Authors note: This is a Touhou fanfiction and therefor, everything in Touhou belongs to ZUN. I own nothing but my own ideas. Please be nice, as this is my first time submitting fanfiction. I would appreciate feedback if possible. Critiques are also accepted.

Prologue: In which Darkness Falls upon the Scarlet Devil Mansion

It had snowed the night before. The grounds of the Scarlet Devil Mansion were covered in the fine powdery substance. Hong Meiling shivered as she stood, guarding the gates. She hated winter. Everything was dead or dormant and even the youkai seemed less active.

"It is rather chilly out here." A voice said softly.

Only just having noticed that Lady Remilia Scarlet had joined her, Meiling glanced down at her mistress.

"Miss Remilia, are you leaving the mansion for the day?" She asked hopefully. If Remilia was going out, then Meiling could return indoors where it was warm.

The vampire smirked. "Of course not. I only came out here to give you this. I had Patchouli make it to keep you warm."

Remilia held out a small glowing lantern and as the red headed guard took it, a warming sensation filled her entire body.

"Th-thank you, Mistress." Meiling was astounded at Remilia's kindness.

The vampire was usually very self centered and never bothered to think of anyone but herself. At least that was how it had been before she had met that shrine maiden. After the incident with the scarlet mist, Remilia seemed to be less of a shut in than she had before. She often claimed that she was only going out to get stronger hoping to repay the shrine maiden for defeating her, but she had also made many more friends since then. Even the shrine maiden herself often came to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to have tea with the Mistress.

"There is no use in having a guard if said guard dies of hypothermia. Please wear warmer clothes from now on." Remilia advised, before turning around and returning indoors without another word.

"Remilia…you really have changed…." Meiling said softly.

She sat down and placed the lantern beside her. The warmth was comforting, making the snow beneath her seem like a plush blanket.

"Oh, I'm so tired…maybe I'll just close my eyes for a bit…"

"Crunch"

Meiling jolted awake with a start, an uneasy feeling settling over her. She could have sworn that she had heard a footstep in the nearby snow.

"Mistress Remilia?" She called out tentatively.

When there was no answer, the guard stood up, brushing snow off of herself.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" She demanded, sounding braver than she felt at the moment.

A horrible feeling of dread was rising within her. Something was very wrong. She had never before felt such a sense of trepidation as she was feeling right now.

Suddenly, a sharp pain lanced down her arm. Glancing down, she was horrified to see a kunai embedded in her left shoulder.

"Wh-what the hell…?"

Meiling grasped the throwing knife, gritting her teeth in pain as she yanked it out.

"Where did this come from? I didn't even see its trajectory."

Though the weapon was a knife, it did not look like any of the knives that Sakuya used. It had a purple hilt. Sakuya's knives were blue, red, and green. Stranger still was the way the blade of the knife gleamed. The blade itself was silver, but ever so slightly transparent. Within the blade was a swirling violet mist.

"Stupid girl, why did you pull it out? Now I have to cause you even more pain." A flowery voice echoed across the grounds. It seemed to come from all directions, and though the voice was the same, it seemed to Meiling that multiple voices were speaking at once.

"That purple mist is designed to make you sleep. I didn't think that would be such a difficult task, seeing as sleeping is the only thing you are good at."

As Meiling stood paralyzed with fear, glancing around her, trying to determine where the voice was coming from, the scenery began to melt away and thousands upon thousands of crimson colored eyes surrounded her. The eyes themselves had no irises and only white spheres where the pupils should have been.

"What is this?! Where am I?!" Meiling shrieked, panic obscuring all sense of reason or rational thought.

A shadowy figure materialized before her, dripping with what seemed to be liquefied darkness. Behind her were two youkai. One of them was blonde with a red ribbon in her hair, and Meiling immediately recognized her as Rumia. The other one, however, was unfamiliar, sporting a black hat with a yellow ribbon, shoulder length green curly hair, and a blue eye that was closed attached to her chest. Rumia had a dull look in her crimson eyes, as if she was under some sort of spell. The green haired youkai, however, seemed to be fully alert, and was even smiling at the mysterious woman that was dripping with darkness. The darkness made it impossible to tell who the woman was based on appearance.

"Do not fear this realm, Hong Meiling. I am not here to kill you." The woman spoke softly, her flowery voice soothing, making her all the more menacing.

Meiling's eyes widened as she felt another lance of pain, this time between her shoulder blades. How was this possible? There was no way this woman could have thrown the knife and make it hit in that exact spot unless…

"You're that border youkai!" She cried, reaching for the handle of the knife, desperate to pull it out before it injected its foul mist into her body.

The dripping darkness dematerialized from around the woman's face. Her yellow eyes glimmered with sadistic humor and insanity, and her blonde hair was disheveled and tangled, but there was no mistaking the fact that she was Yukari Yakumo.

"Why yes, Miss Meiling, I am 'that border youkai'." Yukari's mouth widened in an unsettling grin.

"And I told you before. I am not here to kill you."

Meiling's vision began to grow blurry, and she realized that the mist was already inside of her.

"Your friends on the other hand, are not so lucky." She heard Yukari add, the border youkai's voice growing distant as an overwhelming exhaustion stole over her.

"M-mistress…Remi..lia…" She struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Worry not. I will not harm the vampires. They are to play a crucial part in my little game. Now sleep tight. Soon your role will be revealed."

"S-stop…" Meiling tried to raise her arm in protest, grasping at anything solid, but her hand clutched at clouds of darkness and she knew no more.