Her nails were broken and bloodied. The stone floor was cold against her chest as she hid beneath the dining hall table. An echo of footsteps rang in her ears. Images flashed through her mind of her family being torn apart by this creature's own hands.

Suddenly, the girl heard her brother plead for mercy, followed by a scream of agony. At the sound, the girl's throat closed and her stomach tightened. She struggled to keep silent as the scream was cut short by the sound of bones cracking. Then she heard her brother's body thud as it crumpled to the marble floor.

A laugh echoed through the dining room, cutting through the silence like a dagger dipped in poison.

"Your father was a foolish man. He really thought we could have peace? The word peace means nothing to me. You'll all forget its meaning soon enough."

Her father's bloodied sword was feet away, lying next to the top half of his body. His head was turned towards her. His soulless eyes seemed to gouge into her. She covered her mouth with a hand and bit into her palm to stop sobs from coming out.

Shoes appeared next to his body. The servant prodded at her father's head with the tip of his blood and dust covered boots.

It was not the man in front of her that had committed the crime. It was the monster that had taken everything from her, the voice that echoed around the once jovial room.

The servant abandoned the body and picked up her father's sword, the only weapon her father could use to fend off the servant as its master watched.

"Last time I dealt with your kind, I actually thought that there was hope for our races to prosper together, to grow. That was at least a thousand years ago. Under my care, we might have achieved new heights for your pathetic race. Now that I've returned, I can see that you haven't come far at all when left to your own devices."

Her heart was pounding furiously; she didn't doubt he could hear it.

Did he know she was here? Could she escape? Maybe if she could delay him long enough to make it to the servants' passage-- but that was more than 200 feet away and she was in a ballgown. Its thick, heavy layers would slow her down extremely, and she had no dagger to cut the cloth.

"How long will you hide, human? I grow bored with your games."

His voice turned into a low growl as his frustration rose.

She gathered her strength, preparing to make a dash to the servants' passage. Her only escape.

He chuckled, the sound reverberated through her. It jarred her bones and made another sob rise in her throat. She struggled to force it down.

"I can hear your heartbeat."

The servant that prodded her father's body began to circle her hiding spot. Her father's blood had flowed under the table and now soaked her hands. A long-awaited sob finally sprang free from her body.

She began to pray.

"The Angels will not save you now." The voice let out a snarl and the table flew away from her. At that moment, she pushed herself up and sprinted to the servant's door.

190 feet.

She heard him laugh.

180 feet.

She heard the servant unsheathe his daggers.

165 feet.

Her dress was growing heavy.

140 feet.

She heard him running after her.

120 feet.

She grabbed a butter knife off a nearby table.

100 feet.

She turned. He was there. She beheld his beautiful face and plunged the dagger into his eye.

95 feet.

She could hear him screaming in pain as he pulled out the knife.

60 feet.

She didn't hear running.

50 feet.

She could make it.

40 feet.

She was going to live!

20 feet.

Her dress felt like it was smelted in gold, dragging her down.

10 feet.

She felt his breath on her bare shoulder.

5 feet.

She hands wrapped around her neck, cold, wet hands. Then something sharp pressed against the soft skin of her throat.

The pain lasted only a second, numbness spreading through her body. She was in shock as she stared at the river of red running down her once beautiful gown. Her ears did not hear the choking as she tried and failed to take in air. Her eyes traveled up to the face of the man she no longer recognized as he tasted the blood still on his dagger.

He smiled and his teeth were stained red.

He tossed her to the side like a rag doll and she barely felt the door handle of the servants' passage in her back as she collided with it.

0 feet.

The monster could no longer hear the pounding of her heart.