The darkness shrouded itself around Loldirr. It felt restricting, limiting and suffocating. It clung to her every being like a snake wrapping itself around its prey.

Moments ago, she remembered being in the Emerald Forest, devouring the last piece of the hare she had hunted earlier. Watching her mismatched companions preparing their bedding for the long night ahead, and then she was here, in complete darkness.

She sat, her knees pressed to her chest as if she was determined to defend herself from the darkness around her. Attempting to stretch her legs, the darkness pushed back, forcing her knees to push deeper into her ribs.

Loldirr's breathing became hard, her thoughts of imprisonment weighing down on her psyche and as she attempted to move her arms to determine the location she was in, the shroud pushed back, smothering her movements.

The darkness felt alive, prodding and poking her as her breathing became more ragged and more frustrated. Sweat soaked her brow, the darkness pushed against her. Her muscles screamed in agony as they felt constricted and had nowhere to go.

She screamed, at least she attempted to, but no sound escaped her lips, no ears were there to hear, all there was, was the endless darkness crushing and brutalising her. Feeling her tendons starting to snap and her bones beginning to crush, the pain was unbearable, she wanted it to end, desperate for the darkness to consume her and smother her.

Then she opened her eyes.

The embers of the fire, long put out, could not stop her ragged breathing, and the calmness of the moon couldn't relieve her from the anxiety that plagued her. Flailing her arms as they experienced unimaginable freedom, tears streamed down her face as if the incident was some brutal reality, but as Sir Gervais Vanderbilt immediately rushed to her side, embracing her like a father protecting his scared child, it dawned on her that it was nought but a dream.

She nuzzled up to the undead man, the heat from the fire still radiant on his shoulder, unaware as he stroked her hair to ease her anxiety.

"A nightmare?" he asked.

Loldirr pushed herself away from him as his voice shattered the realms of conscious and subconscious. She refused to speak, nodding, almost embarrassed of her reaction toward the man she couldn't decide to loathe or appreciate.

"Tell me of it," Gervais responded, his accented voice somewhat calmer than usual.

Loldirr explained the feelings, the anxiety and the longing for death that she desired through the darkness, and for some minutes, Gervais remained silent, eager to absorb as much of the detail that he could muster.

Gervais edged closer, half expecting the huntress to move away, but this time she remained sat, her arms and legs pressed against her body as if the darkness was once again around her.

"What does it mean?" he asked.

"It's a dream, it does not mean anything," Loldirr responded, her voice harsh and hoarse.

"A dream speaks volumes if you are willing to listen," Gervais said, briefly looking toward the bright clear moon in the sky. He turned his head back to Loldirr, "Prophecies are born from those who dream the future. Some believe the gods tell us of their desires through them, while other times it is simply our own body speaking to us through rhymes and riddles. Tell me what your heart feels when you recall this nightmare."

"Dread," Loldirr explained, "condemnation."

"Who's?"

"Mine!"

Gervais looked at her, knowing that she was plagued with guilt and terror.

"I acted in anger, and in my anger, I reacted in haste, and that haste caused me to push a man to the most horrific death imaginable," Loldirr explained.

"You talk of Kirken Merrithorpe?" Sir Gervais asked.

Loldirr nodded, and a tear fell from her cheek onto her bent elbow. "I keep imagining what he would have endured, and it must have been days of utter agony. I just hope and pray that Ethelston or Erdudvyl defied my orders and followed their instincts."

"You do not," Gervais responded a little callously, "to do such would undermine your authority and make you be seen as weak. Lord Ethelston disagreed with your actions, but he would not reverse them, for he knows the damage would be far more severe. Was your condemnation of the man that caused such destruction to you and the empire too extreme, that is not for me to say. What is for me to say is that you are the Empress of Isovine, whatever justice you give, is correct and proper."

"How can you say that?" Loldirr reacted angrily, her eyes showing bitterness as they focussed on Sir Gervais. "He would have spent days in agony, his mind being ripped apart and his body in constant torment. That is no one's fault but my own. To say that my actions to destroy a man so utterly is correct? It was barbaric!"

An unnerving smile crept its way onto Sir Gervais's face. "Imagine, if you will, an emperor, or empress, who would demand the justice that you gave, and then proceeds to celebrate such actions with absolutely no remorse. I have seen many in power who have done such that it frightens me and makes me question my faith in humanity. To find an empress that not only commits to action so wholeheartedly but questions and regrets that decision pleases me greatly. Power has a habit of destroying empathy. I just wish I could have been by your side before the realms of life and death twisted me into this ungodly creature."

"So you say my decision was right?" Loldirr asked.

"Right, wrong, it is not for me to say. Only you can decide that. What I do is to guide you; to help you remain true to yourself. To encourage you to question what is right and wrong, so that the next time a decision so heavy comes to torment you again, you answer it for the good of you and the realm."

Loldirr's eyes moved toward the smouldering embers of the fire that once was. Her heart tugged at her as she thought of the words by the man she so desperately wanted to call an enemy but felt drawn to call a friend. Bitterness flowed through her as she thought about how this man was partially responsible for the death of her family. People, loved by the masses and supported by the nobles, were cut down in their prime because of greed and ambition. Yet, every time Loldirr conferred with Sir Gervais she longed for his wisdom and his trueness. She could sense the guilt of the past that blanketed his thoughts and the despair that tugged at his soul and this continuously left her conflicted.

Her thoughts were quickly shattered as Sigurd Halfhand unceremoniously awoke from his slumber. As he refused to stifle his yawn, Loldirr felt disgusted by his lack of decorum, but when his bloodshot eyes shot toward the darkness, Loldirr could sense that something wasn't right through the rustling trees in the distance.

