I was breathless.

For a single moment, it seemed as though time itself had stopped – and in that moment, my breath - and a small fraction of my heart was stolen from me.

Scarlet eyes - the eyes of a monster. His thinly veiled hunger was so pronounced, simmering just beneath the surface of his perfect façade. It seemed so familiar to me – but I could not recall a single time in my life when anyone had ever looked at me in such a way. And yet…why? Why did it feel like his eyes were calling me to him – and I desperately wanted to answer?

My heart began to pound painfully against my rib cage the longer I stared into his eyes, my head beginning to spin until I felt nauseous. I finally broke the connection as I closed my eyes and attempted to struggle out of his grasp.

"Let me go!"

"No." The smirk he wore was evident in his tone as his arm tightened around my waist, pulling us closer together. He leaned forward until I could feel his breath on my face, and for some inexplicable reason, my knees suddenly felt weak. A shiver went down my spine as I felt him press against me, until there was no space left between us. He trailed his fingers along my jaw, his touch coaxing a choked gasp from my lips.

"Look at me." His voice was a whisper; the simple phrase he spoke – soft - yet commanding.

I shook my head, beating my free hand against his chest as I feebly struggled in his iron grasp. If even possible, he seemed to tighten his grip on me all the more, until I was pressed flush against him, effectively trapping my left hand between our bodies. His gloved hand that encased the other tightened, until it almost felt as if he was trying to break it. I let out soft whimper as I quickly slacked in his hold, the slight pain an instant reminder of the pain I suffered at the hands of my captors.

Silence stretched between us; he wasn't moving away, and made no move to let go of me. He was so close I could feel the warmth radiating off his skin, the silken wisps of his hair brushing against my cheek. He was so close – so close...I couldn't stand it.

"Let me go, please."

Her delicate form was trembling in his hold, her eyes screwed tightly shut as she finally stopped struggling against him. Her voice was thick with unshed tears as she begged him to be released, yet he felt no sympathy.

"Please, let me go."

A desperate plea - one, he knew, he would never grant her.

"If I do let you go, where would you go from here?" He crooned, his lips brushing against her ear. He'd be her voice of reason; she had always been so simple minded before, taking every suggestion he offered to her, blindly trusting that everything he did would always be for her benefit. She had always been so blindly trusting - ah, that's probably what had killed her in the end. Her blind faith in the world and those in it; despite losing all she had, despite falling into a pit of despair that was so deep, she was able to summon forth himself - she had still been so trusting.

How foolish.

Sebastian pulled himself away from such long suppressed memories, his gaze studying the girl in his arms.

"Where will you go? With your ailing state, you'd hardly last even a quarter of a fortnight. You're still so vulnerable," He loosened his hold on her arm, reaching to lift her chin and brush away at the hair that fell in front of her face.

She had opened her eyes, and they were stark as she gazed up at him. The corner of the demon's mouth twists upwards, his smile conveying poorly hidden amusement as he stared down at her.

She's was so lovely, so fragile.

Those haunted eyes. Those rosebud lips.

Her teeth sunk down into the soft flesh of her lower lip to keep it from quivering as his tall frame bent down to draw closer; he trailed his fingers along her jaw, forcing her to look directly at him.

"How could I let you go? How could I let you slip right from these arms that hunt for you?"

That velvety, terrifyingly sadistic voice penetrated through the haze that had fallen over me, but his words kept me petrified. I could feel the shivers that ran up and down my spine spreading, until my entire body trembled in his hold. I was scared - scared of the man that suddenly wanted to keep me chained, like a dog on a leash. It was a type of fear I had never experienced before; I wasn't scared that he would hurt me...at least, something deep inside told me that he wouldn't. I did not have to fear him like I feared the ones who kept me prisoner and tortured me. No, I feared him because something told me that this was wrong.

He was wrong.

Being with him was wrong, was forbidden. Not even being by his side could be allowed.

But - why?

Why did it feel like just being beside him made me want to vomit? Why did I was to tear away every piece of my skin he laid his hands on? Why did he make me feel as if I wanted to die...if only to escape him?

He was wrong, he was forbidden, he was, he was, he was…

Unclean.

The thought was electrifying.

I ripped myself out of his hold with a force beyond my own strength, and his eyes widened a fraction as he stared at me now unbound from his iron grip.

He took a single step towards me, and I held my hands out in front of me, telling him to stop.

"D-Don't come near me!" I begged, completely distraught as dark thoughts swirled in my mind until I was far beyond confusion.

"Sophie," he crooned in a soft tone of voice, reaching out and offering me his hand.

I flinched back as he called my name, his voice dripping with a sweet poison meant to lure me closer. I felt my gut twist and bile rise in my throat.

'No!' I shook my head violently, confused. Why? Why only now do I feel this way? I didn't before - he saved me, he protected me, he kept me safe...so why? Why do I think of him as...as…

Unclean.

The damning word pierced my thoughts again, and I felt a violent shiver make its way down my spine.

"P-Please, stay back!" I begged him, feelings the sting of tears as they welled in my eyes. He at least granted me this request; taking a step back, he drew back his hand and regarded me thoughtfully, his face devoid of any emotion, although his eyes spoke volumes.

I couldn't stand to hold his gaze; I tore my eyes away from him, clutching at my chest as I shuddered, a pain far more than physical rolling off of my skin in waves. A choke and nothing more left dry lips as I began to cry, large teardrops rolling down my cheeks in a flood of misery and sorrow. I couldn't place what even prompted me to cry, but once I started, the tears wouldn't stop.

The faint hint of a melody resurfaced in the flood of memories and thoughts that swirled inside my head - the tune haunting and nostalgic. Along with its broken phrases it brought a dream, one long forgotten and suppressed beneath the depression and the anxiety that crippled me and kept me chained, even when I had not been held by shackles or cages.

'In the stillness of the shining sky, there is your home. Beyond the darkness, where the moon sinks, is a narrow path that leads you - back to the beginning 🎵'

A distant dream - or perhaps, a memory?

I could feel a soft, warm wind caress my body, a sort of comforting darkness enveloping me. I was sinking, sinking into myself, and I could no longer see Sebastian standing in front of me.

I could hear someone laughing, the sound tinkling like bells in my ears.

Far off from where I stood in the darkness was a light; a weeping willow, with two figure sitting underneath. I took cautious steps forward, and the light began to dance around me as if I had stepped into a kaleidoscopic chamber. My body felt heavy and sluggish, my words inaudible as I called out to the two beneath the willow tree. The melody played over and over, the tune ringing in my ears as I chased after the two figures who only seemed to get farther and farther away.

Wait, don't go! Who are you?

I could hear a woman humming the same melody that rang inside my head, her voice light and full of laughter.

'In the stillness of the shining sky is my backyard garden. Some day you will finally reach, the other side of the shore~🎵'

They were right in front of me. Two stuffed dolls sat perched neatly at the base of the willow tree. I crumpled to my knees and picked one up, handling it gently. A doll in a frilly blue dress, a smile stitched across her cloth face. My eyes flickered to the doll's counterpart; a male doll dressed in all black, with two red buttons for eyes.

I dropped the doll, a mere chuckle escaping my lips before I burst into full-blown hysterical laughter to the accompaniment of the melody. A white light began to enveloped me, seeping into me and burning me from the inside out. I writhed in agony, still laughing as tears flowed down my cheeks and the garnet eyes of the doll looked on mockingly.

When the light had enveloped my entire body, I screamed.