The image above is what I picture Mary to look like.

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Mary Hale is a twenty year old young woman. She has auburn and wavy hair that reaches the middle of her back. She has pale skin covered with freckles on her arms, chest, and near her shoulder blades as well as her legs and very few around her nose. She has hazel eyes, but they have the ability to darken when she's upset.

Her family consists of her mother and herself. Her father was KIA (killed in action) when he was in a battle with the monsters outside of the walls of Artemia. Her mother is a retired member of Koa-Acacia and was second in command during her youth.

Mary is a girl of average intelligence, but studies super hard to keep up her status as a top student. Of course, she can not accomplish it all on her own, so she relies on the help of her friend, Lori, who doesn't have to work as hard to be a top student. She is madly in love with Dean, so she is trying her hardest to go into the advanced section of the Vachellia Nilotica section to be with him.

Her current rank is in Golden Curls Weeping Willow, which is the second branch of the Salix building in the Vachellia Nilotica section. She is classmates with Lori, so she gets help with her studies in order to try and advance and become a member of the Salix building. She is planning on taking the Branching Exams in order to raise her status and be closer to Dean.

Today, she is in a foul mood, and she blames Diana Green for her misery. She wishes nothing but the worst for the blackette who has stolen the attention of the love of her life. Mary can't help but wonder why Dean is so fascinated by a loner who lacks charisma, extroversion, social skills, as well as self confidence and beauty.

"What the hell is that about?! That girl has been on her own since the very beginning, and she is constantly making Dean sad! I don't see what he sees in her!" Mary thinks to herself as she stops in front of the Salix building and looks up at it. She frowns a bit, seeing that far too many students are coming out, talking about what could have been the problem for their classes ending.

"Professor Nikki!" Mary calls out as she sees the woman that steps out of the building and is heading towards Mary's direction.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay and chat, Miss. I have an emergency meeting to get to, but if you need to speak with me, you may come during my office hours in three hours." She says as she waves at Mary and rushes off. She sees the other professors of the advanced buildings also heading out and catching up to Nikki.

She stays put and then realizes that only four of the chairmen and women had stepped out. She looks towards the fifth building and sees Crowley coming out in no hurry. He turns his silver-blue eyes towards her and gives her a nod of acknowledgment, and Mary quickly gives him the typical salute towards the professors.

Crowley gives her a low chuckle before he walks past her and leaves her. Mary watches him go and frowns a bit.

"Weird, whenever I look at him. . . he reminds me of someone. I just can't seem to place it." Mary thinks to herself as she watches him disappear among the trees. She sighs and looks back up at the Salix building. She waits around for about two hours before deciding that the wait isn't worth it any longer.

"Just a little bit more, and I'll move up to be near you, Dean. I'll show you I'm the one who can bring you happiness. That woman will bring you nothing but misery, for she is someone who can not love." Mary says softly.

"Are you sure?" Mary jumps startled and looks back at a young girl with the earth green colored uniform of the Acacia Delbata section. She frowns a bit and looks down at the young girl who looks disoriented even though she is smiling up at her.

"Who are you?" Mary questions the younger girl. She twirls a curl of one of her pigtails and motions for her to come down to her level. Mary sighs and lowers so the younger girl can whisper into her ear. She reveals her name to Mary, making her hazel eyes widen in shock. The younger girl pulls back and puts a finger to Mary's lips.

"Shh, don't say it out loud. I'm not here to cause harm, I simply wanted to talk to you. I feel like you're the one who can help me." She says to her gently.

"What makes you think I'll help you?! Last night, that was you, wasn't it?!" Mary questions the younger girl. She smiles and shakes her head.

"No, it was one of my underlings. I meant no harm, like I said before. . . you can definitely help me. Especially since it involves your rival, Miss Diana Green." She says, making Mary freeze. She gulps and looks down at the younger girl who giggles a bit and jumps to grab Mary's face and meets her eyes.

