Save Me From Myself

by Batman's Favorite Daughter

"Knowing your own darkness it the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people." - Carl Jung

11. Chapter 11

It had been two full weeks since Kathryn had stormed out of the Pole, and a week since they knew she had joined Pitch. Whenever any of them could, they would be looking for them both. Everyone was silently getting the feeling that Pitch was going to betray, or hurt, Kathryn, but nobody dare speak a word about it.

After what felt like the millionth search, everyone gathered in the library.

The Man in the Moon had explained to them that Pitch was teaching Kathryn how to control, and understand, her powers. She was learning new abilities that she didn't even know she could do. Kathryn has the power to completely hide herself, and Pitch, from the Man in the Moon, so that is most likely why nobody can find them. They could be anywhere on the planet, at this point, and nobody would know.

The Man in the Moon had called everyone to the library, because it was Kathryn's favorite place in the Pole. She used to joke with Jack that she liked it so much, because the books were the only things in the Pole that are actually older than her. It was bittersweet for him to be there again, but they all hoped that maybe there was something in there that could help them. Anything...

"That book has to be here somewhere..." the Man in the Moon mumbled to himself. He chuckled, and turned towards North. "You haven't taken care of the library, have you North?"

North pouted. "Kathryn used to keep the elves at bay. They're the only ones who come in here now - I have no control on them!" he said.

Despite everything that was going on with Pitch, everyone couldn't help but laugh. Well, everyone except Jack. He was like a different person, since Kathryn had disappeared.

In the short time they had known Kathryn, despite never fully admitting it, Jack grew to care a lot about her. He was protective of her. He didn't want to ever see her get hurt, and if she was upset, he wanted to make her happy. He is completely certain that Pitch is going to betray or hurt Kathryn, and that makes him anxious to find her.

Everyone already knew that Jack and Kathryn had strong feelings for each other, but Jack was beginning to become unsure. He didn't know what the future could possibly hold for them, or even if they had a future together. Kathryn had been alone for so long, he didn't know if she would ever be able to accept new people into her life and trust them. After years of isolation, since nobody could see her or talk to her, Kathryn's reclusive demeanor and sensitivity towards people might never go away. The only thing that Jack was sure about was that despite being a pain in the ass, being without her was far worse.

The Man in the Moon stopped in front of an old bookshelf near the back of the room. Hardly anyone ever went back there, except Kathryn, when she had been here. The books were all worn out, and coated in a thing layer of dust.

He quickly ran his fingers across the books, and the pulled one out. It was one of the older books, with a red leather cover, and gold trim. He took the book over to the table, and everyone crowded around it. He flicked it open to one of the last pages.

The pages were old, and worn. At the top of this page was a picture of a full moon, and flying across it was a Nightmare. Underneath the picture, written in fancy letters with lots of curls and swirls at the ends of the letters, was 'The Greene Family : Pitch Black & the Man in the Moon"

At the top of the page, there was a prophecy written. Jack started to read.

"It was once said; The Lord of Darkness and Chaos, the King of Fear and Night, will find a love deeper than blood, and form two Angels of Doom. On their coming of age, on the first light of day, the nightmares will be exhumed. A vampiric witch shall be the judge, and the bearer of this weight, when their world is swallowed in darkness, she will choose the fate." Jack read.

The Man in the Moon stepped back and took a breath, his eyes growing wide. "I never understood the prophecy before..." he whispered to himself.

"What?" Tooth questioned.

"The prophecy - it was written by Kathryn's ancestors. She comes from a family of clairvoyants, mediums, psychics, seers, riddle lovers and curious people. I always knew that the prophecy was about Pitch, but I didn't fully understand it... Until now." he said. "The Lord and King is Pitch. The love he found was a young witch named Lydia. They could both do magic, so they bonded on a mystical level also. The two Angels were their kids; Kathryn and her brother Alexander, who were doomed from birth to die. Their coming of age was would've been three months after Alex turned twenty-five, and three months before Kathryn turned nineteen, on June 30th. Since both of them died before they could reach that age, I have no idea when the coming of age would be. The last light of day would be during a full moon, because it lights up everything just like the sun would. Exhumed means to dig up, so I can only assume that means to dig up old fears, or something. The vampiric witch would be Kathryn, since her mother was a witch, and she is a direct descendent of Vladimir Tepes-"

"Who's Vladimir Tepes?" Tooth asked, interrupting.

"Kathryn told me his story. Vladimir Tepes, who was also known as Vlad the Impaler, was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Most people believe that he was just an average human, but some people believed that he was an actual vampire. Kathryn did, anyway." Jack explained. "But I thought Bram Stoker made up Dracula? I thought he wasn't real?"

Bunnymund rolled his eyes. "Most people think that we only exist in fairy tales and stories - you really think that Dracula wasn't real?" he asked.

"Kathryn is right. Vladimir was a vampire. Quite a dangerous one, at that. When Vladimir was twenty-seven, he made a deal with the devil to save his family from danger, and became a vampire. He ended up having a son, and that is how vampirism started in our family. That is why Pitch, Kathryn, and I have fangs." he said, showing us his sharp, pointed teeth. "And since Kathryn's mother was a witch, and she does have vampire blood, that would make her the vampiric witch. Being the judge, I would guess, means that she decides what will happen. The bearer of the weight would probably mean the same thing, meaning that she has to carry the choice that she makes around with her. I don't like the sound of the world being swallowed in darkness, but I can guess that means something like an endless nightmare. Another Dark Age, but permanent. And my guess is that 'she will choose the fate' means that she chooses the fate of the world."

The group fell silent, but then there was a sudden spark of life in Jack.

"Then we have to go get Kathryn back. It's even more important now. If she comes back on our side, she'll know what choice to make, and we can beat Pitch!" Jack said, excited. He knew that this was a new reason to try to find her.

The Man in the Moon sighed, and looked at Jack.

"Jack, I wish it were that easy... Kathryn doesn't know about the prophecy, and Pitch hasn't heard the whole thing. I know that Pitch is already making plans that will tie into the prophecy, whether he knows it or not, and if he learns the rest of the prophecy, he'll have Kathryn on constant watch. He would know that it's even more important to keep Kathryn on his side, because she is so powerful. We have to think of another plan." he said. "Just think of it like this, Jack. Kathryn is gone. I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think she'll ever come back on our side."

. . .

"Concentrate, Kathryn... I know you can do this." he repeated over and over, walking in circles around me. "You just need to clear your mind, and concentrate. You can do this. I know you can do this."

I growled inwardly. I was trying. I have been trying for hours. I thought. I just can't do it.

He was asking too much. He wanted me to turn my uncles light magic into his dark dreamsand. My uncle's magic was white dreamsand, which controls everything - the good and the bad dreamsands. It can be changed into either, and if the controller of the white dreamsand had the power, they could completely destroy one of the other sands. My uncle only had the power to control the white dreamsand, but not to destroy it. Pitch insisted that I could, and I was the only one who could.

Dad wanted that. He needed me, so then he could make everyone have nightmares, forever. He told me that if I could learn to control the white dreamsand, and to change it between the bad and the good, on Halloween I could destroy the good. He said that after I helped him, he could give me my life back, and I would never have to be called upon by my uncle again. He had chosen Halloween, because that was the day my powers are strongest, and this year there was a full moon the night going into Halloween, and a full moon gave me even more power. He had even chosen the time that he needed me to destroy it, being three o'clock in the morning, as it is considered the witching hour. There was just one problem - Halloween was in five days. It wasn't enough time for me to learn this. Pitch said that I just had to focus and learn, and I just needed to try. I think that I couldn't do this because a small part of me knew that what I was doing wasn't right.

Ignoring myself, I closed my eyes, and took a long breath, clearing my mind. I was sitting a few feet above the ground, with my legs crossed, in a meditation-like state.

The white sand that sat in front of me started to turn into a long, snake-like creature, slithering up and circling around me. Before I could make it do anything, or change into anything, my hand twitched, and the sand turned electric, shocking me. I yelped, falling down.

Dad sighed, giving me a hand up. "That was closer than the first few times... Maybe - Maybe you just need to take a break." he said, a slight tone of disappointment in his voice. I could tell he was beginning to realize how little time we had before Halloween.

"I'm going to get some air." I said, brushing off my dress. "I'll be back whenever."

He nodded. "Okay, but keep yourself hidden. I cannot afford to lose you again. Not now. Not ever." he said.

I nodded, and watched as the black and green smoke appeared at my feet, and my skin turned see-through. I walked to the edge of my cave, and flew off into the night.

. . .

I didn't exactly know where I was going when I had started flying. I just needed to get away from dad, for a while. It was exhausting to be around him for too long, both physically and mentally.

I started to fly using only my senses, going wherever they led me.

After what felt like hours, I was above a thick forest in France, which looked untouched by humans. The quiet, peacefulness of the forest was breath-taking. I smiled, and started to fly backwards, with my hands behind my head, my staff balancing on my stomach, and my legs crossed. I looked up at the beautiful starry night.

The Moon was almost full tonight, and it illuminated the trees as if it were daylight. The snow on the ground shimmered between the branches of the giant pine trees.

