"And they lived happily ever after." Finished the nursemaid.

"Well that's just silly!" The young princess scoffed. "No one lives happily ever after. Didn't they fight sometimes? I'm sure the princess still had bad days. And besides, magic isn't real."

The nursemaid tucked her into bed. "It's just a story your highness. There's no harm in stories."

"Don't call me that. It's just Brooke." The princess sighed. "It's still a silly story."

"Yes, well sometimes stories are silly. Sweet dreams princess."

Fifteen years later Brooke still though fairytales were silly. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt that magic was not real. And she knew, above all, that monsters were not real. If only the rest of the kingdom were so easy to convince.

There were stories of monsters that lived in the forest near the royal city. Brooke scoffed at the stories but her father, King Brynard took them very seriously. Even if it's not a monster, there is something there, he told her.

Most of the reports were similar. A dark creature, evil and putrid. "He has no eyes!" Some would claim. Others said he did indeed have eyes, but they were like burning coals. Some said he had fangs and claws, others said he had no face. They only thing that was consistent was that he had black wings."He came flying down on wings as black as sin!" They all said.

Brooke could not deny that there was something strange about the forest. She'd heard many reports of missing people, hunters, children, knights, who went into the forest and never returned. Most people stayed as far from the forest as they could.

Today, she sat next to her father as he made an announcement. Before him were gathered all the great adventurers, hunters and knights in the land. The bravest of them all. The king stood. "Brave men! I have asked you here to give you a task. The Ruinvael forest has long been a source of mystery and fear for this kingdom, but no longer. I task you to find the secrets of this forest. I task you with brining our people safety from whatever may lurk there. Bring me the monster and I shall grant any desire that I can."

The men went out with a great cheer leaving Brooke and her father alone in the assembly chamber. "What do you think they will find father?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know dear." He patted her shoulder and left her alone. She sighed and glanced at the empty room before retiring to her chambers.

It was that night that the dreams began.

She dreamed of being a lost child in a dark forest. The trees were so thick that she couldn't tell if it were day or night. She could hear music in the distance. As she walked towards the haunting melody she looked around in awe at the massive, ancient trees around her. Some of them were wider than her room. They smelled old and musky and sweet. She was so taken in by the trees that she almost didn't notice when she stepped into a large clearing. But the commotion in the clearing was more than enough to draw her attention from the magnificent trees.

In the clearing were all manner of creatures. At first Brooke thought they were animals, but at a second glance she realized that they were unlike any creatures she'd ever seen. Creatures with the bodies of men but the legs of goats. Creatures that all looked partially human but had horns or antlers or wings. Rabbit ears and tails and cat eyes. There were tiny winged women, small enough to dance on your hand. Several of the creatures were as tall as two men stacked on top of each other. And all of them were dancing wildly around a roaring fire.

Brooke stared in awe as the creatures leapt and jumped and twirled around the fire. Faster and faster they danced until Brooke was sure they'd all simply collide into each other. But they didn't. And then she noticed, from across the fire, through the rampant dancers, one of the creatures was watching her. He sat on a throne that looked as if it grew from the forest itself. His eyes were darker than anything Brooke had ever seen and they watched her with an intent curiosity. The eyes were deep set over sharp cheeks and framed with dark and wild hair. Two magnificent antlers emerged from the cloud of hair and his long, rabbit like ears framed his face. Suddenly, he stood, tall and imposing over the feral dancers. Brooke couldn't catch her breath. She wasn't sure if she was frightened or enamored by this dark creature. Before she could make up her mind, she woke up.

Several nights later, she had the same dream except this time, the wild creatures beckoned for her to join them. Some of the small ones tugged at the hem of her nightgown, trying to pull her into the fray. The dark one looked amused.

Weeks passed this way. The same dream every few nights. Every time, she edged closer and closer to the wild dancers under the watchfulness of dark eyes. Her dreams troubled her to the point where she was no longer able to focus. She grew pale. Her father called the physicIanth, who merely suggested more sleep. As she grew closer to the dancers in her dreams, she grew further from life around her. And one night, she stepped in to the dancer's circle and found that she couldn't wake up.

She danced with a ferocious abandon that she did not know she had. She twirled around the glowing fire with the stranglings. Faster and faster around the glade until she was sure she would be ill and still they kept on. The small ones tugged at her hands and hair and clothes. The large ones lifted her off the ground to spin around before setting her on dancing feet again. She danced until she felt as if that was all she had ever done. Until she could remember doing nothing else. She could only remember the sound of the flute and lyre and felt the beat of the drums coursing though her very veins, sending her into a frenzy of movement. She could only remember the feeling of the cool forest air on her skin, the damp smell of the trees, and rawness of the dance of nature. She lost herself to the dance.

"Enough!" A powerful voice called out over the music. Everything fell silent. Everyone fell still. The girl looked up to see the dark one, towering, looming over them. She shoved her hair out of her eyes to look at him better. "She does not belong here!" He pointed to someone near her. She glanced around to who he spoke of. Who among them was not a creature of the forest? Then she realized he was pointing at her.

She gasped for air as her mind raced. "No! I do belong here!" Her thoughts screamed, but she could find no voice. "I am one of you! I know nothing else!"

"The child is not of us. She is not Fae." His voice was quietly accusing.

She looked down at herself. Her tattered nightgown, her dirt covered feet. She felt so small. She pulled a leaf from her hair and realized he was right. She began to back away as the Fae stared at her. She began to remember. She remembered that she was human. Brooke remembered her father, the castle, her grammar lessons. Fear began to rise up inside of her as she wondered what they would do to her. She turned and ran into the forest. Behind her, she could hear the voice of the dark one. "Humans do not belong with the Fae!" He called out. "Do not return here!" There was a thinly veiled threat in his voice as it was carried on the wind.

Brooke woke up crying. She wasn't sure where she was. This wasn't the forest and that's all she knew. She sad up and looked around. Her old nursemaid was by her side in an instant. "Shh. Shh. It's ok. Lay back down." She placed a firm yet gentle hand on Brooke's shoulder, coaxing her back down onto the bed.

"Where am I?" Brooke whispered.

"You're safe in your own bed." The old woman held out a glass of water for Brooke to drink. "You've had a fever for about a week now. You've been delirious."

Brooke took a sip of the water. "I've had such strange dreams."

"That's just because of the fever dear. Don't worry about it."

Brooke laid back and stared at the ceiling. Something just didn't feel right. She supposed it could be the fever, but it felt like more than that. It was a week before they let her out of bed. The dreams had stopped.