I'm not usually violent, I swear. But there was just something about the air in that nest that made me snap at him.

    His name was Rex, just another teen bird looking for a lady to hit on. Not me, he had never taken notice of me before. Until now, that slanderous feather brain never thought his could twist my wings. So I clawed at his face and flew out into the forest to be alone. I never liked company anyways.

    I was a goshawk, I was mostly brown and white with black stripes. I was something rare according to my passed father. My mother said I was like a beautiful flower, so that's what they named me. I honestly don't know what they were talking about, I didn't look any different then the rest of the pretty birds out there.

    So here I was, sitting on this branch, gazing down to the canopy of pine needles below. Listening to the sound of the wind and the occasional critter.

    "Hello." A voice next to me said, startling me.

    I whirled around to see there was a large hawk sitting there. His feathers were white, and his eyes were green. He looked kind of nervous if you asked me.

    "Hi." I replied. "How are you?"

    "Good, how are you?" He tweeted softly.

    "I'm fine thank you, what's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you around." I observed

    "Uh, well, it's kind of long. But my nickname is Batch."

    "Nice to meet you Batch, my name is Shen." I answered warmly.

    "That's a pretty name." He sighed, staring at me adorably.

    I was reminded painfully of this morning's encounter, and honestly did not want another hopeless fanbird.

    "If you're trying to hit on me you can get lost." I replied rather coldly, then spread my wings and drifted downward.

    "No wait! That's not what I mean't by that at all!" Batch said rushingly and tried to follow me.

His wings flapped clumsily after me as he accidentally crashed into a tree. "I was just trying to compliment you for Glamora's sake, you looked lonely sitting there all by yourself and-     OOF!"

    I turned sharply to see Batch had crashed into a tree and was lying, dazed, on a branch below. Despite myself I laughed at him.

    "You're not like most of the birds I meet." I commented, landing next to his head.

    "Oh well, I try to differ from stereotype society." He slurred, revealing a cracked beaked smile.

    He was kind cute.

    And that's how I met him. We hung out more, he started giving me flowers. Most of which I didn't recognize. I didn't care, Batch was a kind bird, he wasn't arrogant like so many that I was fed up with. I never told anyone about the handsome stranger that occupied my thoughts so often, why would I? It was my business and mine alone. Soon it became more that just friendship, it was also the day he gave me a glowing flower, and told me a dark secret.

    It was on a birch branch overlooking a lake at midnight. He opened his talons and revealed a gorgeous water lily that seemed to have liquid gold pouring out of it. I loved it, I wore it in my feathers. Then he told me he loved me, and I replied that I did too.

"Shen?"

"Yes, Batch?" I sigh contently.

"There's something you should know about me, I'm not who I seem I am." He announced, his voice deep and serious.

"What?" I started, pushing myself off him.

"I needed to know you wouldn't abandon me." He whispered, and then before my eyes he started to grow.

He smiled weakly as I stared at the glowing human before me.

No not human, Ghost.

"My full name is Gorbachav, and I'm the Prince of Ghosts."

For a moment I just stared at him in shock. It made sense, why I had never seen his home. Or his family. The strange flowers.

    He looked ashamed of what he was.

    A tear fell from my eyes.

    "I don't care." I insisted. "I still want to be with you."

    He face lit up like the flower behind my ear. "Really?"

    "Really."

    "That's wonderful, I had this idea, that maybe I could turn you into a Ghost, and you could come see my home and my family!" He squeaked, morphing back into the bird I knew and flying around joyfully.

    I grinned wide. "I would love that."

    That was the first time I ever experienced being something else than a bird. It took some getting used to, but it soon became part of our relationship to be part of both worlds. And still I never told anyone. Until he asked me to marry him. I said yes of course, but it meant leaving my life as bird behind. Which I didn't mind any more. I gave birth to our child, we named him Xanthos.

Then it all came cashing down. And it this case, what seemed to be the end was only the beginning.

"Come here my little hatchling." I cooed, picking up the toddler in my arms and swinging him around.

"Shen?" A strange voice said from behind me.

I glanced over, the ghost of my last laugh still shining on my face. Standing in the door looking like a lost child was a Ghost I had never seen before. He was tall, kind of skinny.

"Hi there!" I said brightly.

"What are you doing?" He accused.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"It's me, Rex." He coughed.

I froze, how had he managed to turn himself into a Ghost? For a second I stared at him, wondering what to say. And, wait a second, why were his eyes red?

"This is where you've been all these years?" He yelled.

I backed up. "Rex, there was nothing for me there."

"So you just decided to run off on your own!"

"What's going on here?" My husband floated down from the roof, the crown of his father resting on his head.

"Batch, this is just a huge misunderstanding." I pleaded.

"You're the one who took her?" Rex roared, stiffening.

"Took her? I love her!" He screamed back, clenching his fists.

Rex took one look at me, the baby in my arms, and it all seemed to click. He glanced back at me sorrowfully.

"So did I." He whispered.

"That's it." Gorbachav snarled, leaping forward and punching him square in the nose.

    Rex leered back, holding his pale face with one hand. His red eyes seemed to flicker. His eyes had never been that color before.

    I backed away into the shadows, and into the nursery. I set Xanthos down on his cradle, he wailed for me but I had to stop them fighting.

    Rex had started to morph into something large, his skin looked like it had been dipped in hot tar and his eyes were definitely glowing. They were really fighting now, Batchy was loosing, I could tell, Rex was throwing some sort of dark energy at Batch and it was eating away at him.

    Then I saw it, the claws extending from Rex's fists and the Darke Magyk seeping off them.

    He was going to kill Batch.

    "NO!" I screamed, leaping in front of my love.

    Just as the claws drifted through my body and curled around my heart, then crushed it whole.

    That was the last thing I knew before the whole world went black.

><><><><><
Oh my.