As the Dark One stands upon the docks at the edge of the starlit lake, she feels the winds come upon her yet she holds fast…….

….for she is the fierce and loyal protector of those with kind hearts of truth….those who she has been deceived by have none of her loyalty….it is lost to not ever be had again…..north winds drift down and she feels within her the existence of the offspring of one who held her heart so many years before…..the hopes, the dreams gone in a moment of time……….and pain fills her heart and tears fall upon the ground at her feet at what was taken from her….but as she stands in the magical harbor beneath the full moon she feels that she has been brought to this place for a reason yet unknown…..one that will fill her heart with joy……..not sorrow as she lived before…..and she will fight and trod upon the ground each night until her dreams come true and she can live the life she is meant for….one where her true dreams come to life……..

The moon shines as thought illumined by a kingdom’s firelight……

……..as the Dark One stands within the wooden enclave gazing downward at the starlit water in the harbor far below and her thoughts drift as the clouds pass by the shining moon above……she hears a faint sound from the edge of the dark mists………as she grasps her dagger, she moves toward the sound knowing that it is not of evil…..and there he lies with glittering silver wings…..wounded by evil…….she kneels on the damp ground next to him and a tear falls gently upon his wound……she brushes her hand upon his face and his eyes open…..and he sees her, the Dark One……the fairy nymph who seeks peace upon her kingdom………he breathes easier and his wound begins to heal…….her tears have saved him from certain death……and he will live………he vows within his heart to watch and wait and see what this all shall bring……and knows that only good will come…..in time…….with hope……..and she takes her velvet cloak from her shoulders and lays it upon him for warmth…..and stands watch, protecting him from the evil that lurks nearby as he heals……with her dagger held out and her heart beating steadily within…….

She walks in the darkness with only the stars for direction……

……...but the Dark One senses that true evil is near and rests her hand upon the hilt of her gilded sword……waiting……knowing…….that this night she must destroy one that was disguised in another form…….that of a sauntering bear in human form, one whom she would never have thought to hold evil within his heart……..but, in truth, she has found him to be the most evil of all……a foe, not a friend …….and there he sits before her in the mists on his black beast waiting…… The Dark One pulls her sword from her star studded belt with chains hanging upon her leather clad thigh and holds it high…….a star flames forth from the sky and touches the tip and light blasts upon the ground……..she stands within its circle, protected from his evil and hurls her sword…….it plunges through his heart and he turns to ashes………all that is left is his steel beast……. The circle blazes a path for her and she returns her sword to its hilt…… The Dark One turns and looks upward at the blazing light as it enfolds her in a warmth she has not ever felt…...one that envelopes her in belief……..belief that all will be right as it should be.....and that her true love is on his way……..and that in time she will no longer rid her place of peace of the evil ones alone, but with the Light One by her side………

No sooner than the moonlight illumines the lake below, it disappears and darkness reigns once more.........

.....as the truth cuts through to her heart like a double edged dagger……..and she knows that peace will always be elusive………but when it is near it must be cherished……and when it has gone for a time, the Dark One must reach deep within her soul for hope…….for what seems to be real is but an illusion………an illusion so dark that fear invades her mind and she is left with no breath…………the dagger of truth is as hard as steel and she fights for her life, fights to have better than before even though it seems so far away……but beneath it all she knows she will conquer the evil that continues to crawl upon the earth that she walks upon each day……..and she will capture it and force it back into the mists once and for all……….in time…….

As the Dark One looks skyward, a ray of moonlight streams down upon her bejeweled by the stars that lurk so close by……

…….and she knows this is where she belongs. Stars so close together look as though they are clouds in the night sky……..constellations move slowly as she breathes out all of the trepidation she has so long held within her soul……..for there is nothing to fear here……..only so much to hope for and it will be……….in time………light shines in the darkness………..in the distance she hears rumbling that is so familiar and there he is on his steel beast…….the mystical music man……….driving toward his home on the lake…….and she smiles………for where else could anyone exist without fear but in this magical place called Sunapee………..

The spring storm pours downward as the Dark One stands unmoving with the tears upon her face being taken by the cold rain that strikes at her…….

………..as the night air becomes thick with fog and mists take her breath away…..she feels the lightning that strikes close by in her heart and to her very core….of being……….and wonders what is left……wonders what else she can do to save herself……..she leans against the solid length of a great tree and her eyes close……and she hopes for light to come her way before there is no time left for her to find her way out of the darkness that threatens to keep her from dreams of love and peace…….

Storm clouds reign in the midnight sky as rain pelts the earth covered bricks, digging its claws in to sweep the dirt away….