As I flew, enjoying the peaceful silence, I suddenly started to feel dizzy. I shook my head, trying to shake it off, but it only made it worse. No... This can't be... I can't be sick again... I survived it last time... Dad cured me... I thought.

And then, for a moment, I completely blacked out. I don't know what happened. The only thing that I could remember was that I just fell.

The wind ripped and tugged at my clothes, as I fell thousands of feet to the ground. I weakly glanced at the moon, and immediately felt like he had done this to me. Something happened to make me lose consciousness. I wasn't sick again.

When I hit the ground, my skin stung like throwing sand through a screen door. I had pins and needles through my whole body. Where I fell, the snow had been knocked off the trees around me, and there was a crater in the snow. I wasn't hurt, but I was so exhausted I could hardly move.

I closed my eyes, and focused on an ability that Pitch had taught me. My skin started to feel hot, and I slowly gained enough energy to stand up again. I opened my eyes, and saw that the grass and flowers around me had died.

I brushed myself off, and looked around. I had no idea where I was, which confused me.

I have travelled all around the world, but I cannot remember ever seeing this forest before. I knew that I was in France, because that had been where I was flying over, but other than that, I was completely lost.

I noticed dim lights coming from a nearby clearing, and I could feel that they were fireflies. I silently wandered over to get better look, and was surprised.

The clearing was made from six trees, sitting in a perfect circle, with fireflies hovering around in the gaps between the trees. I stepped into the middle of the clearing, and saw there was small images painted on the trees, in a beautiful celtic, abstract designs. I saw one with green and gold designs, with a three-leaf clover at the center of the design. Another had pastel designs, with an Easter Egg at the center.

"St. Patrick's Day... Valentine's Day... Christmas... Easter... Thanksgiving..." I said quietly, nearly whispering to myself. Each tree seemed to be linked to a holiday. "...Halloween."

The last tree I saw was the smallest tree of the six, that was darker than the others. It appeared to be dead, but Pitch had showed me how to feel life in anything living, and I could feel the life in this tree. At my height, there was a Jack-O-Lantern, about the size of my hand, with an oversized, jagged grin, a triangle nose, and triangular eyes. Gold, silver, and black lines were painted up around the pumpkin, coming up to form a candle, and going down to form a gravestone. The painting looked so lifelike...

I slowly moved forward, feeling an urge to get closer. Cautiously, I approached the tree. A wave of anxiousness and excitement washed over me, like when you go through a haunted house, and know there will be something to jump out at you.

Directly in front of the painting, looking into the dark eyes of the painting, I was suddenly reminded of Alice in Wonderland, falling down the rabbit hole.

Only as the ground broke away underneath my feet.

. . .

When I woke up, I was lying near a cobblestone road, leaning against a rock. When my eyes focused, I saw it wasn't like any road I have seen before. Or any town, for that matter.

In the early morning hours, the sky was dark shades of orange and gold, with rays of sunlight peeking over the hills in the distance. The streets were loose cobblestone, with no sidewalks. Trees were on either side of the road, each looking like the one with the pumpkin pattern. There was no snow, but the trees had hardly any leaves. The buildings were tall and dark, built like older-styled houses, casting tall shadows as the sun rose behind them. As I regained my senses, and started to focus, I realized someone was talking to me.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Still in a daze, I closed my eyes tightly, running my fingers through my hair, trying to shake it off. When I opened my eyes, I looked up, and saw a tall girl standing next to me. She seemed very familiar. She had long, red-ish orange hair, and big eyes. She wore a short, short-sleeved dress that looked like multiple different fabrics sewn together. Her skin was light, and looked almost powdery blue and grey. I quickly realized that she had stitches on her arms, head, neck, and legs.

"I'm fine, um..." I said, stopping myself, realized that I still didn't know her name. She looked so familiar, I was confused. She smiled.

"Sally. And I'm sorry about your rough landing - after Pitch Black came around, we had to shut the other doors to the town, and put up some security on the last door to help protect the town." she explained. She giggled. "But you've forgotten me already? I'm surprised at you, Katy-Bat."

I was a bit surprised. Nobody has ever called me that, except my brother. He used to call me that all the time when we were younger. How could she know that? I thought.

She spoke playfully, as if we were old friends that were catching up on years lost. That only confused me more. "Do - Do I know you?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

She laughed. "Well, I'd expect that you would. You really can't remember, huh? Well, either way, I was the rag doll your mother made for you when you were born. After you and your brother died, I was thrown out. That was when I was taken here, and given life." she replied. She held her arms out, motioning to the town. "This town is for the outcasts that have been cast out by society. This is a town made for creatures who have no other place to go. This is a town made for Halloween. This is a town for us, for the ghosts that stay behind, and the corpses who don't want to decompose."

I chuckled slightly, raising an eyebrow and smirking. "So what you're saying is that everyone in this town is dead, stubborn, and doesn't want to be forgotten yet?" I said.

Sally returned my smirk, in response. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" she said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Here, I'll show you around."

She held out her hand, and helped me up. I kicked my staff up with my foot and grabbed it, and then followed her as she walked me through the odd little town.

The farther into the town we went, the more lively the town seemed to get. It was like the people had hidden when I showed up, and were only now realizing that I was okay.

Two young children ran across the road, playing close to the trees. I looked at them, and after a minute I realized that they were actually a child-mummy and werewolf. They played just like any children I would see in France, or anywhere, for that matter, and that was when I realized that this was a normal town, that acted just like a normal town, but the only difference was that they were not normal people.

(A/N: Okay, you can skip this huge paragraph if you want. I like to be very descriptive (like you could probably already tell) so this next paragraph is basically just a huge architecture-summary of the outside of the castle. Plus I stole it from the Arendelle Castle wikia page (hehe), so just picture that, mixed in with a Nightmare-Before-Christmas-esq theme, and you'll get the gist.)

Sally led me up a hill, towards a large castle, that overlooked the whole town. I nearly stopped as we were walking up the white road, just to stare. Even the outside of the castle looked amazing. The east side of the castle, where the main gates were, had two large wooden doors with metallic black and dark red designs on the doors. The only tower on the right and the immediate one on the closest tower on the left were equidistant from the gates, were identical, and had a small, thin, rectangular window with a single candle flickering away. Along the wall between the gates and the two towers were banners of various designs and colors, each unique. There was two thin columns on either side of the doors, with glowing Jack-O-Lanterns sitting on top. From what I could see, there was a slightly taller tower further left at the end of the east wall, that across from the first left tower was the front end of what seemed to be a chapel. The north side of the castle was the most fortified with four towers, each differing in shape, height and width, and a thick, protruding, high stone wall. On the furthest right was the tallest and widest tower, and to the left of that was a shorter, square-shaped tower, and between the two was the fortified, protruding wall. To the left of this tower seemed to be a part of the castle, based on the fact they were similarly designed with the spire and the roof. From what I could picture, somehow thinking of the castle from an air-view, I knew that across from the back side of the chapel was a heavier, square-shaped tower, wider and shorter than the other. And to the left of that was the end of the north wall, and a more familiar though shorter tower with a similar circle shape and cylindrical roof design as the towers on the east side of the castle. The south side was connected to a lighthouse, which sat next a beautiful ocean, and marking the opening in which ships must pass through to enter the town. Sally stopped, after unlocking the doors.

(A/N: You can pick up here.)

"It wouldn't be right for me to open the doors, not with you here..." she whispered, making me wonder if she was talking to herself, or me. She looked at me. "This castle was the home of the King and Queen, until they died hundreds of years ago. The king, who was an ancestor of yours, created this town, but he was so terrified that he would hurt someone, he never opened these gates, to anyone. Only a handful of people were ever allowed to enter, including me. After the Queen had died, the King told me that I was to continue coming to the castle, preparing it for the next person in his family with the wisdom, nobility, pride, and humanity that he had had. Someone who was not fearless, and was not immune to self-doubt, but still had the courage and bravery of a great warrior, just as he was. After he died, I was the only one who could still come and go from the castle. Nobody has been here for years, except for me. I think it would only be right if you opened the doors, Kathryn."

I stared at her for a moment, processing what she had just said. I had family here... I thought, as subconsciously I reached my hand out, pushing the gates open.

Inside the outer walls of the castle was beautiful. Two fountains sat on either side of a large courtyard. The castle itself, left me speechless. A tall door stood in front of me, up the steps, with silver and white designs. A long porch and walkway sat on either side of the door, with black stone railing and beautiful dark columns. In every window I could see, there was a small candle flickering, giving the castle an eery, welcoming glow.

"He built this castle, and hide here until he died. He was truly an interesting and great man, Kathryn. He gave us all a safe haven." Sally said softly, and I glanced at her. She was staring at the castle also.

"Who?" I asked.