"How do you know abo-"

"I can see it. If you'd like to know more, meet the real me outside of the radius of this academy tonight after your family's restaurant closes. Come to the sixth gate of The Wall. Do not fear. No one will be harmed, so we can speak. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd better release this young lady before she's late for class." She says, and then the young girl faints just as a glowing pink butterfly takes to the skies. Mary catches her and looks around, but most students are either in classes, in the dining halls, or their dorms.

"Tonight. . . what could the monsters want with such a useless person? She's nothing special, after all." Mary thinks to herself as she picks up the girl and walks over to the infirmary in the Salix building to have the young girl treated.

"Excuse me, can you help this girl? She collapsed outside!" The nurse sits up and goes to get the bed ready for the young girl. Mary puts her on the bed, getting her settled.

"What happened?" The nurse questions Mary. She just shrugs.

"Sorry, no idea. I just found her and rushed her inside. If that's all you need from me, I'll be heading out now." Mary informs the nurse.

"I suppose so. Thank you for bringing her in." The nurse checks on the girl as Mary backs away, heading out of the office. She heads back over towards the entrance of the school but begins to slow down.

"At this hour. . . Dean should be having combat practice now. I wonder if he's there." Mary thinks to herself and follows the map posted on the wall to see where the training grounds are. She finds where she's at and where the training grounds are at. She then walks down the halls filled with portraits of the successful students in the advanced section since the very beginning of Acacia Academy. There are not very many classrooms due to the small number of advanced students.

"Let's see, it's down these steps just before the cellar. Ah, here we are, the glass door in the middle of the descent down." Mary thinks to herself as she looks through the glass window and sees the jogging students running on the track a few feet away from the door. Her eyes widen in shock as she sees Dean pulling Diana along to run since it's obvious she wouldn't run if left alone.

"What in the hell is she doing here?! She's a DW, not a member of Salix!" Mary thinks angrily as she claws the glass, watching them disappear around the curve of the circular track. She steps back and leans against the concrete wall.

"I can see it. If you'd like to know more, meet the real me outside of the radius of this academy tonight after your family's restaurant closes. Come to the sixth gate of The Wall. . ."

"I will see you tonight." Mary thinks to herself and walks back up the stairs, taking the same path she took to enter the Salix building. Once she is outside, she begins to walk out of the academy, ignoring the fact that she has two classes for that day. Right now, she doesn't have the heart to see anyone. All she can do now is waste time until the time of their meeting.

"Fifteen years ago. . . I met him. I met Dean Acacia, the only son of Headmaster Chandler Acacia. Nobody but my family, Lori's, and Chelsea's know who he really is. He doesn't want special treatment for being the son of the Headmaster, so he entered under a different last name, his mother's maiden name, to be exact. Her family isn't renowned, so nobody knows it. We're here together, and yet..."

A five year old Mary walks behind her parents as they walk up to the largest manor of Artemia, The Acacia Manor. She looks around at the large mansion with three floors. They walk down a long stone path, which leads directly to the colossal structure. The mansion looms proudly behind iron gates, flanked by rows of skeletal trees crowned in crimson, swaying gently to the chilly autumn wind. At its threshold stands a delicate marble fountain, the soft gurgling of the clear water melodic as it resonates in the surrounding silence, excluding the sound of their feet.

Finally, the family of three reaches the double, red wood door and rings the doorbell. The head maid greets them and lets them in, leading the family of three into the living room where two other families reside. Each family also has one little girl who is about the same age as Mary.

"The families of Hale, Matthews, and Dragul are now present, Master Chandler Acacia. If the children would accompany me and I can lead you to the young master's playroom." The maid says to the children. They all get their parents' permissions and then follow the maid to the second floor, and she lets them into a room filled with toys, games, and a small ball pit. Even so, it appears that it hasn't been touched in a while.

"Whoa, there are kids my age here. I'm happy!" They all turn to the sound of coughing, and the maid quickly rushes over to hold up a frail blond. He is sickly pale, but his cheeks are flushed with a fever.

"Young master! You're not well enough to be up. Please return to your room." The maid says concerned. The children all stare at the blond, who shakes his head and looks up at all of them with a smile. Mary and Lori are instantly captivated by the smile that looks like he hasn't seen anything so wonderful before.

