Prologue
'Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for the blessed life you have given me. Please allow my future husband Leon a safe homeward passage and let him be well. Heavenly Father, Lord Matthias has been suffering from grief ever since the death of dear Elisabetha, please allow him to find you so that he may realize the comfort and love that is still present in life from his friends, so that he may continue to live. Also, forgive me for my past transgressions and guide me along the righteous path. In Christ's name I pray, Amen.'
Sara Trantoul brushed back her long hair and smiled. This was the first genuine smile that had graced her beautiful face that week ever since she had separated from her fiancé. For some reason, she had felt awfully apprehensive the entire week. Could it have been the dark weather that was graying the bright grasslands? Or was it the cross in the hallway that had suddenly slipped upside down as she passed by? Nonetheless, she would worry endlessly until saying her prayers at the end of the day. Now that she felt a bit more serene, she closed her eyes. The prayer itself had calmed her down by strengthening her faith in an all powerful Father. Relaxing, she allowed the power of the night lull her body to sleep as she ventured into a dream.
The air around her was stale, and hot. It was hard to breathe. "Where am I?" she cried, "Please let me out! I cannot take a breath!" She heard footsteps outside of whatever it was that contained her. Suddenly, the top of the coffin opened as a demonic voice echoed throughout the castle's walls, "Arise Sara Trantoul, Lady of the Night."
Sara felt herself gripping the coffin edge before lifting herself from the black prison. The muscles around her lips curled unnaturally upwards as her eyes took in a frightful sight. It was a ghastly skeleton cloaked in wisp-like shadow. Its bony fingers curled apprehensively around the handle of a vicious- looking scythe. Behind it was her betrothed, Leon, bruised and battered. 'Sara!' he screamed, 'No, not you!' Then dread filled her as the next commands resonated from the cloaked skeleton; "Arise Sara, and feast on your love!" She felt herself moving forward and licking her lips as she leaned towards Leon's neck, and took a bite…
"No!"
She screamed the word again and again, until she realized that it was all a dream. Still, she could taste the droplets of blood that had brushed against her tongue in her dream. And from this, she was horrified.
"no…no…no…no…"
Saying the word over and over again became a mantra, as she cradled her head, trying to erase the vivid images in her head. Had she been cursed? Was she a danger to her beloved? Suddenly, her thoughts halted when she heard an audible tap at the bedroom window. She turned her head hesitantly, and held her breath. It was an owl disturbing a branch on the elder tree. It poked its head around the window asking 'who cooks for you?' with a series of hoots. She sighed in relief and decided to open the window for a bit of fresh air.
'After all,' she thought, 'it could have been the stuffy air in the room that caused the dream…'
Brushing the owl away from its branch, she looked upward towards the night sky expecting the soft glow of stars, only to find none. Even so, the zephyr played with her hair and smoothed her cheeks. It even seemed to be calling her name in an indistinct echo.
She closed her eyes, and relaxed, until the caresses on her face seemed a little too realistic. When she quickly opened her eyes, they met with a set of crimson ones. Sara tried to scream but realized she could not, for she was too transfixed by the intruder's gaze. He placed a finger on his lips, signaling her to be quiet before instructing her to jump out the window. To her horror, her body did as he willed, and she was unable to stop it. With the last reserves of her determination, Sara struggled to will herself not to jump. She gripped the sides of the window and strained to keep her foot from stepping over the threshold of life and death. But it was all in vain, for the stranger's will was stronger than hers. She fell. As darkness began to cloud her vision, Sara's last thoughts echoed in her head, 'Leon…help me…'
Walter smirked as the lady in white tried to resist his commands. It was amusing for him to see her squirm against his will, for he knew her actions were futile. As she fell, he waited for her to faint before transforming into a shadowy beast and carrying the body away to the forests beyond. He smirked, 'Let the games begin.'