Vincent was standing over the stove top as the telobubble was on making some white noise in the background. He was cutting up vegetables being prepared to be put in a tray along with the beef he sliced up before his visitors arrived. The aroma wafted around the house even up to a napping Crimson dreaming of a whole new world.Images fshed in her subconscious of a pce not touched by humans, Elves, or Harlifs, not even dragons touched this pce. She saw people with pointed ears and slit eyes with lizard-like features. Some had Scales, some had cws, and some even had tails and horns. She walked down a dirt path with all these creatures talking, dancing, and even singing. They were talking in a whole different nguage but she understood them. The farther she walked down this path the more and more of these people would fade into mist. The singing and ughter started turning into hallowed screams and echoes. Crimson couldn’t turn her head to look behind her. They all started running straight through her until she saw at the end of the road bodies ying on the floor. She stepped over each one carefully getting to the center, they were all lying in a circle surrounding a red flower growing into full bloom. As Crimson was about to touch it she immediately woke up and started itching her left arm. The smell of the steamed vegetables caught her attention. Making a thud noise She rolled out of bed, trying to forget the nightmare she just had. As she opened the door Vincent heard the chimes echoing from the hallway, his arm system for her was somewhat working. Crimson slumped down the stairs to the kitchen where she saw an assortment of fruits in a bowl, two pitchers full of different drinks, and a pte sitting on the counter table. She pulled out the long chair to sit in and leaned on top of the counter in front of her pte. “So how was your nap? I’m guessing since you have bad hair and you were up there for a while.” Vincent said as he reached into a cabinet for two gss cups for them to use, “I had a nightmare, I’ll be fine.”, Crimson picked herself up and ran her hands through her hair. Vincent turned off the burner and used a cloth to pick up the hot tray to put on the counter and to get some cutlery from a drawer. He put a fork on Crimson's pte, also a giant spoon in the tray for her to pick the food up with. “Alright dig in.” He said with a hand gesture towards the food. Crimson Picked up the spoon and avoided the carrots while picking up the cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and of course a giant hunk of beef strip. As she took a bite her face lit up as she never tasted anything this fvorful, not even the burger she had that morning could compare. “Heh, I'm guessing it's to your liking, that was the first meal I prepared for myself when I moved here.” Vincent poured himself a cup of what looked like iced tea. “This is good, thank you, Vincent.” Crimson muffled with food in her mouth. As her pte looked like it was disappearing Vincent sighed, “Look I got to show you around town and how things work here. How do we make money without Jouvin's help especially, because sometimes his allowance never covers everything? After you finish that bit on your pte we are going out back.” Vincent turned around to get a container to put his food in, but once he turned back Crimson already finished her pte and was chugging the red drink in the other pitcher without a cup. “Alright let's go.” She said, hopping off the chair, taking the st gulp of what was fruit punch then walking to the front door. Vincent quickly packed the container and put them in a blue bag following Crimson out the door.The sky was a darker blue ter on in the day, Crimson took a big stretch as Vincent walked around her to go behind the house. The smell of Pine and oak took over her senses, there were many types of logs; round fat, and firewood. And ones you would even make roofing out of. Vincent picked up a piece of wood he chopped up this morning, “This is how we make our money without Jouvins. The townsfolk have been scared of these woods ever since a woman died in here like 40 years ago, so I usually supply everyone. Since this pce is so old-fashioned everything is powered by magical runes or fire, I think our little shack is the only technologically advanced pce here.” Vincent went into a shed and rolled out a wheelbarrow, “Alright help me put all the oak firewood in this. And I will pick up the spruce logs we got quite a few deliveries. Oh and before we go into town we got to talk about your cover story.” Vincent climbed a dder to grab a narrow thin log at the top of the pile, “You are Mr.Betos youngest cousin who wanted an escape from the city which I offered to help with. Since Jouvins did bring you here, especially in a suit they will think you are associated with him, “So I'm someone's retive even though we aren't reted?” Crimson asked, holding more firewood than she should be. “Well, it's a little lie to keep you safe also the townsfolk will protect you a lot easier this way, from investigations.” Vincent climbed down the dder with the log and proceeded to put it on top of the firewood, however, he realized he might have too much of a length and started looking for his hatchet. He pced his hand where it should be on his tool belt but a look of disbelief came across his face. Crimson realized by his expression alone and chuckled, “Missing