Every breath is shallow, jagged, and hardly enough to keep her lungs from screaming. It was as if the dampness in the air, the rank smell of that dark cellar so assaulting her senses, was heavier than water... pouring ever so slowly into the young woman as she is forced into the darkness. Each step is weak, every part of her wanting to run though she knows she can't, her heart racing wildly within her breast as she is overwhelmed with fear to the point that every single beat only seems to tighten an unseen hand around her chest a little more. It was like she could feel claws raking over her heart, the dull ache growing ever sharper and deeper until it's a wonder that tears are not spilling from widened baby blues. She searches the pitch blackness for a light, any light, and yet there is none here... She descends further down those stairs, the pressure of strong hands wrapped fiercely around her arms hardly noticed through the sheer terror that renders her helpless, the weak glow of firelight illuminating the bottom of the stairwell whose walls fear-stricken baby blues cannot see. It seems like they go on and on, further down than perhaps the deepest well, and it feels as though she will never reach the bottom of those stairs. But, she knows what will happen, knows that the darkness hides something so far beyond her darkest imaginings and most terrifying nightmares. How desperately a part of the blue-eyed blonde hopes that they will never end, that if she were to be stuck in any moment, it would be this one. Once having conquered those childish fears of the dark, and yet, here she was years later, caught in a nightmare that never seems to leave her. She prays for the light to save her, to have the deathly shadows consuming her and the men at each side suddenly vanish into nothingness and return her to the sun. There wasn't anything she would not give in this moment just to feel the warmth of golden rays upon her fair skin, caught in elegant and loosely curled hair tumbling down past her shoulders and over her breasts. They say that one never truly knows what they had until it was taken from them, and though there has never been a time in the young woman's life where she had taken those small blessings for granted, she feels that regret come crashing down over her heart and soul. How fortunate she had been, to have grown up in a small country town where she had all the love and protection she could have ever needed as a child. She remembers the love and tenderness of her mother's gaze, the proud and affectionate smile of her father as she took those first steps towards his open arms... And now, all of that... was gone.

There is a presence on each side of her, one foreign... and one so very, very familiar. She cannot see him just yet as her frightened gaze looks to where she knows he is."Please..." Her voice is but a whimper, a desperate last plea for mercy from the man who tricked her, taken her to this forsaken place, and held her prisoner like a sparrow caught between the bars of a cage she would never escape. She can taste the fear on her tongue as that single word falls, asking one last time for an answer that does not come from the figure next to her. Never before has silence been so thick, so ominous to the young woman until this moment. That hand, it only seems to tighten in wordless reply, and it says more to her than any "no" ever could. It takes that frayed thread of hope and breaks it, crushes what little faith she had in thinking that, just maybe, Cass would find his heart and let her go. How entirely foolish it was, to think that a creature like him could be capable of seeing her remorse and finding pity for the soul that he had stolen. To believe that just maybe, somewhere buried far beneath the wickedness she could very nearly 'see' even when her eyes failed to find even the faintest outline of his broad shoulders or squared jawline, there could be the most minuscule part of the fae man which might feel her pure terror and sway in whatever he sought to win by a means so cruel and sinful that even the devil himself might falter and contemplate the true wrongfulness of his ways... it was something she should never have allowed for herself to consider. Why would he go through the trouble of keeping her alive for those seven days, just to let her go? If he could come to her each evening, just as the sun was preparing to set, a devious and terrible grin etched into his features and deny her as she begged for mercy, why then, would he feel anything at all for her? She can remember how those eyes had roved over her figure, void of lust and yet something far more sinister gleamed within them. It made her skin crawl, made her wish so much for a way to hide from those nightmarish eyes that deceived her into thinking there was once warmth and kindness there. She knew now, that there were no such qualities to be found within that heartless soul. If only she might have seen it sooner, noticed that something hadn't been quite right when he'd appeared seemingly out of nowhere, insisting that he was only wanting to ensure that she wasn't broken down on the side of the road to Willowhaven. If only she hadn't stopped... Maybe, then, she wouldn't be in that dank place where everything she ever had would be taken from her.

..."The sun has set. It is time... What a shame your Andras could not be here to see this"...

