The light strangled her as she peaked her eyes open. It was forbidden to awaken in the daytime, it showed the weakness of mortals, of what she was aiming not to be. Why then, was she endangering her vision? She should have enough discipline not to awake so many days, she should be used to it by now, this had been her life since she was born.

Where was her vision, her dream of being one of the youngest Faery to ever become powerful enough to be a Dark Faery? It was like watching a dream slip through her fingers and the more she desperately tried to hold onto it, the more it escaped her. She should be powerful enough by now to stop having such mortal weaknesses, to yearn to see everything brightly.

She closed her eyes, determined to sleep again until night, but somehow, sleep never came.

                                                  ***********

Brenna had looked into her new daughter’s eyes, and even though she hadn’t been her flesh and blood, had felt resounding joy and love for her new daughter. Her new daughter was perfect, Brenna had marvelled to herself as she gazed at her. She had dark brown eyes and a light tuft of dark hair upon her head already. She even resembled Brenna’s dark beauty, and might even easily pass for her daughter one day without any doubt arising.

She felt loss about her other daughter which had been given to the mortals as replacement for this one, yet she had never felt so much love with her as she did now with this new mortal daughter that she had decided to name Keira. Now, almost sixteen years later, she still felt the same love flutter in her heart as she looked at her daughter, so young and beautiful, who was far more powerful than anyone could ever have guessed, powerful enough to become one of the legendary Dark Faery warriors, yet something held her back from becoming one. All of the young Faery males were in love with her a little, and there was no wonder why.

She had dark wavy hair that cascaded past her thin shoulders like flowing midnight, almost reaching her waist, although she tied it back a lot of the time, so that it didn’t interfere with her everyday doings such as weaponry training. Her eyes were dark brown and slightly almond shaped, brimming full of energy and meaning.

It wasn’t just her slender figure or her eyes or hair that attracted so many people like moths to the flame, it was her intensity, her energy for life. She was a beacon of meaning, and her intensity and energy made her extremely powerful, a formidable opponent.

Yet she held herself back for some inexplicable meaning, some weakness of compassion or mercy flawed her power as it made her hold it back. She genuinely cared about people, and held a calm interior whilst Dark Faery’s revelled in their power and cold darkness. This was what held her back from her honour as a Dark Faery. This mortal weakness of caring, peace and compassion was holding Katalin back from her destiny. This was what Brenna had been ordered to talk to her daughter about, because otherwise Keira would never become a Dark Fary, the mistake of her life.