something?” “I lost my hatchet and I don't want to use my axe. It won't split evenly if I do or the wood will be ruined. The trees here have too much magical energy” Vincent expined while looking at his tool desk. Vincent stopped jittering around after five minutes of looking and turned to Crimson “I must have left it either in the woods or somewhere in the house, Crimson would you mind going in the woods to check don't worry, there's a trail straight that way.” Pointing right behind her there was an opening in between the bushes. Vincent started walking towards the house before she could even answer, “If you follow the path straight you’ll come across a river that has a few stumps around it. One of those stumps is my work desk there. The hatchet should be wedged in it. Crimson couldn’t even respond in time before he turned the corner, with a hefty sigh she walked towards the opening. The bushes smacked her in the face upon entering but once she stood on the other side, it was like a whole new world, something was different. She followed the dirt path like Vincent instructed her while soaking in the atmosphere. There were animals she had never seen before like yellow glowing frogs and birds with different variations of colors in their feathers. As the path started to widen she noticed the stumps left behind what could have been the most beautiful trees, that led her to the river where Vincent was working. Just Like he said there was a giant stump with his hatchet stuck on the surface and other logs sitting beside it. Crimson loosened the hatchet that seemed to be wedged into the stump until it finally detached from its pce. Holding the hatchet in her hand she noticed it was very well taken care of, then her eyes wandered to some papers that the wind blew off the stump table. A little shelter and other tables were sketched onto it, she folded them up and made use of her new pockets. “Alright, well he never said I had to come back right away.” Crimson smiled going closer to the river.She looked at her reflection in the water seeing some cuts still fresh from st night starting to heal, and that her hair went back to a brown color. Her reflection started to ripple in the water, “ was I always this pale?” she stuttered. Her reflection started to change more, her eye color turned from their fiery ember color to bck, a long grinning smile appeared across her face, and bck hair floated up from the surface. Crimson stepped back grasping the hatchet feeling that it was emitting danger. Then an ominous fog started to cover the river and everything went silent, then it emerged. A woman slowly rose from the water, with her long hair covering her face, she was wearing what seemed to be a torn-up blue dress. The figure reached out for Crimson, her nails long and chipped and looked like they were painted red. In a swift instant, Crimson sshed the creature's arm with the hatchet only for it to phase through, leaving an expression of confusion. At that moment it jolted at her leaving Crimson to doge the rushes of attacks. The Creature howled a scream that left her paralyzed where she stood, making her drop the hatchet and hurting her ears. The grin on its face was visible, having her right where it wanted her, until all of a sudden there was another roar yet this one was different. The way it bellowed made the ground shake. Once it stopped the creature vanished into the fog and disappeared. Crimson got her bearings and picked up the hatchet and ran back to the house. Vincent was waiting in front of the opening with an expression of annoyance. “You took your sweet time, now we are even more behind schedule.” Vincent procimed. Before Vincent continued he saw the look on her face, and how she was holding her ear, “You didn’t hear the screeching that monster made when it blew my ear.” Crimson groaned, removing her hand from her ear where it was slightly bleeding. Vincent realized and pulled out a handkerchief to give her. Crimson accepted it and whipped her ear carefully, “ Eh it's not so bad it will heal fast I 've been through worse.” “That's strange though Monsters haven’t been sighted here in years, and I mean like decades, I will ask one of our clients about this for now you just stay home I will do the deliveries myself. Actually, before I do, let me bandage it.” Vincent grabbed Crimson's arm and rushed her inside. As the door flew open Vincent plopped Crimson on the couch, then ran for some medical supplies in the washroom. “You know I just heal a lot faster than you guys right?! It even stopped bleeding!” Crimson excimed. Vincent came out with badges only to see she was right the bleeding stopped faster than it started. Crimson handed him the hatchet and the blueprints from her pockets. “You really didn't hear the screech and roar from me being in there?” She asked. Vincent shook his head, “No I didn’t”. Crimson stood up and walked out the door thinking about what to do whatever that thing was. It was too close for her comfort, and sshing it with the hatchet didn’t work. Vincent followed her out to turn the corner with the wheelbarrow.Then walked out towards the long road ahead. During the delivery Crimson met many different people keeping the identity that was given to her, some people gave her a handshake. Or gave her a hug, and one person gave her a kiss on the cheek. Not to mention she got to learn all the spots of Hollybrook like the road she walked down was called Sellers Avenue, where people would sell their wares, even Vincent would appear here at times. Once reaching the town square it was a lot busier Vincent led Crimson to the mayor's office where a man in a purple suit came out to welcome them, while Vincent went to pick up the narrow log. “Welcome to Hollybrook I hope you find whatever you're looking for in yourself, the family member of Betos is a family member of all of ours. The mayor shook her hand and turned to Vincent.