"Vladimir Tepes, or who you may know him as; Dracula." she replied. "Seven generations before you were born, he came here after being chased out of Romania. He knew that he would never be welcomed into any other town, because he was a vampire, and he also knew there were others like him. He ended up creating this place, and he lived here for many years, giving other creatures a chance to live a new life. The only thing he ever asked for in return was to be left alone. The monsters respected that, so nobody ever entered the castle unless they were asked. He never wanted to spread his vampirism to his wife, but he did keep her alive for around two hundred years with a spell, before she died. Soon after she died, he gave up his immortality. They had had a son, but he never lived here. After that, there was no heir, and the monsters began to think that the castle would be abandoned forever. Vladimir wanted whoever that would find the town to be like him, in mind and spirit, so he made sure before he died, the town would only ever be shown to those in his family with the right heart. He never wanted the town to be ruled by a monarch, so he got a witch to put a spell on the town to hide it. When you were born, you uncle immediately knew you would be the one to find this town."

I raised an eyebrow, as we walked. "My uncle knew about the town? Why did he never find it, then?" I asked. "And why did he think I could find it?"

Candelabras and painting lined the walls of the castle, and only a few doors were decorated, compared to the many, white, single-doors that I have seen throughout the castle. Sally stopped near a spiral staircase with two separate white doors on the walls. A circular painting and several suits of armors were along the wall at the bottom of the staircase.

"Your uncle knew about it, yes. It was once a dying declaration, but over time, Vladimir's wishes soon just became legend and bedtime stories. Generation after generation knew about this town, but anyone who ever tried to look for it couldn't find it. Their minds weren't in the right place, and they were too anxious to find it. Your uncle had even tried to look for it, when he was younger, but never could find it. When you were brought back to life, he originally wanted to bring you here to grow up, so he looked again. Your spirit was with him, so he came closer than ever before, but he still never found it. Eventually, he gave up. Back then, you weren't even ready to find the town. You didn't even know about it. You were too young." she said. "Everything that has happened to you, Kathryn, everything with Strider and Viggo, has happened for a reason. You were meant to find this town."

I froze at the bottom of the stairs, with my hand on the railing. "H - How did you know about Strider and Viggo?" I asked. "What else do you know?"

Sally looked at me for a minute, bewildered. A smile then crept across her face. She hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Duh, Sally!" she laughed, talking to herself. "Kathryn, I'm the keeper of your family history! The keeper of your story! I know all of you memories!"

"Even the ones that I haven't remembered yet?" I asked cautiously, not wanting to get my hopes up.

She nodded quickly, her grin growing. "Everything!" she said. She took my hands, and grinned. "I'll explain everything in the Study, come'on!"

. . .

I followed Sally down a long hallway, with two beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. At the end of the hallway, there sat a long door with dark golden patterns painted on it.

Inside, next to the door, there was a long painting, of what must've been Vladimir. He was standing in front of an audience of people, who seemed to be citizens of the town. He was holding a staff, and a very small Jack-O-Lantern, with a silver and red crown on his head.

Underneath the painting was a table with a old-fashioned clock, and two candles on either side. I stepped forward, looking up at the painting. It was so realistic, it could've been a picture. I'm related to him... I thought, amazed.

Sally smiled, and put a hand on my shoulder. "You look alike." she said gently.

I glanced at her, and then returned my gaze to the painting. Vladimir had long dark brown hair, and piercing green eyes. He was pale, and I could definitely see some similarities.

I looked at the painting for a few more minutes, before I went over with Sally to the couch, that was in front of the fireplace. She moved over to the bookshelves, which lined most of the walls.

"Vladimir, despite being very lonely and reclusive, loved his family more than anything in the world. He created this book, which writes every story in his family, getting longer and writing itself as the generations pass. Since you are the last generation, your last name appears on the cover." she explained, taking a large book off the shelf.

This has my story in it. I told myself, and immediately thought about the Guardians. I remembered how months ago, I craved to have a story, like them. This was it. This is my story.

I looked down at the large black book on my lap, and opened it slowly. On the first page, was my family tree. A lot of it was written in Romanian, but somehow I understood what it said. I stared to read the names, and many of the little notes next to most of the names.

"Witches... Vampires... Murders... My family was monsters..." I said, nearly whispering. I traced my finger down the line, until the lowest names; Alexander Michael Greene and Kathryn Johannah Greene.

Sally put her hand on my shoulder, startling me, and breaking my concentration. "Kathryn, your family are not monsters. They never were." she said. "You, are not a monster. You have the blood of amazing heroes, Kathryn, and no matter what, I think that speaks louder than if they were vampires or witches. Many of these people gave up everything they had to save those who were important to them. Vladimir Tepes was a great man, and I already told you what he did for us, but I didn't tell you something else. Vlad wasn't born a vampire, and he never was bitten, since he was the first vampire."

"Then how did he become a blood-thirsty vamp?" I asked.

"His family was in danger, and he was ready to lose everything to save them. He made a deal with the devil, becoming a vampire. He saved his family, but he payed with his life. They cast him out. Dracula knew what he had done, but he accepted it. He was a hero, but he was driven to blood-thirsty madness because of his choices. He and his wife moved here, and then he continued, saving the other monsters of the world that were chased out of their homes." she said. "Even your father was a hero, at one point."

I made a face at the mention of my father. "What?" I said.

"Pitch didn't ask to have bad blood, but he was born with it anyway. Your Uncle and Pitch were born within a day of each other, and their powers were split, just as yours and Alexanders were. Your Uncle, who was the youngest, got powers that you might associate with a child. The powers to create happiness, hope, light, dreams, imagination, and the story of the Man in the Moon. Your father wasn't as lucky. He got the bitter magic, with powers over nightmares, darkness and fear. They started consuming his mind, and he started getting worse and worse. But he had a son and a daughter to worry about. That was you and Alexander - both born with powers tied to your emotions. He knew that he should be around to teach you both how to control them, but when your brother disappeared, his own sadness and fears took over, his magic driving him insane. He wanted to stay with your mother and you more than anything in the world, but he knew eventually, he might try to hurt one of you, so he left. He saved you and your mother that day, but he left the two most precious things in the world to him. When your mother and you were killed... he completely snapped, changing his name from Mitchell Greene to Pitch Black. That was the day he lost his last ties to humanity." she explained. "That was also when he started to look for this town, thinking we would be his army. He did find it, multiple times. When we refused to fight with him, he threatened us all, locking us in the town during the one time of year we were supposed to be free - Halloween."

I didn't say anything. I didn't think I could.

I flipped to the next page in a stunned silence, and an old-looking paper fluttered to the ground. I leaned over and picked it up, looking at Sally for an explanation. She examined it, before explaining what it was. "Alexander wrote that about you, right before he died." she said.

My eyes widened, looking back down at the paper. The writing on the paper was neat, but scribbled down quickly. The paper was old and worn, but I could still read what it said, as clear as day.

"The old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost. Not all that have fallen are vanquished; a Queen may yet be without crown. Renewed shall the bonds that were broken, and new courage that was lost shall be found. All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost..." I read, and then held the note to my chest. "Alex..."

Sally rubbed my back soothingly, and before I could get too caught up with the sudden flashes of memories with Alex, I looked back down at the book. Two words were etched out across the top of the page. The Prophecy. I looked at Sally. "What's this?" I asked.

"Oh." she said, biting her lip. "Your family were always big lovers of riddles, and there were many prophets, seers, and psychics in your bloodline. They wrote this, and well... It's about you and Pitch."

'The Lord of Darkness and Chaos,

the King of Fear and Night,

will find a love deeper than blood,

and form two Angels of Doom.

On their coming of age,

on the last light of day,

the nightmares will be exhumed.

A vampiric witch shall be the judge,

and the bearer of this weight,

when their world is swallowed in darkness,

she will choose the fate.'

I thought for a minute. "The Lord of Darkness and Chaos is Pitch... Same with the second line. The love, I guess, would have been my mother. Then, the two angels must be me and Alexander. Coming of age usually means a birthday, so... between both of our birthdays? The last light of day would probably mean the moon... And nightmares would probably be you guys, or my fathers Night Mares. I guess that I'm the vampiric witch, and I'll get the last say in whatever dad is planning. I guess this will affect me, if it'll be the a weight on my shoulders. They said 'their', not 'the', so I guess this will affect me, and someone else. And I guess I'll chose to save the other person or not." I said, thinking out loud. Sally started at me, shocked.

"Kathryn, that was amazing!" she said. "Some people have read that prophecy thousands of times, and nobody has ever figured out what it meant. That was your first time reading it, and you figured it out that quick? Amazing."

I smiled slightly, and shrugged. I flipped to the back of the book, where I assumed my story would be. Sally smiled.

"Well, here they are. I hope they are what you wanted, Katy-Bat." she said.

. . .

"Awe, she's adorable!" a woman, obviously a main, cooed. She tickled the babies belly. "And look at her eyes!"

The baby had big eyes, that were a pale green colors, that stood out against her pale skin. She didn't have much, or any, baby fat, but she looked healthy. The baby giggled, and grabbed the air at the other woman, who must've been the mother. The mother had very small points on her ears, as did the child.

"She has her fathers eyes, that's for certain." she said. The mother had chocolate-brown eyes, which seemed to be flecked with gold. She had long, platinum blond hair.

