It should have been the tone of his voice. It should have been his eyes that seemed to have so much running through them. It should have been him finding me in my favorite tree. It should have been the direction he led me, deeper into the woods. But after we had been walking for about twenty minutes I stopped dead in my tracks. It should have been those things but out of every thing that I found odd, it was when he called me Lillian instead of human.

"Uh...Hey!" I shouted to the blurry figure walking away and watched as he stopped.

"Yes Lillian?" I shivered because of the cold but something told me it was more than that.

"Where exactly are we going? I mean it is cold and I can't walk out here forever." I crossed my arms and watched his figure grow closer to me. The wind was blowing my hair everywhere and I had given up on fixing it again.

"We're just going to a clearing a few feet in front of us. It's quite close there's blankets there. Don't worry Lillian." He smiled at me and that was the exact moment I knew it wasn't him.

Against everything screaming for me to run, I decided to test the theory and make sure.

"I was wondering..."

"Yes Lillian?"

I cursed myself and took a step closer. My brain was screaming at me to leave, but he could easily outrun me. Whatever he is, I needed to distract him in order to get a start. "Just... Last time we were alone, you told me you had something important to say to me. I just wanted to know what it was."

He stood in front of me and smiled. Run. Run. RUN! Despite my brain's screams I planted my feet in the ever growing snow.

"I just wanted you to know that I've fallen in love with you, Lillian."

"You know," I looked down to pretend I was thinking and I was, just more about where to escape to and I determined what to do. "The real prince would have laughed in my face. We've never been alone together."

I looked up into the dark eyes of whoever this was. He did not look happy.

"Well, well, well. You're smarter than what they sa-"

I lifted my knee and hit him right where it would hurt most and he fell to the ground. He was trying to stand up after a few seconds and I ran. He wouldn't be able to see me through the snow but he would be able to track my prints. I knew what I had to do.

So, I ran. I ran until I was utterly lost in the storm and I had passed over my own tracks multiple times. That should confuse them. Panting, I found a tree close to me, its low branches gathering snow. Without wasting a second I grabbed the nearest branch and tried hoisting myself up. I didn't account for frozen fingers or the hands wrapping around me.

Hands! Get you ass in the tree!

Before I could try again, I was snatched up from the tree. Snatched up. Me. A grown ass woman being snatched up like a child.

"Get your hands off of me! I'm not a child you inconsiderate pri- Woah!"

The world looked a lot like someones back all of a sudden and from the blood rushing through my ears, I'd say I was upside down too.

Oh boy. This was just getting better.

__________

My eyelids finally closed, and as hard as I tried, I couldn't force them open.

The pounding in my head finally faded, although everything was black, with the exception of one singular spotlight, shining on a pale creature. She appears elfish, but she has blood-red eyes that match the shade of her long, lace dress. Her pale, platinum blonde hair floats around her like she's underwater, curling and twisting in imaginary currents. She waves at me and one word went through my head.

Inibrius.

"I see my powers are getting stronger," she comments to herself, her voice smooth like silk. She sounds younger than the others and yet I still, I get this feeling she can be... dangerous. I reach for my sword instinctively, not daring to look away, but I find empty air.

I run my fingers through my hair nervously, and a few locks of hair float in front of my face, my hair caught in the same flowing motion as hers. White? That is not right at all...

"Your dream-self cannot except changes you make to your body," she explains, her eyes begging for attention. Did she just read my mind? Large, black pupils stand out from her red irises, making for a dazzling yet eerie contrast. "Dyed hair, tattoos, piercings... nothing like that will can exist inside your head. It's quite fascinating how-"

"Who are you? What's going on?" I interrupt. I want to look away out of fear, but my gut says that is a bad idea. I wipe my left hand on my jeans to clean off the sweat. "Why am I here? And why in the hell is my hair white?!"

"Who am I?" she repeats my question coolly. She smiles, showing two rows of pointed teeth. She looks like the others..."I am Serdina. As for what I am, there are many names. I suppose nowadays the most common is the Inibrius, or what the elves haven't told you: vampires."

My chest tightens, and my stomach flops. My head says run, but my gut says fight. Running is for cowards. "You mean like blood-suckers?"

"That is a myth," she grits through her teeth, which must be hard to do with so many fangs. I wonder how that works. Does she ever accidentally stab her gums with those teeth? "Certain tribes of vampires do suck blood. My tribe doesn't."

I raise an eyebrow, the feeling of danger slowly fading. "Then what do you eat?"

"We feed of the essence of a living creature," she explains hastily, her posture suddenly straightening. "That is a concept I don't have time to explain currently. To answer your previous question as to why I am here, I am here to make an offer."

The empty void we are in dims slightly, and I begin to feel lightheaded again, the pounding in my head dull. "Offer?"

She nods her head, a short, curt smile on her face. "There is a war coming, a war started because of you child."

A war started because of me... a war that would be my fault. The pounding gets stronger, it's familiar rhythm louder than than before. My chest tightens, it becomes hard to breathe. "What do you mean... because of me?"

"That... is something that I can not say just yet. But there is a way to prevent many causalities. Surrender, child. Leave the elves and never come back. Come to us and we will spare everyone else."

The pounding in my head increases, and everything is silent. I want to shout, just scream until my throat gives in. This pounding is much more violent than the last, the rhythm much louder and harsher than the one before.

I collapse on the ground as my eyes close, the pounding getting stronger and stronger.

"Choose," Serdina's voice whispers.

And then nothing again.