The rain fell as Tate stood in his old bedroom window and watched the moving van pull up to the house. It had been five years since the Harmon's had left, taking his Violet with them. Vivian had to be put into a mental hospital after the ordeal with the child, and Violet had gone to live with her father back in Boston. She would be getting ready to finish college by this time. Since the Harmons, no one had come to murder house until now. Several times his mother had come looking for him but, she might as well be one of the ghosts of the house. Tate stayed to himself now. He was content to waste away in the misery of the love he had almost had and lost. Now he stood watching as the new victims of the house pulled up in a large light blue minivan. A few minutes later he heard the front door open. He turned and walked away into the darkness, the in between where the dead seek solace from each other and the rest of the world. To the living it was known as sleep. But with sleep only a person's conscious went off to a different world. To a ghost, his entire being disappeared into his own, memories and dreams. Tate now disappeared to a place where he wasn't dead and his Violet had never left, where they were happy again now and forever.

It was several days before Tate finally came out of the darkness to see the new inhabitants of murder house. He appeared in the kitchen, where Moira was busy fixing lunch.

"So, who are the new victims," he asked sitting at the high top table staring at the elderly maid with large dark eyes.

She had always been kind to him, even after his mother had killed her. She always seemed to genuinely care about him.

"It is two Elderly sisters, Katherina, and Audriana. They are very kind. Both of them are a little eccentric, but very funny. They embraced me as soon as they met me. I had to convince them that I wanted to work here, instead of just living here." She said keeping her head down over her work.

"Great," Tate mumbled,

Moira turned to look over her shoulder at him with large eyes, one light blue and one brown and said in a soft voice,

"I like them, there is something different about them."

She turned back to her work and whispered quietly,

"Even your mother likes them." Tate's eye brows shot up. Normally his mother hated everyone who moved into the house, though she herself could not bear to live in it. The pair remained quiet for several minutes before Tate finally asked,

"So where are these strange old women?" in a dead pan voice.

Moira turned to get something out of a nearby cabinet.

"They went to get Miss Briar's medication."

Tate tilted his head, "I thought it was just the two sisters living here?" he asked.

Moira's eyes flashed at him.

"She is their great niece. She is the reason they came to live here, to be closer to her doctors. Though, I figured you would have already seen her since she is staying in your room."

Tate tilted his head curiously, "I didn't notice anyone moving around upstairs."

Moira then realized that he must not have seen, and therefore did not know.

"She wouldn't be moving around…She is in a coma. It is quite sad really. She is a few years older than you were, very beautiful." She said with a grin, "She reminds me of a fairy tale princess."

Tate looked up towards the second floor of the house. Moira watched as he got up and walked out of the room. She knew he was in pain from losing the Violet girl. He had really been in love with her. She had changed him somehow. He was more mature, more conscious of the world and people around him. He wasen't as selfish, wallowing in his own misery. She didn't know what would happen when he met the girl. But with these new occupants Moira had a feeling they would change everything especially the young one, Briar Rose.

Tate slowly walked up the stairs towards his old room. He normally didn't care about anyone or anything, but something had changed since they had moved in. The house itself seemed different. Slowly he walked to the door of his old room, and pushed it open. Inside the room looked as if it had been taken from a story book, the furniture which had been modern with the Harmons looked now as if it had been taken from a castle or something. Tate felt as if he had stepped back in time, looking at the dark embellished wood furniture. The walls had medieval tapestries hanging from them with scenes of forests, and other stuff on them. His eyes ,however, were drawn towards the large unique four poster bed against the wall. It took up a good portion of the room. The posts of the bed looked like large trees growing out of the floor towards the middle of the bed where they grew into a joined point. From each of these trees long pieces of sheer green fabric draped over the branches and down the sides of the bed concealing its occupant. The only obvious technology in the room was several medical machines sitting by the bed. Tate could see several wires leading from the machine up onto the large bed. Quietly Tate walked up to the bed and pulled back the drape and felt his dead heart nearly jump start. There on the bed was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Moira had been right she did look like a fairy tale princess. She had long white blond that spread out around her like a halo. She had soft pink lips and soft pale skin almost as pale as her hair, and rosy red cheeks. Besides the wires hooked up to her arm she looked as if she might have simply been peacefully sleeping. Tate sat on the edge of the bed and just stared at her for what seemed like and was in reality was hours.