A young boy ran in, about six, and tugged at the mother's arm. He had shaggy brown hair, and bright green eyes. "Mum! Mum! Mum!" he excitedly repeated. "Daddy is home!"

The mother smiled, and looked at the door, and he appeared from outside. The mother smiled, holding up the baby in her arms. "Isn't she beautiful?" she asked. "Born ten weeks early, and she's still this healthy and happy. She's still here."

Mitchell stood over the baby, and smiled. Mitch's dark brown hair was slicked back, and his skin was pale and pink-ish. They recognized his clear, glinting emerald eyes in none other than his daughter. He had a slender frame, that was strong and resilient.

The little baby held on to one of his fingers, when he brushed her face. He smiled. "What did you decide to name her?" he asked.

"Kathryn."

. . .

"Lexie! Lexie! Lexie!" the four-year-old repeated, giggling and shaking her older brothers shoulder.

It was the crack of dawn, and she was already dressed. She had a green ribbon in her hair, and was wearing a wrist-length white blouse, a black bodice with a white ribbon tied around her waist and a black and green skirt.

Alexander groaned, and rolled over, squinting at his energetic sister. He gave her a sloppy smile. "Gud-mor-nine..." he slurred, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He rolled over, tucking his head into his pillow.

Kathryn laughed. "What?" she asked, crawling over him, sitting for they were facing each other. He smiled at her.

"I said good morning," he said. "Why are you up so early? You and dad could sleep all day, if you wanted."

"I just can't! The sky is awake, so I have to be awake! I'm too excited to sleep anymore!" she squealed. "It's Easter! Come'on! Get up get up get UP!"

Alexander laughed, and gave in to his sister, sitting up. He tiredly ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair.

"Okay, okay! Let me get dressed, and then we can go on our Egg Hunt." he told her, and she nodded. "How 'bout you go wake up mum and dad while I get dressed? And no sneaking around to get eggs!"

She giggled, climbing down off the bed. She ran over to the door. "Okay!" she agreed.

Soon enough, Kathryn had woken everyone up, and she, Alexander, and their father Mitchell had gathered outside. Mitchell sat down in one of the two rocking chairs they had on the front porch, holding a cup of coffee.

Their mother Lydia appeared from inside the house, holding two Easter baskets, that looked more like Halloween baskets than anything. Kathryn squealed, and Alexander laughed.

"Come'on Katy-Bat," he chuckled. "Let's go get chocolate!"

Kathryn grinned, and they raced towards the woods. Lydia sat down next to her husband to watch them. "Look! I found one!" Kathryn exclaimed excitedly, holding up a bright orange chocolate egg, with a black face painted on it.

"Good job, Katy-Bat!" Alex said, giving her a thumbs up. He glanced up at a tree, and grinned. "Look, Kathryn!"

Kathryn went over to her brother, and he pointed up at three eggs in a tree. "Wow!" Kathryn said. "There's so many!"

Alexander smiled, putting his basket down and climbing the tree. He grabbed the eggs, and floated down to the ground, passing one to Kathryn. He liked to make sure he was fair, since he could obviously get more eggs than her, being the oldest.

After a while, both Kathryn and Alexander had a fairly big pile of eggs. Back at their house, Kathryn looked up at her father. "Can I have one now, daddy?" she asked.

Mitchell looked at Alexander, who was trying not to laugh as Mitchell pretended to think about the idea. "Oh, I don't know... What do you think, Alex?" he asked.

Alex laughed, and then imitated his father, scratching his head. "I don't know... I think she's already too hyper. She'll turn someone into a bat or something if we let her get too out of hand. I think I'll have to take all her eggs to make sure she doesn't get too out of hand..." he said, and Mitchell smiled.

Kathryn made a faced. "What? No!" she exclaimed.

Alexander chuckled. "Relax, kitten. We're joking." he laughed, ruffling her hair. Kathryn giggled, and sat down on the porch, peeling open an egg.

Alexander looked down at her, and then at Mitchell. "You can have one too, Alex." Mitchell laughed, knowing his question.

He grinned, sitting down with Kathryn, opening and devouring the chocolate egg.

. . .

Kathryn giggled, as she ran alongside her brother Alex. He was laughing too, holding her hand and leading her into the clearing they spent so much time in. They stopped, and he turned to her, grinning.

"Ready?" he asked, and she nodded excitedly.

Alexander grinned, and his arm sparked. A flame appeared, and it circled around his arm, to his palm. Little embers flew off of the ball of fire, and danced around her. She giggled, spinning around and dancing. Alex smiled at his sisters enjoyment.

A breeze picked up, which only caused Alex to grin even more. "Okay, Katy-Bat, ready to see something new?" he said.

She nodded excitedly. "Yes!" she chirped.

Alex smiled, rubbing his hands together. Green and white mist appeared at both of their feet, the wind picked up again, and they both started to fly. Kathryn squealed, and Alex laughed.

They floated about a foot off the ground, and Kathryn giggled. She clapped, and he made her go higher. "I'm flying, Alex!" she squealed, and he smiled. She hadn't learned to fly yet, so he liked to help her out a bit.

She started jumping around, and he made her cloud keep her up. Soon, she became too fast for him to keep up with. He sunk back to the ground, as he tried to keep her up in the air.

"Kathryn, slow down!" he exclaimed, but she didn't hear him over the wind and her loud giggles in delight.

She jumped again, but this time Alex couldn't make the cloud be there to catch her. She fell down, about ten feet. When she hit the ground, she immediately started crying and wailing. Alex rushed over to her, and immediately knew something was wrong with her leg.

Whether it was a sprain or a break, he didn't know, but he knew that she was hurt, and he didn't want Kathryn being hurt because of him.

He gently scooped her up in his arms, and started to run back towards their house. Tears started to form in his eyes, as Kathryn whimpered and cried against his chest. "You'll be okay, Kathryn. I promise." he whispered. "Mum! Dad!"

In the house, Alex had set Kathryn down on the couch. Her mother inspected her leg, having her try to bend it and move it. Lydia was a healer, so they knew if anyone could help Kathryn, it would be her. Mitchell and Alexander sat on either side of her, and Alex was squeezing Kathryn's hand almost as hard as she was squeezing his.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, you don't know how to control your healing yet, and my magic wouldn't be able to help. We're going to have to set it." Lydia explained, and Kathryn whimpered.

"How bad is it?" Mitchell asked, glancing down at his daughter.

"She has a break near her Achilles heel, and she has a break by her knee. There's going to be some permanent damage..." Lydia said quietly, but Kathryn heard anyway. Her watery eyes got big.

"What?" she and Alexander said.

Lydia shook her head sadly. "I can try to help the healing process, but I can only do so much. Once your leg heals, you will need something to help you walk. A cane, a staff, or something." she said.

"You can use a staff until we teach you how to fly, and then you can just fly instead of walk." Mitchell added.

Kathryn made a face, looking down at her leg. "Okay..." she said, in nearly a whisper.

"I'm so sorry, Kathryn..." Alex said, starting to cry. "This is all my fault..."

. . .

Kathryn and Alexander sat on his bed, as he told her stories, and she slowly drifted off to sleep. A long wooden staff was leaning against the bed, near Kathryn's feet. A large book sat in Alexander's lap. "Which one now?" Alexander asked.

Kathryn stretched her body out, and tucked herself into Alex, yawning. "The Twelve Dancing Princesses..." she yawned, and Alexander chuckled.

"That one has always been your favorite, huh?" he laughed, and she nodded slowly.

"Well okay then," he said. "Once upon a time, there was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. They slept in twelve beds all in one room; and when they went to bed, the doors were shut and locked up; but every morning their shoes were found to be quite worn through as if they had been danced in all night; and yet nobody could find out how it happened, or where they had been..."

There was a knock at the door, interrupting Alex's story. The siblings looked up. "Come in!" Alexander called, and their mother opened the door.

"I apologize for interrupting the story, Alexander, but your father and I have a little surprise for both of you." she said, and both of their faces lit up.

"What is it?" they asked.

Lydia smiled, and motioned for them to follow her. "You'll have to come to the kitchen to see." she chimed, turning away from them.

Alexander quickly set his book aside, and they both got up. Kathryn grabbed her staff, and followed her brother and mother down the stairs, albeit rather slower, since she was only still getting used to walking on her leg again. Alexander waited for her, though.

Once they entered the kitchen, two little creatures ran towards them. Kathryn squealed in delight and dropped to her knees.

"Puppies!" she squealed, as the smaller one hopped up into her lap.

Alexander leaned over and pet the other puppy, which looked like a Golden Retriever, but was mostly a mutt. The puppy that was on Kathryn's lap was a Papillion, with dark brown and white fur.

"You're both such amazing kids, and since Kathryn is old enough now, your mum and I decided that you both could get a pet." their father explained. "And since you and your brother love to help the stray animals you both find, we found these two around the edge of the forest and thought you would love them. So, your mum and I cleaned them up and brought them here."

Both of the children sat with their dogs, with both of the dogs seeming to choose favorites from the start. Lydia smiled, going over to her husband and leaning against him, smiling at the children.

"What are you going to name them?" she asked.