"I tried not to get sick so I could meet everyone, but my asthma acted up as well as a fever, and now I couldn't play with everyone." He says sadly and tears up. That is when they notice his mismatching blue and pastel green eyes. Lori is the first to walk up to him and holds his face.

"Whoa, I'm not seeing things! You have two eye colors! So cool!" Lori says with wide green eyes. He stares back at her and smiles happily.

"You have cute freckles!" He tells her. Lori blushes and covers her cheeks, laughing bashfully.

"Ah, I'm Dean Acacia. Who are you?" He questions the group. They all get closer and look at the pale young boy who seems to be doing better.

"I'm Chelsea Matthews, only daughter of the Matthews family." Chelsea answers, bowing her head respectfully to Dean.

"Matthews, like old man Vincent?" Chelsea tilts her head in confusion. She looks at herself, and then at both Mary and Lori. They look at her curiously as well. No one had heard that he had a child, and when they arrived, neither Lori nor Mary saw the member of the Five Elite.

"Um, no..." Chelsea begins to blush and grabs a lock of her wavy hair, tugging on it softly. "I'm not related to mister Vincent Matthews... um, sorry, I'm sorry..." Tears start to well up in Chelsea's eyes. Lori jumps into action by squishing her cheeks together.

"No! It's okay! Let's be friends, Chelsea! We will keep going with introductions!" Lori says happily as Chelsea calms down from the silly action performed by Lori. She smiles happily and giggles as she keeps pressing her cheeks. Her lips pucker with the movements. Dean smiles a bit and then looks over at the others.

"I-I'm Mary Hale, o-only daughter of the Hale family. My father was recently awarded the medal of honor for his duties outside of The Wall." Mary says with a bright blush as she looks down more from shyness than respect for the only son of the Acacia family.

"I'm Lori Dragul!" The red head says, and Dean looks at her surprised.

"The Dragul?! The family just second in influence as the Acacia?!" Dean questions Lori surprised. Lori stares at him and puts a finger to her chin.

"Eh. . . I don't really know. It's news to me that I don't pay attention to adult talk." Lori says to him. The group looks at her confused, and then Dean laughs but ends up going into a coughing fit. Everyone jumps to action and tries to calm him down.

Mary wraps her arms around him and blushes, rubbing his back gently. His coughing calms down, and he hugs the auburn haired girl back. Mary's heart skips a beat, and a smile coats her face.

"Wow, you have magical hugs! I feel better already!" Dean says with a grin, making Mary's chest fill with warmth as he smiles gently at her. She pulls away and looks into his happy eyes.

"Well, Dean. . . whenever you need me to. . ." Mary starts off and wants to stop, but she decides to say what is in her heart.

"I will give you my magical hugs..." Mary says softly back in the present. She stands before her bedroom mirror and sprays dead man's blood around her body and packs an enchanted, sharp machete for beheading vampires. She takes a deep breath and then peeks out of her room to see if anybody is out still. She listens closely, hearing nothing she leaves through the front door quietly.

Mary begins to slow her pace as she nears the sixth gate of Artemia's thirteen emergency exits. She sees unconscious soldiers, and she touches their necks. She feels for a pulse as well as puncture wounds. She finds no wounds, and their pulse is steady. She nods content.

"I gave you my word, Miss Mary Hale. I didn't hurt anyone. They're just sleeping for a little bit." Mary jumps startled and quickly rises, pulling out her machete as she sees what appears as a ten year old girl with long pink hair that seems to glow under the dim moonlight. Three pairs of golden eyes glimmer like cat eyes as the figures become visible.

"Serena Bathory. . ." Mary says softly as she stops a few feet away from her. The two vampire guards with her stand behind Serena, glaring at Mary, catching the scent of dead man's blood on her body. In spite of her childlike appearance, she has a huge presence that unnerves her. The golden eyes of Serena are not of a child.

"I see you don't trust me, but that's fine, Miss Mary Hale. I didn't come here to devour you anyway, I would like to make a deal with you." Serena says with a kind smile. Mary clenches her hands and watches the group carefully, unable to relax in the presence of one of the Three Generals.

