Prologue

She was dying. 

Her breathing was shallow and deep, with a subtle rasp at the end, while blood trickled out of her lips onto the ground below. 

Her blood seeped into the dead ground and the roots within.

     She stared at what remained in her left hand, a rose, a white rose slowly fading red beneath her blood. Her breathing quickened with a fading fear as she gripped the rose, the thorns piercing her hand. 

She couldn't care less. 

“Sing me a song.” Her voice rasped to herself as blood painted the corner of her lips. 

She began humming a slow melody. It was a hushed melody, one that felt like it could lull anyone’s doom into a peaceful sleep.  

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a dark place where shadows lived freely. She could not laugh here, she could not cry here, but most importantly, she could not dream. 

The little girl sought a place where she could see the sunlight, a place where she could laugh, a place where she could cry, and a place where she could dream. 

But those are only dreams, and this is no fairytale.