A hand came flying at her face and she felt a sudden sting in her face. Quickly after Scarlett's eyesight begins to blur as the once distinct lines became blobs of shapes and colors. Yelling. That was all she heard. The filthy words that were thrown at her face were no longer coherent. They were now just a string of verbal insults intertwined with the occasional pain to her body.

I wish you never existed!



These statements no longer held any effect on her, though the tears still ran down her face on instinct.

"I wish you never existed," she thought angrily.

Her vision was suddenly filled with water and she panicked, as she started to grapple for anything around her. As she tried to swim up, something kept pushing her down again and again. She struggled to breathe, but after a couple of minutes her body just gave up.

"Oh, that's right," she thought, "she was trying to kill me..."

Scarlett remembered the scene before all of this was happening. Her stepmother had called her out in the backyard near the pool. It was pitch black outdoors and Scarlett had to squint her eyes to even manage to see the shape of her stepmother. Soon, the figured disappeared and by the time she knew it, she couldn't breathe.

"I see...so that's what the beasts plans were," She thought as she was sinking to the bottom, "By getting her step-mother get arrested and going to jail for murder, her dad will have no income coming in, forcing him to once again live on the streets. Alone. Not resisting her quickly upcoming death, Scarlett let her eyes close, having the last thing she saw was the bubbles from her last breathe.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself somewhere odd. There was a misty haze that swept across the area, making hard to see anything a farther than a foot away from her. However, there was one shape that stood through the thick fog. It was a shape of a house, but it gave off a menacing atmosphere that screamed, "Stay Away!." However, she knew she was already dead, so what was the worst that could happen?

In return for granting a wish, you will work for me after death.

That statement echoed throughout the area, reminding her of the contract she had made with the beast. As she attempted to walk towards the house, it get steadily harder to climb. The hill got dangerously steeper as she kept going, seeing as the shape of the house never got bigger.

"How far away is this house?" She thought, tiredly. After what felt like three hours she found herself at the door of the house beside a blackened tree. She hesitated at the door for a little, but eventually took a deep breathe and knocked on the door, giving it three light taps.

Arania woke in her room in the attic. It was remarkably well lit, with two rather large square windows letting in the ambient light to her room. All of the wood in the room had aged beautifully until it was a soft bronze. Overall, the room was rather messy, clothing strewn about on the back of her chair with a stack of papers on the seat. There were similarly large stacks of paper and books littering the desk in her room which had a metal lamp with a burnt out bulb sitting in the center. Behind that were boxes as far as the eye could see, stacked on top of each other and piled high with god knows what. On the other side of the room was an untidy bookshelf with papers scattered along the entire thing. Her bed was nestled in a small room all on its own, with what appeared to be some kind of easel and a golden harp at the foot of the bed. The harp had been freshly oiled, and looked well taken care of, and the easel was holding a blank square of canvas.

Arania had only just recently moved into the attic, and cleaning it out to move her own things in had proved more difficult than she'd first expected. She'd thought maybe she could do it alone.. but apparently.. she'd bit off more than she could chew when she realized just how much stuff was in the attic. She'd already thrown out boxes of strange things, including what looked like a human hand in a jar. Her own stuff was near the bookshelf, neat and tidy boxes stacked and labeled, nothing like the mess on the other side of the room. So she'd decided to make some changes and enlist a little help. None of her flat mates were ever going to come up here, she could already see in their faces that they weren't necessarily the most keen in having her live here.

She curled her lip at the mess, and then shook her head. Any second now the human she'd tricked should be here. With the human here, she wouldn't have to worry about cleaning. And.. maybe the human could offer her some company in the house.

Arania lowered herself down the ladder, landing delicately on her feet as she stared down the long hallway. Even this part of the house fell ancient, the creeky wooden staircase was just another reminder. She was just in time to hear the knock at the door, a small smile spreading across her face. She slowly opened the door, gazing over at the human who waited for her. A pretty young thing with greyish blue-green eyes, and flowing orange hair. Perhaps Arania had chosen the girl because she wished she could look like her. Or maybe it was because she thought if she could surround herself in beauty.. perhaps in time the others would grow to accept her.

She held out two hands to the young woman, a small smile stretched across her face. Unnaturally black eyes with red pupils focused on the girl. "Welcome, child." she stated in a voice as smooth as silk.

"We should go back soon, you'll get lectured."

"All the more reason to stay out, brother mine. Besides, I like the nightlife."

"You're a idiot, sister."

Blackness held him in it's comforting folds. The darkness and the night was a comfort he always enjoyed. It helped that his sister and he were night owls. A family trait, she had declared it in that obnoxious and proud way she lived. Always the first to charge and the first to meet the problem head on with the finesse of a bull in a china shop with a angry hornet thrown in. Still, he admired for it. For the unconditional way she loved him, or so she claimed. He could still feel the guilt in her touch, see it in her eyes when she looked upon him. It wasn't her fault. She had only been a child like him.

"What could you have done?"

"I should have seen him. Nate! NATHANIEL! Don't you dare die on me!"

"Still my idiot sister..."

Die? He had already been burned near to it. What did he have to fear from a little sleep? He felt her hands tug at him, hauling him up. She was carrying him. What a strong sister. How proud he was. For all her guilt made her overprotective and gave her excuse. She truely would move mountains and kick up a tornado of a fit to get him what was needed and desired. Even if she herself hadn't desired it. He remembered when the teacher had passed over him in the physical part of their education, and against the rule barring siblings from working together Jesse had fought tooth and nail to get with him. He could still remember her scorching gaze at ten years old. Daring those so much older to try and separate them.

"What have you done?"

"Nathan-! Shot-!"

"Give him here."

That's right. The darkness held him as he felt hands take him. They had been out in the park. A favorite of Jesse's. A gun man. Point the gun towards the stronger. What can a maimed man do? Knock the gun away. A sardonic smile crossed his face as he remembered. Pain bloomed in his heart as he fell on the man, downing him and turning the gun upon him. Even if he was down he must not allow Jesse to come to harm. Sobs filled his ears. Jess... "Be strong sister. I love you, may in our next life I be as beautiful as you deserve."

As the darkness receeded he laid upon the ground. Content to lay there, he stared up towards thelarge house that loomed over his sprawled figure. Loathed to stand, for what reason was there. Laying was best to sort out his thoughts, and if this was death... Well, it wasn't so bad. He actually felt his heart still beating. Dark eyes closed, what would she do? Charge into the fray of course. as he was to tired to do. His long fingers traced furrows in the ground in nonsensical patterns.