Double digits yeah! Not that anyone seems to care.

By the way, does anyone else have their winter break start right now? If not... you probably live in a different country then me, but who cares! It's Christmas season, and I am SO HIGH on sugar from cookies and candy and everything.

Merry Christmas!

Not again! No!

She was back with Eros and he was standing over her the way a wolf looked at its kill.

Eros held one of his hands over Evangeline's throat, running his other one through her hair in an almost loving fashion, before pulling on it roughly. "I'm disappointed in you, pet. Surely you know better than to try running away again. I'll have to take measures this time to make sure you can't keep trying." There was a sadistic and bloodthirsty grin on his face, showing his fangs that glinted in the candle light.

"What are you going to do you me?" She cried out.

The vampire chuckled, running a finger over a bruise on the girl's right eyelid. "Isn't it obvious?" He said as a long fingernail plunged downwards towards her face.

"I'm going to stain you red."

Another claw started to carve something into soft flesh.

The girl screamed and screamed and screamed. Such was the reaction of someone whose eyeball was being gouged through.

…

For the first few days, she could not move. Instead of having drugs pin down her limbs with a heavy weight, this time it was pain that rendered her immobile.

It was everywhere. It flowed through her veins and left her writhing on the floor and screaming, and it burned through her eye, and her eye, her right eye, what had he done to it?

Her heart pounded to a beat that clashed like a drum in-between her ears. Thump, thump, thump.

Burn, burn, burn.

Eros laughed as she choked on her own screams and continued to wound her. A bite there, a scratch there. The marks on her skin faded but the sharp bitterness they left behind echoed long after.

A pretty little pet, Eros snickered at her, perfectly on the outside but burning alive on the inside.

She wanted to die.

…

Even if pain never subsides, you can become used to it.

It started with a twitching hand. It was just that, an involuntary spasm born of pain and frustration. Evangeline harnessed it and tried to grab and pull the chain around her ankle. Her wrist felt as if it was being twisted off, but it obeyed her commands. It dropped soon after, but for a moment, only a moment, it had broken free of the bonds of paralysis and had moved.

Late into the periods that must have been daytime, when no one came to torment her and she was left to lie alone in her cell, Evangeline practiced shifting her body parts little by little, without giving agonizing shrieks of pain.

She learned to walk all over again.

…

It was pure and utter madness, but she was going to try leaving again.

Or, at the very least, I was prepared to kill myself trying.

This time, she'd unlocked her manacle with little difficulty. Her practice had paid off, but the difficult part was eluding the guards that now stood sentry by her cell door. Eros had spoken the truth when he said he wouldn't let her leave again.

Aside from the door, the only way out was a window. A window that was big enough for her malnourished body to squirm through, but also situated above jagged rocks and raging waters. A cliff.

This is crazy this is crazy I must be an absolute loon…

She climbed down carefully. She couldn't see and her limbs were weak. If she made a single slip she would die, but at this rate she didn't have a choice. There was just the prospect of escape, and she took it.

Evangeline was halfway down. And then the rock her foot was rooted against gave way and she fell.

Or rather, she should have falling, but there was a peculiar pulling sensation between her shoulder blades and a flurry of pitch black feathers, and somehow she stayed afloat long enough to find her bearings again.

She heard cries, while she floundered aimlessly towards where the sun set. Something about losing a scent, and curses spat out at unseen followers.

…

A now grown-up Kain stood before her, having become a surprisingly skilled, settled permanently into the village, and, miraculously, somehow finding Evangeline when she'd collapsed she couldn't remember where. She recognized him quite clearly, actually; a remarkable fact since they'd only met for a few minutes the last time.

"So how have the years been to you?" Kain chirped, as if the fact that his patient was still in quite a bit of excruciating pain didn't slight him in the least.

"Terrible." She was vague, as she didn't want to talk about it. "And what about you? What happened to your parents?"

"Ah, I'm afraid to say I've lost them. Been making it on my own ever since then."

"Oh… so did I. Just for a short while though."

She had no idea how she woke up there but she didn't care. Kain could have done who knew what to her but she didn't care. She body ached and burned at it probably would for the rest of her life, but she didn't care. She was going home again, and this time, they had to believe her.

…

Oh, they believed me, all right.

"Mother? Father?"

Two sets of eyes stared at her in horror. At the terrible red eye she couldn't see through anymore. At the strange complicated crescent scar on her skin. At the red streaks in her hair that no amount of vigorous scrubbing had managed to erase.

Victoria and Alexander had pored over every book they had on vampire covens to come to the only conclusion. Their daughter was now marked as property of the Ashworth coven, one known for extreme power and ruthlessness.

And then they tried to cover up the while incident like it never happened, like the cowards they are.

Disgusting.

"How are we going to hide this?" Victoria wailed in a quiet breath. "How could this have happened to our baby?"

