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Description
She was smiling, a lovely, beautiful-as-dawn smile. But her eyes stayed the same, glittering bitterness through shards of broken glass. "Kalth." It was a command, not a request, though whispered through the darkened throne room. A man stepped forward, eyes flickering towards hers before dropping to one knee, brushing his lips across the marble of the floor. "My queen."
             He was tall, hair reaching just past his shoulders; black tinted dark-blue. Again, his eyes strayed to the queen's, glinting in a stray ray of weak light. Issabel curved her lips in another cold smile, raising her hand lazily. The light, however dimly it lit the vast room, disappeared, as surely as a blown candle. The only illuminance now came from the queen - a faint, grey aura shimmering near her.
             "I think we shall need new guests for the coming sacrifice," Issabel said softly, eyes blazing with some unidentified emotion. "It is so rarely that mortals come...visit." She leaned forward, gently touching Kalth's cheek. He flinched, and her gentle smile grew wider, harsher.
             "Go."

             Trena leaned back against the headboard of her bed, delicately painting the nails on her right hand. "Look! Like it?" she half-yelled against the blast of music, shoving her hand toward Juella. The other girl, grinning, shouted back "Love it!" and yanked on her arm, pulling her off the bed. Shrieking delightedly, the two girls tumbled to the floor, giggling. Lights flickered, dimming with a slight electrical buzz; a bottle of nail polish fell to the ground and shattered, a vibrant splash of orange.
             Breathless and smiling, Juella half-perched back on Trena's bed. And felt something was very, very wrong. Shuddering, the girl suddenly turned off the cd player. Red numbers blinked out, thin lines of the after-image darting as Juella stared into the now-dark corners of the room. Trena, now also on the bed, laughed nervously, shaking back her hair.
             "What's wrong?" she asked, a bit hesitantly. Then, more confidently, "Turn the music back on; it was just getting to - " her words broke off with a scream as the room darkened further, and twisted, the features scewed and unnatural. "Trena!" Juella's panicked cry was choked back, and their world went blank.

             It was witheringly cold. The cackling wind pushed piles of decaying leaves against the prone bodies of the two girls, wet bunches of blackened colour. The land was empty, flat, but it was as if they were in a room - closed, suffocating. Trena stirred first, sitting up abruptly.
             "Juella! Juella?" she whispered desperately, shaking her friend, but the other girl showed no sign of waking. almost whimpering, Trena cried out as a black, shadowy hand shot out of the ground near them, groping urgently. Paralyzed with fear, she watched in a sort of horrified fascination, until the dark fingertips brushed her ankle.
             Pain writhed up her leg, and, crying out, Trena shrank closer against Juella, but the hand had already gone. Shaking, Trena extended her leg a little to examine her ankle. Three raised white marks, right under her ankle, were turning grey along the edges, and darkish threads were trailing up her calf. Shivering, the girl lowered her jeans and tried waking Juella again.
             "Juella!" Panic had made her voice unintentionally loud, and it echoed eeriely around them. "Juella..."
             "She will not wake." Trena looked up, startled, and tried to scramble away, but the pain in her ankle stopped her, and she half-collapsed on Juella's legs. A rather plump, motherly-looking woman stared down at the two girls. Flowers and vines crept up her body, but some of it was withered. "You need healing for the leg," she said, her words sounding like whispers when they were not. "Come."
             "I can't leave my friend! I can't leave Juella!" Trena shouted, clutching at Juella's limp arm. "I won't!"
             "She can come with us..." a shower of petals rained down from the strange woman, and she added, "Hurry, before I...wither." Trena bit her lip worriedly, but the pain had already reached up past her knee.
             "Alright," she whispered, looking up at the persom - was she even human? - she was going to have to trust.

Description
She was smiling, a lovely, beautiful-as-dawn smile. But her eyes stayed the same, glittering bitterness through shards of broken glass. "Kalth." It was a command, not a request, though whispered through the darkened throne room. A man stepped forward, eyes flickering towards hers before dropping to one knee, brushing his lips across the marble of the floor. "My queen."
             He was tall, hair reaching just past his shoulders; black tinted dark-blue. Again, his eyes strayed to the queen's, glinting in a stray ray of weak light. Issabel curved her lips in another cold smile, raising her hand lazily. The light, however dimly it lit the vast room, disappeared, as surely as a blown candle. The only illuminance now came from the queen - a faint, grey aura shimmering near her.
             "I think we shall need new guests for the coming sacrifice," Issabel said softly, eyes blazing with some unidentified emotion. "It is so rarely that mortals come...visit." She leaned forward, gently touching Kalth's cheek. He flinched, and her gentle smile grew wider, harsher.
             "Go."

             Trena leaned back against the headboard of her bed, delicately painting the nails on her right hand. "Look! Like it?" she half-yelled against the blast of music, shoving her hand toward Juella. The other girl, grinning, shouted back "Love it!" and yanked on her arm, pulling her off the bed. Shrieking delightedly, the two girls tumbled to the floor, giggling. Lights flickered, dimming with a slight electrical buzz; a bottle of nail polish fell to the ground and shattered, a vibrant splash of orange.
             Breathless and smiling, Juella half-perched back on Trena's bed. And felt something was very, very wrong. Shuddering, the girl suddenly turned off the cd player. Red numbers blinked out, thin lines of the after-image darting as Juella stared into the now-dark corners of the room. Trena, now also on the bed, laughed nervously, shaking back her hair.
             "What's wrong?" she asked, a bit hesitantly. Then, more confidently, "Turn the music back on; it was just getting to - " her words broke off with a scream as the room darkened further, and twisted, the features scewed and unnatural. "Trena!" Juella's panicked cry was choked back, and their world went blank.

             It was witheringly cold. The cackling wind pushed piles of decaying leaves against the prone bodies of the two girls, wet bunches of blackened colour. The land was empty, flat, but it was as if they were in a room - closed, suffocating. Trena stirred first, sitting up abruptly.
             "Juella! Juella?" she whispered desperately, shaking her friend, but the other girl showed no sign of waking. almost whimpering, Trena cried out as a black, shadowy hand shot out of the ground near them, groping urgently. Paralyzed with fear, she watched in a sort of horrified fascination, until the dark fingertips brushed her ankle.
             Pain writhed up her leg, and, crying out, Trena shrank closer against Juella, but the hand had already gone. Shaking, Trena extended her leg a little to examine her ankle. Three raised white marks, right under her ankle, were turning grey along the edges, and darkish threads were trailing up her calf. Shivering, the girl lowered her jeans and tried waking Juella again.
             "Juella!" Panic had made her voice unintentionally loud, and it echoed eeriely around them. "Juella..."
             "She will not wake." Trena looked up, startled, and tried to scramble away, but the pain in her ankle stopped her, and she half-collapsed on Juella's legs. A rather plump, motherly-looking woman stared down at the two girls. Flowers and vines crept up her body, but some of it was withered. "You need healing for the leg," she said, her words sounding like whispers when they were not. "Come."
             "I can't leave my friend! I can't leave Juella!" Trena shouted, clutching at Juella's limp arm. "I won't!"
             "She can come with us..." a shower of petals rained down from the strange woman, and she added, "Hurry, before I...wither." Trena bit her lip worriedly, but the pain had already reached up past her knee.
             "Alright," she whispered, looking up at the persom - was she even human? - she was going to have to trust.