As if a domino effect had been started, Jeffry instantly awoke too, looking as equally startled as the Fæordic warlord. He glanced in the same direction as where Sigurd looked, "Do you hear that?" he asked, causing them all to sit up on edge.

"I hear nothing," Gervais responded.

Loldirr was about to react in the same way until she could hear something faintly in the distance. It was so smooth, so peaceful, a sound so pure and divine that at that very moment, Loldirr could feel nothing but peace and serenity.

As she focused on the sound, it was as if she recognised its notes, how they blended into each other, like a serenade of pure beauty.

"It sounds... It sounds like the song my wife used to sing toward my two sons," Jeffry commented blissfully, a smile crept onto his normally stoic face, causing him to stand to his feet slowly.

Loldirr was confused. She wanted to concentrate on the words of the Ruvian chevalier, and how she knew more about him in this brief exchange than she had done in the past few weeks of their travel together, but she could not remove herself from the peaceful serenade that restored and relaxed her very being.

Sigurd Halfhand chortled, "How can your wife know the songs of the ancients? Was she once a Fæordic seer?"

Jeffry looked at him confused, but instead of reacting, he looked toward the darkness stepping forward and slipping into it, allowing him to envelope him effortlessly.

Loldirr wanted to call to him, eager to stop him from disappearing from the group, but as she spoke, no words escaped her lips, it wasn't until she eventually felt the cold fingers of the undead Gervais gently touch her shoulder, that she felt herself return to reality.

"What is it you hear?" Sir Gervais asked.

"Do you not hear?" Loldirr smiled, continuously tilting her head toward the darkness, "It's beautiful."

"I hear nothing, except the calls of the insects of the night," Gervais responded concerned.

Sigurd took to his feet, almost unconcerned but his muscular chiselled body that was exposed to the elements. Despite the pain his exposed feet were likely enduring, it did not concern him as he too disappeared into the night.

Loldirr felt conflicted, as the sound of humming echoed through the night. She was drawn toward the darkness that surrounded her and the beauty of the voice was frightening and exhilarating in abundance.

"Tell me what you hear?" Gervais reacted, a concerned tone attempting to break through Loldirr's trance.

Turning toward her undead counterpart, she replied, "What?" before switching her head to the serenades of the dark.

Gervais attempted to place his hand on Loldirr's shoulder once more, but before he could, she had risen from the comfort of her makeshift mattress and stepped toward the darkness.

With each step forward, it felt as if the protection of light was forsaking her, the anxiousness of her actions was bombarding her every thought, yet they seemed to pale in comparison to the desire to locate the voice that echoed its beautiful song throughout the Emerald forest.

Gervais had instantly followed her, removing himself from beside the campsite to remain close by her side. He spoke once more, yet this time, Loldirr didn't hear, the song was all that mattered.

There was an ungodly scream as if a man was being torn apart. Loldirr could hear it and could feel the chill and anxiety of the forceful nature of the pain that pierced the melody, yet the melody proved too powerful, and too much for Loldirr to draw herself away from.

Attempting to focus on the scream, for one brief moment Loldirr could hear the cries of her companion, Vicomte Jeffry Thibodeaux. The agonising screams fought against the tune, the pleasantness of the song, butchered by the howls, Loldirr could feel the danger around her, and the need to investigate the outcome of the Chevalier De Présage.

"What's going on?" she asked, briefly brought back to her senses by the cries that eventually died in the night.

"I do not know, I can not hear what you hear," Sir Gervais responded, eagerly standing by Loldirr's side on her inquiry. "I did hear the Chevalier's screams, he sounds like he's in grave danger. Are you with me?"

Loldirr couldn't make sense of his words, the voice that echoed from the Death Wraith's lips was once again being drowned out by the eloquently beautifully spun tune, which appeared stronger this time.

The soft-sounding female voice sang tunes that felt so familiar to her, lyrics that she did not recognise, but somehow remained knowledgeable. A tune she had not heard in many winters but reminded her of comfort and security in her mother's arms. The voice was now one of clarity, recalling a time when her mother embraced her as a babe, even though the face of Queen Renate of Isovine remained a mystery to her.

Now, Loldirr's thoughts were not of the song, but instead, she was using all her strength and will to recover her mother's face, to remind herself of the woman that brought her into the world.

Another scream, another man, another collapse back to reality.

This scream was more pronounced, more forceful, so much so that it brought a shiver to Loldirr's body. As the scream dissipated, it was followed by unnerving laughter, feminine in nature, but sinister in its chuckle. It echoed menacingly as if the web of the forest had captured its prey for the spider to wrap up and devour.

Loldirr turned toward Sir Gervais, eager for his steadfast and resolute support, but as she turned, he was not there, and all that surrounded her was complete darkness. She could feel her heart trying to leap from her body, and the nervous sweat drip from her brow, but just as she started to come to her senses, the singing returned, and the control of her mind started to wane.

She could feel her thoughts being clouded and her decisions being shrouded by the song that appeared so powerful and magical. With all her strength, she cried out to Gervais, only for her voice to be empty and still. Attempting once more, her voice remained still, with the only sound she could hear being the now haunting singing and the crunching of delicate steps behind her.

'Gervais?' Loldirr thought to herself, briefly settling her anxiousness. The steps continued, gradually crescendoing as Loldirr longed for her undead saviour, eager for him to take her away from this nightmare.

Loldirr turned to the sound, its steps light and eager, but she was greeted by darkness. She turned away, thinking perhaps the song had manipulated her senses, only for the steps to become louder, and the haunting tune to become overbearing.

"Surprise!"

Red eyes darted toward Loldirr, the voice from the creature purring and feminine. It felt sadistic and twisted in nature, the darkness of her surroundings instantly enveloping her like a spider pouncing on its prey.

Loldirr screamed.