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Her Name Was Blood

- Her Name Was Blood -
A Twisted, Gothic Faerie Tale

Based on the classic Fairy Tale of Little Red Riding Hood

Prologue: Blood on the Road�
The road seemed endless to the young girl as she made her way along the seemingly ancient dirt path. Mighty oaks and elms lined the sides of the road, and turned from lines of trees to denser woods, and thence to deep, dark forests. The girl could see nothing beyond them, and it seemed that were she to stray from the way before her� she might never be heard from again. Rays of sunlight obscured the eastward way before her, as the sun loomed high with the morning as the morning leaped towards noon. Time always seems to leap when noon is nigh, at least to her. She had seen twelve years pass, and imagined herself a woman already. She longed to see the remaining years pass so that she could be considered a woman in fact. Sometimes, you can be in such a hurry to grow up that you miss important things. That�s what her mother always told her! But she never listened. Her raven black hair was cut short, with bangs above her big, black eyes. That was the one feature that most alarmed people about her: those unusual black eyes. She didn�t have many friends because of it. �Devil�s Child� they called her more often than not. As if children knew aught of the Devil! She did, though. She read all about the Devil in the forbidden books her mother thought she kept from her only child; books that had belonged to her father, when he was still alive. The father she never knew, and whom her mother never spoke of to her� or to anyone. The girl�s face was pale, except for the occasional freckles, and she was cute more than she might have been considered �beautiful�, but beauty is not something people aught to judge too strictly� for to some eyes, there can be beauty enough in all. Today, for this trip, she was wearing a long red skirt with white ruffled trim and a white blouse with puffy sleeves and a lacy collar. She made certain to put on her red shoes, which matched her skirt. Basically, she looked like any child of her age might. Except for her eyes, and except for the pendant she wore around her neck! It was in the shape of an eye in a pyramid, and had been worn by her father� having some mystical significance, according to stories her grandmother would often weave. Stories are like spider webs: once woven, they can often grow with each fresh telling until the original thread of truth becomes forgotten. To this child, it was merely a pretty necklace. A pretty necklace she had been forbidden to wear, and so she had stolen it before setting out today. �Today will be my day!� she shouted, to no one in particular, as she skipped along the road. Her name was Sanguina, a name that meant Blood. Her mother had christened her that because the child was, by all accounts, a bloody birth. But today, all that was behind her! She was just a little girl skipping down a seemingly endless road with equally endless forests to either side and to each horizon beyond. Eastward, it went, and she followed it. But east was such a long direction to travel in, and she had not thought to bring a map or a compass to aid her in her travels. Where was she trying to go, anyway? She did not know. It was early autumn, and the leaves were late in turning color this year. The green of summer was still about everything, and it seemed as though nature itself was trying to cling vainly to its� youth. Time passes, and what does it leave in its� wake? Often, she pondered this� not out of vanity, but out of fear of death. He never knew why she feared it so, being young and having a full life ahead of her. It was as if some inevitable doom lay on the horizon that she could not see. She could sense it, though, and vowed that she would not pass from this world without first living her life to its� fullest� and knowing the meaning of true love.

