Author's note: a fair warning... before there can be 'comfort', there must be 'hurt' first. sorry :(

As soon as I shut the front door behind me, I spied the kid next door running towards the village square with the biggest grin I had ever seen. Ah, I know what he's up to. A smile appeared slowly as I leisurely strolled in the same direction as he went in. The little boy suddenly stopped and turned around. Then he ran towards me, grabbed my arm and dragged me along.

"Hurry up Fay!" He shouted while he tried to run while pulling my arm. I was intentionally resisting, frustrating the kid. Yup, Casper's teasing tendencies definitely rubbed off on me.

"What is the magic word?"

"Please! Pleasepleasepleaseplease!" He groaned. He let go of my arm and opted to change tactics by circling around me and pushing my back. "We're all waiting, Fay! It's been too long since you've sung!"

I laughed heartily and complied with his wish to speed up a little. Since I was the only bird around in our village, it had become somewhat of a tradition for me to sing on someone's birthday. And today that someone just happened to be me. I couldn't stop giggling as I looked over my shoulder to see the kid in such high spirits.

It felt so good to laugh. Of course a part of me was sad that Mom and Dad weren't going to be there, but I didn't let it ruin this day. After all, this wasn't only a special day for me, but for the whole village as well. Every time it was someone's birthday, we would celebrate together.

Celebrate, to forget the world around us. Because today it would be like nothing exist beyond the borders of this village. We would ignore the screaming newspaper headlines, forget the constant stress and disregard the occasional sound of bombings in the distance.

I slapped my cheeks to stop with the sadness already. A sorrowful birthday girl wasn't going to help with the distraction we all needed so much.

My little neighbour looked at me questionably and worry started to show in his young eyes. It pained me, because I knew exactly what that look meant. Loss of hope... The children of this village all grew up too fast, experienced the bitterness of this world all too quickly. He was no exception: his father volunteered to fight in the front lines so many years ago when we thought we stood a chance…

I quickly ruffled his hair, making him smile in relief. Only happy thoughts today, Fay. Only happy thoughts.

"Hey, didn't you say I needed to hurry up? Who's the one slowing us down now, huh? Oh it's you r-" I wasn't even done with my sentence before he raced off with me in tow, happily proving me wrong.

"That looks amazing!" I beamed as I took in the little home-made stage in the middle of the square.

"Thanks! But I need you to test it out first and you know… do a rehearsal. Sing a little…" The old carpenter winked at me cheekily. At the word 'sing' some of the children who were playing near drew closer with excitement written all over their faces.

"Yeah, Fay! Sing, sing!" Little hands pushed me forward as I was suddenly swarmed by kids. Other villagers approached us and soon I had myself a little audience.

"Alright, alright. Hey no pushing! Geez… so impatient!" I faked an annoyed sigh, but ruined my act because I laughed. Oh well. I carefully climbed up the stage. So many blissful faces! It really had been too long since everybody was a little carefree.

And now it will be my chance to make them even happier! All pumped up, I took a deep breath. I gradually filled the air with the most calming melody, letting the sweetest words dance along it. I sensed how the atmosphere changed into a lighter one. Ah, the power of music is truly amazing!

But I faltered when I heard a quiet gasp. I continued with a more subdued volume as my eyes flickered from place to place. I shouldn't alarm everyone, but I felt it. A tangible pressure of tension. Something was wrong.

But where did it come from?

My voice died of as I watched strange figures emerge from the shadows behind the audience. Five, ten, twelve… Horror washed over me as I counted the growing number of men with heavy boots and grim faces.

I snapped my head towards the sound of lazy clapping. And I stopped counting as I saw one horribly familiar face.

Everybody in this kingdom knew him. Not a day went by without his scarred face on the front papers. Our army general. Known for his superb leader skills, countless victories and…

…his atrocities.

His name was unknown. He chose to go by the name of his animal self instead. The Crocodile.

In the early days of the war, journalists would still report about it. Every triumph would be accompanied by merciless massacres. Bodies, hacked up beyond recognition. He wouldn't spare women, he wouldn't spare children. And it wasn't only the people of hostile countries he slaughtered.

No. He butchered everyone in his sight.

But as the war continued, it became clear how much the kingdom was depending on him. We were losing. So critical minds started to 'disappear' and the media focused on his glory instead of the gore. It was clear who wielded power, as even the king himself had nothing but praises for the Crocodile. The kingdom needed him. And it seemed that it was willing to ignore his bloodlust in return.

But why was he here?

I didn't dare to breathe as he slowly, ever so slowly, strolled through the crowd towards me. Everyone backed away as best as they could with soldiers surrounding them. One of the village elders wasn't fast enough though. Oh no… I eyed her worriedly but to my greatest surprise the Crocodile walked right past her. Oh, maybe he wasn't as cruel as-

In an instant he turned around and kicked the woman across her back.

One kick was enough.

A bone cracking blow coupled with the most agonising scream… They engraved themselves in my panic filled heart. But what cleaved my soul the most of the sight of her eyes, slowly turning empty as the life left her.

Her body sacked gently to the ground in an unnatural position. And then chaos ensued. Screaming, running, crying… But I couldn't focus on what went on around me. All I could see was the Crocodile.

His hideous face turned more disgusting as he smirked at me. The Crocodile made his way to the stage, his eyes lusting for blood.

I wanted to run. I wanted to scream, move, to do ANYTHING! But fear paralysed all my muscles. The edges of my sight began to blur, for I hadn't blinked yet. Eventually, tears streamed down my face as he stood in front of me.

Death. I'm looking at my death now.

He bend down to my height, his eyes widening madly. Uncontrollable shivers ran up my spine, turning into erratic trembling. The Crocodile smirked.

"Hello girlie."