A.N; This story takes place after the events in Lirael and Garth Nix's Creature in the Case (released for World Book Day), but is based along the same theory. And it's a self-insertion fic, as I can't quite get the hang of 3rd person writing...

Iana POV

I sat in the art room, a blank piece of paper on my desk, staring out of the window in front of me. My reflection stared back; a pale-skinned, long black haired, dark blue/grey eyed excuse for a human being. My lips, with dark purple lipstick on them, were a stark contrast to my skin. My eyes were circled in black eyeliner, each of my ears was pierced four times, and a thick black choker with a large silver and black onyx cross decorated my neck. My nails were painted a deep purple to match my lips, my wrists were hung with bracelets galore and I wore at least one ring on every finger except the fourth on my left hand. One look at me confirmed the fact that I was a Goth, through and through. But I didn't care what other people thought about me; for what my close and extended family was, I fit in perfectly.

I usually worked overtime in art, but now that it was the end of the year, I couldn't be bothered, and I knew for a fact that I wasn't the only one in thinking this. My best friend and second cousin Silver was sat next to me, busy drawing on a piece of paper with a green chalk. I looked over at her picture and saw a beautifully created tree, the detail on the trunk and branches exact; Silver had even drawn each of the leaves individually, something that I just didn't have the patience to do. Silver was practically a piece of artwork herself; long auburn hair and green/hazel eyes, rare colours where we came from… She too had pale skin, but hers was creamy and soft, while mine was almost paper white. Her lips were full and pink, while mine were full but pale. I'm practically pale all over; it comes from my Mother... Silver was wearing a lavender coloured eye-shadow and clear lip-gloss, a thin gold bracelet on her wrist and wore a thin gold chain with a small cross around her neck. Her forehead was creased as she concentrated on her work; I smiled as I realised that it was the same look I had when I was working. I leant over.

"Pretty good…" I whispered; Silver looked up at me and smiled.

"Thanks!" She looked at my desk, "Why haven't you done anything?" I shrugged my shoulders and glanced back out of the window.

"It's not worth it, not when we're leaving in two weeks time…" I answered; Silver looked out of the window and followed my gaze, to the large white monolith that stood on the perfectly kept green lawn. She gulped and shook her head.

"Don't think about that…," she said quietly, turning back to her drawing; I looked at her.

"Why not?" I asked; Silver sighed.

"Because in two weeks we'll be going back to the place that spawns the evil creatures like that which caused the memorial to be built," she whispered; I was about to retort when I realised that she was right.

We were enrolled at Wyverley College, 'For young ladies of quality' near to the town of Bain, Ancelstierre. Both my cousin and her mother, my Aunt, had come to this school. We lived here throughout the school year, and journeyed home during the holidays. But when we left in two weeks, we would never be returning… Unknown to anybody but the Headmistress and the Magistrix at the school, Silver and I were not actually citizens of Ancelstierre; we were both from the Old Kingdom. The country where no modern technology works, where magic actually exists… Where the dead can live and walk again…

The pupils and teachers at the school were not permitted to know where Silver and I came from, due to the events that had taken place 19 years ago, involving both our parents and something aptly named 'The Destroyer'. I didn't know all of the details, doubtless I ever will. All I knew was that my Mother met my Father and lost her hand at around the same time. Lirael 'Goldenhand' my Mother was known as in the Old Kingdom, thanks to the magical hand that was attached to her wrist. It had been made by the Wallmaker, the first one in almost a thousand years; Prince Sameth, my cousin… and Silver's Father. Silver's Mother, Renile, was a Noble Woman from a nearby Northern Country, a family with Berserker blood if I ever saw one. Her Father, Sameth, had Berserker blood as well, but Silver had never actually showed this in front of anyone; I reckoned she was just biding her time…

My Mother was Prince Sameth's Aunt, even though she was only a couple of years older than him, which was why Silver was my second cousin. My Mother was the half sister of the famous Queen Sabriel, my Aunt, which made her a Princess and my Father a Lord. This made me a Princess and my older brother, Verl, a Prince as well. Though we're still in line for the throne, there's very little chance that we'd ever get there, and I'd never want to be a Queen anyway; too many restrictions… Aunt Sabriel and Uncle Touchstone had abdicated the throne to their daughter Ellimere, my cousin and Silver's Aunt, less than 3 years ago, but still lived in the capital to help her-

"Miss Sayre?" a voice interrupted my thoughts. I gulped, sat up straight and looked at the teacher, Mrs Hart.

"Yes?" I asked, knowing I was in for a reprimand of some sort. Mrs Hart peered at me over the rim of her spectacles.

"Do you plan on doing some work today? Or are you just going to sit staring out of the window until school ends?" she snapped; I shook my head guiltily, picked up a stick of charcoal and began drawing on the paper before me. As soon as Mrs Hart had turned away to scold another girl, I collapsed into giggles. Quickly, in case anybody noticed, Silver drew the Charter marks for silence and calming and placed them on the back of my neck. Once I could control myself I turned to thank her… but no words came out; I drew the mark for speech and touched my throat.

"Thanks…" I hissed to her; Silver smiled.

"No need…" she whispered, "It's my job to make sure you don't get into too much trouble…" I grinned and turned back to my paper.

Meanwhile, near the town of Edge;

A man stood on a mound of earth, looking out south towards the Wall, just visible in the distance. He knew what he had to do, and nothing was going to stop him.

But the Royals were too heavily guarded, the Abhorsen was always moving, and the one with the Mixed Blood was too dangerous to approach. So they were out of the plan… He had to strike where they were the weakest, where it was the easiest…

He looked down at the mound, and then drew a bell of some sort from a bandoleer across his chest. The man turned 360˚ to check that the coast was clear, and then scouted with his magical senses for any nearby threats: nothing. The man raised the bell and rung it in a backwards figure of eight, then a series of slight jerks of the wrist. The bell had a deep sound, clear, yet somehow muffled… as if it was sounding beneath the earth. The man stepped back as the ground beneath his feet began to shudder, as a half rotten arm pushed its way up to the surface. The bell was meant to send him far into the realm of Death as these spirits came out, but thanks to a few long forgotten spells, this didn't happen. That way he could keep watch on his creations as they emerged, which meant they were less likely to be destroyed before they had completed the little task he had set for them…

The bell kept ringing, as more and more limbs pushed their way through the grass. The man stopped the bell and swapped it for a bigger bell. He rang this in another figure of eight, directing the sound towards the corpses climbing up to the daylight.

Daylight… The man cursed; he'd forgotten that the sun would weaken his newly created servants. Quickly, the man spoke a spell as he rang the bell, white smoke flowing from his mouth. As soon as 28 or so corpses had levered themselves out of the ground, the man began to run towards the nearest patch of trees, the 'things' following behind him.

His vengeance would have to wait for now… and he was a very patient person…

What will happen next? He he! Only I know, oh, and Silver; she helps me write my stories, so basically my pen name covers two people. Please review so that I know that people like my work, and then I know whether I need to spend time posting the next chapter or not! XxX