*Author's Note* (Thank you so much for reading this!)

This first chapter might be a little rough around the edges and has more of a daydream-like feel to it than I anticipated, but the action should pick up after this. I was trying to imagine what it might be like to wake up with no memories, but have words for everything around you. It was harder than I thought...

I've had this story sitting on the back burner for quite a while, and I decided that it was about time to gather my courage and write the darn thing! I was hesitant to post this as it does not currently have an editor or beta reader, but I will try my best to correct any mistakes that I find. If you happen to notice any errors, or something that you simply find confusing, please let me know!

-oo0O0oo-

I remember what it was like to wake up. At first, there was nothing. I was not floating, for there was no ground. Time did not exist here, neither sound nor light. All was one, and my world was at peace.

Then came the inkling. That first stirring that rippled away from the rest of space and time to become thought, the spark of an idea, the beginning of understanding. With thought came the beginnings of awareness, the idea of something separate from the void, the first concept of self. "I am", my heart spoke to the universe, and with that affirmation, my eyes opened for the first time, and my life began.

Time has continued to pass since then, but it is something I somehow know that I will never forget. The world was full of endless possibilities, and the future hung before me like a blank canvass just waiting for the first tender stroke of the master. In that moment, I came to be. In that moment, I began to define myself.

Words came to my mind as though I had always known them. Words I used to define what I felt and saw and touched. Human. I was human.

Wind teased at my hair, laughingly whipping the brown strands around. Hair brushed aside by hands, meant to hold, to reach and to touch. Feet and toes that clenched and dug into the ground, feeling the first, soft caress of the fragrant grass they were cradled in. Eyes that took in everything around me with a sudden hunger that was startling in its intensity. Eyes that blurred with tears of sudden relief as the light of the moon shone down.

Alive. I was alive, and the world was beautiful.

I would soon learn that even that which was beautiful could still cause pain.

-oo0O0oo-

Those first few moments of wondering innocence could not last forever, for the world is not a safe place, and evil does not wait until you are ready. The light of the moon cast shadows through the trees, and it was from those shadows that I would first learn of fear, and of pain.

Shadows writhed as the trees shifted, while the wind drew closer like a silent protector. Laughter echoed eerily, and for the first time, the moon's light grew sharper, harsher, as though it too was afraid of what lurked in the dark. It seemed as though the world itself was holding its breath, tensing in focused expectation of what was to come.

I didn't understand. I was so new and so overwhelmed. There was too much to take in, and interpreting it I knew would take experience that I simply didn't have. All I knew was that I was alone, it was dark, and I was scared; so when a figure finally melted from the shadows, I welcomed it, and by doing so I unknowingly sealed my fate.

It was a man, tall and dark, with golden eyes that peered out from the sharp shadows cast by his face. The shadows seemed to move around him, hanging from his frame like a robe and groveling at his feet like servants to their king. Though I had yet to meet another living soul, a part of me insisted that I knew this man, and that part of me recognized that within his shadows lurked the very embodiment of danger. Realizing this, my body and my mind both froze when the dark man spoke.

"So, you are the new spirit that MiM has chosen, the one he thinks will have power to rival my own? Ha! You're nothing more than a child!" My body tensed as he drew closer, like a predator examining its prey. I had no idea who MiM was, or anything about powers. All I knew was the feeling of that peaceful place that I had come from, and as the darkness nipped at the dark man's heels, I struggled to hold on to the feeling of safety I had felt before. As though sensing these thoughts in the face of my fear and finding them distasteful, the figure sneered in disgust, revealing two rows of unnaturally sharp teeth that sent another tingle of unease down my spine. He turned abruptly and faced the moon with what seemed to be disgust.

"Of course, this is not the first time you have sent a child against me. I may have underestimated him before, but I do not intend to make the same mistake now. I am surprised at you, though. For someone who claims his purpose is to protect the children of the world, you have quite the habit of sending them into danger. Not that it matters to me, but truly, MiM, you are quite the hypocrite."

I had started to edge away while the man was speaking, but halted and felt my breath catch when his yellowy eyes were once again on my trembling figure. He paused, as though searching for something, but whatever it was that he found, he seemed disappointed in it. The shake of his head seemed to confirm this conclusion, and the desire to get away grew so strong that it was almost choking, yet I was rooted to the spot, prisoner to his next words as the shadows drew closer.

"Such a pity. I could use a strong ally, but I can already tell that you would be useless. Jack at least had some fire to him! I don't know what MiM was thinking. Perhaps he's finally gone senile in his old age. There's no way that a little thing like you could ever stand against me, and I was so hoping for a challenge! But perhaps there is a way we could at least make this interesting…"

Suddenly he was in front of me, his shadows crushing in all around and his long fingers clenching my chin in a vice, forcing me to look at him. I saw my frightened reflection in his eyes, though the image seemed tainted within his gaze. I could hear the wind howling as it tried to claw me away from his grasp, but his hold was firm and I could not move. A dark, oily wash of tainted darkness swept over me and my mind reeled with disgust. I could hear him laughing again as I was suddenly released and was finally able to move. My world spun as the shadows pulsed and writhed like living things. Yet once again my gaze was still captured by the intense yellow eyes now glinting with a sickening kind of amusement, somehow more terrifying than anything I had yet seen. Bad things happen when the devil has reason to laugh.

Even leaning down, he seemed to loom larger than before as the darkness cloaked him. His voice was nearly a whisper, but held a promise that caused my heart to beat faster than before.

"Now, little rabbit, I suggest you run."