Serena stepped out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed yet unsettled, her skin tingling from the warmth of the bath. "Aunt Missy, are you awake?" she whispered, gently touching Missy's shoulder. Missy pretended to be fast asleep, her breathing even, her face soft in the moonlight. Serena changed into her fuzzy, warm nightdress, the fabric clinging to her like a protective shell. She decided she needed a bite to eat before sleep took her fully.
As she walked down the creaking stairs toward the tiny kitchen at the far end of the cottage, she noticed a door left ajar. Light spilled from within, revealing Mrs. Smith speaking in hushed tones to a hooded man. Serena's curiosity overrode caution. She crept closer, pressing her ear lightly against the doorframe.
"I tell you, I believe she is the one, and so does the general," Mrs. Smith whispered, her hand pressed to her forehead, her plump cheeks red with stress. "She is the child Martha was sent to kill, yet she protected her. The leaders will not forgive such betrayal execution is likely for her."
The hooded man's voice was low, stern, and almost venomous. "She knew the consequences of betraying her kind," he said. The tone struck Serena in a way she couldn't explain it carried a cold hatred aimed directly at her, though she had never met him.
Mrs. Smith's voice shook slightly. "But that's what frightens me. Martha could have killed her and been praised for breaking the curse. Instead, she protected her. And now… dire consequences await anyone who tries to harm her." She followed the man's pacing, her hands wringing nervously.
Serena leaned closer, feeling a strange, inexplicable connection to the conversation. "Maybe… she can't be killed," the man muttered, tapping a finger to his chin."She must have the mark. That is what it signifies. We must report this to the leaders immediately.""Oh, dear me," Mrs. Smith exclaimed, turning her wide eyes toward Serena as she suddenly met her gaze. Serena froze.
Serena jumped back, hands raised in apology. "I, I didn't mean to intrude. I was just… hungry," she stammered, feeling the heat of embarrassment and a pang of fear.
The hooded man drew his cloak further over his face, hiding any expression. Mrs. Smith smiled faintly, wordless, and stepped past Serena, closing the door sharply. Serena felt small, dejected, almost like a lost child caught in a world far larger than herself. "That's what you get for being nosy," she muttered under her breath, irritation quickly replacing hunger.
She returned to the room, finding Missy asleep at last. Serena perched on the edge of the bed, rubbing her arms and trying to shake off the lingering chill. Her mind replayed Mrs. Smith's words: "She has the mark." What did that mean? Was she destined to die because of some symbol she hadn't even understood? She shivered, curling under the covers. Eventually, exhaustion claimed her.
When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer in the bed, no longer in the warm, cozy room. She was standing in the middle of a forest. Towering trees loomed around her, their gnarled branches blotting out the moonlight. A bitter, icy wind cut across her bare arms. Her nightdress had vanished, replaced by a red, sleeveless flare dress she did not own. Even her shoes were unfamiliar, black and worn. She shivered, her chest tightening. "Where… am I?" she whispered. The forest stretched endlessly, dark and oppressive, every shadow seeming to shift at the edge of her vision.
A voice echoed through the trees, smooth and chilling. "Did you really think you could run from me?"
Serena spun, heart hammering, to see a faceless man standing a few meters away. Behind him, two more faceless figures laughed a sound sharp and grating, bouncing off the trees and making her chest ache.
"I was going to go easy on you," the first man said, his voice a slithering hiss. "But after what you made him do… you will beg for death, sweetheart."
Her body didn't respond. She tried to scream, to move, to flee, but her limbs felt heavy, disconnected. Her hands shot up, pleading. "I, I don't know him! Please, just let me go!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, freezing slightly in the cold air.
"Xavier never does anything for a nobody," the faceless man said, stepping closer. "Do you even know who you are, hmm, sweetheart?"
Serena's mind screamed, Run! Do something! But no sound emerged from her lips. She clutched at her head as a piercing pain tore through her skull. Argh! Her vision blurred. A thousand voices swirled inside her mind, whispering, screaming, shouting truths she could not comprehend.
The man's hand shot out, gripping her shoulder and forcing her to the icy ground. Her vision darkened, and the voices became a storm in her brain. She shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to wake from this nightmare.
Then silence. The forest, the faceless men, even the voices, all vanished.
She was standing on a vast, frozen expanse. Ice glittered under a pale, spectral light. Her red dress was gone. She shivered violently in her nightdress, fingers numb, teeth chattering. The landscape stretched endlessly in every direction, a barren, frozen wasteland.
From somewhere in the distance, a faint voice rose, soft and mournful, almost like a song. Serena felt her legs move on their own, drawn toward the sound. Her steps crunched across the frozen ground as she followed it, the eerie melody growing clearer.
By the edge of a cliff sat a little girl. Her clothes were tattered; bruises marred her skin. She rocked gently, sobbing, the song of her misery filling the air. Serena approached carefully, voice soft. "Hey… what's wrong?"
The girl did not answer. She buried her face in her palms, her body shaking. Serena crouched beside her, offering a trembling hand. "Please, I'm sure there's something I can do to help."
Suddenly, the girl's head snapped up. She grabbed Serena's wrist with a strength that belied her size. Nails dug into Serena's skin, sharp and unyielding. Pain shot up her arm. The girl pressed her other hand against Serena's face icy, cruel, suffocating.
"You would rewrite her tale," the girl hissed in a hoarse, unnatural voice. "You are the one who was promised… not her."
Serena tried to pull away. "I, I don't understand! Please, just let me go!" Her cries echoed across the frozen expanse, tears mixing with blood from the scratches.
"You need to see. Open your eyes… see!" the girl said, her head tilting unnaturally. Serena's heart nearly stopped when she realized the girl had no eyes, just dark, hollow voids, endless and consuming.
A scream tore from Serena's throat. She kicked forcefully, sending the girl sprawling onto the ice. Her shadow twisted unnaturally as it fell. Before Serena could process, the girl rose with inhuman speed, her form distorting as she ran toward her.
The ice beneath them cracked violently. Serena's legs gave way, plunging her into the freezing void. The world spun, darkness swallowing her, and she felt herself falling endlessly, the cold biting through her very soul.
Above, the hollow-eyed girl's laughter echoed. The nightmare had only just begun.