"NO! Please!!", she screams out. Then, baby blue eyes snap open, wide and filled with fear as Beylani shoots up from the pillow upon which her head had cradled in. Still, her heart races, each and every beat pounding in her ears, head, and chest. A fierce gasp is drawn then, the air rid of the stagnant taste that she would never for the rest of her days and nights be able to forget. She is drenched in sweat, beads trickling from the young woman's temples as locks not so unlike the wheat fields in summer, so golden and soft, cling to the sides of her face and around her neck. She tries to catch her breath, to end the feeling she could only ever dare to imagine was hardly a far cry from drowning as a turbulent and raging sea pulls her further down. Beylani tries to tell herself that it was just a nightmare... even when she knows that it wasn't. No, those horrifyingly vivid sensations and images flashing across her mind like lightning striking the earth below, the weak and ominous glow of the torches that had guided her towards a fate she would not be able to escape from... they were all so very real. Desperate for air, her breathing is deafening against even her own senses in the silence that surrounds her. She looks around the room frantically, her gaze darting in every direction as her mind works to understand where she was, fully expecting to find herself back on that stone tabled with hands and ankles bound like the sacrificial lamb she'd been. They search for anything that is familiar, anything to tell her that she was back in the comforts of her small apartment, slender fingers clenching so fiercely at the blankets which had covered her only seconds before, knuckles white with the intensity of their grip as if they were the only thing keeping here and from falling back into the arms of Cass as he led her to the place she would be killed. Every muscle in her slender frame is taut, and the ache in her chest so incredible that even as she gasps frantically in her ever-futile struggle against the night terrors which tortured her each night in such an unrelenting force enough to make the obsidian blade appear just, the savior to set her free from this never-ending nightmare she could never seem to get away from, still she feels as they she cannot breathe. Her mind begins to slow as baby blues no longer see the ominous firelight of the cellar, but rather the flickering flames of the fire crackling in the hearth on the other side of the room. It illuminates, touching gently on the ottoman centered perfectly between two chairs. Where the stone table had been, covered in her own blood, there was a bed that shifts with her weight, soft and warm. Slowly, she feels the fear slipping away, that pain in her chest ebbing into only a faint ache and allowing for her fingers to release their death grip on those sheets. Her shoulders drop then, and soon she can no longer hear her heart beating wildly against her chest as she is returned to the present time... to her cabin in Somnia.

Baby blues no longer bright with fear glance over to the windows that faced the east, thick curtains drawn so that only the smallest trickle of morning light could filter through the divide. Only now, after the visions of her death have forced her into wakefulness, can the young woman feel that exhaustion clouding her mind once more. With the adrenaline having taken so much from her, she was left more restless and worn that she'd been the night before, when she'd spent those late hours with tears streaming down her face, wrapped so tightly within the blankets of her bed. Again, those emotions come surging through the exhaustion, and though she is not entirely certain if it was from lack of sound rest, complete heartbreak, or devastation from the life that she'd lost the night she'd been murdered for reasons she still did not know, those same tears break free from Beylani. Her sobs are soft at first, and as she lowers herself back into the embrace of her bed, they only intensify. If it was not the night terrors stealing from her, it was the memories... It is all too easy for her thoughts to bring forth those days she'd spent with him, predatory hazel eyes so effortlessly flickering across the forethought of her mind. His scent, his devilish grin, his touch... Time and time again, she remembers the days where he'd made her smile, had her heart feeling as though it were lighter than air. How could she forget the sound of midnight tenor tones that have so often caused her heart to race with bold remarks or even swoon as he would dare to tell her things she'd once thought to be sweet nothing? How could she have ever hoped that returning home, to Willowhaven, would help her to forget the man that she loved. Even in death, even in what she found after, her heart cries out for him. Why? Why was life so cruel as to have her fall for someone who would never love her back, only to steal away her mortality and give her an eternal existence where she would lose everything else? There was anger in her heart, fury at what he'd done when he'd scolded her like a child, and all because she'd been brave enough to dream that they could have been more. She couldn't have him, and now, she would love her family as time took its toll. Despite knowing that she would have inevitably had to say goodbye to her mother and father, facing it with the knowing that she would remain forever young... forever alone, what was there to live for? What would she have as years became decade and decades would turn into centuries? Just memories... Memories that would break her heart over and over again.

