“Are you frightened?” Morgan asked me.

“A little.”

“Don’t be, I’m right here. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

“What’s the mortal world like?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been. But I’ve heard stories, good and bad.”

“Me too. Part of me doesn’t want to go because I know this is my home, but the other part does not see the alternative. I can’t live in the forest because of my brother and I can’t live here. I just don’t fit in.”

“I know, Ebbs, you’ve tried. The vampires are a fickle lot- I mean did you see how many knives and forks they used at dinner?” Morgan said in disbelief.

I nodded, their customs were strange. The simplest task was over complicated by strange nonsensical rituals that were completely unrelated to the matter at hand. I mean who cares about eating with fingers or putting elbows on tables and why do I have to hold my knife with my right hand and my fork with my left. What purpose did these silly rules achieve? This way of life was so alien and so unnatural to me. Sometimes I wished Dante would have chosen someone more like minded instead of me.

I remember the day I first met Dante, he was hunting up in the mountains with his Lords. Not many people came as far north into the mountain woods as he did. It happened accidentally, I was with my brothers and sister ravens looking for food in the snow when Dante’s hunting party came across us. My family took flight when they came while I helpless had to stay because I could not shift like my siblings. The hunting party had been chasing a rare white stag when Dante had spotted me alone in the snow. He tore away from the group and dismounted his horse. I still remember how the moon reflected off his green eyes like a wolf in the undergrowth. He had never seen a raven before. The snow crunched underneath his boots as he walked towards his gaze fixated on the large black coal wings that folded behind me. He crouched down beside me and asked my name. My siblings were not far away, they sat on the branches of an oak calling to me, warning me not say a word, but their messages of danger did not seem to permeate into my mind. I was too enraptured with this creature beside me. When I did reply he tilted his hand in a way that made his hair fall across his eyes and inside my heart began to beat faster. What was this I was feeling?

“Can you not speak?” He asked softly.

I opened my mouth but hesistated and bit back the words. The ravens in the trees were all screaming at me to stop.

“Vampire!” They yelled in their native tongues.

Vampire? I remembered thinking, what’s that? Dante unclasped the cloth that hung round his shoulders and swung it around mine. Warmth enveloped me and I didn’t know what to do. Dante stood up and offered his hand out to me. I took the offered hand and heard my raven family begin to weep. Dante looked so kind and so beautiful and he made me feel so alive after feeling so dead for so long.

“My name is Ebony.” I told him.

Dante smiled, “Beautiful name.” he whispered.

I never thought that the man I met in the woods that night would ever hurt me like my brother did. I never thought he was capable of hurting me or making me mutilate myself. All the expectations and overwhelming feelings that come along with the sensation of love at first sight was over time crushed and destroyed by his actions. Dante and Edvard had left me cynical of both men and love. The only person who had ever been there and unchanging was my Morgan. Sat on the bed I looked at her as we were about to runaway and I said,

“It doesn’t matter if we are in this world or the next as long as we have each other.”

The vision ended there. The feelings of isolation and loneliness stayed with me as the old Ebony faded to black and I was brought into the here and now. I leaning against Dante, my head on his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around me keeping me up.

“Woah are you alright?” He asked. “You just tripped or something.” He said.

“I’m fine.” I said breaking out of his embrace.

I felt like someone had hit me over the head with a frying pan. Rubbing my temples Dante reached out for me, sharply I turned away. Dante recoiled his hand and confusion spread across his face,

“What happened? One minute you were over me like a rash the next your ice cold.”

I didn’t answer. What could I say, ‘Sorry Dante, you have no idea how much you let down in the past and that’s the real reason why I ran away.’

So instead I straightened myself up and said, “We need to go.”

Dante didn’t really say anything more after that. I think he didn’t press me for an answer because he was afraid of what I was going to say. Taking my bags Dante indicated for me to follow him. The jouney to the portal that led to the mortal realm was silent and solemn. Neither of us spoke not even when we came to the portal deep beneath the castle. Like the portal I had travelled in before all I had to do was walk between two stones. Between the stones was a sort of mist that thickened as I approached it. I felt Dante by my side and I glanced at him. He smiled weakly and he offered his hand out to me just like he had once down in the forest when I first met him. I looked down at the hand and thought about what it represented. A new start, forgiveness, an alliance. I stared at the hand and thought and thought. Finally I turned my head and looked straight ahead. No, this time I was going to do this by myself for myself. I refused to be under any man’s thumb from now on. Taking this silent vow, I put my hand firmly at my side and walked forward.