Alexander bit his lip. "I don't know... What do you think, Katy-Bat? Katy-Bat-Junior?" Alexander joked, and Kathryn rolled her eyes, laughing.

"Um... How about... Zero?"

. . .

"A-lex!" Kathryn yelled in a sing-song voice.

The twelve-year-old jumped at the sudden voice, and spun around, looking away from the book he was reading. He smiled. "Yeah, Katy-Bat?"

"Come play with me!" the six-year-old giggled. "I wanna take Zero and Drew for a walk!"

Alexander smiled. "Where are they?" he asked.

"Outside! With mum and daddy!" she giggled, leaning against the doorway, with her staff in her hands.

Alex set the book he was reading on his bed, and stood up, grinning. "Then let's go," he said, and she cheered.

He followed her outside, and when they were outside, the two dogs ran over to them. Zero had a white ribbon around his neck, with a little tag hanging from it. Drew had a black ribbon, but it served the same purpose.

"Have fun you two, but make sure you stay on the dirt path! Don't get close to the town!" Lydia called out, as they were beginning their walk. They nodded.

"We know!" they said.

Alexander and Kathryn walked slowly down the path, the dogs trotting alongside them, never straying too far away. Kathryn told him stories of earlier in the day, when she was gone with their father. Alexander listened intently, shoving his hands in his pockets to shield them from the coming cold of winter. Kathryn, however, didn't find it cold at all.

Before long, Kathryn giggled and hopped out in front of Alexander. She held her hands to her face, as if she were holding a small camera. She made a clicking noise with her mouth.

Alexander chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "What was that?" he questioned.

She giggled, returning to walk next to him. "I pretended to take your picture. I want to remember today forever." she said. "This day was perfect. I never want it to end."

He grinned. "Well," he said. "If you really want a picture, I know how to take one. A real one."

Kathryn's eyes got wide. "Really?" she asked. He smiled and nodded.

"Dad taught me." he said, before stepping out in front of her.

He moved his hands, and a camera appeared, floating in the air. He returned next to Kathryn, and they leaned down so the dogs could be in the picture. "Smile!" he said.

When Kathryn smiled, the camera made a clicking noise, just like the noise she had made. That made her incredibly happy.

. . .

"Daddy!" seven-year-old Kathryn exclaimed happily.

She ran towards her father, who crouched down with his arms out wide. She hugged him, and he picked her up into his arms. "I've got a surprise for you, my dear." he said.

Kathryn squealed in delight. "I'm going to take Kathryn out for a walk in the woods, okay?" her father called.

"Be careful you two! Don't get to close to the town, and dinner will be ready in an hour!" a woman called back.

"We will!" Kathryn chirped.

Mitchell set Kathryn down, and she held onto his fingers. They went outside, and walked for few minutes down an overgrown path, before stopping in a small clearing, with two stumps. Through the trees you could see the house, and a river trickled along in between the house and clearing.

"What's my surprise?" Kathryn asked, excitedly.

"Just wait a minute, my dear. Do you know what a week from today is?"

She nodded. "My birthday!" Kathryn cheered happily.

"And?"

"You're birthday!" she replied, in the same tone.

"And?"

"Halloween!" she replied.

"Good girl!" Mitchell said, clapping his hands happily. She giggled. "And can you remember the song I taught you?"

"Yes! I've been practicing!" Kathryn said.

She sat down next to the stump, on the grass. Mitchell sat on the other stump, watching her. She tapped her hands against the stump, for a beat. She started to sing.

"They say I'm on you side, when nobody is, 'cause nobody is... Come sit right here and sleep, while I slip poison in your ear... We are waiting on a telegram, to give us, news of, the fall. I am sorry to report, Dear Paris is burning after all." Kathryn sand, her voice haunting and hanging in the air.

Mitchell smiled. "Good girl." he said, smiling. She stood up, and he picked her up, so she was sitting on his lap. "I got you this. It's from your uncle, too."

He held up a black chained locket. It glittered in the sun. Kathryn squealed, and he hooked the clasp of the small chain together, around her neck.

"Just in case I ever use my powers on you, this will protect you from anything I could possibly do. But I promise, I love you more than anything in the world, and I would never willingly try to hurt you." he said.

She smiled. "I know, daddy."

. . .

"Daddy look!" Kathryn said, pointing to a raven in the tree. It looked like it was standing guard for the two, watching their surroundings, and then looking down at them.

Her father chuckled. "Good girl Kathryn. The ravens can be your strongest allies. I can made sure that once I'm gone, they know to look after my baby girl forever and always, and do as she says." he replied.

"Like a Queen!" she chirped.

He chuckled again. "Yes. Queen Kathryn. Sounds nice, but I think you're more of Daddy's Little Princess." he said. "But every Queen needs to look like her subjects."

"They're so pretty! I can look like a raven?" she questioned, head tilting partially to the side, hair flopping into her eyes.

"Yes. You're a very special girl Kathryn. When I'm gone you'll take my place, and you'll be the strongest one yet. But remember, know your place, pick your fights, remember who you are, and take time to master your powers." he said.

Kathryn suddenly looked upset, and thunder rolled off in the distance. "Daddy, stop saying you're going to leave! Why can't you stay? Mom and I want you to stay here with us! Don't go!" she said, tears coming to her eyes.

Mitchell made a noise, and they could tell he hated the thought of leaving his daughter. This little girl was his whole world. He hugged her.

"Kathryn, you know I love you and your mom more than anything on the planet. I would never want to leave her, or especially you. But bad people are after daddy. They want to hurt me, and they'll do anything to get me to come to them. I have to face them, to keep you and your mother out of danger. But these people are going to take my magic. They're very bad. And I know I won't be there in the end, but as long as you are both safe, I'll be happy." he explained.

Kathryn looked up at him, new tears forming in her big poison green eyes. "I can fight! You said I would be powerful. I can help you!" she pleaded.

"No sweetheart. Your time isn't yet. But please, remember, if I die, you of all people will still be able to see me. Knowing you, and your stubborn ways." he said, poking her belly. She giggled. "But if you see me after Lydia tells you I died, you CANNOT tell ANYONE. They'll think you're insane, and you'll be killed. They'll accuse you of being a witch. And I can't let that happen. So promise?"

"Promise." she replied.

"Good girl." he said. "Daddy's girl."

She smiled, and then another voice called out in the distance. "Dinner's ready!" a woman called. "Oh, where have you two gone? It's going to rain!"

"We better get back. Hopefully your mother didn't cook that stinky cabbage dinner again." he said. He made a face, and Kathryn laughed.

"Yeah! That was smelly and gross." she said, giggling and holding her fingers to her nose. She scrunched up her face.

. . .

"Father, no!" 9-year-old Kathryn screamed in horror. "Stop it!"

Her step-father smirked, as he held a knife to her mothers throat. Kathryn couldn't speak, as she watched her mother's body crumple to the ground. Her step-father then turned to the young girl. He stood ominously over her, and she fell backwards.

She pushed herself backwards on her hands and knees. Her hands were bleeding. Her back hit the wall and she started shaking.

"Why?" she whimpered, staring at the man who was going to end her life.

"It's called needing money, you little brat." he said, as he held Kathryn down by her throat. She squirmed and thrashed. "It's the Dark Ages. Money isn't easy to get. You two are no use to me."

Before he could point the knife, Kathryn was suddenly released from his grasp. The step father fell, and he yelled. Kathryn looked in horror as his eyes rolled back in his head, and little tiny bats flew around him. She saw her hands were glowing.

"Sorcery! Monster!" he yelled. "That's why your family kept you hidden! You're a monster!"

Kathryn whimpered. "Just... Just stay away from me!" she begged.

She held a hand up, and he stood up again. A black and green knife formed in front of Kathryn's hand, and she screamed as it shot forward. The knife hit him in the stomach, and he fell next to her mother.

She backed into the corner, and blood started to trickle from her hands and knees. She started crying. She brought her knees to her chest, and was shaking violently.

Pitch Black appeared moments later. He looked around, and immediately understood what was going on. He went over and scooped Kathryn up in his arms.

"Come'on Kathryn... you need to get out of here." Pitch said. He held her close to his chest. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. Pitch brought her outside, setting her down on the grass. "You'll be okay, sweetheart... Everything is going to be fine..." he kept repeating.

. . .

"Kathryn Greene, of Paris, France. On this day, you have been charged with sorcery, and murder! Witnesses include the poor peasants that discovered the bodies of your birth-mother and step-father, and an ex-maid of your father! For years your family has hidden themselves, as a cult of witches and devils!" the judge said. "You have, by this court, been found GUILTY. And it has been passed on to you, for your grieves crimes, execution!"

10-year-old Kathryn whimpered and cried, chained at the hands and feet. Her hands were covered by thick, metal gloves.

"No... No..." she whimpered.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" the judge asked.

"I was only playing, and step-fath-" she stuttered.

"Aye! With knives!" the judge exclaimed. "Your mother was a well-known witch, and your brother a warlock! You probably killed him too! And you were seen speaking to your long deceased blood-father! Speaking to the dead!"

The three guards backed Kathryn into a corner, as she pleaded for her life.

