I barely slept last night. I suppose the main reason was my worry that the twins would try to push the boundaries. I know from the advice of other mothers that I can't let my guard down with my daughters. If they're thinking about getting away from my 'over-protective' ways, they will likely do it when they think I'm no longer watching them like a hawk.

Any sleep I managed to get was hampered by dreams that have haunted me for years. They're there as soon as my mind drifted away from the day-to-day events that keep me occupied and continued without fail until I eventually give up on sleep altogether. They contain people I don't know and events I can't recall, but they always seem so real.

There's little to no relief from my daughters' attitude when they wander into the kitchen either. They mope around while I cook their breakfast, and leave me to clean up once again. I pay little attention to their stroppiness though. I can endure them being pissed off with me as long as they're safe.

The morning moves slowly as I clean the apartment and pull out the Christmas tree. It's still just two weeks until Christmas, and putting the tree up is something we normally do together. But I'm not holding my breath while I wait for the twins to calm down. I figure I might as well do it on my own so it gets done.

"Mum," Kes says softly as I put our well-used plastic tree together. "Can I help you with that?"

"Sure you're not too old for this kinda stuff?" I ask with a small smile, it's all I can manage through the stress. It has been their reasoning for the last couple of years when they wanted to go to the mall after making their decorations for the year.

"Think I might have got a little younger since last Christmas," she replies with a small laugh. "Where are the decorations?"

"In the hall cupboard."

I finish putting the tree together as Akeso walks away. I wish what she said was true, that they had actually gotten younger since last Christmas. The years have slipped away from me. They've grown up in what seems like a blink of an eye.

Being a single parent hasn't been easy. Times were tough right from the start, but I did what I had to in order to keep our little family going. I have always tried to give my daughters everything they wanted, I hate having to say no to them. That one word never gets any easier to say, no matter how many times I have to.

I always make sure they come home each break the academy has. I don't know why, but it's important that this happens. I have also tried to make Christmas special every year. I save every dollar possible throughout the year in the hope of making Christmas better than the one before. It's one of many things I can't remember ever experiencing, so I guess I'm making memories for myself as well.

Kes comes back with her arms full of plastic boxes and Tia trailing behind her. She sets them down beside me and they both get to work sorting through the decorations they have made and collected over the years.

"I was thinking," Tia says as she holds up a plastic bauble she painted when she was eight, "maybe we could make a theme for the tree this year."

"That sounds like a good idea," I say, curious as to what she has in mind. "What do you want to theme it as?"

"Well…" She pauses for a few moments, lost in her thoughts. "We could do a specific colour or colours. Or maybe we could just use the decorations Kes and I have made. Kinda like a memory tree or something."

I smile. Both ideas are great, and after their mood since I told them they're under lock and key, both are far from anything I'd been expecting.

"Oh, I like the memory tree idea," I tell her, "but I don't think either of your have ever made anything for the top of the tree."

"We could make that one today," Kes suggests. I can see she likes her sister's idea too. "The top of the tree can represent the here and now."

I leave the girls to work their magic on the tree while I work out what we'll have for Christmas dinner. Our Christmas dinners have always been a far cry from anything 'traditional'. Normally we just ate what we would any other night. I can't recall the girls ever actually eating turkey in their lives, unless they've had it at the academy. I can't be sure I've ever had turkey either.

The majority of the money I save during the year has always gone on presents for the girls. An attempt to get them everything they've wanted in that year. Food comes in at a distant second.

I want this year to be different though. The girls are making an effort, their sudden change in attitude tells me that, and I decide I will do the same. I pull out my notepad and begin writing out the shopping list for Christmas dinner. Sure I'm likely to max out my credit cards, but this Christmas we're going to have turkey and all the trimmings.

A while later the twins tell me they only have the angel left for the tree to be complete. They still need to make it, but they'd like to go to the mall and hit the craft shops. With the shopping list complete, we grab our coats and head for the mall.

As we exit the building, I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched.

~:~:~:~:~

We return home three hours later with our arms filled with bags of groceries. It's the first time since having the new locks installed that I wish I hadn't. It takes some teamwork, but we finally manage to get inside and dump everything on the kitchen bench.

The girls rummage through the haul and find what they need for the angel and return to the lounge room while I set about finding room for all the food. To anyone looking in they could easily think I'm planning on feeding an entire army instead of just three people, and I only got the non-perishable items on the list. There was no point getting the turkey of fresh vegetables when they would likely spoil before Christmas even got here.

"Mum," Tia calls a while later, "it's ready. Come see."

I put down the paper I'd been skimming through to occupy myself and walk towards the lounge room. The joy in Tia's voice is clear, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they've created. In all honesty, it doesn't matter all that much what the tree looks like. They have worked together, with no fights, and as a mother of teenage girls, that brings me a lot of happiness.

But as I walk into the lounge room I can't help but stop in my tracks.

The tree looks incredible. No. Better than incredible. Each year when the girls were home from the academy for the Christmas break they have made a couple of decorations each. Those decorations have now been turned into a timeline, with the oldest at the bottom of the tree, and the ones from last year hanging towards the top. But what has caught and held my attention is the angel sitting in all its glory at the very top.

She is beyond amazing with her handmade white gown, sequinned wings and white flowing hair.

"Wow," I manage to say. Though I'm sure it doesn't quite describe how I'm feeling in this moment.

