The Shadow dragged her through a clouded flume, and abandoned her gasping and thrashing on the bed.

Her granddaughter burst in the room in a flurry of skinny jeans and tousled hair.

"Ma-Ma, what is it?" Tristane rushed over, pressing one hand to her grandmother's forehead, and the other to her chest.

Orana kept on, her body rolling and convulsing. In the corner, ever-present, The Shadow hovered and waited. She drew strength from it in the form of bleak void, a dark tether between her and it. She wrapped a small length of cold around her wrist and tugged.

Compelled, The Shadow propelled forward ever so slightly.

"Ma?"  Tristane's eyes bugged out as she activated her wristlet, demanding a recovery team be sent.

Another tug, and Rana pulled the Shadow closer. She ceased the thrashing, eyes fixed upon the ceiling.

"Come here," she whispered.

Tristane anxiously lent her ear, and Orana snatched hold, raking her in close.

The Shadow swelled, stealing all the light in the room. Tristane's hair stood up, the ends swaying slightly. The line between Orana and the Shadow splayed taut, with the ethereal mass straining like a dog.

"Get. Your. Mother."

She released Tristane, who fell back and scrambled to the door. Before escaping, she turned, a solitary tear marking up her young face.

"Ma-ma?" Her hand hung from the door knob.

"Yes, dear?" Orana managed.

A series of small hiccups and gasps emerged in lieu of words, until finally, Tristane spilled out the words, "Th-thank you."

The gratitude required no explanation.

It took her first-born

[MURDERER]

nearly twenty minutes to arrive.

Typical Desdaina.

She'd always been a jealous slight, spiteful too. Even so, Orana never could have imagined, or foreseen, or guessed at the betrayal. At least now she had the chance to right a wrong, in a very wrong way. As she neared the end of her mediocre life, she found she didn't give a shit. If she could do this one thing, and finish it, then her life meant something. Had to.

Only, Desdaina was a perceptive,  strong witch. Orana had only been practicing for the last few years, whereas her daughters had decades of experience. Things were sure to get interesting.

The door creaked, and soft footfalls depressed on the thick carpeting. Orana clasped the dark thread, willing herself to keep up her strength, no matter what.

"What've you been up to?" Desdaina clucked, hanging over her mother.

Her pinched face and dark eyes only fueled Orana's anger. The girl had always looked as hateful as she acted. How had she not seen it before?

Desdaina clamped a hand on Orana's face, holding her steady as she pried open her lids, methodical, like a doctor.

"What oh what were you doing today?" Her voice was sing-song sweet, a departure from her sour expression.

Knocking resounded in Orana's head, and she knew it was Desdaina. She was reaching inside, trying to peek at her mother's most recent actions. To combat the invasion, Orana envisioned a large, iron door. She regarded her daughter across the threshold, then slammed the door.

Desdaina chortled, her grip on Orana's face tightening. "Oh no, ya old coot. I'll get in there. Don't you worry."

Orana concentrated on maintaining the barrier, which made it incredibly difficult to hold onto the true prize...her new-found friend.

Because friends got rid of things for you.

She pressed her body against the door, but it wasn't going to hold for long. On the other side, Desdaina pounded, and screamed. Or laughed. The door was too thick for her to tell.

Back on the bed, Orana drew the Shadow nearer with a quick flick of her wrist. She expended an extraordinary amount of energy being split between mind and body, so much so that she relinquished full control over her new friend without meaning to.

Inside, the metal door bowed, and Desdaina's hand snaked around the side. The breach was enough, and the real Desdaina's eyes lit up with recognition for what her mother wielded, for what her mother planned.

"You thought you could bring It here for me?" She dug her fingers in cruelly, drawing blood that ran down Orana's face. "I called It once, and I know how to call It again."

And then the bond was split, and the tether transferred to Desdaina. Orana's body went limp, and all her aches and pains roared forth with the loss of the ultimate power she'd been borrowing. However, not all was lost. Not if she could get the damn door closed again.

Mentally, she retreated, barely cognizant of Desdaina's near-crushing squeeze on her skull. Her strength was best spent on fortifying the steel entrance. For an agonizing space, Orana braced her body along the door, to no avail. Her daughter continued to edge her way inside, with little regard for the violation she was committing, or had committed.

"You know, don't you, old woman! You know what I did with Sienna!" Desdaina demanded in a shrill tone. "Well, after she came along, everything was different. I couldn't stand her getting all I had. I pulled out the spell from deep within. At ten years old? Can you imagine, mother? I called It, and It came, for me. And now it's coming for you."

For all her talk, Desdaina still had yet to break through.

Her speech invigorated Orana, who was struck with the simplest solution. Friends helped each other, after all. If you asked nicely, they helped with anything.

So she asked.

The Shadow materialized on her side of the door, a dark, billowy mass of huge proportions. Orana stepped aside and watched as the door flew open, but she wasn't afraid. One look at Desdaina revealed she was definitely afraid, of both the summons and and punishment.

In a flourish, the Shadow towered over her. If they could be called arms, It opened up and enfolded her in It's embrace, her horrific screams building to a fervent pitch before staunching off into choked bursts of protest.

Orana hadn't heard anything so beautiful in years.

She waved at Desdaina's fading form, blowing a kiss for good measure.

Everything quieted,

[No more murderer]

and Orana chuckled, her laughter echoing in the vast space of her mind.

Slowly, the Shadow dispelled, until it was the size of a small child. Before it dissipated completely, Orana begged,

"Please, take me."

I'm done now.

But the words didn't matter.

The Shadow was no more. A blinding light flooded her vision, and when she could see again, a dark forest lay ahead, with a dark-haired child loitering along the pathway. Sienna met her gaze, her lovely eyes as shining as Orana had remembered it to be.

When her mother failed to speak, Sienna wiggled impatiently, a large smile cracking her face.

"C'mon mama! Time to go!"

She offered a chubby arm, which Orana gladly accepted. Upon contact, a strange biting cold consumed her, until she felt nothing.

And it was good.

A/N: A bit rough, but you'll have to forgive the inconsistencies as I'm on a time crunch of late. (Is that what he said?) 

Did you enjoy the faux ending, or do you think Orana should've done something different? 

I love you for reading this! All of you inspired me to continue on from one small chapter (that I never intended to expand upon), so thank you!