1. Prologue: Torture

James

He was sitting there, calm and relaxed on the couch. Jenifer had long since left as soon as dawn broke, leaving a note on the kitchen table expressing her gratitude. James didn't mind her leaving, but he wondered how she would be able to enter her house.

Thud!

James whipped his head towards the staircase where he was sure the sound came from. From there, he saw his wife at the very top holding on to the railing. Mia slowly came down one step at a time, and from where he stood he noticed that she was shaking. Forgetting about the noise from before, James got off the couch and approached Mia. It was fortunate that he did so, because before he could ask her what was wrong, she fell at the bottom step.

"Mia!" He shouted. Soon his wife was in his arms, holding onto him.

He helped her up and guided her towards the sofa. It was a good thing that Brodian and Serene weren't awake as yet, Mia wouldn't have wanted them to see her like this. Once she was comfortably seated James told her he was going to get her some water. He returned with the said item and watched as she slowly drank from it. Her attire was grave, hair that lost its brightness became dull. Her eyes seemed lifeless. Her skin looked like it had gone through a lot of stress and turmoil compared to before. How could so much change in just one night?

Thinking back, Mia did turn a lot in her sleep, after which she got up and said she was going to the bathroom. At first John thought that it was an after effect of the alcohol from the party so when she returned an hour later, he didn't question her, he only held her and told her to breath slowly and relax her mind. But this didn't look like a hangover. And Mia was never a light-weight

Her usually bright green eyes were shining with tears on her pale face.

Mia said nothing as she laid her head on James' chest. If she wanted to talk then she would've, so James did his best to respect her silence as he combed his fingers through her hair, though he desperately wanted to ask her about her condition. While doing so he took note of a mark on her neck. A semicircle, clotted with blood.

James took her hand in his and kissed it softly.

"Mia, sweetie, what happened to you?" He asked as his concern for her grew.

Mia shook her head as if she couldn't speak.

James held Mia and rocked side to side. Comfort now, questions later. Even after knowing her his entire life he had no clue how to comfort her. Sure, she told him a hundred times that he just had to be there but that didn't stop him from feeling so useless.

The best thing he could do was report this to the King. That mark left an impression on him.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Serene

"But I wanna see mom!" Serene shouted.

"Mom isn't feeling well today, Serene!" Replied her brother. He could tell by her flushed cheeks that she was just as anxious as he was, but while their mother was resting in her room he had to make her understand that their mom needed space.

"I know! You told me that already, but I still wanna see her!"

"Well, you can't!"

Serene stumped her foot and turned to leave. Not a moment she returned with a calmer expression.

"What happened to her?" Her big brown eyes filled with concern and fear.

"I don't know," Brodian replied honestly, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe it was food poisoning from last night's meal or something."

Serene started tearing up.

"No, no. Serene don't cry."

Her brother sighed and stooped down in front of her, then, with the back of his hand, wiped her tears away. "Mom will be fine. Don't worry yourself about it. She hasn't gone anywhere. I will stay by her side all day to make sure that she has all that she needs. Okay, Serene?"

She stopped crying and nodded her head. "Okay."

"Mom will be fine. You know that, right Serene?"

Serene nodded and smiled. "Right!"

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"Brodie what happened?!" exclaimed Serene.

Her brother was placing their mother in the backseat of his car. She didn't look like she got any better, only worse. What was happening to Mommy?!

"Serene, listen to me and listen to me good," said Brodian as he placed both his arms through the sleeves of his brown leather jacket. "I ain't gonna lie to you, Mom's getting worse. Dad has gone to ready a place for her and instructed me to look after mom until he calls. So I'm gonna drive mom to where he is so that he can have someone who knows about her ailment heal her."