The trip down memory lane causes tears to well in my eyes for the second time in just two days. I can still see Kes and Tia sitting at the kitchen table eagerly making their decorations for the tree. The tradition started the Christmas before they started at the academy, they were only five. It has continued every year without fail.

"Do you like it Mum?" Kes asks, a vibrant smile stretches across her lips.

"The word like doesn't even begin to describe it girls," I murmur, still spellbound by the tree. "It looks truly amazing.

My heart swells as I look over at them, their smiles are so bright they could almost chase away my deepest fears. There's no way to describe how much I love them. I don't think words of that magnitude could possibly exist.

I'm sure I've made mistakes in my past – even if I can't remember them – but whatever happened between my daughters' father and myself that ended with them being brought into this world is definitely not one of them.

My daughters are my everything, and at times like this I can forget how I feel not knowing my past. I know without a second thought, I will give my life so they can continue living theirs.

I guess that's what being a mother is all about, whether you planned to be one or not – whether you can remember how you came to be one or not. You give everything you possibly can for your children. It's like an instinct that kicks in automatically when your child is born.

~:~:~:~:~

I lay in bed, once again unable to fall asleep. My mind swirls rapidly with thoughts and emotions. I'm thankful that things seem to be back on track with Kes and Tia. Though, I of course know that doesn't mean I can lower my guard with them. I hate playing the over-protective parent, I hope they'll one day understand that.

Unconsciousness laps closer to me as my thoughts begin to drift away. My fingers have once again found the leather band, it lulls me even closer to sleep. And as I drift away a dream comes into view. I'm in a room I have never seen before. I know this because I can't recall ever seeing anything so opulent in my life.

I try to look further around the room, but I can't. My eyes remain focused on a moroi woman sitting behind a monstrous wooden desk. It's all but impossible to guess the woman's age. Moroi age much slower than humans, and even dhampirs, and there's barely a wrinkle on her hard face. She could be anywhere between forty and seventy for all I know.

I try to glance around the room again as I wait for the woman to finish with her paperwork. It's like I have no control over my own eyes. Strange. I try over and over, until her cold voice draws my mind back to her.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice Princess," the woman says as she pushes the small stack of papers away from her. Princess? I think numbly, it definitely isn't like my usual dreams.

"Of course Your Majesty, what can I help you with?" I ask as I gracefully bow my head.

Except it isn't me. It's someone else. It's like I'm inside someone else.

"Well, I fear a new threat may be forming," the 'Queen' states as she motions for the Princess to take a seat across from her. She accepts the invitation immediately as she doesn't want to cause any offence to the Monarch. "At this stage I have nothing concrete to go on, which is why the council aren't involved as yet. But I want to run it by you. Perhaps you may be able to offer some insight I haven't been able to see."

"Okay," I…she says softly. "I shall do my best."

"You always do Vasilisa," the Monarch says with what looks like a forced smile. Vasilisa, a unique name, yet it seems almost familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before. Yet I have no idea where. "And I value that immensely." She pauses as she gazes at the Princess with cold eyes, she seems lost in thought but soon recovers and speaks again. "Right, back to what you are here for. I came across a journal some years ago. It had been written by someone who claimed to see into the future, and of course this fact alone held my attention. I read the entire journal in one sitting, but once I had finished it I didn't think any more of it. Frankly, I found it outlandish that anyone could suggest anything of that magnitude could ever happen."

"What do you mean?" Vasilisa asks after the Queen pauses for longer than she feels comfortable with.

I know the Princess wants the meeting to be over sooner rather than later. While she's thankful that the Monarch has called on her for an opinion, it is close to the holidays and she has a lot to do in preparation of family arriving. Vasilisa is young in the eyes of the royals, she wants to prove herself to them.

"The writer of this journal claimed a catastrophic event would occur with only two possible outcomes," the Monarch explains. Her eyes are now focused on the window across the room, and remain there even as she continues to speak. "The first outcome is that strigoi would gain domination over the entire world. If this were to happen…well, there would be nothing left for us. Moroi will quickly cease to exist."

"And the other outcome?" Vasilisa enquires. I don't know how she manages to keep her voice so level and calm. I can feel her heart pounding within her chest – though it could always be mine that I'm feeling.

"We would gain a greater domination over the strigoi," the woman replies.

"Okay," Vasilisa says as the Queen's words replay in her mind. "And what is the cause of these outcomes? How are we to gain the domination?"

It's a question that has been asked for decades, if not centuries. Strigoi preferred to prey on moroi because of the power that came from their blood. Without the high number of strigoi currently in the world, moroi would finally have a chance of surviving.

"The outcome is meant to be decided at the end of a great battle. A battle unlike anything we have ever seen before in the history of even the human wars. Whoever finds the promised ones first, and learns how to utilise their power to their advantage will undoubtedly win."

"And you're basing this on what you've read in an old journal," Vasilisa states calmly. "It could be possible that the journal is incorrect…or even a work of fiction."

"Of course. As I mentioned before, I thought nothing of the journal for a long time now," the Queen says dismissively. "However, recently I was approached by a person who is also able to see into the future, just as the writer claimed they could. This person…well I trust their word. Their visions have never failed me in the past."

"Alright," Vasilisa says with a slight sigh. "Who are we looking for? The promised ones you mentioned, where are we supposed to find them?"

The dream floats away as my mind rouses me awake. I have no time to consider the strange dream, as it soon becomes apparent why I've been woken.