"Before you tell me about any deal. . . why are you so interested in Diana Green?" Mary questions her. Serena giggles a bit and puts a finger to her lips that are painted in red lipstick. Or at least Mary believes that it is red lipstick.

"All in due time, Miss Mary Hale. If you agree to my proposition, then I can tell you all you want to know about Lady Diana Green." Serena says to her, a mischievous glint appearing in her golden eyes. Mary's confusion grows, and she wonders why she would address Diana with such a formal title. Although she knows Serena will not tell her anything until she agrees to whatever she has in mind. She must earn her trust.

"What is your proposition?" Mary questions her suspiciously. Serena giggles and puts her hand out to Mary.

"Betray the land of Artemia by telling me all the secrets of the advanced sections of Acacia academy. Do so, and I will grant you all that you desire. . . . like, say, Dean Acacia?" Mary's heart skips a beat, and she looks down at Serena's outstretched hands. Black veins running through her thin arm send a shiver down Mary's spine. The vampires are beautiful creatures on the outside, but on the inside, they are just as ugly as the mummies and zombies.

"Dean. . ." Mary says quietly. Serena tilts her head, making a sound of questioning as she stares up at Mary. Mary smirks and glares down at Serena.

"As if I would ever betray Dean and my friends. I fight for what Dean fights, and that is the land of Artemia. We will win this war, Serena Bathory! Against you and the other Generals." Mary yells out before pulling out two small vials and drops them to the ground, causing a smoke screen to appear, giving her a chance at escape. All she hears is a childish giggle before she rushes towards Chelsea's house, which is closer and sneaks in through her open bedroom window.

"Shall we go after her, my queen?" The female vampire with Serena questions her as she watches Mary's silhouette disappear through the smoke. Serena puts her hand down and shakes her head.

"No, leave her. This is only the beginning." Serena says with a soft smile.

"If I may ask. . . Why are you interested in such an uninteresting mortal?" The male vampire questions Serena, who shakes her head once more.

"Oh no, I have no real interest in Miss Mary Hale. My true objective is Dean Acacia. . .I want to recreate him and make him my slave. The loyal son of the Acacia family and the one who can truly give me the information I seek to conquer all who stand in my way." Serena says as a gray blush coats her pale face.

"I see. Well, you may ask of us what you like, my queen. We are at your disposal." The woman says to Serena, who plays with a lock of her long pink hair.

"Well, I'm going to bed now. The disgusting sun is about to rise. Do what you please with those humans, leave a mess so we can send a message to the humans who try to defy me." Serena tells them before she walks backward towards the gate, and her body begins to fall apart, turning into glowing pink butterflies that take to the skies. The vampires stay bowed and watch her disappear before they turn to the unconscious humans with razor-sharp fangs.

~0~

Mary slowly tip toes towards her friend's bed and softly shakes her awake. The blackette startles awake and looks up at Mary. She's about to scream, but her mouth is covered, and Mary hushes her. She pulls her hand back as soon as Chelsea calms down and smiles at her.

"Mary, what are you doing here?!" Chelsea questions as she reaches for her glasses and puts them on. Mary simply smiles and hugs her friend.

"Mary? Are you okay?" Chelsea questions as she hugs Mary back. Mary nods her head and stays in silence.

"That's right. . . Serena Bathory, I will never betray my friends. I will always stand by Dean's side and fight beside him to protect this country he loves. And soon I will tell him. . . I will tell him that I love him." Mary thinks to herself happily, letting a small giggle escape. Chelsea listens to her friend, confused but then smiles.

"I'm glad you're not upset anymore, Mary. And sorry about being mean to you. I'm sure Lori feels bad, too." Chelsea says to her. Mary sighs content and looks up at Chelsea with a smile.

"Don't worry about it. Now, is it okay for me to stay over? I could really use a friend." Mary questions Chelsea. She nods her head and moves over to let Mary lie beside her. Both young women smile at each other happily as they slowly close their eyes.

"Goodnight." They softly whisper to each other.

~0~

A team of defense magicians from the Swollen-Thorn Acacia stand outside of The Wall. They stand at the docks, their wands, and magic staffs at their sides as they look out to the ocean. The group of magicians started to see mer-folk tails coming closer to the docks.

