Freedom…..it is what she feels as she sits and gazes at the lights dancing upon the soft waves before her…..

........music drifts across the water and she breathes in the serenity and the sweet, warm air....for she is free of the demons...sleep comes to her now without fight...and words swim within her mind waiting for her to unleash them upon paper for all to know....for her dreams will be born and live to be shared with those who choose to be at her side...the search for love no longer holds her prisoner....she knows within her heart that if it is meant...it will happen in its own time...but for now she can be at peace with her own self...yet silently aware of the beasts that may exist upon the fringe of the forest....and is ready to prove herself....to anyone who challenges her...for she will not let her place of peace be preyed upon by the demons of the past that have stalked her for so long.....nor the demons that have existed in her life as she searched for love.....no more....she is a woman in love with life.....and that love within her heart shall bring to her more than she can imagine at this moment....for even now there is hope....if she continues on her path...one so long in coming but one that will be what she has always wished for.........

The final call has gone out and the Dark One waits………

……she stands strong against the demon who has entered her kingdom for what will be its last time…..the Dark One draws her dagger from its hilt and holds it within her hand….ready to take the head from the scourge that has so ravaged her heart….a heart that bears only love…..but this demon must fall and be scattered to the winds……or peace cannot reign……….the dark haired demon with skin of leather moves toward the Dark One with words of hate……..and the Dark One holds the tip of her sword to its neck…….ready to spill its yellow blood upon the ground……for she shall rid her land of this demon scourge if it is the last thing she does in this place she loves with her entire being……..the viper snarls and lashes out with her hands and the Dark One lunges her sword into its neck…..lashing……the demon’s head stares at her from the ground as its body falls at her feet……its eyes stone cold as the pavers beneath…...yellow blood spilling……with no soul within…….a demon life taken to protect the goodness that still exists within the kingdom of the Dark One……and the nightmare is over and done and gone and buried……for all time….the demon is dead…….the Dark One lives on……….and she shall protect her kingdom from all that step upon its grounds with thoughts only of themselves…..they shall be blocked from her sanctuary or their blood shall be spilled and taken by the winds……away…….away………the Dark One rests and breathes in the pure air and wonders when the battle shall be at its end……..when she shall be able to rest without threat of demons…..will it ever be she wonders…….she has grown tired…..and wishes for respite……and hopes for love to come to her soon……so that she will no longer have to fight the battles alone…..she wishes for someone to be at her side……someone as strong as she……..someone who loves her as she is………the Dark One…….the one with a heart filled with love to give and protect…….in the glistening waters of her beloved lake her dagger is freed from demon blood……she returns it to its hilt at her waist……the hilt sparkles in the moonlight as the moon glows among the stars……and she sits upon the marble bench and hopes…….

The Dark One is spent from a day of battle…..

……her face is wet with fallen tears as she stands staring at the glowing moon above…..the evil demon upon her this day has ripped at her very soul……she wonders how this kind can even exist within the world….but knows far too well the darkness that exists……even now it claws at the edges of her sacred space……her sanctuary………peace is threatened more than ever……..but, now, this battle will tell all……..she will not leave…….she will conquer and rule……this demon shall be destroyed and thrown out of her kingdom……it will happen….and she begins to form a plan within her heart to protect all that she loves…..and soon all shall be as she wishes it to be for the good of all…….the final call has gone out…….this demon scourge shall be rendered speechless and be thrown to the wind……the wind shall bring to the Dark One peace once and for all…….and her heart shall heal and peace shall be hers……always and ever more……

Yet the demons of the past again prey upon her hope…..

……. leaving her with little air to breathe….and the demons of the present hit her again and again….all that she has left is hope for the future…..if there is one for her………her past keeps haunting her……the moonlight is again hidden behind clouds so thin…..yet so dense and thick they prevent her from seeing the light she yearns for with all her heart…....it is too dark to walk within the shadows any longer……somehow she must break free of the darkness……..but how she wonders……..everything seems so bleak………peace seems beyond her reach at this moment…….so many demons to slay……..they never cease to appear…….as she sits motionless with tears in her eyes she hears yet another demon beyond the harbor’s edge…….this one shall not get away…….she moves with lithe speed freeing her dagger from its resting place and stands ready……the demon lunges but she drives her dagger into its heart……taking the life of yet another evil vampire that has drained her of life too many times……...it cannot happen again……she must hold on to hope and believe……for there are good vampires out there too…..just as hope exists somewhere within her heart…….it beats erratically within her convoluted by despair and loneliness……..the power of her love struggles to overcome………..

The Dark One breathes in the pure air of freedom……

……she walks upon the engraved walkway once again and forever…….turning, she stands and sees the glow of the full moon moving upward towards the night sky and she gasps with awe and smiles……sitting on the bridge she admires the beauty and serenity that surrounds her…..as happiness fills her with hope……the Dark One feels faith in herself that she will ever walk within her harbor of peace…..and knows it to be truth….within her heart that beats steadily…….just as she is sure of her place and of who she is……more than she ever knew or could have imagined…..love will be her guide in everything……as she imagines, feels, receives…..and more than anything…….the love that she gives……..will bring to her all that she desires……

The Dark One is spent from long hours of dueling with the demons that lurk in the shadows and attack her time after time without resolve…

….she sits and breathes in the cool night air, breathing to give life to her own heart……she has fought too hard for one day and needs the peace of her beloved harbor…..she aches with sorrow at the lies and delusion that the demons throw at her over and over…….knowing that she must hold on to hope and move to a life without such things within…..her only hope…….she holds on knowing they will come soon…….and she will be free to live again……a new start…….a new chance…and she must make it work……..and she will…with love and hope…….for she will not return to the lair of the past ever again……….

As the Dark One steps upon the path that leads to the gazebo on the hill, her heart beats…..

….as if it is telling her to be still and listen to the power that exists within her…..to the love that is still there buried deeply beyond the scars of the past......for it is love that will bring to her all that she wants…….light shines like a beacon from the full moon as it rises high…….a cloudless sky……..stars sparkling as if they are the orchestra performing a brilliant aria conducted by the universe……hope rises within her and she feels it as she has not felt it for so long…..stronger……with more belief that she will surmount the demons that lurk on the edges of her mind……in the darkness……the moon rises full above the lake shadowing the water with a brilliant pathway of light to the other side of existence……where she has longed to be for so long…..an existence filled with light, hope and love……no despair…….no demons……..only love……so that she may have the life she has dreamed of for so long……and she knows it will be…….