………..as the Dark Fairy walks within the torrents of rain that gust around her, the scent of demon blood unfolds from the dark shadows…….the leather she wears is drenched but her blood runs hot.........for she must slay this snipe........one risen from the taint of the world......the Dark Fairy must rid her place of peace of the ones who hold darkness within their hearts……..for only she will allow the ones with pure hearts to remain in her kingdom………. She turns and slices through the air with her dagger scarring the demon as he reaches out to cut her from behind……..but he is too slow and she is faster and stronger of heart and mind…….and he falls upon the wet bricks, yellow blood spilling, then turns to dust………..and beneath lies the brick inscribed with words so close to her being……..”truthseeker”………for she is the one who has sought truth for so long and now it is upon her……..the truth……what she must do to have the peace she has dreamed of for so long…….and there in the shadows he watches………not another demon………..but one who waits for the right moment to walk out of the darkness and into the light that shines from within her eyes………

Midnight clouds move in the sky as the wind dances through the darkness...the Dark Fairy stands upon the cold, bare ground, her sword in its hilt….

….a double edged dagger held within her hand.....thoughts swirl within her mind catching her heart and throwing it to the wind as it blows in gusts, cold first and then warmer as the moon sets and the sun rises over the frozen lake….spring is on its way and soon the ice and snow shall be gone…..and she hopes....for laughter….for peace......for freedom…and for love in the moonlight beneath the stars on a warm summer’s night with stars sparkling in the skies above the ridge of the nearby hill… As the sun rises, she walks into the shadows to gather the darkness within and to seek the light that is there for her…just waiting… In dreams, she sees lost loves smiling and hopes in her heart for more than before…and then there is the faceless one…the one who she is meant for…and she wonders within her dream who he is…and her mind slips deep into sleep to gather strength to face another night alone…for now…

Shimmering snowflakes fall upon her lashes as the Dark Fairy stands before the frozen lake’s edge with the icy wind blowing......

...the fur of her cape brushing against her face feeling as though it is the hand of a lost lover......all she has ever wanted was love…….a love that would shine within her heart and drown her soul with light…..but now she realizes that she must walk on alone….at least for now in the darkness…….and she smiles knowing that it will come in time……just time…….for if she looks into the darkness, she will find the light……..

Before her eyes, the ship turns toward the horizon, drifting slowing beneath the moonlit sky as she stands in wait……..

…….as she stands upon the wet sand with her sword thrust downward, the ship moves away and beyond the horizon………away………for now she is alone and free to seek……to seek within herself to find what she has been hoping for……when she knows this…….then he will appear out of the darkness and into the light…….not the demon but the knight…….the one she will fight beside…..the one she will love……and the one who shall love her as she is……..the demon slayer…..the dragon slayer…..the woman she has never known existed within her soul……….and only then will she be loved again……she pulls her sword out of the sand, from within the ground and cleans it…..returning it to its steel and leather hilt at her hip………one last look at the ship sailing just out of her sight beneath the moonlit sky and she turns and walks away to find herself among the shadows she has lived within for too long…….light is coming………just time………..in time……the shadows will be gone and the stars will shine brighter than ever before……..

Moonlight lights her way as she moves toward the starlit water that beckons to her.......

….and she stands at the edge of the starlit water that beckons to her with each wave created by the wake of the ship sailing in the distance beneath dark moonlight……and she wonders who stands upon the deck in shadow of the tall mast that pierces the sky. Her hands rest upon the sword she holds before her with its point thrust into the wet sand and she waits with anticipation……will it be one of the undead that she must take down or will it be the one her heart has hoped for as she has wandered these shores alone for so long…..waiting……hoping…….longing for someone to banish the heartache she feels within her soul………

All seems lost to her as her mind wanders....not heeding the creatures of the night lurking within the shadows....

…..and she, the Dark One, walks along the path with her head bowed and tears upon her face not caring if the undead shall rise…..for she will be ready and without fear…..but in her heart she hopes that he is gone, never to return so that she may raise her head and gaze at the stars with joy once again……her mind is drawn to the one who smiled at her from the edge of darkness……..he has disappeared as if into thin air….but he will return…..she feels it within her as she walks on with her eyes toward the stars knowing that they will lead her in the direction fate wishes her to take……for the lessons have been dark ones and she hopes for light as bright as the stars so far above to shine within her heart….

The Dark One walks with her hand upon the hilt of her sword.....

The dark fairy nymph walks among the shadows clad in black armor, her sword sheathed upon a braided leather belt with silver stars hanging from shining chains…….the blade shimmering with light…..as she waits for the undead to rise…….for if a rising becomes, she will be ready with wrath and fury to drive her sword straight into the heart of the demon for a final end to the plague that has existed in her land of peace……and she will overcome the evil and goodness will reign without any threat of discord or discontent……only hope and joy will be forever more……