing her skin before baby blues can see the smile he wears growing ever more sinister as he hearts her heart quicken. Their eyes meet, hers silently pleading once more only to meet his riddled with wicked intent, where she can almost hear, almost feel his wordless two-letter answer. Then, he draws the sharpened edge into her skin and she gasps, flinching deeply with the sudden rush of pain from the deep horizontal cut. Immediately, blood beings to flow from the severed artery, brilliant crimson starting to poor over her skin and onto the stone surface. She cannot hold back the tears that fall freely now, the weakened whimpers bubbling past parted lips as the cut seems to burn as though fire were licking at the wound there. That is when the chanting begins, the voices of the cloaked fae standing in a circle around the table made of cold stone ushering words in a language she did not know or even recognize, their every syllable a low noctave. Her heart beats ever faster as the realization begins to settle over her. With that artery cut, it would only be a matter of moments now...

Everything begins to slow, time nearly seeming to stop altogether as he takes his time moving over to her left side now, those dark eyes never once straying as he begins to chant, tenor tones low and ominous. Grasping her left arm with his hand, he cuts the same place on her left arms now, driving it into delicate skin the same depth, the same length. Just as the first cut, the second begins to bleed, another wave of pain ripping fiercely through the young woman and coercing another sharp gasp as she lay there helpless... unable to move. Only then do baby blue eyes shut tightly so those tears continue to just as crimson does, her soft sobs far from unheard and yet there is no one that moves to help her. How desperately she wanted to believe this was nothing more than a nightmare that she could wake from... but she knows better than that. She unsure of how long she lies there, only able to realize that she is growing weaker faster as she begins to feel lightheaded, her heart becomes weaker and weaker as it tries to push the crismon life through her slender frame only for more to be lost and spilling onto the stone table with every beat, and slowly... the sobs start to soften in turn as Beylani feels herself slipping away into the embrace of unconsciousness, her body beginning to succumb so quickly to the shock from the wounds and the weakened state she'd been in for the past seven days. It was almost surreal, the sensation that washes over her like the ocean tide would a soaked and sandy shore. Her breathing slows, growing shallower now as those tightly closed eyes feel heavy, almost as they would with sleep... She drifts further and further away, the chanting voices of Cass and the other fae growing more and more distant until she no longer hears them, a deep cold setting into Beylani. It was a familiar cold, the very same one she's only ever felt once in her life, held in the embrace of the undead man she had then believed would be her undoing. Oh, how wrong she had been... The faces of her mother and father find her in this moment as she begins to fade so fast, the young woman seeing their warm and loving smiles one last time..."It'll be okay, Lamb... No one can hurt you here"... She takes one last breath, and it is nearly a sigh as even the pain seems to disappear, the darkness wrapping around her then. At least she wouldn't have to live another moment in the heartache of knowing that he would never love her as she did him. Maybe this was just the gods' way of setting her broken heart free, saving her from a lifetime of pain..."Only the strongest of humans can survive the change"... Those words, that painfully familiar midnight voice, they both echo weakly through the blackened silence. Andras...

It is with his name that her heart gives one... last... weak... beat. And then, there is nothing as she is taken into death's arms.