"Well, well, you must be Tate," a voice said behind him.

Tate jumped and turned to see two elderly ladies smiling at him. They looked as if they had both come from a hippy convention wearing long flowing flowered dresses with their long white hair hanging down their backs.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to break in, Moira and my mom told me about you, so I came over to say….." but he was quickly interrupted,

"Oh its alright dear, we no exactly who you are, we were wondering when you would show up." one smiled,

"Yes, your mother said you loved hanging around here. We know this was your room, we didn't think you would mind if we put our sleeping beauty in here, we thought she might be safer from the other less desirable residents of the house,"

Tate stared wide eyed at the two women. Did they know? This was becoming too weird for him. But.. he turned back to the girl lying in the bed, for some reason, he didn't want to leave. He turned back towards the women, but quickly jumped as one of them had come to stand by him leaning in only a few inches and looking at him with scrutinizing eyes. He could only stare back as she watched him with piercing green eyes.

"Yes, I think he will do Audie," she said with a smile leaning back. Audie glided over almost as if she wasn't walking at all and smiled down at him with bright blue eyes.

"Well Kat I believe we have frightened him enough, we need to give Briar her medicines now." she said holding up a bag.

Tate stood up to leave, "Well, I think I'll go visit my mom. It was nice meeting the both of you. I'll see you around," he said backing out of the room.

After he left Kat turned to Audy, "I think he is the one,"

Audy pulled several liquid medicines out of the bag to put into Briar's IV.

"I hope so, Kat, time is almost up, her step mother will come for her soon. If he can't wake her up…I fear the worse, for all of us."

Kat sat down another bag that held different herbs and flowers, and began taking them out and crushing them in a small marble bowl,

"We took a big risk, buying this house. This ritual will be dangerous, they will know she is here." she whispered as she mixed the herbs.

Audy lit several colored candles, "they will find out sooner or later, but we need to know if she is really still there or if she has moved on to the light. If she has, then there is no point, if she is still here, there is hope. Besides, it will be better for them to meet on their own instead of us forcing, you know that." then began praying for protection over her great niece.

Kat began sprinkling the herbs around Briar's bed in a circle of protection, and joined in prayer with Audy. Then together they performed a ritual to try to contact the sleeping girls spirit. As they stood on either side of the bed and held their hands up, chanting. The room began to change, the mirrors began reflecting a stormy sky. A voice like a bell echoed through the house. All of the spirits in the house froze to listen. The mirrors changed again revealing a forest scene. The forest was filled with a thick fog that covered everything. The women stopped chanting and stepped away from the bed. Suddenly, a vision of the girl appeared in the mirror, she looked around as if lost, again she called

"Hello, is anyone there?" and her voice rang though the house like a shock wave.

The vision of her suddenly appeared in the room with the women. She wore a beautiful long white flowing gown, and her long white blond hair fell down her back in waves. She looked around with her piercing unique eyes, one bright blue, and one bright green. They looked at her, and though she looked in their direction, she could not see them. Shaking her head sadly she turned and walked away disappearing into one of the walls. The women looked at one another and smiled, she was still there, she hadn't given up, she was still lost, but she was searching. The mirrors showed Briar within the forest, the way, she saw the world she was in. She was lost within her mind, and needed to be found. She needed to be saved, by someone who could journey into the darkness to find her. She needed a knight in shining armor.

After the women left the room, another watched the sleeping girl from the shadows. He watched the mirrors with hunger in his black eyes. He looked over her luscious sleeping form on the bed. The skin tight rubber stretched against his growing erection. He would make her his. She was strong unlike the woman before. He could feel it. He wanted to touch her. He stepped towards the bed, but as he walked towards the bed he came upon the circle of herbs and flowers that the old women has set out. As soon as his foot touched it, he felt a stinging and burning sensation rushing through his body, as if he were being electrocuted. He was thrown back against the wall. He growled angrily at the circle keeping him away from her. His entire body seared with pain that he had not known before. He would have to wait and bide his time. He was a very patient being, but he would have her. He swore to the darkness then and there, that she would be his one way or another….