"Bring her up to Pine Hill, where she will be hung by the neck until she ceases to live her miserable life!" the judge ordered.

Suddenly, Kathryn's eyes flickered with electricity, and her aura glowed orange. "No... You'll all pay!" she screamed. Fire appeared at her feet, and burned strongly. "YOU'LL ALL PAY!"

The fire shot up at the judge, and he stumbled back, falling from his seat. But she was still weak. Two villagers stomped out the fire, and they all grabbed her.

And then everything went black.

. . .

Calming waves moved slowly and peacefully, hitting the bottom of the dock. Kathryn walked with her uncle, holding his hand.

Kathryn looked to be about ten or eleven. Her hair was down, and she had two small braids by her pointed ears, and her bangs were pulled back to make a fishtail braid in the back. Her eyes looked like emeralds, and her skin was pale and fair. She wore a silver dress. She looked up at him innocently.

"Where are we going, Uncle?" she asked.

"Some place safe, sweetheart... Some place better." he said gently.

She looked down, and then looked up at him again. "I thought I was dead." she said.

"No sweety, I took you away from that. You do not deserve anymore pain. You deserve life." he said. "A better life."

"Is daddy going to be there?" she asked. "And Alexander?"

Her uncle froze, and knelt beside her. "No sweetheart... You'll have a new father here. You'll have a new life, a new home, a new name..." he said. He touched her cheek. "But first you need to forget..."

Kathryn's eyes glowed white for a minute, and then she looked back at him. "Where are we?" she asked.

"You just came back from visiting your aunt and I. I'm bringing you home." he said. "Remember, you are known by a different name here; Calyniel."

She nodded. "Okay." she said.

He brought her to the end of the docks, where a boat lay anchored. The sun was setting between two mountains, and it gave everything a warm glow. He stopped, and kissed her forehead.

He then lifted her on to the boat, where a tall man stood. He had long blond hair, and wore white robes.

"I will visit." he said. "You will have a chance to grow up here, until whatever age you wish. You shall be immortal... Until we meet again, my princess."

The ship then sailed off into the sun light, disappearing.

. . .

"Ada! Ada!" Kathryn/Calyniel giggled. She ran quickly into her fathers bright room, and jumped up on his bed. The sunlight poured in through the large glass-less windows.

Kathryn's long brown hair was braided into a short side braid, and she wore a long white dress with sleeves down to her forearms, and a light grey ribbon around her waist.

The man, who had long blond hair and very fair skin, lay silent, not even opening his eyes. She grunted, and planted herself directly on top of the man's chest, poking him in random places. She opened one of his eyes with her thumb. "Ada!"

"What, Calyniel?" he finally answered, tiredly, still refusing to open his eyes, unless she did it for him. He had quickly realized that she would not stop until he answered.

He yawned, and since he was unable to move away from the energetic nine-year-old, he turned his head away from her, burying his face into the soft pillow. Calyniel made a face at this, not liking that she didn't have all of his attention.

"Adaa!" she whined. "The hunting trip is today! You promised you would be awake to see them off!"

She bounced up and down, trying to wake him up again. The man grunted. "Calyniel, it is not even dawn yet..." he protested tiredly.

"They leave at dawn, silly! I bet they're going to have so much fun!" she exclaimed breathlessly. The bed jostled slightly as she jumped around anxiously, struggling to get her father up.

"You are not even going, why are you so excited?" he questioned, opening one eye to look at her.

"Because! Everyone goes to say goodbye before a hunting trip, and to wish them luck! Plus, Elessar will be going on the trip! He's your BEST friend!" she said.

"That's wonderful, child, but will you please stop using me as a substitute for a mattress to jump on?" the man said, his voice muffled, not really paying attention to what she had just said.

She sat back quickly, but immediately began to shake the king by his shoulders instead.

"Ada, you do not wish to give good luck to the men before they leave, or even say goodbye to your best friend?" she asked, unhappily. She stopped bouncing around when he did not answer right away.

"Well..." he yawned. "If you wish me to be there so bad..."

"YES!"

. . .

Her hair was wavy, and cascaded down her shoulders. She wore a blue dress, with a blue petticoat. The sleeves of the blue dress were folded up to her elbows.

She was cleaning a small area, and packing things into a box. She picked up a sword, and pulled it from its sheath. She layed it down, and held the sword up.

She ran her palm down the flat side of the blade.

She then swung the blade, as if she were fighting an invisible foe. She did this for a minute, and when she turned around, her sword met another sword. She froze, and he looked at her.

"You have some skill with a blade." he stated.

They released each other from the stand-still, but she held her sword high, near his neck. He lowered his blade, as did she, after a minute. She turned and started to put away the sword, back into the box.

"Women of this country learned long ago; those without swords can still die upon them." she said. "I fear neither death nor pain."

"What do you fear, my lady?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

She looked up at him from the contents of the box, and paused. "A cage," she said. "To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them. And all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire."

He furrowed his eyebrows, and shook his head slightly. "You are a daughter of kings," he said. "A shield maiden of this country."

She looked up at him again, and he put his sword back on his belt. "I do not think that will be your fate." he said.

They stood in silence for a minute, staring at each other. Then he got a slight smile on his face. "We need not to worry of this now. We still have time." he said.

She smiled. "It's nice to know you still look to the world so innocently, for a Ranger." she said.

He grinned. Another man entered the room, who looked remarkably like the woman, and the man she had been talking to bowed his head, and walked out of the room.

. . .

It was a beautiful forest. All the trees were a dark green and moonlight peeked through the branches.

In the middle of the forest was a bridge, and it had an old-looking design on the side. The bridge was white, but in the darkness it looked grey. A stream trickled underneath it on the rocks and through the plants.

Two people stood on the bridge, in the middle. It was a man and a woman, holding each other in each other's arms.

The man was lean, dark and tall, with shaggy dark brown hair flecked with grey, greyish blue eyes, and a stern pale face. He must've been at least 6"6. He had a slight scruffy beard and pink lips. He looked handsome and noble, as a King would. He had wrinkles by his eyes when he smiled.

Calyniel looked older now, but at the same time, not. She had long dark brown hair down and in loose ringlets, tied back from her face. She wore a circlet-like-crown, with silver lace netted with small gems, glittering white. She was as pale as snow, and the moon was bright in her eyes. She had minty green eyes now. She wore a long creamy-white dress that had straps, but also a sleeve that covered her hands and hung down the rest of the dress. She wore little makeup, only wearing gold eyeshadow. Her lips were cherry blossom red. She wore a necklace, with a silver chain and a white jewel.

They began talking, and I listened. They weren't whispering, but they were both being very quiet.

"Do you remember when we first met?" the woman said in the odd language. Her voice was clear and hung on the air smoothly.

"I thought I had strayed into a dream." the man replied.

He had a deep, calm voice. He spoke slowly, but with wisdom. He almost sounded like he was making a rumbling noise in the back of his throat when he talked. He sounded old, but looked quite young. A weatherbeaten thirty-five, at the most.

"Long years have passed..." the woman said, and she looked up at him. She stroked the side of his face with her fingertips. "Do you remember what I told you?"

The man paused, and he traced his fingers over her necklace that glowed in the moonlight, as she seemed to do to.

"You said that you would abandon the life your uncle gave you, forsaking the immortal life of your people." he said gently, in English.

"And to that I continue to believe." she said. "I love you, my fair man, and I would rather spend one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone. Being immortal does not come with no sorrow."

Their eyes met, and she held his hand. She then took her hand off of his, and he opened the closed fist to see her pendant with the silver chain. "I choose, a mortal life." she whispered.

"I cannot accept this..." he said.

"It is mine to give to whom I choose," she said, and she paused for a moment. "Like my heart."

She closed his hand around the pendant, and they both stood in silence for a moment, admiring each other. They kissed.

When they broke apart, the man took the necklace and put it back over her head.

"Then you shall keep it for me, until I ride West." he said.

She smiled and placed her hand on the pendant now hanging from her neck once more. She looked up at him and he smiled, kissing her forehead.

. . .

It was late at night, most likely going into the earlier hours of the morning. Men in weatherbeaten clothes were packing up horses, putting swords and only what they needed on them.

Calyniel's uncle stood in front of Strider. "Our time here is ending... Calyniel's time... is ending. Let her go... Let her take the ship into the West. Let her bear away her love for you to the Undying Lands, there it will be ever green..." her uncle said.

"...But never more than a memory." Strider added, sadly.

Her uncles expression hardened. "I will not leave my niece here to die." he said. "You have not seen what is coming, but I have -"

"She stays because she still has hope..." Strider said softly.

"She stays for YOU," her uncle corrected. "She belongs with her people."

. . .

Strider stood with Calyniel, away from the others. It was the night they were to be leaving.

"You have a chance for another life... away from this war... grief... despair..." he said softly, trying to hide his emotions to the hurt look on her face.

She looked up at him. Her eyes were watery, and she gasped slightly. "Why are you saying this?" she asked.

"I am not, your immortal kin... It was a dream, Calyniel, nothing more." he said. He held out his palm. She looked down, and saw he was holding her necklace. "This belongs to you."

