Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the Wishmaster series nor so I own Freddy. He wont come til later anyway. So yeah. I hope you like this. I tried to not make a mary sue. Really I did. But I did try to make her into a bit of a tragic figure. If a bit sadistic.

The river water was like ice on her heated skin. Elysium sighed as she sank down and ran the icy relief over the large purple bruise on her arm. She'd dropped off her son at a friends as she fled from her house and enraged husband. He would have broken her arm this time. And all she had asked was how his luck had been in finding a job.

All she'd gotten for her curiosity was another beating. It hadn't always been like this. Not in the beginning. Charles had been such a sweetheart before. He had been all smiles and laughter, she had loved him so much. She had known that he had his issues, his mental problems. And she coped with the mood swings and the yelling. It wasn't all that bad before.

She knew that he'd been drinking, it had started small at first, just a beer here, a cooler there. Then over the years it got worse. He started stashing bottles in places and when she'd ask him about it he'd only shrug and argue that it wasn't a big deal. She begged him to get help, to stop drinking and that's when the beatings started. A mere 5 years into their relationship she had gotten pregnant and they managed to scrape enough up to get married. Complications from the pregnancy left her with a weak constitution but having lived with Charles for so long she had to make herself toughen up.

He was domineering and over bearing and bossy normally. But at night when he was feeling frisky he made her top. It was the only time she could be in charge, holding his arms down. Taking her time with him. Making him want it to the point of pain until, in his frustration he would roll her over and spend himself. He would always ask if she enjoyed it and she had to lie almost every time and tell him yes. He started missing work more and more and finally quit all together. She was the only one working and it was a battle every day to just pay bills and feed her family because Charles would drink it all away if she didn't pay the bills first off. She thanked the gods for food stamps. It still didn't alleviate that he would sell their things just to get his next drink though.

She took a step into the water. The iciness soaked her jeans and invaded her shoes. Another step, she closed her eyes and calmed herself. Her legs had gone into the ache stage that intense cold usually created.

Step.

Step.

The water was up to her waist now. She could feel the strong tug of the water trying to pull her under. She let her arms rest in the water. Why shouldn't she just let it carry her away? Numbed by the cold, numbed from the world. But, no...she couldn't abandon her child like this. Cameron was her responsibility and even though she had wanted to give her up for adoption as soon as she found she was pregnant, Charles would have none of it. He exclaimed that he'd have no child of his would be raised by strangers. Ever! Elysium feared everyday for her son's safety and prayed to the gods that nothing would happen to him.

Of course her prayers were never answered. When he was done beating her in his drunken rages, he would turn to their son. He was pushing 6 now, he started when he turned 4. Small beatings at first, spankings and a slap here and there. Then he moved onto a belt. First just plain leather, then he moved onto riveted. Elysium usually ended up taking the blows for him until he got tired. She didn't scream. She never screamed and he would lose interest quickly. She couldn't leave. She didn't have anywhere else to go. And she feared what would happen if she tried to kick him out. Even the police seemed to turn a blind eye at her predicament.

Her breath was coming out slow and even. Her body was numb from the freezing water and she could no longer feel her feet at all. She let the water swirl around her, reveling in the cold. She had become Wiccan when she had met Charles. And while he had fallen out of practice she had not. She could not, mostly because to fall out of practice would be to die. She'd made some mistakes earlier in her life and if she wanted to continue breathing she had to stay in practice.

Water was cleansing, purifying and she let it carry away her hurt. "Undine..." she whispered softly. The swirl of the water grew stronger and she breathed as a hot summer breeze blew over her. "Sylph..." She was caught between air and water and she couldn't feel better. She extended herself down, grounding into the river bed and pulling up the strength of the earth below her to help steel her resolve to continue on. All she had needed was fire to make the cleansing complete. She smiled to herself and sighed in satisfaction. When she finally felt well enough she dipped herself down lower to splash water into her face. As she reached down to scoop up the water with her numb hands she saw a flash of red in the smooth river rocks below. Not one to ignore her instincts, she took a breath and bent over and picked up the stone. Even in the cold water it was warm in her hand, surprised by that, she almost lost her footing and slid several yards down the river. Sputtering she floundered her way to the bank, holding tight to the warm stone in her hand. She lay in the hot summer sun, her energy had been sapped from fighting the current and from the cleansing. Wearily she rooted herself down. Drawing on the ley lines in the ground below her. Soaking the energy of the earth like a tree. She opened her hand before her and beheld a blood red gem, glinting in the sun. She pulled back her aura from the ground and washed off some of the mud from the gem and held it up to the sun. "Helios bless me." She breathed.

The facets glistened and shone with a beauty that brought tears to her eyes. She covered it with her hands and concentrated on it. Perhaps she could use it in her altar as a focus stone. Heat erupted up her arm, she could almost feel flames licking her skin and she gasped but kept a hold of the stone. Screams invaded her mind and a demonic face flashed into view. She gasped, her back arching from the energy that coursed through her veins. Gritting her teeth she pulled her energies back from the gem. And dropped it to the ground. She was VERY glad that she was sitting or she would have collapsed.

Panting she stared at her hand, her skin was red up to her elbow, as if she had a bad sunburn. She felt so tired. Cold from her drenched clothes, hot from the summer sun, light headed from the rush of energy that had run through her body, a rush that had bordered on intense pleasure or maddening pain. With heavy lidded eyes she picked the gem up again and stumbled home. Happy that she only lived a few blocks away from the city meandering waters.

She stumbled into the door to see her husband at his computer. Several empty bottles of alcohol were at his feet and she could tell he was drunk. Quickly she made for their bedroom to lock the door but he had gotten up and pushed her against a wall.

"Wherv you been?" he slurred, she looked to the side, not daring to meet his hazel eyes. "I...I've been out." she said softly. He leaned in and touched her chilled flesh and felt her wet clothes. "You've been in the damn river again havn't ya?" She nodded and was given a slap for her trouble. "Fuck haven't I told ya? You can't Practice without me!" She gasped as he grabbed her burned arm and he looked down at her clenched hand. "Wha you got there?" He pried her raw fingers open and his eyes widened at the sight of the giant gem.

His nose wrinkled in a snarl as he backhanded her and slammed her head into the wall. "Bitch! You were going to keep this all to yourself! Weren't you! This huge ruby could be our ticket out of this hell hole for me!" she silently cried as he threw her to the ground and grinned to himself. A voice whispered through her mind. " Fire Opal...." She shivered at the voice and whispered what it said. Her husband glanced at her and lightly kicked her. "What did you say?" She swallowed and looked up at him. "I-it's a Fire Opal. Not a ruby. Much more valuable." He glared down at her and kicked her in the ribs making her curl onto her side gasping for air while he got his shoes on and headed out to his favored pawn shop.

While he was gone, she gathered herself together. She would make one last plea to him. One last desperate plea to what humanity was left in her husband. And if he didn't listen....she...well she didn't know what she would do but it wouldn't be pretty. But until then she'd clean house a bit and prepare for the worst.

A/n.

I changed it from Daughter to Son. Cammy's name has been changed to Cameron. If you find any inconsistencies in the addressing. i.e. it saying she instead of he. Feel free to tell me. I need to be able to correct it but I don't have a beta to catch that kind of stuff. Sorries :P