The church bells rang out happily throughout the night in the peaceful kingdom of Rowandale. It's people rejoicing and cheering, for tonight was the night that their beloved queen Anneliese, who'd been heavily pregnant with twins, would birth the heirs to the throne. Far beyond the rowdy and rejoicing towns, over the rolling fields of sun kissed wheat, beyond the tall snowy mountains, and past the dense and lush forest stood the enormous castle that King Ruben and Queen Anneliese watched over their kingdom in. The castle was set upon a cliff that overlooked the raging seas and the tall lighthouse.

King Ruben paced back and forth in the throne room. He was concerned for his beloved wife and his upcoming children. His brain was drowning in a choppy sea of all the possibilities that would end in the death of either his wife, his children, or all three of them. Any and every negative outcome, no matter how slim the chances were that they would actually happen, seemed to run up and slap him in the face. Just when he'd gotten the sense that it could never happen, the dark thought dissipated only to be replaced by another.

He was also worried about the timing of their birth. It was the latest hour of the night and a new day would be beginning soon. Tomorrow was the day most feared by everyone. It was the day marked as the birth of Demise, it was the day where a fierce evil was released upon the land. Monsters and demons roamed the streets and trails looking for victims to maul or torment. Murderers came out of hiding and ran rampant as they broke into the villager's hovels and showed no mercy when stealing the lives of their victims. Witches and wizards who wanted revenge for being banished or imprisoned would cast dark spells and curse the townsfolk. The sun never seemed to come that day, and even if it did, it's rays of light could never pierce the veil of black shadows that covered the sky. It was like a thick fog that deluded the sane minds and pushed those who were already on the brink of insanity over the edge. The fog brought with it death and sickness Those who were too weak would die because their bodies weren't strong enough to fight off the infection the fog would bring. Those who were left behind were plagued by the curling wisps of black smoke that blocked out the sky and laid upon the ground.

His dark thoughts were interrupted by the big throne room doors flinging open and the piercing screeching of a crying baby. His face lit up as he ran to meet the maid who handed him the child, who was swaddled in a blue blanket so that only his face could be seen, and smiled up at him. " 'Tis a handsome young lad you've got here your highness!" All the fears that had previously held an iron grip on his heart released and melted into pure joy as he looked upon the face of his newborn son. The maid smiled at the scene of a father seeing his son for the first time. But she couldn't help noticing the great mahogany grandfather clock behind them. Only five minutes until the day of Demise and the second twin had yet to be born.

"Your highness, I hate to cease your precious moment with your child, but 'tis almost the day of-" "Silence! I know what day tomorrow is! I prey my second child will be born before then, but I'm afraid they will not. " his happy face seemed to cave in and be replaced by one of utmost concern. The maid took pity on the king and started to gently push him towards the room his wife was in. "Come now sire, may haps if the queen sees you, your second child will come faster."

He could hear his wife's screams of pain and effort echo throughout the hallways as they got closer. The hallway outside her room was dead silent apart from her screaming, and there were other maids waiting with pails of water and cloths and other provisions that might ease the queens labour. A doctor ran out of the room and quickly grabbed some type of vial filled with medicine from a brunette maid and rushed back into the room.

King Ruben walked into the room and sat in the chair beside his pained queen's bed. She was breathing hard and tears were streaming down her contorted pain filled face. She was trembling and she let out another scream as her body went through another wave of contractions. Her vision was blurred as she looked at her husband. Even though she was in pain, she couldn't help but smile when she saw him with their son. He smiled back at her and reassuringly squeezed her hand. He was about to give her some encouragement when the clock struck twelve, marking the start of the day of Demise. He cringed as he saw the black fog roll over the sky, blocking out the full moon and the stars.

He turned his head from the window when he heard his queen start to sob. She spoke between her sobs an grimaces of pain. "I-I'm s-s-sorry ..... I t-tried GAH.. t-to have THE ...ba-baby be-bef-ORE...
to-today! AHH!! I... I'm soRRY!! ...I'm s-sorry!!"

