It took a long, arduous year to make me indiscernible from a forest sprite.

My hair was speckled with crumbs of earth, twigs sticking out of my short locks, and mud smearing my cheeks like a second skin. A wolfskin tunic made by my hands hung off of my shoulders, the muzzle of the beast hanging down low between my legs, and a fashioned short skirt made from the hide of a deer. Rabbit skins were delicately crafted into fingerless gloves, and my feet- well, they needed no protection. The razor-sharp pines on the forest floor sliced them to ribbons enough, the scar tissue and callouses acting as a buffer.

Another thing was the eerie silence that seemed to emanate from me then. Words had long lost their meaning, not when Monster had no need for them. That was what I secretly called the mysterious Shifter, who had diligently - and silently - taught me all I needed to know about living in the cursed wilds. He made it so I was no longer the prey, even as a fragile mortal.

Through minor instances of vanity by small ponds, I noticed my skin became more tan and toned as well, my height was no longer so awkward, as I had filled out all those sharp and jagged teenage edges, turning into a woman as the seasons turned. That didn't matter, though.

If the world didn't care, then why should I?

I rested my arms along my knees, idly watching the crackling fire. Monster had shifted into his raven form, wordlessly flying up towards the twisting crowns of the summer trees, keeping watch in his solitary way. Once again, I had been left alone to my own thoughts.

The only thing that hadn't changed was the frequency of the visions, still as confusing, and heartbreaking as ever. Dagon's deep words of 'I do' seemed to ring like a bell in my mind, those two words tinged with sadness and remorse. There was a longing to his gaze too, for something that he'd never get to have. I desperately wanted to know what it was, but the visions never went further than his admission.

Some days the unanswered visions drove me insane, other days it was like water rolling off my back. Even during the days where I was a hairsbreadth away from death, I always thought of them. Wondered why I was continuously plagued by them.

I grazed my hand along my right forearm, my lips puckering at the sight of my now-scarred dragon tattoo, it's maw slightly rippled with the mangled cuts. I winced, reminding myself of the first and last time I had broke down in the woods, five months ago.

Along with those infuriating visions, my dreams also were graced by the scent of burning human flesh, the sounds of broken screams and blood squelching and bodies dropping with thick thuds. They had always ended with me standing over top of Garran, my reddened hand poised and at the ready, claws dripping with red blood. He shook his head no, and I could feel the gruesome smile stretch across my leather skin as I swiped, feeling his skin part ways for my talons as I fished out his guts, his screams ringing in the air as I supped on his organs.

One day, I had that dream, and just snapped.

I grappled with the first thing I saw, a jagged stone, and brought the sharp edge down on to my tattoo, tears streaming down my face I pierced the skin, and then dragged down the stone, splitting the flesh on my forearm, tearing apart the inked skin. But I didn't stop there, I slammed down the sharp rock over and over again, until my forearm was nothing more than torn-apart flesh, my blood spilling over on to the green forest floor. I only stopped when the corners of my eyes blackened, and I passed out, dropping the bloodied stone on to the ground.

I remember waking up feeling horrendous, my body still light and pale from the lack of blood, and my arm tightly bandaged with emerald leaves, a salve made up of herbs and flowers pressing into the wound. Looking around, I could see little faeries with their dainty wings poking around large trunks, their sparkling eyes glancing down at my arm with sadness, and forest sprites who twiddled their fingers around the herbs growing on their heads. I grimaced, slowly peeling back the dressing, to find my arm almost fully healed.

The tattoo was still there. Continued to be to this day, serving as a terrible reminder that I was forever stuck with this curse, with Demons following my trail, murdering other humans, leaving nothing behind, all to find people like me that had sparks swimming in their veins.

I rolled back and laid down, staring up at the sparkling sky, so similar to that bloodstained night. My eyelids slowly lowered, letting the gentle song of the crickets lull me to sleep.

~~~

"Valindra, don't-"

"You'd rather watch this whole world be torn apart by Llandelwyn?" Valindra hissed, whirling around on her friend and Queen, Theanne. The blonde female winced back, her sky blue eyes dark with hurt.

She was silent for a moment, her slender hands clenched tightly in a fist. "No, that's not what I want. But with the way you were talking, you made it sound like you were getting ready to die." Valindra stiffened at that, halting in her hurried dressing. Her royal purple cloak hung loosely off of her shoulders, waiting as she carefully decided how to word her next sentence. Her chest deflated, and she resumed her hasty departure, tightening the cloak.

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"It would be naive of you to think that I could get away from this with my life," she admonished her dear friend softly, slowly turning to face Theanne with saddened amethyst eyes. "Of course I don't want to leave, and if I could leave this fate to someone else I would. But there is no one else. There is just me, and just Dagon. No one else is strong enough to face off against Llandelwyn and his legions. Not even you, Theanne."

The Queen's tightly wound hands relaxed, her poised shoulders now falling low, defeated. "Maybe you could come with me-"

"No," Valindra snarled, now slipping on her tight gloves and turning her back to Theanne. "It would be cruel of you to leave this world on the edge of it's destruction, not when your city could possibly become a safe haven for humans and Dragons. If you left... Nothing would be here to stop them when Llandelwyn inevitably comes to enslave our lands."

When Theanne was silent for too long, Valindra turned to face her, only once more. "Think of it as a favor to me, dear friend. Do your part in this war, fight back. Don't run and hide, that would sully the Fae name." She gently grazed the Queen's pale cheek, wiping away the silver tear that slipped down. "Do not fear for me, my friend. I will return, just not in the way you would expect." Valindra's hand slipped away, a bitter smile on her lips.

She didn't wait to hear her friend's response, and caught a glimpse of herself in the glass panes, the hard lines of her face, her straight nose and thick lips. She really was beautiful, and smiled with melancholy at the thought of her likeness being put to stone in the distant future. She took one step out the door, the city gates in her floral city opened for her departure, and whispered to her long-time friend, her own voice breaking.

"Take care, Theanne."

