(Genre: Fantasy. Warning: Death, Blood)

Once upon a time, in a woods deep and dark in a land of souls, there was a witch.

The witch was the Baba Yaga. She developed a fascination with the trees of the woods, called Candles. This was because they produced a dark oil that looked like blood. But the source of her fascination was because they had once been people.

They were travelers, pilgrims, all turned into trees by the Beast- a dark shadowy spirit who sang his song as he walked through his woods. Those who had lost all hope turned to wood as they listened to his song. The only thing that remained of them was their faces, eyes closed and mouths opened in silent screams of despair.

The Baba Yaga had three daughters. Each of them had a magical gift of their own.

The first was Belle. The loveliest of her sisters, she could cast balls of light and create illusions of comfort and home. The second was Mary, the ugliest. She was a potion brewer, able to create poisons of different degrees.

The youngest was Cora. She was pretty, the balance between her sisters. She had a beautiful singing voice, but her true talent was in her ability to create. She could craft anything. One of the things she created was a beautiful silver lantern, which she used to light her way through the woods.

The Baba Yaga used her daughters' talents and sent Belle and Cora into the woods. She ignored Mary as she used her daughters to lure outsiders deep into the woods. In pleasure, she watched as the people they lured gave into despair and turned into trees.

The two sent into the woods hated their mother and their horrible task. The ignored one loved her mother more in her attempts to get her love. Finally, Belle managed to escape her mother. She ran into the woods and disappeared.

For years, Belle used her magic to guide people out of the woods. Baba Yaga gnashed her teeth in anger at the loss of her daughter and the lessening of her sadistic entertainment. Mary became useful as she helped her mother try every spell to find the missing girl.

Finally, she was found.

Baba Yaga dragged Belle home by her hair. In the firelight in their home, she slowly killed her daughter. Mary watched, uncertain glee lighting up in her eyes. Cora, now a young woman, quickly turned away and covered her ears.

But nothing could stop the screams.

The witch's intentions had been to make her daughter suffer, planning to kill her and turn her into a beautiful Candle. This would be a tree she would admire forever and a warning to her other two daughters. But it was not to be.

As Belle gave her last breath, she transformed.

Not into a tree.

No, she turned into beautiful white feathers, all gleaming with their own light. A breeze took hold of them and they flew out the window. All three ran out, Cora holding her lantern up high as they watched.

The feathers continued to fly up into the moonlit night, twirling as if in a silent dance. They disappeared among the clouds and Belle was gone forever. Baba Yaga gnashed her teeth and turning back into the house, blind with fury. Mary quickly followed.

Cora lingered, staring at the sky. A wind blew past, ruffling her blonde curls and bringing notes of a song to her ears. Her gaze turned from the sky to the woods as the Beast continued to sing. A small smile crossed her face.

She had an idea.

It took several weeks for this plan to start. A week out of every month, Baba Yaga would leave her daughters at home to pick secret herbs. It was near the end of autumn when she left for her trip, still angry at the loss of Belle.

When she was out of sight, she set to work. Cora pulled on flats and a dress, giving off the illusion she was going on a walk. Ignoring Mary's questions, she pulled on her dark cloak and picked up her faithful lantern. She closed the door behind her.

She walked to the edge of the clearing and paused.

She stepped into the woods.

~'~'~

It was unknown how long Cora wandered through the woods, calling for the Beast.

All agreed that winter started as she walked through the woods. Her voice grew hoarse as her lantern lit her way. A blizzard began one day and she was forced to wander through it, snow soaking through her flats as she tried desperately to keep her hood on.

Finally, exhaustion claimed her. She fell, cushioned by snow. The last thing she saw was darkness, reaching for her.

When Cora awoke, it was night and she was still alive. Her lantern was sputtering weakly. She picked it up with frozen fingers and looked up. She was hoarse and it wasn't much of a scream. But what would you do if the Beast was looking down at you?

"You are an odd one," he said. "Others wander the Woods in hope of never meeting of me. Yet you wander while calling for me." He cocked his head like a cat, staring down at her with white sockets.

He was clad in shadows, little more than a silhouette. She could see what looked like a tattered scarf flutter in the breeze and antlers. His limbs were spindly thin. Cora sat up, drawing her cloak around her. The blizzard had stopped.

"I...I have an offer for you."

She managed to stand, brushing off her skirt. The Beast watched her. "The Baba Yaga has killed my sister. She keeps turning people into trees. I can help you kill her."

"Interesting. Why would I have any interest in killing the old witch?"