“Oh Vincent, do you mind coming inside and chopping it up? The workers do love the smell of spruce wood so I want a piece of it in every firepce.” “Crimson stay here and watch the barrow. I'll be back.” Vincent said, taking the narrow spruce log with him inside. Leaving Crimson outside she watched the people move on with their daily lives probably going home for dinner now that the sun was setting. The blue sky was turning into the misty orange of twilight. A few kids were pying, kicking a ball around until it rolled to Crimson who caught it with her foot. One of the boys waved and she kicked it back to him. One of the girls yelled, “Hey miss, wanna py for a bit?!” Crimson smiled for the first time without thinking and walked over to start pying with them, while the Mayor watched from the window. “So why is she here? I don’t see a resembnce, is it like your kind issue?” He asked with a smile. “Somewhat yeah she's gonna be here for a while, they are looking for her too,” Vincent expined cutting up the log into pieces with the hatchet, “Well she's safe here, I got the paper to talk about her for tomorrow's issue. Anyone who has Beto's recommendation of wanting to be a new person is always welcomed here.” The mayor patted Vincent on the back and walked into his office. Now pretty much done with the deliveries Vincent walked out of the Mayor's office seeing Crimson waving goodbye to the children and jogging over to Vincent who already started wheeling away. “I thought you weren’t much of a people person?” Vincent chuckled under his breath. Crimson looked away blushing “I never got to do any of that growing up, something just came over me is all. I thought it was gonna be my only chance to do so.” she mumbled. “Alright we gotta see one of the oldest people in the vilge now, she's our neighbor. I thought she would be at Sellers Avenue but, I guess she stayed home today.” Vincent opened the Satchel to make sure the food was still warm. Crimson kept looking away but softly asked. “Why is everyone here so nice?” “Cause they haven't been tainted by the Empire or the King. They know what it's like to live in bliss unlike us, and the Empire leaves them alone because Hollybrook is technically its own nation of alliance. This pce used just to be forests and the poor people of the Empire took control of it on their own. Making a new home for themselves before the Empire came and ruined their pns of solidarity, they made a deal to provide food with all this nd. In return, they wanted nothing but independence. The King accepted that deal, and that is how Hollybrook was made.” Vincent said, giving a clear expnation. As they walked down Sellers Avenue, they noticed all the vendors packing their stuff to head in for the night. The hour of twilight was fading and so was everyone's energy. Now walking down that path home they instead stopped at a house that was close to town but still a part of the more rural side. There were sheep in the yard and a fluffy dog rounding them up for the night. Vincent left the wheelbarrow in front of the gate and gave Crimson a signal that she was coming too. “If anyone knows about what you saw in the forest today it will be her.” Vincent knocked a little jingle at the door and then shouted, “MS. ELIOT I HAVE DINNER FOR YOU!” They waited a few seconds then Vincent leaned towards the door ready to knock again until it flew open. “I'm old, not deaf young man, come in, come in.” the elderly woman said softly then shuffled inside with the door wide open for the two of them to enter. Inside the house it was covered in quilts, there were piles of them stacked on top of each other, there was a clothesline across the room with some hanging, and who could forget about the wall of quilts. The old woman wobbled to her rocking chair where a half-sewn quilt was lying on the arm of the chair, she slowly turned around and plopped down to sit. Vincent took a seat on the couch to grab her dinner in his satchel and Crimson followed behind him sheepishly sitting next to him. “I never seen you around here dear, are you and Vinney?” Ms. Eliot said teasingly. Vincent turned red in the ears as he looked up with the container in his hand, “No no no Ms. Eliot this is Betos cousin Crimson who wanted to have a new life outside of the empire, I’m just helping her out.” He stuttered handing over the food. “ I was only kidding hun I know I’m the only girl in your eyes.” The old woman winked flirtatiously.