Prologue

With a trembling hand, the figure in front of the burning fire picked up a rose from the deep purple vase that stood nearby. The harsh orange and yellow colours of the fire bounced off the blackness of the rose petals. The figure smelled the flower, before a sneer formed at his mouth. With a growl of discontent, he threw the flower in the flames and watched as the fire consumed it.

He was ready for revenge.

Chapter 1

- Five years later -

"Mina! Wait up!"

With a smile, the young woman Mina Harper turned around, recognizing the voice from anywhere. "Carla! So good to see you." Carla grinned at her friend. "You too! You look so good!"

Happily chatting, they entered the little coffee shop they agreed to meet at. It had been months since they talked, they both led such busy lives after graduating from Hogwarts. They sat down and ordered two chai lattes, their favourite drink.

"So how's Mickey?" Mina asked warmly, when they were sipping from their beverage. The shop was cosy, the interior decorated with bookcases and sofa's, giving it more of a 'living room' feel than an actual café. Carla smiled shyly.

"He's good, thanks. He's working on his paper, doing research and whatnot. I can tell he's so excited about it." She happily shared, making Mina smile too. "I'm glad to hear it."

"How's your mom?" Carla asked in return and Mina chuckled. "Like a teenager in love. She and Jareth check in every now and then and it's like I'm seeing myself and…" Her smile faded and her voice trailed off. Tears sprang to her eyes and she shook her head in frustration. Carla frowned, a guilty look spreading on her face. "I'm so sorry, Mina, I didn't mean to…" She started to say, but Mina made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "No, no worries, I should be over it by now."

Carla knew that she was talking about her and Lucius. After five years, it still stung. It still hurt. The fact that Lucius wasn't able to accept Mina for who she was, only for what she was, after finding out who her father was. He never even fought for her, never contacted her. Her friend deserved so much more than him, but Carla knew that she still missed him and pined after the man.

"It's okay if you aren't, Mina. You loved him."

Mina hid her face in her hands and had a good cry, while Carla patted her on her back and fed her consoling words. But she didn't know what to say, to make her friend feel better. It hit her how happy she should be that her relationship with Mickey was still good and strong and how thankful she should be towards Mina, for talking sense into her back at Hogwarts.

They finished their drink, the mood a bit heavier than before. But nevertheless they were both happy to be caught up with each other's lives again. Afterwards, Mina visited the nearby flower shop to buy some lilacs. She inhaled their scent as she exited the shop and smiled wryly. It reminded her of home, her childhood and playing around with her brother Clint. But it also reminded her of Lucius and their affair. She was so young and gullible back then. Falling for his tricks and excuses.

She took solace in the fact that she lived and learned, she stood up for herself now and was less of a pushover. With the help of the teachers, she graduated from Hogwarts and took a part-time job as a writer. She wrote for several newspapers, both muggle and wizard. Jareth had been rather generous, so Mina would be able to grow and develop, without having to worry over money. She rented a room in London, to feel more in touch with the big city. Thanks to Jareth, she could afford it. Over and over she tried to deny him spending money on her like that, but he was determined to help her out. He was willing to do the same for Clint, but sadly they had another falling out. And just like last time, he took off without telling them where. They never found out where he was living, when he came back into their lives, so they had no idea where to look for him.

Mina arrived at her flat and went inside, a sudden feeling of dread overcoming her. Someone was here. Someone who didn't belong. She opened her mailbox in the corner of the hallway, slowly turning her key in the keyhole, swallowing hard. The little hallway was empty, but parts of it were hugged by the shadows casted. And the feeling that somebody was watching her, was one that she couldn't shake. Her mailbox was empty so Mina closed and locked it again. She walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. Nothing happened. Strange. Usually the button was illuminated from the inside, indicating the elevator was coming. The girl sighed and turned to the staircase.