Tears streamed down her face once more as she screamed and gave a final push. The doctors rushed around the room as three maids were brought in. Another piercing sound of baby's wailing erupted throughout the room as the second child was born.

Everything moved so fast it was hard for the king to keep up. His wife, Anneliese, relaxed a bit, as the painful part of this was over for the most part.
The doctors had gotten the babe and had given it to the maids who were now cleaning it up.

He was pulled out into the hallway yet again to wait for their work to be done.
He sat there with the maids, who were all fussing about his son and how happy they were for him, waiting for the time he'd be allowed back into the room. All the while hearing his queen mutter the phrase "I'm sorry" over and over again like a broken record.

Finally he was allowed back into the room by the doctors who were taking their leave, the last one congratulating him on a healthy baby girl before he left. He saw his wife resting on the bed crying and holding the pink bundle in her arms close. "W-why? Why couldn't she have been born before today? It's all my fault. I'm sor-" pained by his wife's grief, King Ruben cut her off. "Nonsense! My dear, what have you to be sorry for? You have just birthed two healthy twins, and I for one, am happy regardless of the fact our little girl was born on this dark day." "But don't you know? Any child born on this day is destined to become a great source of evil! Our little girl is going to grow up to become a monster! She'll-" "Silence!! Our child will grow up to become a strong, beautiful, and brilliant princess just like her mother was! She'll never be a monster and it pains me to hear you say that about her." Queen Anneliese looked down upon her tiny daughter's sleeping face and gently smiled. "You're right, I was a fool to believe in that witch's prophecy. Our child will be just like any other! No, she'll be even better!"

Suddenly there came the sound of screaming from the hallway. There was crying, scratching, banging, and pleas for help all coming from beyond the door. "What the bloody hell is that?!" The door flung open revealing the mutilated bodies of the maids and the blood that was splattered everywhere. In the centre of it all stood a bare foot lady in a torn up dress. Her white hair was a mess and the shackles on her arms and legs left bloody bruises. It was hard to differentiate between the blood of her victims and the blood from her own wounds. Her crazed red eyes landed upon the king and queen with their new children and she smirked, revealing sharp fangs.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't King Ruben and his queen, and what's this? I see you two have been very busy!" Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the newborn twins their golden locks of hair seemed to entice her as she started to draw nearer.

"Stay back! Don't take another step!"
The king handed his son to his wife and stood protectively in front of his new family. "Or what? You know very well I could murder you all with the simple wave of my hand!" Her fiery glare turned into a wide, crazed, smile as she looked into the shining sapphire eyes of the newborn princess. "Ohhhh~ it seems the child didn't make curfew! How delightful!" With the snap of her fingers the new princess was in her arms. "GIVE HER BACK!" The king started to advance on the white haired witch but she stopped him with the wave of her hand. "Uh-uh-uhh~ you'll upset the baby! Now my dear, let me get a good look at you!" Raising the baby girl to her face, her deranged smile grew even more. "Ahh~ you'll do perfectly!"

"W-what are you planning to do to my baby?!" Queen Anneliese spoke up from her place on the bed, her son held snugly and defensively to her breasts. She knew she was too weak to fight against the witch, but she wanted to know the fate of her newborn child. "Oh! I'm so glad you asked! See, though I may look young, the truth is I'm dying. I've lived centuries and I've not had a child of my own. So, in order to carry on my lineage and to complete my work, I'm going to bless your child... with the gift of my soul. It's only fitting for the child of Demise to be infused with a witches spirit! Farewell, and enjoy your special child!"

She gave a maniacal cackle before a large plume of smoke engulfed her and the newborn. The frozen King and Queen shrieked in terror as they heard their little girls screams of agony. When the smoke cleared, the witch was gone. Their daughters once golden hair was turned white as snow, and her light sapphire eyes were now a dark shade of blood like ruby.