A big yawn escapes Crowley as he stands on one of the docs next to Vincent Matthews. "That was a huge yawn, not getting much sleep? You're a little too young to be that tired." Vincent teases the younger man. Crowley looks at him with obvious annoyance. He lets his ears sink into the lowered hood of his protective cloak.

"You're not even a former or current member of Swollen-Thorn. Why are you here? Don't you avoid this type of work now?" Crowley yawns again, hating to be up just before sunrise to go and oversee the much stricter entry of the mer-folk that enter Artemia for work or school. The government heads have requested that one to two members of the Five Elite rotate and supervise the entrance of all monster folk that come into Artemia for a visit or already live here, or just have business here.

"Now, this was a request from my dear elder brother. How could I refuse? He is one of the official heads of Artemia, after all. You know how it is? Elder brothers just can't help but boss around their younger siblings. Oh... right." Vincent pokes at Crowley where it hurts the most. He knows perfectly well that he doesn't have any biological family on a legal basis. He pretends to be unaffected. "Also, how could I not enjoy the view of the lovely maids that swim into our land."

The first of the mer-folk starts to reach the docks. They hold up their potions that allow them to walk on land, having them closely examined by the magicians before they are allowed to drink their potions. Naked human men and women come out, wrapping themselves up in towels. They're all used to the cold of the ocean, so the cold air on land doesn't do much to them.

"Whatever, I don't need your help. Stay back." Crowley steps up as a teenage mermaid comes over with a seal. Crowley can tell that the seal is actually a Selkie. A child by the look of its seal form. He crouches down as the pair stops at the edge of the dock.

"Hi there, are you here for school?" He smiles kindly to ease the nervous girl. She is comforted by his handsome face and smile before nodding. She holds up two waterproof bags and two student IDs. Crowley reaches out and looks over their information. "Coralia and Marina. Alright, let's get you two in your human forms so you can go dry up, get dressed, and catch the bus."

The mermaid, Coralia, holds up her potion for Crowley to inspect. He puts his hand out and draws out a sigil that brightens in mid-air. Nothing happens to it, which is what he expected. He nods content with that and allows Coralia to drink her potion. Crowley has a towel ready to wrap around Coralia as she starts to climb up to the dock.

"Alright, let's come on up, Marina. Let's get the seal skin off." Crowley reaches out for the seal that waited patiently for her turn. She swims up to his hand, and he scoops her out, setting her down on the dock. He prepares another towel, holding it over the seal as its back opens up, and out climbs out a human girl no older than five.

"Um, thank you, mister... it's Marina's first time on human land. She is starting school a little later than our start time." Coralia finally speaks now that she is in her human form as she lets herself dry.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I hope it's fun to learn and make friends. You look like smart girls." Marina stands up, looking at Crowley with big black eyes. That is the only sign that she is a Selkie. She smiles shyly and nods, holding her seal skin close. "Keep that safe. Now, you girls had better get going to get some breakfast." Coralia wraps the towel around herself properly so she can grab the bags and take Marina's hand to lead her into the Swollen-Thorn entry to the locker rooms.

"Goodbye!" The girls say their farewells to Crowley, both of them with happy smiles. He waves at them, his smile slowly fading as they head inside.

"Oh, such a sweet gentleman. You forgot to inspect their belongings." Vincent says after watching the whole scene in silence.

"They're kids, and you and I can both sense that there are only school supplies in their bags. The traps didn't trigger either as they entered the building." Crowley reminds Vincent. He shrugs and walks past Crowley to tend to the next mermaid arrival. He rolls his eyes as he realizes he is going to talk up the pretty young woman mermaid.

Crowley looks up to the sky. He watches it turn into shades of black, purple, blue, and pink from the horizon where the sun is appearing. His trained gaze catches a distant movement in the sky. He reaches into his pocket, holding up a witch stone, and looks through it. The stone with a hole in the middle serves as a magical zoom in where he sees a group of glowing pink butterflies leaving the direction of the sixth gate of Artemia.

He pockets the stone, not bringing up what he saw, and no one seemed to notice that he caught onto something.