Alexander answered, his voice equally quiet. "We'll have to hide her. She can never be a successful Mage now, she can't even use any more magic!"

Her father's words were true. Ever since fleeing from Eros a second time, Evangeline had been disable by the inability to recall where'd she'd come from, again, and this time, she was also unable to create a single spark with her fingers.

" The most we can do is spread rumors to conceal the truth."

"The people will talk!"

"Not as much as they would if they knew what actually happened!"

Just beyond the door, Evangeline eavesdropped on their conversation.

Though her eyes looked dead and beyond caring, the rest of her body shook as something close to hatred bloomed in her heart.

…

Evangeline cried for exactly one night, but stopped when she saw the blood on her pillow and realized where it was coming from.

What's happened to me? What did he do to me?

Those sharp daggers still stabbed her in the chest, as strong and regular as the beating of her heart. She wanted it to stop… it hurt so much. Not just her body, but everything else too.

…

"Where are you going?"

Evangeline, having been caught red handed, looked guiltily at the innocent face staring back at her.

"…somewhere." She answered, barely whispering. "Somewhere not here."

"Can you even do that?"

"I'm of age; no one can stop me."

"Oh." Faye looked down. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. Evangeline turned her attention back to the meager collection of money and clothing in front of her. When she looked back, her sister was gone.

…

"Are you sure you want to make this change?" The man in the black suit in front of her said. "It's too late for you to start studying for a certain profession, so you'll have to work as a floater. Unless, of course, you're willing to fill the vacant position of reaper…"

"Yes, I know." Said the girl, whose hair now covered her right eye. She took up the quill pen and signed her name.

Evangeline Sonata Britford then started her new life as a black Mage, and left her old one behind.

…

Becoming a black Mage also meant changing to a completely different curriculum at the Acadamy. It was hard, changing from spring to winter. Picking strategy over poetry. Weapons maintenance rather than embroidery. Combative fighting instead of dance.

Being a warrior instead of a scholar.

She didn't flourish at first. A combination of failing magic (she'd never been able to produce anything magical since that day) and not knowing what the Hell she was doing meant a serious nosedive in her grades.

But she pulled up. She had to.

She'd never accomplish her goal in life that way.

In a way, it was exactly how Evangeline expected. It was a harsher atmosphere, one of seriousness and solemnest. Your linage didn't matter here: only if you could fight.

She still never talked to anyone, though. With rumors of witchery and that day surrounding her, many of her classmates were content not to try making contact with her either.

…

Trudging down the very stone steps she'd once glided across, Evangeline barely looked as those she went near quickly shuffled away. She stopped to stand in front of an old building that seemed to have two stories and nothing else. A far cry from the manor she grew up in. In the fogged glass she saw her reflection for the first time in months, and nearly gasped at what she looked like. The thin, pale, gaunt face was half-covered by hair. The pretty white dresses she used to wear were replaced with a black coat that was too small for her and equally dark pants.

But she came to terms with her appearance quickly and calmed down.

Right.

That girl is gone.

There's just this… thing in her place.

…

I like to think my sister saved my life. She picked me out of the dark hole I was digging for my grave, and at the very least, stopped me from falling into my frequents rants of despair.

So when she came to live with me I decided to protect her life as well.

The knocking on her door surprised her. Hardly anyone visited her, even after she set up her shop.

Opening the door, Evangeline peeked outside to see a girl of eleven years of age with yellow hair and sparkling blue eyes standing before her.

"Sis?"

When did her voice become so strong? It'd had been a while since she'd last seen Faye.

"Can I come in? I… left Mama and Papa. I don't really want to go back."

She could never say no to her sister.

Evangeline let Faye in.

…

When there was a particularly bad harvest, Evangeline calculated the money she had and realized that the meager payments she received from working as a floater, a Mage which simply drifted about aiding others with difficult jobs, wouldn't be enough to last for the year. She didn't want to have to send Faye back to her parents either… who were desperately trying to get their younger daughter back, but to no avail. (Being seventeen and an official adult, Evangeline managed to procure guardianship of her sister due to the fact that they were related and Faye had consented. Since finding out, the very furious Britford family had tried time after time to come back.)

So, in addition to being a floater, she decided to become a reaper.

Being a reaper was a hugely unpopular job, even among the black Mages. The prospect of killing one of your own species was one taken very seriously, and only one person at a time was given the burden of being a reaper, if there was one at all.

To be a reaper meant killing criminals and executing those who have been convicted of grave crimes. It meant having blood on your hands and being on a completely separate plane from everyone else. When then again, Evangeline was already alienated by about the three-quarters of Center's end that had heard about her, what did she have to lose?

"Are you sure you want to go ahead with it?" Faye had inquired when she had first brought it up. "Why would you want to do something like that anyways?"

"I have my reasons." Evangeline didn't really have the heart to tell her that her inability to support more than two people financially was one of them.

She did have other reasons.

