Tia hummed to herself as she traipsed around the park. Unlike Mooncliffe, which was built on a lush seaside pasture, Kiramone's green areas were artificial and, in a city filled to the brim with locals, visitors, travellers, and tradesmen, the green spaces were limited.

The garden Tia had wandered into was quiet, a stark contrast to the festivities occurring only a few streets away. It was surrounded by high green hedges and soft, thick grass stretched all the way from the entrance to the small pond sitting at the end. Wooden benches were placed on either side. Beautiful bulbs sprouted in neat, colour-coordinated groups so that they formed the various insignias representing the cities of Dernexes. In the centre of these intricate arrangements was the symbol of the kingdom. The tantalising fragrance wafted to her nostrils and she breathed in deeply, with her eyes closed. The air had begun to cool as the sun set, just peeping over the top of the high stone buildings and staining the sky a violent orange and purple.

Kiramone is so beautiful, Tia thought dreamily, lying on one of the wooden benches and dangling her feet off one end. I wish I could live here forever.

A soft breeze ruffled her brown hair and she closed her eyes again, savouring the comfort. Her stomach rumbled and she giggled out loud, clutching her abdomen. There were still activities that need doing: filling her stomach was first on the list. She sat up straight and lifted the hood over her head again, swinging her feet back onto the grass. The tranquillity of the garden had settled her exhilarated heart and she felt calm and at peace, feeling the bliss her day of freedom had brought.

She made her way back to the busy streets of the colourful city. As the sky further darkened, the oil lamps were lit along the streets, bathing the busy road with an array of colours. Blues and reds and pinks and purples flickered on the moving bodies as people made their way to and from different shops. Shopkeepers were still yelling advertisement for their products, waving banners and strange garments in hopes of attracting passers-by. The shows had started to pack up though; ordinary people emerged from the backstage, make-up-free and wearing normal civilian clothing. The stark contrast with their glamorous, alluring alter-egos was quite depressing.

"An' what fer ye, madam?" growled the owner of the diner Tia had chosen. He wouldn't have looked out of place among the tough, foul-mouthed sailors at Mooncliffe. He had a food-stained apron tied to the front of his bulging stomach. Tia studied the menus scrawled messily on big signs hanging on the walls.

"What is 'beef nodo'?" she wondered out loud.

"'Noodle'," the man corrected.

"Oh. I would like that, please."

The man grunted again, turning back to the kitchen.

Tia hummed to herself, swinging her legs, her elbows resting on the surface of her wooden table. She was the only one sitting by herself in the bistro. All around her were groups of friends, families, and couples. Loneliness nibbled at her.

It would have been so much more fun if Enlil and Mommu had come with me today, she thought gloomily. Even Mommu has become more serious like Enlil now. He does not even do fun things with me anymore. So boring.

She took a big gulp from the tankard placed in front of her. The liquid was cold and bitter and it made her gag, but she defiantly took another mouthful, scowling at the mentally conjured image of Enlil's tanned face showing disapproval.

When the noodles came, she had become quite grumpy and had gone through two refills of her drink already. The dish smelled just as wonderful as all the other food she had come across in Kiramone. Strings of wheat noodles were soaked in a dark brown, rich soup. Thinly-sliced beef wa layered on top and sprinklings of spring onion were scattered at the surface. She tackled the salty cuisine with vigour and swigging regularly from the tankard. The food was indeed delicious and soon alleviated her mood. Having a full belly and quenched thirst dimmed the embers of disgruntlement in her chest. She felt much better, wonderfully sleepy and content.

For some reason, her worries became less significant after being watered and fed. She paid the grumpy owner and toddled out with a full belly, her brain sluggish. Her stomach bulged from the piquant meal. Her brain felt fuzzy and her vision was blurred. For some reason, seeing things in slow motion and hearing people speaking to her but not understanding what they were saying was very funny, even when the dialogue was not directed at her. She couldn't stop giggling. She stumbled and regained her balance. She giggled again.