She looked back up at him, and smiled slightly. "It was a gift." she said. "Keep it."

. . .

The boat rocked soothingly back and forth as it sailed, but it did not stop the tears coming from Kathryn's eyes and the sobs coming from her mouth. She hugged her knees as she sat on the deck, leaning against the railing. Her uncle sat next to her.

"I loved him!" she sobbed.

Her uncle rubbed her hand, in attempt to calm her. "I know, Kathryn. I know. And he loved you." he said. "But it was not meant to be. You both being together was dangerous, and you were putting his life at risk... And sometimes, if you love something, you have to let it go."

"But I didn't let him go!" she cried. "You made him let me go! Now he's going off to war, and probably his death! I could've stayed and helped him!"

"Kathryn, you know well enough that whatever happens to Strider, you have no power over it. His choices are his own - he knew that you had to leave." he replied, again, trying to calm her.

"How? How on Earth am I supposed to believe you?" she asked bitterly, another fit of tears coming, and flowing down her face. "Strider loved me, and I know he did with all of his heart. How am I supposed to believe that you didn't force him to give you his permission to let me leave?"

Her uncle sighed. He hated to do this to her, but she needed to see this. "He gave me your necklace." he replied slowly, after a minute. Kathryn looked up in disbelief, horrified.

"What?" she said.

Her uncle took the white pendant out, holding it out to her. "He told me that he loved you more than life itself, but he thought that you should have this instead. To keep him close to you." he said.

Kathryn gently took her necklace, and stared at it for a moment. New tears formed, and she held it to her chest, closing her eyes. "I - I think I need some time to just... get this all through my head." she said, and her uncle nodded, getting up and walking away.

. . .

"Where are we, now?" Kathryn asked, in a cold, emotionless tone.

She wore her white necklace, and had her black locket around her wrist. Her long hair was down in a side braid, with a light ribbon braided into it. She wore a black and white dress. The top was a off-the-shoulder white blouse, with a corset top, and bright green ribbon tied onto the front. The long black skirt went down to her calves, and she wore short black gladitor-styled sandals, that went up to just above her ankles.

"We are in Paris, France. This is where you were born, and this," her uncle explained, motioning to the building they were in. "Is the Palais Garnier. This is your new home."

She chuckled slightly. "This isn't home. You know where my home is." she spat.

Her uncle bit his lip, with a deeply pained expression. "Kathryn," he said, turning, and holding her hands. "You have to understand that I did what I did for the best. It wasn't safe for Strider to have you around. You weren't safe, either."

"I know that you had your reasons, but I just wish you could've told me. I could've had a chance to say goodbye. I could've known that those were my last few days with him." she said. She took a breath. "You could've at least told me WHY I had to go."

He shook his head. "I know, and if I could go back, I would've told you both earlier. But then, I know you would've argued for it too." he said.

"I would've argued because I loved him." she said, cutting him off.

"I know." he said. He put his hand on her heart. "That is why you need to forget. This is for your own good, Kathryn. I - I promise."

Kathryn's eyes glowed white, for a moment, before they turned back to her normal green eyes, and she gasped for a breath. Her uncle steadied her. "W-Where are we?" she asked, confused.

. . .

Kathryn sat back in Box Five, watching the performance. They were singing, but she couldn't figure out what. She had gotten used to the Operas, and she watched many of them.

After this opera, she left the box, and started to walk down to the catacombs, knowing people could still see her. "Zero, meet me down in the catacombs..." she whispered, hoping he would get the message.

Without looking, she walked into a man. She jumped, and he looked down at her. "S-Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." she said quickly in apology.

He looked at her for a moment, and then smiled. He took her hand, and kissed it. "If it meant that someone as beautiful as you would be introduced to me each time, you could walk into me as much as you wanted." he replied.

Kathryn blushed. "I - um.." she stuttered, and he chuckled.

"My name is Viggo. Viggo de Chagny. What about you?" he asked. He had a strong french accent.

She stared at him for a moment, and then she smiled gently. "I'm Kathryn. Kathryn Greene." she replied.

. . .

Kathryn and Viggo danced around the stage, and she giggled and cheered. He laughed at her delight, as she spun around.

"Ssh, we're not supposed to be in here." he laughed, grabbing her sides, picking her up.

She grinned and laughed. "Don't worry, we won't get caught. I locked all the doors ot the main stage." she said, and he smiled, spinning her around once, and then resting her on the ground, but in his arms.

"Do you live here, or what?" he asked. "I seem to only ever see you in le Palais."

She shook her head. "No, but I do not spend a lot of time outside these walls. I like it much more here." she said. He smiled, kissing her.

"That's too bad," he said, and she raised an eyebrow. "It would've been more fun if you did live here."

He laughed, and she smiled, laughing also. "Even though you like it here, what would you say if I took you out for a night?" he asked.

She smiled, kissing him. "I would love to." she replied, and he smiled.

. . .

Zero barked in a worried tone, whimpering and flying quickly to keep up with his master. Kathryn flew quickly over the rooftops of the city. It was impossible for her to go any faster, but she just kept trying to speed up.

"No no no..." she continued to whisper to herself, repeating it over and over and over.

Once the Palais Garnier was in view, she felt as if time had slowed down. She felt dizzy, and as if she was going to throw up. There was an ambulance in front of the building, and they had Viggo strapped onto a gurney, but they were not rushing to put him in the vehicle. Kathryn froze in the air, watching them.

"Pauvre garcon..." one of the workers said. Poor man.

"No..." Kathryn whispered, her eyes stinging, and tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "No no no no no..."

She watched as they lifted the white sheets over his head, and she slowly sunk down to the building underneath her. She fell to her knees, and cried. Zero whimpered, nuzzling her hand with his nose.

"Viggo..." Kathryn whispered, hot tears rolling down onto the ground beneath her.

. . .

I set the book aside, and took a deep breath. Everything made sense. Everything...

Everything that has ever gone on between my Uncle, Pitch, and I made sense. My Uncle moved me around so much, because Pitch must've been looking for me, and he was trying to avoid the exact thing that was happening now. And then my father hated my uncle so much because he had taken his daughter away from him, hiding her. It all made sense.

I looked up at Sally, who was watching me patiently. "I know, that you are probably going to want to go... But before you do, I want to give you something." she said.

She left the room, before returning with a red and black box in her hands. She sat down next to me, and handed me the box.

"This was Vladimir's armour. He had won his greatest battle in this armour, and he promised that once he died, his spirit would aid the next person to wear it in their battle. I - I think he would've wanted you to have his armour, Kathryn." Sally said.

I was speechless. Struggling to find my voice, I finally replied. "This is an honor..." I said quietly. "I - I probably should get back. Dad will suspect something if I am gone for too long."

I stood up, and Sally smiled. We hugged for a minute, and when we broke the hug off, the box shrunk down, and I slipped it into my pocket.

"I promise that I will come back and visit, and I swear that I won't let Pitch get away with stealing Halloween from you. I promise that I'll get it back. For all of you." I told her, and she smiled.

"I know you will." she said.

. . .

Flying back to Pitch, my mind was plagued by questions. I started thinking. I thought about the prophecy, and started to wonder who was the "their" the prophecy talks about was.

Was the prophecy talking about me and Pitch, or maybe someone else?

With that question, I started thinking about dad. I thought about dad, and my Uncle. Dad wanted to get back at my Uncle for hiding me from him. And because of the dark magic that he was born with, he needed me to help him make everyone feel the pain he felt all those years he thought I was dead. And then my Uncle wanted to me to make the 'right' choices, and become the next Guardian, using my powers for good.

And that was when I thought about myself.

I didn't want to be a Guardian. I know that I used to wish that I could have a story like the Guardians, and to be recognized like them - but not anymore. I don't know what happened, whether it was getting the rest of my memories back, or simply a change of heart, but I didn't want that anymore. I just wanted my life. No matter what, I didn't want to get back at my Uncle. He was hard on me for years, but I now know that he was just trying to help me, and it was hard on him too. But... I also didn't want to use my powers how the Guardians do. I liked how I liked before, in the Palais. Carefree and rule-free. It was so much better... Just like when I was a kid.

I started to think about Alexander, and the poem he had written me. Alexander didn't except me to turn out like my dad, my uncle, or anyone. I remembered growing up with him always reminding me that in the end, I have to make choices for myself, and myself only.

'Don't let ANYONE tell you what to do or who to be, Katy-Bat. You're the most amazing person in the world, and you don't have to change for anyone. If someone tries to change you, ditch 'em. Things will always work out, if you remember that.' His voice rattled around in my head.

At first it was unnoticeable, but then I realized that where my hand was holding my staff was burning hot. Startled, I moved my hand, and saw golden words begin to appear on the wood.

All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost... Remember who you really are, Kathryn. Remember who you used to be.

I was shocked, but immediately, I knew that that was from Alexander. Wherever he was, he wanted me to see that, and to remember those words. I understood what I had to do.

I made up my mind, and flew forwards, quickly.

. . .

As we all entered the Globe room, we saw a miniature orange Jack-O-Lantern sitting on the control panel, that had definitely not been there before. Cautiously, we all approached it.