She doesn't know how long she'd laid there, crying as she felt every part of that betrayal and sorrow crash against her like foam-crested waves against the face of a lonesome cliff looking on into forever. Eventually, a dreamless sleep settles over her, only for eyes those to open as heavy as they'd been before having succumbed to the weight of her own tiredness an unknown number of minutes or hours later. It has been days since last she'd been able to sleep soundly and awaken rested. Still, that luxury seems to elude the her, and yet, like the fool she was, Beylani keeps reaching for it every night. Knowing there was no point in attempting to find sleep now, that it would hardly be restful even if she did, the blue-eyed blonde somehow finds the strength within herself to sit up in that bed. For a time, she simply stares into those undying flames kept alive by the magic that resonates in everything around her, its warmth felt on her skin though failing to soothe her wounded heart and soul. A soft sigh ushers shakily from her before finally, she slips from the hollowed comfort of her sheets. Draping slender legs over the side of the bed, she takes a moment to steady herself before standing and moving across the cozy room towards the doorway that led into the bathroom. Stopping to stand in front of the sink, a slender hand reaches out to turn on the warm water. Bending down and cupping her palms together, she washes the dried tears away, even when she knows that they will likely be there again before the day is done. There is a sense of temporary relief as the warmth of the water washes over her face, and yet it is short-lived as she turns off the faucet and reaches for the soft cotton towels hanging on the wall beside her. She looks at herself in the mirror then, brushing golden hair behind one ear to see the delicate points that hadn't been there for the first twenty-one years of her life. Immediately, she can feel a knot rising in her throat, quickly tousling those locks so that they hide the evidence of her new life. She just... couldn't stand to look at them. Not now, when everything was still so raw. Running a brush through those loose curls, she moves back into the bedroom, stopping in front of the oak dresser so beautifully engraved with a floral and ivy pattern carved into its sides. Setting the brush on top of the dresser, she opens the top drawer, retrieving dark bootcut jeans and a white long-sleeve turtleneck. It would be cold outside, Beylani hardly needing to glance outside her window to know that freshly fallen snow would blanket the forest in shimmering white. Maybe I'll take a trip to the village... Slipping into these clothes, the young woman makes her way over to the front door, taking her green parka coat lined with faux fur from the coat hanger and slipping it over her shoulders. Zipping it to just below her collarbone, she reaches for the handle only to linger there for a moment. Maybe... I should just stay inside another day...

Hesitating, the blue-eyed blonde shakes her head softly. No. I have to do this... Truthfully, she needed fresh air. At least, that's what she tells herself as she does her best to reason that the sight of the snow would help everything else fall away for at least a little while. However, she knew that, deep in her very soul, this was only a small part of the reason to venture outside and into the snow that she had once loved so much. She needed to get away from that bed, the very same one where he'd once held her so close and kissed her so passionately. It had been there when she'd fallen asleep in his arms, those large and protective wings wrapping around her to block out the sun. That was the place where he'd touched her in a way by the likes of which no one ever has before... or ever could. Pushing away these thoughts takes much more effort than she liked, but when the door opens and baby blues adjust to the early afternoon sunlight, the young woman is freed from them - at least, for a little while. The air is cold as it kisses her cheeks, brushing softly against her slender frame as unseen fingers twist through her hair. The snow glitters and sparkles like diamonds scattered over the forest floor, dressing the evergreens in shimmering ivory. Those delicately pointed ears, so much more sensitive than they'd once been, can hear the jubilant melodies of the songbirds that fill the trees surrounding her small world. So often, it was their voices which would bring a bright smile to her blush-colored lips... and yet, there is only the ghost of a soft and slight smile as she closes the door and stands there, allowing the sun's light to warm her skin and her hair. Her breaths are slow, and one might almost dare to think peaceful. But, oh, how unaware they were of the pain resting behind those baby blues that peer out to the woodlands of Somnia, thankful that she cannot see the lodge from her cabin. With arms wrapping around herself, she moves to the rocking chair made of mahogany and engraved with the same stunning floral and ivy design as the dresser within the cabin. It is here that Beylani sits, rocking gently in that chair with her gaze cast out to the trees as she tries to drown herself in the beauty of the afternoon, the enchantment of the snow she would have run through and played in as a little girl. Once, there might have been a time where the blue-eyed blonde would have strolled through the trees, reveling in the magic living in each and every thing here. Once, warm and carefree laughter might have danced through the air just as the birdsong did for no reason at all. And yet, it seems there is only the hollowed shell of who she'd once been. Now, she felt like nothing but a broken soul so lost and having lost more than she could have ever imagined. While she sat there in that rocking chair, beneath the gentle caress of the sunlight as it broke through the trees which sheltering the young woman from the eyes of Somnia, her world was still so... dark, and Beylani wonders then if ever she would see the light again or if has forsaken her for the rest of her immortal days. Could she truly find her way through this life without it? She doubts that she could, doubts that she would ever be strong enough. Then again, maybe she hasn't really ever been...