A few streets later she wandered towards one of the shops. Atop the shop counter there were many beautifully carved and carefully painted wooden figurines. They were intricately designed and  whittled and Tia was mesmerised. She gazed at them from all angles, her eyes shining. A sudden figure darted past her and her attention shifted. Through her foggy eyes, she saw the mysterious person round the corner to a side road. Intrigued, she wobbled after them, leaving the bright lights of the main streets.

She squinted into the darkness. As her green eyes adjusted, she saw the cloaked person bend down to another person sitting slumped on the ground, his back against the wall and his balding head bobbing slowly up and down. A pale hand emerged from the standing figure and proffered something. She couldn't see what was inside from her hiding point behind the stacked shop boxes.

"Have another one." The dark silhouette's whispering voice was alluring. The half-conscious person stirred and lifted a hand, slowly grasping whatever that was held out and inserting it into his mouth. He gave another groan. His hand dropped to the ground and he slumped onto the ground, still.

Tia watched with bated breath.

The shady character bent over the unconscious homeless man, his low, almost melodic voice murmuring non-stop. The words washed over her and numbed her skin, but she was unable to decipher a single word. All she knew was that it was evil magic at work, Dark magic, and something terrible was going to happen. She wanted to cry out. She wanted to run. She wanted to run so badly. The fear seized her throat in an unrelenting grip. Her brain screamed at her, throwing itself against her paralysed outer shell, begging her to move, but her legs were glued to the ground and her eyes locked on the scene that unfolded before her.

The muttering continued. The air dropped by several degrees and the chill seeped into Tia's soul. The man was still motionless as the cloaked person held out some sort of container – a flask? – to the man's mouth. He bent so close to his subject that it was near impossible to make out the details.

Something shining and red flowed into the flask. It came from the man's mouth, but he made no gagging noise or attempt to stop it; in fact, he remained absolutely still as the essence pulsed gently from the orifice, filling the container with a steady gloop-gloop-gloop noise. The viscous sound reverberated in Tia's ears. The liquid was a deep, rich red and held a strange sheen, sitting at the bottom of the vial. The flow didn't stop until the flask was nearly full and then it began to ebb. The senseless man gave a small sigh and then Tia knew he was dead.

The whispering stopped. The man straightened up. Tia knew she would be discovered if he were to walk past her back to the streets. She held her breath, tiptoeing back, her blood pounding deafeningly in her ears. The coldness hadn't left her; she still felt numb to the core and the world around her seemed so unreal. The busy sounds of Kiramone couldn't penetrate her frozen shell. The colours and beauty seemed as though she was watching from miles away, through a thick fog. She grasped the corner of a stone building and stumbled into another alleyway after putting further distance between the horrific scene and herself.

The lights from the coloured lanterns blinked down at her through the mist. Even the glimmering didn't stop the horror engulfing her being.

Suddenly Kiramone didn't seem so glamorous any more.

The world blurred. Her axis spun and she ended up staring up at the starry sky, lying on her back and tears still trickling down her face. Her heart ached with disbelief and. Her brain couldn't process the information; all she could see was the same sequence playing over and over in her mind's eye: the dark swooping presence bent over the frail adult, the low muttering, and the flow of life energy from the unconscious person into the open container in the dark figure's hand. The steady gloop-gloop-gloop of the liquid oozing out of the motionless body echoed loudly in her mind. The chilling, terrifying sensation of Dark Magic still lingered in her soul, freezing her from the inside.

"You reckon she's out o' it?"

She was numb all over. Darkness crept in, blurring the peripheries of her vision. Stars winked down at her, serene and naïve to the atrocity that had just taken place. The scene replayed continuously, endlessly. She felt a fleeting sense of relief when her brain finally ground to a stop, and then the images stopped making sense.

"Yeah, let's get 'er".

The darkness that finally came was a blessing.