"No, please stop! I don't have anything on me! Please let me cover up!" Crowley looks down three docks down from where he is at, as he hears the commotion. He sees one of the magicians pulling up the human transformed mermaid by force. She keeps her legs pressed together and uses her free arm to shield her breasts. Normally, mermaids feel no shame being exposed when underwater, but their bodies are not stared at like objects of desire by the mermen of any of the species. Not like the humans stare at them.

"You need an inspection to make sure you're not hiding anything. Straighten out!" The man yells out at her, trying to force her to move her arm. The mermaid screams in protest.

The pair is startled as a towel comes between them, and the woman grabs onto it once her wrist is released. She covers up, casting her bright sky blue eyes up to Crowley, gripping the wrist of the magician.

"What are you doing? It's not protocol to pull out someone like that. She could have been incompletely transformed, and it could have affected her breathing as she transitioned to oxygen on land." The magician pulls his arm back from Crowley and looks at him a bit fearfully. The magicians know how strong he is. He can use magic at a whim without any wands or staff. He doesn't even need to really say incantations or spells.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I just had to inspect this mermaid. She wouldn't allow us to check her belongings for foreign materials. I have reason to suspect she has some strange materials." The mermaid holds her bag up.

"I said to wait. I have delicate makeup in my bag that I need to take out carefully." She counters the magician. She wipes away pearls that come out of her eyes. An equivalent of human tears. She then makes sure her long eyelashes are adjusted so they don't fall into her human eyes that are a bit more sensitive than her normal eyes.

"Well, you failed to mention that part. I'll be reporting this to your supervisor, Captain Amory, I'm sure she would love to hear about this." The magician starts to sweat from Crowley's overwhelming presence and now the fact that he is going to be reprimanded by the captain of the Swollen-Thorns. He bows his head.

"I understand, sir. I will take whatever fitting punishment comes." He profusely apologizes to Crowley. He sighs and moves to the side.

"Not me. Apologize to this young lady. She's the one you wronged." The magician is taken aback by Crowley's command. He almost wants to talk back and refuse to apologize to a mermaid. But his fear wins out, and he apologizes reluctantly to the mermaid while also sounding professional and cold. Crowley dismisses the man before he turns back to the mermaid who had wrapped herself up in her towel and was checking her makeup bag.

"Did he break anything?" The mermaid jumps a bit startled and looks to Crowley that kneels in front of her, also taking a peek into her bag. She gets a good look at his handsome face and blushes a bit. She lowers her gaze, her long eyelashes hiding her eyes from her lowered angle.

"It all looks okay. I did my best to hold it close before I was pulled out. Um, thank you for that." The woman dares herself to look back into his silver-blue eyes and tucks back her wet strands of platinum hair.

"That's good. Don't mention it, now you'd better get going. Just for the sake of everyone watching us, show me your ID. Sorry if you already showed it to the other man." The woman nods and reaches into her bag, taking out her ID.

"Thanks, that will do. You can go in now, Miss Calliope." Crowley helps her up. She takes her hand, becoming flushed and overwhelmed by this human man. She smiles softly as she stands up.

"Can I ask your name?" Calliope continues to look up at him to memorize his handsome features.

"Crowley." She nods her head, promising to remember his name.

"Crowley, thank you. I'll get going now, I don't want to be late for work. Excuse me." Calliope walks past him and heads to the locker rooms.

Once she is gone, he decides to stay on the dock he landed on. He would much rather not chat with Vincent so early in the morning. He continues with the inspections for another hour before the last batch is sent into Artemia.

"Time to go to the Academy. Shall we go together?" Vincent catches up with Crowley as they walk up to the Swollen-Thorn building.

"No thanks, I have to talk to Captain Amory." Crowley immediately walks away from Vincent to go report the incident from earlier. Also, to go do his own thing before his first class for the day starts.

"You take care, Crowley. Do say hello to the young lady you're so interested in." Crowley pauses and glares back at Vincent. He smiles and waves, walking away.

"That shitty old man..." Crowley keeps going, holding back his anger. He composes himself enough to meet the captain. It will be a long day for him, he knows it.