Chapter Three: Awakening

Anna woke up.

Her eyes snapped open and she screamed with all her breath. When she had exhausted it, she stopped, and it was silent. And dark.

Panting, she looked wildly around the room, but could make out nothing in the shadows. Stumbling out of bed, she went to the dresser and lit the candle. Nothing. Only a dream.

Forcibly calming herself down, Anna set the candle down, blowing it out, and crawled over into bed, staring at the ceiling. The ceiling...

The nightmare was already starting to fade, and she helped it along, pushing it far into the back of her mind, with other things she did not wish to remember.

There was a strange taste in her mouth and it felt like she had spilled something on her dress, so she carefully got out of bed again, re-lit the candle, and picked up a mirror, half-dreading what she might see.

Her hair was disheveled, her face was shockingly pale, her dress was askew—almost half-off!—and all down the front was the shimmering crimson stain of fresh blood.

Shaking, Anna dropped the mirror, shattering it, and ran towards the door. She tripped on the still-wet ball gown and went sprawling on the floor.

She heard a rustle and in the farthest corner of the room a shadow dropped down from the ceiling. Before she knew it he was perched over her, smiling widely.

"Hello, Anna."