The face was dark and small, as if it were sleeping. Once we were closer to it, it's eyes and mouth popped open and started glowing, like it had just woken up. Jack had to smile, when everyone else jumped. She just loves to scare people... he thought, immediately knowing who had left their little gift.

In a crackley, recorded voice, the pumpkin started to talk.

"Hello my freaky darlings... I know, I know, I'm a bit of a drama queen... " it said, almost sounding identical to the pumpkins in Kathryn's tunnels.

"Kathryn?" Jack whispered.

"Before I go any further, I have something to say... How strange it is, to be anything at all... Especially on Halloween, which only gets curiouser and curiouser every year... I have wandered the world for so long, and only now do I realize... Only a few find the way, some don't recognize it when they do, some... don't ever want to. Not everyone can help that, but well, you may have noticed, that I'm not all there, myself... I must go now, and disappear into the night..."

The recording ended hauntingly, with Kathryn's ominous cackle. The pumpkin then disintegrated into orange mist, and floated away in the breeze. Jack paused, and then bit his lip, thinking.

"She was giving us hints..." he mumbled.

"What?" Bunnymund questioned.

"She was quoting Lewis Carroll and the Cheshire Cat, who disappears all the time. You said Kathryn's family has always loved riddles, so maybe she was trying to give us clues... Maybe she didn't really join Pitch at all!" Jack said, looking up at the Man in the Moon. "She mentioned Halloween, and how it gets 'curiouser' every year. Maybe she was telling us that on Halloween this year is when Pitch was planning to do something!"

"Jack you're a genius!" the Man in the Moon said. "Both Kathryn and Pitch were born on Halloween, and since Alexander died, it would make sense that her coming of age would be on her birthday!"

. . .

That night, as everyone was going to bed, I quietly floated up to my room, rubbing Kathryn's locket between my palm and my thumb in my pocket. I had kept it with me since I had found it, because I guess... I guess I felt like she was with me, in a sense.

I stopped in front of my bedroom door, and I glanced to the side. Kathryn's room sat silently next to mine, and over the last few days, I had started to wonder if Zero was still even in there.

Convincing myself that I was checking up on the little dog, I took a breath and moved over to her door. Silently, I opened the door and slipped inside.

I was greeted by Zero, who barked playfully, as if he had had a sudden burst of energy since I had last seen him. That was when I realized; Kathryn had actually been here, leaving her message, and visiting Zero.

He barked and wagged his ghostly tail, starting to sniff my pockets. When he stuck his nose in my hoodie, taking Kathryn's locket from my hand, I chuckled slightly. "Yeah, buddy. It's Kathryn's locket." I said.

Zero seemed to smile, with the locket hanging from his mouth. He flew over to the bookshelves, living back at me as if to say "Come'on!"

Curiously, I followed him. "What do you want me to see, Zero?" I asked, and he set her locket down on the little black box she had on the shelf.

I watched in amazement as the locket clipped open, and slowly started coming open.

Should I look? I thought. I mean, this is Kathryn's locket...

Deciding against my better judgement, I went over and looked at it. Inside, was a picture of what must've been Kathryn and her brother. They were in the woods, on a dirt road that I recognized as the road leading down to her house. The only difference was that when I had seen it, the plants were much more overgrown. They were on their knees, with two little dogs in front of them. One of them, the one in front of Kathryn, looked a lot like Zero, but with brown fur by his eyes, ears, back and tail. The other dog was in between them both, and was much larger. It looked like a Golden Retriever, mixed with something else. They both had ribbons around their neck, and I could read faintly read the tags. The smaller dog was indeed named Zero, and the larger one was named Drew.

I looked at Kathryn. She looked about five or six, and was wearing her locket around her neck. Her hair was braided to the side, with a light ribbon in it. She was wearing a wrist-length white blouse, and black dress over it, with a white ribbon tied around her waist, and a light powdered blue skirt underneath the long black one. She wore a few silver bracelets around her wrists. Her brother looked around eleven or twelve, and had shaggy brown hair. He had light green-ish blue eyes. He wore a black long-sleeved jacket, with a white button up shirt underneath, and long pants. They both had big smiles on their faces.

On the other side of the locket, there was a quote. It said; "Carve your names on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you."

When Zero stopped flying around me, and quieted down, I started to feel uneasy, and decided to go. I shouldn't even be here in the first place... Leaving her locket, I turned and quickly left, going back to my room. That was where another surprise was waiting for me.

In the form of a note on my bed.

. . .

Jack... Please don't tell the others that I wrote this. Just... keep it between you and me, alright?

I know that I haven't been the easiest person to get along with, and I know that I've been fickle, going back and forth between helping nobody, helping you, and helping dad, and I completely understand if the Guardians don't exactly trust me. I know that. I except that. But I hope that you haven't given up on me yet.

Since I've been gone, I found something amazing. In France, there is this town, and my sixth grandfather actually created it! His name was Vladimir Tepes, also known as; Dracula! The town is so beautiful, and the people are so friendly and welcoming - and they're all monsters! There are vampires, mummies, witches, ghosts, and there is this huge castle, which has MY story! I read everything, and I read all about my old lives. It was fantastic, and I also learned that the town was created as a refuge for the monsters that were chased out of the towns they lived in. And when I went there, they welcomed me right away, and I actually felt at home. It was amazing. I felt like I was at peace, and I felt just like I felt when Alexander was still around - happy. In that town, I immediately was welcomed as one of their own, and I just felt at peace. Finally. I could finally rest in peace. All of those monsters, they feel like old friends and family. Like I've known them all my life. I feel like they all understand me. It was fantastic, and it made me realize something.

I'm not a Guardian. I'll never truly be a Guardian, and I never want to be a Guardian.

I don't want to tasks, and I don't want to be called into battle whenever something bad happens. The creatures in this town have such amazing and perfect lives. They can grow old with the people they love, and they have friends and parties. The PARTIES, Jack. The parties they throw here are so much different than the ones in the Palais Garnier. They're so much more welcoming, and everyone in the town is invited. The parties last all night, and EVERYONE goes. They're so much fun! I've never loved parties, but these parties are so much more fun. In the town, they celebrate everyone's birthdays, so there are parties almost every day.

I want to be able to have a quiet life in the town. I don't want to be stuck in the Palais Garnier anymore. I want to have fun and go to parties, pull pranks and just... have fun. I haven't had fun in hundreds of years. I've always wanted to have a family again, and the monsters treat me like one of their own. I want to be able to travel the world, and go out with the monsters on Halloween - which, by the way, is their biggest celebration ever. I don't want the life I have in the Palais. I don't want the life my uncle is giving me. I don't want to be a Guardian. I just want my life back.

But I know that no matter what Pitch promises me, it won't be right. I don't want to help him. Pitch may be my father, but he isn't the dad that I remember. Something in him changed when he became Pitch Black, and the old part of him that I knew, died. The man I know no isn't my father.

Pitch is planning something during the full moon, the night before Halloween. At 3:00 AM, during the full moon on October 31st, he says that my powers are supposed to be strongest. He's planning to make me try to take over my Uncle's white dreamsand, which controls both his nightmares, and Sandy's good-dreams. Apparently, I'm the only one in generations that has the power to take control of it, and destroy one of the others. He wants me to destroy Sandy's dreamsand, forever. He's planning to do it in Paris, near our old home, because according to him, that will give me even more power.

So that is where you (hopefully) could come in. Tell the Guardians Pitch's plans, but try to keep me out of it. If you have to tell them about me, I understand. I just don't want my Uncle to think I'm coming crawling back to him, begging to me a Guardian. Like I said, I want my life, not to be a Guardian. I'm not going to fight with you, but I'm also not going to fight my father. I was born ten weeks too early, and back when I was alive, that's basically a death sentence. I was always the runt of the litter, and I was never expected to live, but I survived. Now, I'm fighting. I'm fighting for my life, and I need your help. Tell the Guardians to prepare for a fight, and you'll see me soon. I just need to get some things ready.

-Kathryn

---

Hey guys, so that was a long chapter, huh? Haha, and sorry about not updating in so long. I wrote this chapter about a bijillion times. I kept editing and editing the first part of the chapters, so much that I think I've got it memorized. Anyway, this chapter is basically... I just want to start wrapping things up. I wanted you to know the rest of Kathryn's memories, and her bonds with her dad and her brother, because they were so important to her. Oh, and yes, some of this stuff did come from Lord of the Rings. I also wanted to add, the Man in the Moon's predictions about the prophecy are mostly wrong (the only things he got right are the things that Kathryn had also said), and Kathryn is closer to what is actually going to happen. I made it like that because I wanted to stress how the Man in the Moon doesn't quite understand Kathryn, so he doesn't think the prophecy involves her doing things, individually, a lot, because he thinks the Guardians will have a bigger part to play. So Kathryn's predictions are closer to how I'm going to write it. I also kinda wanted to show Kathryn's development throughout the beginning of the story until now, where she realizes that she doesn't want to be a Guardian, she just wants to live her life. That'll be important later in the chapters.