"Because she keeps taking away your victims. I am her daughter. I know her secrets. If we work together, she can die." She hefted her lantern in one hand and held out the other. "What do you say?"

"What can you do for me?"

She blinked. "I...You can have the pleasure of killing your own victims? Does that work?"

"It is not enough girl." He turned to leave. All the storytellers agree that this is when she cried out "Wait!" He stopped at the cry, turning back to look at her.

"I...can add another part. My power is to create magical objects." She glanced at her loyal lantern. "I know that you will have a long life but you do not have immortality. I can help with that."

Because who would suspect a simple lantern?

The deal was made. Nobody knew how, but Cora ended up cupping the Beast's soul in her palms. She trembled because it was colder than the winter. She pressed the soul inside the lantern.

The lantern glowed, brighter than ever before. She held it close and they walked into the woods together.

Cora became the first Bearer. Under the Beast's protection, she wandered the woods. Some people think that they fell in love, but I don't know. I wasn't there. But most people agreed that she once asked him why she had never turned into a Candle while wandering the forest. He said "Maybe I should've. You would've made a lovely tree."

"Thank you...?"

(It was not known if that comment was an insult or a compliment.)

It didn't matter. They crafted a plan, love or no love, as she learned how to chop down trees, for the lantern depended on the oil of Candles.

Nobody knew how it happened.

Maybe Baba Yaga went out on a herb trip and was lured by herbs leading away from her cabin. Maybe Baba Yaga saw her daughter and chased after her because she was doubly enraged by the loss of another daughter. There were a hundred maybes.

All agreed that Cora told the Beast the Baba Yaga's secrets, and they were used.

The witch died, and as she had planned for Belle, she turned into a Candle. It was an ugly tree and both were glad when Cora started chopping it down. She ignored the pop of bone and the red that leaked out with the sap because the body hadn't started rotting inside.

The Baba Yaga was dead.

Well, that's what I've heard. Stories change over time. I wasn't there.

~'~'~

Cora hummed as she gathered the flowers, the lantern next to her.

The trees were turning into the colors of spring. The Beast was out wandering, singing his song. She had decided to stay at the cabin she had built with the help of some hypnotized men and grind the wood she had already cut. The flowers she had spotted outside would brighten up the cabin.

A noise behind her made her turn, ready to greet the Beast. It wasn't the Beast.

"Mary!" She said in surprise, a smile appearing. She hadn't seen her sister since she went into the woods.

"Cora." her sister said. She looked worn out, tired. But there was a small, pleasant smile on her face. Clenching the flowers close, the younger hugged the elder. "I am so glad I found you. Mother..."

"I know. I'm sorry."

There were no words between them. Cora pulled away first, moving to invite her sister in for tea when the ax buried itself in her chest. She cut herself off with a gag, warm red leaking from the wound and her lips. A tear rolled down her cheek and she fell.

Mary panted between clenched teeth, her smile gone. She pulled out the ax and raised it over her head. "Traitor." she managed out. She swung the ax down, Cora letting out a scream. "Bloody, murdering, traitor."

She didn't know how many times she swung the ax, but the blade and her hands were red when she stopped. The anger faded to be replaced with horror. "Oh god..." she whispered, kneeling next to her sister's pale body.

She was so cold.

Mary wept, gripping the pink and red of the dress as she held the body. When she had exhausted her tears and the sky had darkened to night, she looked up. She paled when she saw the Beast staring down at her. Dress stained red, she stood and stepped away from Cora.

The Beast stepped forward, never saying a word.

He gently scooped up the body. Leaving Mary with one last glare, he turned and disappeared.

The witch sighed, turning to where she had last seen the faithful lantern. She could keep it, to remind her of her sister and of her sins-

It was gone.

~'~'~

There were other Bearers.

Nobody knew what happened to the first. Some suspected that the Beast turned her into a tree to give her one last shred of peace.

Many people held the lantern, except there were three who were special. One Bearer was a man who loved his wife, enough to damn himself. But when two children slipped through to the Woods, he did his best to lead the girl and her younger brother away from the Beast.

It wasn't enough.

The Beast's last bearer, his Flower Queen, took the Woodcutter's place.

"I'll cut down the trees. I'll grind out their oil. I'll fuel the lantern. You don't have to lie to me about the trees or the lantern or the song...just let me take my brother home."

"Deal."

~'~'~

A/N: So, this was inspired by OTGW if you couldn't tell. It's sort of a prequel to a story idea I have. I'm working on it.