A/N: Please review?

Chapter III: Prey

Eve lay awake in her cot. She supposed it was a night like this that she was born.

A cloudless dream on an earthly night

Hangs upon a crescent moon…

Her voice was the only sound in the darkness. It could not compare to that of her mother's; angelic, deep. But now her mother was a true angel, and her lullaby was the only thing that remained of her. Eve would sing it always.

A voiceless song in an ageless light

Sings at the coming dawn...

"Burn the WITCH!"

More voices rang out in the night.

"Kill the Forest Witch!"

There was clattering below.

Her heart sped to the tempo of their footsteps. What have I done?

Mother, help me.

The ladder to her loft rattled and familiar faces stared back at her.

"She's up here!" they hollered.

Eve looked toward the small window and doubted she could make it out. The glow of torches illuminated their seething faces.

She had an idea. Thank you, mother.

"Stand back you loathsome, abominable mortals!" She extended her hands and grotesquely twisted her fingers in a mystical fashion.

She searched her memory for mother's words.

"Excalibre mortana per gancwa

loch nox ima rasch nocanta la

tombov hexava!"

Eve praised herself for committing "Morgan la Fey's" evil spell in mother's story to memory. The villagers backed hastily away as she leaped threateningly down the ladder. They stood petrified with their torches in the far corner of her kitchen and she slowly made her way to the back door.

Just when she thought her plan successful, one let out a cry of rage and they all swarmed toward her.

The pot of mushroom stew remained on the table, and acting on a whim, Eve snatched it and thrust it forcefully in front of her.

"Beware!"

They ceased immediately.

"One drop of this potion and you shall never again see the light of day!"

The men cast wary looks to each other. Eve's hand pressed the door behind her and groped desperately for the knob. In doing so, she lost her grip on the pot and the mushrooms and stock splashed to the floor.

Eve took advantage of their momentary distraction to make her escape. She flung open the door and not long after was followed by cries of outrage. There are moments when one has to make a decision between two equally dreadful fates: to re-enter the cursed forest, or stay and be burned at the stake?

Eve's toes dug into the ground in the direction of the ominous darkness of trees. She dared not look behind her. Instead, she ran to the only place where she knew they would not follow.

"Run! She's going back to her forest!"

Her soles felt the ivy underfoot and an immediate sense of security slowed her pace. She leaped and veered between trunks and crashed through vines and branches until the glow of torches were far and small.

"You can hide in there for now Witch! But should you come out, we will show no mercy!"

Eve gasped for breath and collapsed against smooth bark. The voices faded and all that was left was the moon, the darkness, and the woods.

Where were the wildflowers? Where were the birds and the butterflies that flitted happily through the leaves? The farther she ventured, the more desolate her forest prison became.

She begun to wonder if perhaps this wasn't the safest choice. It seemed that the more trees she past the less she could make sense of the this vast, cold jungle.

Leaves grew sparser and the branches' fingers twisted and gnawed at the stars. The haze hung low to the ground and swept around her calves. She felt like a gost ship being tossed upon a foggy sea.

There it was again, that feeling of countless, unseen eyes, watching her from every direction. Exhaustion was beginning to take its toll on her logic and hunger taxed her body. She was running on pure fear.

But soon enough even fear could not sustain her. Eve cast a desperate look to the heavens and the crescent moon grinned at her from above.

Crack!

She swallowed a gasp and spun to its direction. She wondered if they could hear her heart beating in her ears. Her legs began to quiver.

Crack!

The second being much closer, she took off in the opposite direction, not paying mind to the branches slashing her forearms. Each exhale expelled a small whimper from her throat and each bound became weaker than the last.

As if trying to catch her a mess of thorns grabbed at her skirts and ripped at her hair. She fought desperately to free herself and fell back on her hands. She scrambled to stand but landed in a tangle of diving roots. Her wrist twisted and cracked unnaturally. This was the end. She was going to die prey to her predator in this forest.

The last thing she saw before blackness took over was the smile of the crescent moon in the cloudless night.

A/N: Come on, you know you want to push it. You are getting very sleepy...you want to review...