~~~

"Is... Is that a mortal girl?"

My eyes flew open, reactively reaching for my rod and my body lowered. My golden eyes were wide, my mind still spinning at the new revelations of my vision.

So Valindra knew Theanne, they seemed close. What really struck me was catching her reflection in the window. She looked exactly like me, down to the uptilt in our eyes. The only difference was our eye color - mine shimmered like golden flames, while hers had twinkled like amethyst gems. She could have been my twin.

At that moment though, it really, really didn't matter.

Seven Asteri Elf guards dressed in green and gold-crested armor had poised their own weapons at me, their sharp gazes trained on my shaking hands holding the staff. I was surprised they could even tell I was human, especially in the dark. Perhaps the mortal stench of my fear gave me away, their noses sniffing out the faintest emotion. I dimly hoped I smelt terrible to them. I hitched a breath as they began to march around in a circle around me. Surrounding me.

"Stand down, girl. You're safe now."

Safe? With their spears pointed at me I hardly felt safe. I barked a crude laugh, the sound foreign and thick on my tongue. It had been so long since I needed to use my words, to communicate.

My heart constricted. I was nothing but a wild animal to them. That's why they tried to cage me like this. To them, I was a wild card. If they were going to treat me like that, then I would give them what they wanted. I sprang forward, going for the guard who looked the least prepared, slamming my rod into his ribs and forcing him to back away, breaking their formation. I took one step away, my heart soaring at the feeling of my escape, hope fluttering in my chest-

Within a second I was slammed into the ground, a large hand holding the back of my neck. They stripped me of my weapons, and I could hear a soul-crushing snap as they broke my bow in two, tossing it to the side like twigs.

My rage boiled over, and I squirmed and kicked and screamed, the sound ripping through my throat like a guttural cry, only to be smothered as they pressed my face into the earth. The man above me tsked, looking back behind him. "Where're we bringin' her cap'n?"

The man I presumed to be their captain hummed, and I saw a black boot stop right before my eyes, turning towards me. "Back to the capital."

Without another word the one who pinned me down quickly restrained my hands with an impossibly strong rope and shoved a cloth into my mouth, deafening my cries of anger as they hoisted me up. One of them sneered at the look of my rod, before the look was wiped off of their face. "Sir! This here is a Medalin Silver staff!"

"What?" The captain snapped, turning towards his other guard. He snatched the rod, and his whole body stiffened. He turned around, his silver eyes glaring at me. "Who did you steal this from?" I could only lowly growl in response, the sound muffled from the cloth. He grunted and shoved it back into the man's chest, slowly stalking towards me. He met me at my eye-level, his brow quirking.

"I'm sure they'll know what to do with you." His lips split into a smirk and he span on his heel, snapping his fingers. "Come on men, we march!" Another guard roughly turned me around, linking my other arm with his while the first one did the same with my right, now dragging me behind them. I raised my glowering eyes, golden orbs snagging on the one man who should have saved me.

Monster stared at me through the bushes, his scarlet eyes betraying no emotion, no feeling. Nothing. He closed his eyes and turned away, the last thing I saw was his black braid disappearing into the woods. He never resurfaced.

My fractured heart now broke into pieces, the shards flowing away to a consuming darkness. I hung my head low, defeated.

So, so defeated.

~~~

When we came up to the gates of the city, I made a last ditch effort.

They had slackened their hold on me throughout the trip, thinking my will had been broken. I was only waiting for my chance. What a pathetic chance that was, as their arms viciously tugged on me the second I tried to sprint free, now turning me around to face the citygates. The captain had twisted around, his face strangely serene compared to his villainous side he had shown me hours prior.

"Welcome, mortal child, to Ordin."

I colourfully cursed in my head. Of course I was here. Capital of the Calderra Continent, and home to the Imperial Fae Queen Theanne.

Ordin, City of Life.