` Ms. Eliot received the food and opened the container with her eyes brightening, “I love steamed vegetables and beef. Thank you dear, you're so sweet.”, she then looked at Crimson, “ You have beautiful hair, mahogany is my favorite color, and I guess you get your name from your eyes. Look if you ever need someone to talk to or an escape from Vinney you are always welcome here.” She smiled putting the food on top of the coffee table beside her. “Thank you Ms. Elliot, and do you know what exactly is behind our house, in the forest I mean?” Crimson asked quietly, she never had this kind of attention before it made her feel warm inside. Ms. Eliot looked at her confused, “Darling what did you see it couldn’t have been a monster. The dragon has been protecting this pce since I was a child.” “DRAGON! There's a dragon here? Well, that might have been the bowling roar I heard earlier, but no it was like a woman with long bck hair, it had soulless eyes, a creepy smile, and long red nails, and I don’t know if this matters, but it was wearing a torn up blue sundress.” Crimson expined details that made Vincent pale. “That thing is behind my house!?!”. He excimed. Ms. Elliot's facial expression went cold, her eyes shaking from the expnation, a few minutes passed before she spoke, “That is a Banshee, the lingering spirit of a woman I know well, She was my best friend Lana.” The air went still and nothing but silence was heard, until the sheepdog entered the house through his doggy door, pattering beside Ms. Eliot. Once the dog sat beside her she continued, “ Me, Lana, and her son Alex were all having a picnic forty years ago in the forest. Alex was such a handful as a child, I should know since I raised him after the accident. He was running beside the river until he slipped and fell in, we told him many times prior not to run beside it and jump from log to log. Lana and I ran down the river following the rapids that swished him away until we got ahead of him. You see there is a waterfall at the end of the river and if we didn't get him in time well.” She paused and took another breath before continuing.“ Luckily there was a branch that extended just a bit over the river, Lana held onto the branch stepping out onto a mossy rock, and I waited until she would give me Alex to take him to safety. When Alex finally showed up she scooped him up from the water and tossed him over to me, but when she was returning she slipped and fell backwards holding onto the branch. I remember grabbing onto her dress after the branch broke off, but it tore and she fell. I told Alex to go back to Hollybrook for help, but it was too te.I tumbled down the cliff to reach the bottom but, when I got there she floating on the surface lifeless.” Ms. Eliot started crying. The sheepdog whined with her and pressed its face against her leg. “So uh how do I kill her?” Crimson said without much remorse in her voice. Vincent nudged her, which returned with a murderous gre. “I don't want her to suffer, nor do I want our town adventurer to fight her. Do you believe you can make her rest?” Ms. Eliot said, whipping her tears with one of the quilts' edges. Crimson put on a smile “Of Course I can, all I need to know is how.” Vincent sighed, “We have a bookseller here. Maybe tomorrow we should go into town to see if he has an encyclopedia of monsters.” He realized and sharply continued, “Not that Lana is a monster!” “No no Vinney she is. If she’s not a human she is a monster.” Ms. Eliot said quietly. Crimson looked down and got up after that sentence and walked towards the door, “Goodnight Ms. Eliot I'm sorry about your friend.” Vincent got up and hugged her, “Don’t worry we will solve this good night beautiful.” The old dy waved them out, as Crimson walked out towards the wheelbarrow and Vincent closed the door. “What was that? Why did you get pissed so fast?” Vincent asked, a bit annoyed. “No one thinks I'm human, I know what you were talking about with Jouvins. I was a dragon attack, a project, a monster.” Crimson started wheeling away towards the house faster than Vincent could keep up. Once she got to the fence she dropped the Wheelbarrow and stormed inside up to her room leaving the front door open. Vincent wasn’t far behind he walked up to the wheelbarrow and put it into the shed, then stepped inside and up to her room. Vincent knocked with the same jingle as at Ms. Eliot's, but there was no response.“Crimson, I don't think you are a monster. A monster wouldn't py kickball with kids, or smile with such joy as you did. Ya know she didn’t mean it about you.” Crimson walked in front of the door and put her hand up to it, “The whole world thinks I am what if they’re all right. I don't feel regret for those I killed st night.”, she whimpered. “If those children knew they would have run away if my hair was the same color as st night they would have called me a freak.” “Look no matter if your hair was green I would think you would look cool, and you're no monster humanity is, the Empire, and especially the king. Heh what Empire needs a king, wouldn't he be an emperor? See a monster that doesn’t know what he is. Lana Isn’t one either she’s just lost let's help her, just like we are helping you Crimson.” Vincent said, staring at the door. He could hear her whimpering, “ Even if you had horns or fangs I would always be here for you.” he said before walking away. Crimson leaned against the door to only slunk to the floor, confused and angry she looked out to her window facing the forest where the Banshee y dormant underwater. “Don’t worry, Lana monsters help each other." Before she was about to get up she heard Vincent walk back to the door and the sound of a pte being put down. Once she was sure he walked away she nudged open the door to see a slice of pink cake sitting there.