"The fifth floor, who came up with that…" She mumbled as she started to ascend the stairs. "Oh, that's right, I did." Again the girl sighed, thinking that she really should improve her health, so this wouldn't be such a burden. Finally, she arrived at her doorstep and opened the door for herself. Quickly she turned her head to look behind her, since she felt a pair of eyes on her again. The hallway was empty, but again parts of it were hidden in shadows.

With an anxious feeling, Mina stepped over her threshold and entered her apartment. It was a lovely little place, she refused to rent a giant penthouse when Jareth offered her his help. There was a small kitchen with a table and some chairs in the left corner, in the middle of the room a small coffee table, with a giant purple couch behind it. On the wall hung a flat TV screen, which Mina used for 'background noise', while she was writing. Her trusted laptop buzzed softly, just like she left it, laying in the couch. Further into the apartment she had a small bedroom and a bathroom behind hit. With a bath-tub. That was the only luxury that Mina had insisted on. The walls were painted in a light lilac shade and her furniture was a little worn but sturdy. Most of it came from second-hand stores. She didn't tell Jareth that, he would have been appalled at his royal daughter picking up her furniture at a thrift store. Some knick-knacks were spread here and there, but overall the apartment was tidy and clean. And it was home.

Mina put her purse on her kitchen table and took looked for a knife in her utensil drawer. She wanted to cut the lilac-branches, so they'd last longer in a vase. She frowned when she didn't find the little black piece of cutlery, but then noticed it was laying in her sink. That was not where she left it. She was sure of it. How was this possible? Was she going insane? When she stepped closer to inspect it, she noticed a few drops of blood on the blade and around it. This was getting stranger by the second. The girl realized that she was still clenching the flowers in her left hand and looked in the cabinet under the sink to find her vase. The spot was empty.

With a gasp, the girl spun around to inspect the apartment. The vase had to be around here somewhere. She probably just forgot to put it back after buying flowers last time. But how long had that been? Had she not noticed it for all these weeks? Or was someone in here without her knowing?

Then it dawned on her. The vase was standing in her window sill, next to her couch. Mina knew that her fears were true. She didn't leave it out after buying flowers last time. She was sure of it, because of the bouquet of fresh flowers that was standing in it right now. Flowers she had never seen before in her life. It was a bouquet of black roses. The petals were pitch-black, as if they had gone rotten, but they were blooming like freshly cut flowers. A streak of blood ran down the white porcelain of the vase, as if someone cut themselves while preparing it, but didn't bother to wipe away the blood.

Mina took out a long glass, filled it with some water and put the lilac-branches in the glass, setting them down on her kitchen table. She wasn't thinking straight, she hoped that doing mundane chores that needed to be done would somehow make up for the fact that a stranger put flowers in her home for some reason. But then the fear turned to anger. How dare this stranger scare her like this? Violate her privacy this way? She didn't care if they were from some secret admirer or whatnot, this was not okay.

With firm and long strides, she walked towards the vase and picked it up, inspecting the bouquet. Ah, as expected, there was a card. But not some plain muggle card, it was an envelope with a piece of parchment inside. She put the vase down and opened up the envelop, sealed with a wax seal, and took out the piece of parchment.

"Soon"

It was one word, written in handwriting Mina did not recognize. Again she noticed traces of blood, like someone frantically prepared the note, after cutting themselves. What did it mean? Soon he or she would reveal themselves? Soon she'd be in trouble? Should she contact Jareth and her mother to tell them? Was it theirs? A little trick to announce a formal event? Or was this a much more sinister situation? Or was it just Clint, pulling a very tasteless joke?

As Mina pondered over the possibilities, she felt her latte turn in her stomach, filling her mouth with saliva. She ran towards the bathroom and dropped to her knees, throwing up in the toilet bowl. She panted, once she was done, trying to focus on something else than the sour taste of vomit in her mouth. With trembling hands, she stood up and grabbed the glass near the sink, filling it with water. As she slowly sipped from the liquid, she noticed her reflection. A scared little bird was looking back at her, with a pale face and a worried frown. Only one question was racing through her mind.

Who was after her?