Every step I took up the stairs, a shooting pain went through my whole body as I made my way towards what I refer to as my sanctuary. You see hear those bullies cannot find me, after school everyday they'd corner me in my own classroom and proceed to beat me and I just stood their crying and pleading as their deaf ears fell upon me as they continued with their work. Sometimes they'd laugh at me for being a baby. They always left me before their parents are suspicion where they were and what they had been up too, as for me I have no parents my mother left me after my father started drinking, my brother was never home anyways and my father would just continue where the bullies left off, beating me over and over again.

After one special day I rushed home after the bullies finished with me, I walked as fast as I could up the stairs ignoring the looks as my brother came out of his bedroom. I rushed to the bathroom as I look at myself in the mirror I see someone different starring back at me you see before the bullies, I was popular, bright, smart and funny with beautiful blonde hair and aqua coloured eyes, I was my Daddy's princess and my mother's angel, but when the fights between my parents began and the bullies started to be mean, I cut my gorgeous hair and dies it a mousy brown colour hoping I could blend in with my surroundings. I wore contacts that made my eyes dull and boring and started to act really geeky only my mother knew the reason why I had changed so much. My only true friend at the moment is Darien, he arrived after I had changed from popular to a geek, but he liked me for who I was but I wish it were more. He was one of the poplars and that's the reason why Beryl Mitchell and her gang of cronies started picking on me. You see I never asked Darien why he hung out with me, he's tall, handsome, and he has midnight black hair with ocean blue eyes and a body to die for. Which is the reason I fancy him, but he always makes me happy whenever I'm down, he always says when I smile so does the whole world or something romantic like that. But Beryl Mitchell also fancies Darien, which is how my ending begins.

Whenever I'm with Darien, Beryl always appears. She acts all nice to me in front of Darien, but as soon as he leaves she throws me into the dirt and when he comes back she tells him I tripped, which I go along with. But I know he knows what really happens, so far I've been able to hide all my problems from everyone, but not for much longer. I take a look at the clock on my bedroom wall it's been three hours since I arrive home. Slam went the front door; I leapt up at the sound of my father arriving home. He wasn't supposed to be home till at least nine, when I had gone to bed, but that had never stopped him. I rushed to my wardrobe to change, wincing at the feel of the cloth against my injuries; I also pulled on a pair of long jogging bottoms gasping, as they brushed against my wounds not enough for me to be in agony, but me to be in slight pain. My injuries still hurt from after three hours I walked stiffly down the stairs looking back towards my sanctuary, where I can hide from all my problems my Sanctuary of Shadow. My father was sitting in his favourite chair reading the newspaper above him where my photo use to hang was his prized shotgun, which he had won in a bet. My father coughed got out of his chair and dropped his newspaper; he stared at me with that inhuman glare of his. He stood over me and I knew what was too come, but did he not know that my older brother was upstairs and could hear every word or scream I uttered.

He slapped me and started screaming at me blaming me for my mother leaving us and for everything that had gone wrong in his life mainly myself. I dimly remember my brother running in from hearing all the commotion and he was horrified to see what my father was doing to me. My father didn't care going through a blind rage and hit my brother who dove in front of me to protect me from my father. I saw my father breathing heavily and slowly make his way to the wall holding the shotgun, I knew then what he planned, my brother didn't see what was happening as he had his back turned, but I caught his eye and said I love you, he understood straight away and said I love you too.

My father then aimed and fired two shots at me and then he left the room, the last I heard of him was he had then used the shotgun on him, but only got serious injuries. He was taking the coward's way out of the trouble he had caused. My brother was crying and even though I shall miss him, I'm in a better place then the place I once called home; I'm within my Sanctuary of Shadows. I then heard bits of what was happening in everyone's lives from my faithful shadows.

My funeral was too take place in two days, Darien had not spoken to anyone since my death, my father had been sent to prison, my mother came back and is taking care of my brother who had gone into a depression and as for Beryl she got expelled and has run away somewhere. My shadows mean everything to me; I'm now their Queen, Queen Of The Shadows that has a nice ring to it.

Two days later I'm in a Graveyard at dusk watching my mother, brother and even Darien laying flowers on my Grave. My mother laid a pink Lilly, my brother a blue bell and Darien laid a white rose. This is what my Gravestone read:

Serena Tsukino

1988 - 2004
A much-loved friend, daughter and sister
Who shall be missed very much