He knelt down on one knee and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Now I want you to go inside and lock all the doors and all the windows. Your aunt will be here soon to look after you. Don't let anyone know that you're here alone so be as quiet as possible. Don't answer the phone or open the door to anyone but Aunt Sandy when she calls for you. Draw the drapes for all the bedrooms and go into Mom and Dad's room to watch TV. Remember to bring a couple of snacks but don't eat them all at once. Don't forget to lock the front door as well. And no matter what you hear, all you do is turn off the TV and hide under the bed. If it's not Aunt Sandy, don't you ever open that door!"

That was a lot to take in for Serene, but she was smart and she knew that her brother would not be telling her this without a reason. She didn't ask why she couldn't go with them, she just nodded her head and said "yes".

Brodian gave her a kiss on her forehead and hugged her.

"That's my lil' sis."

He then walked to the other side of the car and opened the door to the drivers seat but before he went in there was just one last thing he needed to say. Brodian remembered what Dad said about what caused his mother to be so sick. If what he said was true then...

"Serene..." Serene lifted her head up and looked at her brother. "Y-yeah?"

"Stay strong. No matter what happens, stay strong."

Serene felt as if she was about to cry so she quickly lowered her head.

"Yes, Brodie."

That was the last thing she said to her brother before he got in the car. Mia managed to flash a weak smile at her daughter. She smiled back and waved, then ran to the doorway. Serene watched as the car disappear from sight and locked the front door. She ran towards the kitchen and locked the back door also. Her feet sprinted all over the house, from room to room, locking all the doors and windows. Afterwards she ran back into the kitchen and took out a jug of milk, a bowl, two spoons (in case of anything) and a full box of chocolate cereal. She placed them in the empty fruit basket so that they would have been easier to carry. When she got into her parents' bed room, she locked the door behind her. Serene started to pour milk and munch her cereal as she tuned into Nickelodeon.

As SpongeBob was teaching the octopus how to bring it "around town" Serene fell into a gentle sleep. Then she had a dream...

She was sitting beside some sort of blue lake. The sky was partly over cast and the sun was shining brightly but the white light had a faint trace of gray. Her extremely dark brown hair was loose and its waves flew over her shoulders and down her back. Serene took note that she was in a black dress she didn't recognize as her own. Her body felt unsteady, as if she wasn't her usual self, she felt taller and the pull of gravity had increased. She looked all around her. This place looked something like a wasteland with a few dead trees here and there but no form of wildlife. The clouds were rolling by fast. Soon Serene noticed a figure clothed in royal blue just a few feet away from her. The figure lifted its head and Serene saw strong blue eyes stare back at her.

The boy had strawberry blonde hair which was cut just above his eyes. He had the most handsome face that a girl would fall flat on her stomach for. There was a golden ruby earring in his right ear.

She didn't know why but she felt attached to him somehow. Maybe it was his beauty? Not sure.

He reached out his hand towards her but when she tried to take it, she felt something wet. Serene pulled back her hand and looked at it. Blood...

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

"Serene!"

Serene opened her eyes only to see her father's dark brown eyes staring down at her with sadness. She wanted to say "Papi" but for some unknown reason she couldn't, so instead she took a look at her surroundings.

Two men were standing outside of the bedroom door in some sort of blue uniform with shining gold symbols all over their sleeves. They seemed to be arguing about something. The light in the room was dim so it seemed to be around evening.

Serene tried to sit up but winced as a scorching pain hit her neck. She did her best to try and touch it but even when she did she didn't know because the touch didn't register in her brain. She rubbed her neck time and time again but it still held no sign that it was actually being touched.

Confused and frightened she looked up at her father for answers. Her eyes sadden when she saw his tears.

"I can't believe they got you too, Serene," sobbed her father. "Mommy and Brodie are gone now, Serene. They took them. Please don't leave too, Serene! You're all the hope I have left."

Later, Serene found out that Brodian and her mother had died in a tragic car accident. It took two years for her father to recover and when he did, he got married again. To Jenifer.

But deep inside Serene knew that something was missing, like a part of the story had been erased from the book, but she was too young to figure it out. So she tried her best to live and pushed the thought out of her mind. Well, until her father died.