I know Eros is going to come back for me one day… it's a surprise he hasn't found me already. When he does come, I need to be ready for him. And that means being able to kill. To get stronger.

"Well, whatever they are, I'm supporting you." Her sister said solemnly, giving her a reassuring hug.

"Thank you."

…

Her first murder was rather troublesome. He was a serial kidnapper that had a habit of going after young girls. At first, she'd thought she wouldn't be able to go ahead with it… but the criminal had done something that had made her instantly change her mind.

For one thing, he had managed to stab her, and it hurt. She'd been careful not to get injured ever since escaping from Eros, and now the searing feeling had returned ten-fold. It was then that Evangeline discovered that from then on, the pain from every one of her wounds would be amplified.

And for a second, he was also the first to target Faye, thinking like many others that would come after him that she'd fetch a hefty ransom. Instead, Evangeline had found him to fetch her sister back.

"Close your eyes." She whispered to Faye.

Ah, yes. There's another reason to be a reaper.

Evangeline raised her Ace, which had changed from a staff to a scythe when she had made her resolve to actually kill the kidnapper.

To protect my sister at all costs. Because she's one of the only things I have to live for.

The disgusting man before her had tried hurting her sister, and had tried and succeeded with countless other girls. He'd attempted to cajole his way out, a sound Evangeline would grow to become used to over the years. Cajoling turned to begging and begging turned into taunting, when the kidnapper thought that she didn't have the guts to end his life after all.

It's the best way.

She proved him wrong and cleaved him right in half.

There was so much blood.

…

Kain sat down beside her and brushed the hair from her face. After months of attempting to hide it from him, Evangeline had finally let Kain look at her whole face. "What happened to you?" When she didn't answer, he continued to talk soothingly. "I could help you, you know."

Her words came out hesitantly. "I can't afford it."

"We can make arrangements."

Something about him made her pour her entire story to him.

So much for not wanting to talk about it. She thought wearily as she finished her morbid tale.

"I see. So you're not Evangeline Sonata Britford anymore are you? Just as well." Kain pet her hair. He seemed to wholly believe her story, unlike her family upon hearing it the first time. Unlike Jake. "I'd much prefer calling you Eve. How about we let that be the first condition of our agreement?"

Eve nodded. "Okay."

…

Snapping jaws and bristling fur. A werewolf attack.

Eve and a line of other black Mages stood sentry along the village's borders, not budging an inch, even with the flurries of snow swirling around them and biting at their thin bodies.

She was almost eighteen. Only six months ago she would have dissolved into a puddle of cowardly mush.

But she has truly changed. Hardened. She stays cold as stone, whether facing off another wild animal or when being splattered with a victim's blood, the protective wall she put around her heart doesn't even crack. It didn't when she was killing monsters. It didn't when her former fiancé tried to get it back. It didn't when Kain tried a new treatment on her that left her writhing in pain for three days straight.

She is a real black Mage now.

…

"What are you going to do with it? Your life, I mean." Kain had once asked her, out of curiosity. "If I were you, I would have given up living a long time ago."

Eve contemplated the thought and came up with two reasons. "I have to take care of my sister." She said first. "And…"

"And?" The other inquired as he wrapped a poultice around her hip, earning a slight hiss. Eve looked away as if still drowning in thought.

"And I'm going to kill Eros one day."

Kain looked at her approvingly and murmured something close to "Good girl."

…

"That… is why I can't… die." Eve choked out before vomiting a fountain of blood. She hissed as the last of her energy left her and she felt her hands begin to grow slack. "To rid this world of one of its greatest evils… isn't that beneficial enough?"

Grell suddenly adopted a bored look. What a strange cinematic record this girl had. It was colored so thoroughly with red… it'd be a disappointment to not let it get further stained. There was much more bloodshed this girl would have to go through, and heavens knew how much he loved to shed blood…

He snorted. "Well, I suppose it's enough not to go to the effort of causing anymore damage. Given the nature of this world, you don't have fixed due dates anyways. Besides, it's no fun going up against a little girl who's to helpless to even move."

Grabbing the scythe still lodged in Eve's side, he pulled it out, the blade dripping with blood as he did so. The victim in front of him gave a ghost of a scream, too tired to emit a real one. It seemed that even though Grell had spared her life, (a very rare occurrence) she wouldn't live long without help. (And yet, unknowing to her, Eve's cinematic record was already rewinding, the strands of memories being greedily sucked into her body, as if it being torn away from it had made no difference. What was this girl?)

Evidently no longer interested in the near dead body in front of him, Grell as Eve cursed her stupidity (shit… ) and fainted. Again.

Then, with a swish of his hair, and a few thudding steps, Grell was gone.

I haven't gotten any reviews for the last two chapters T.T But whatever! No matter how much people might hate this story, Imma keep going till I get to the end, bitches!

Also, anyone willing to beta this story? I'm so bad at finding typos. If no one answers, I'll just find one myself.