Chapter One: Black as Burnt Birch�
Sanguina had been walking along the old road for some time, when she thought she smelled the scent of a cooking fire wafting on a breeze from the woods. She had not eaten since breakfast and, despite her mother�s oft-repeated warnings about not straying from the road� the little girl decided to do just that, just once. And so she followed her nose and soon ended up far from the road. Somewhere northerly, by her best estimate� judging by the road�s easterly curve when last she saw it. Suddenly, she imagined that the pattern the midday sunlight was making upon the forest floor was in the shape of a skull. But soon, the light shifted and as shadows set in and changed things, it now looked more like a moth, or a butterfly. �A bad omen! Moths and butterflies live such short lives, they might as well be skulls.� She proclaimed. After some time, the scent of fire grew stronger and stronger until at last the girl had reached it�s source: a circle of burnt birch trees, the wood of which was now black and smoldering. There was no cookout, as she had imagined there might be, and so she determined to return to the road, having wasted enough of her time so dangerously already. But, just as she was about to leave the burning circle of trees, she felt someone seize her arm. She screamed, being unprepared for the notion that another living soul might be so far from the road, and spun around to see a man wearing all black, whose face was concealed by a hooded cloak. The man spoke sternly� almost fatherly� to her. �What are you doing out this way! Do you not know it is dangerous for little girls to walk alone in the woods?� And then he seemed to notice her pendant. In fact, he was outright drawn to it. �I know you now. Your name is Sanguina, is it not?� and the girl nodded yes. The man continued, changing his warning into something of an invitation instead. �I want you to come with me, child. My home is far, and well off the road. And I know you were told never to leave the road at all, let alone make such a journey with a stranger� but if you agree to come with me, you learn the truth about your late father! What say you?� And little Sanguina had to think long and hard about this. It would be dangerous to anger a stranger� perhaps worse than going with him. At least, that�s what the child convinced herself of! And so, having deceived herself utterly, she agreed to go with the man in black. �Very well, hold my hand and let us walk up north a while. We will pass places strange to you, but so long as you keep holding my hand� no harm will befall either of us. Do you understand me?� And she said, politely: �Yes, sir, I do. I must not let go of your hand, no matter what! Pray, lead on.� And so he extended his hand to her. His skin was as pale as hers. �It seems neither of us get out in the sun enough.� The man remarked. Though his face was concealed in the shadows of his hood, Sanguina imagined he was smiling right now, and that made her happy for some reason she knew not. And so they left hand-in-hand by back trails and secret ways known only to those who dwell in the wild lands away from well-traveled roads. They were, before long, making their way along the edge of a babbling stream of fresh, clear water that was finding its� way from the mountain to some woodland lake. The sound of the stream was like music in the otherwise quiet forest, the only other sounds being the occasional bird or animal� or a long, rushing wind through the leafy canopies above. As they passed along the stream, the girl noticed the man�s shadow as it merged with the shadows around them, combining to form a shape not unlike a wolf, if a wolf stood as a man stands. �Sir!� she yelled, �Your shadow just turned into a wolf�s!� and the man moved slightly, which shifted the shadows and ended the illusion. �Your mind only made out such a shape in these shadows. Look! If you move that way, do you see? Your own shadow resembles a sheep when it combines with that of the bush�s over there.� And she saw the bush, and noticed her shadow�s transformation when it passed into the shadow cast by it. He mind feeling more at ease, she settled down and began to sing. It was an odd song, all about Eve being the cause of human sorrow, but Lilith being man�s salvation. The man who had become her guide asked her: �Wherever did you hear such music, child?� and the child answered him: �Mother sings it whenever she is sad and thinking about father�s death. She always says it was my father�s favorite song.� And then the man began to sing it, and Sanguina sang along with him, their voices blending together in perfect harmony. �There is much wisdom to be found in music, if the song is right and the mind is open to its� magic!� the man said when they had finished the last line of the song. As they continued along the stream�s edge, a black raven was watching them with mirthless eyes. The little girl felt the creature�s gaze upon her, but ignored it, tightening her slender hand in her guide�s own warm, secure grip.

Chapter Two: A Sightless Journey�
After the stream had faded into the distance behind her, Sanguina noticed the golden light of the afternoon begin to filter in through the tiny gaps in the forest canopy above as far above her head as a giant�s crown might be. Slim shafts of light shone down, and seemed to be reminding her of the fleetingness of daylight in the deep places of the world. �I used to play by that stream when I was a boy.� Her guide told her, the man�s voice in a tone of fond remembrance. �Did you have friends?� asked the girl, to which he answered: �No. I was always alone, and lonely. As I am today.� The girl then inquired: �Are you ugly, sir?� to which he replied: �No, but I have always felt so� inside. And what of you, little Sanguina, do you have no friends of your own to speak of?� And then she told him: �No, I have none.� After which they passed a long time in silence before the girl asked: �Why don�t we be each other�s friend, then?� To which the man agreed, saying: �I would like that more than anything else in the world.� He then bent down, picked up a buttercup from a patch that was growing on the ground nearby, and held it under the girl�s chin. �See? It makes your chin yellow. That means you are sweet as honey!� He said. She blushed; then giggled excitedly. The girl was still hungry, and one nagging question kept interrupting her daydreams as they walked along: how did this strange man, her new friend, know her name just by looking at her pendant? But soon, she forgot again as afternoon�s glow gave way to a twilight fog that was settling in across the very direction they were to travel in. The man�s course was resolute as ever, though, and he took her straight into the fog. All was dark and cloudy there, and even though somehow her guide�s course did not err, Sanguina felt a primal fear with each breath she took. She could feel his hand, and he could feel hers� but still the little girl was afraid that at any minute the comforting hand she held so tightly would vanish, much as the world has seemingly vanished, leaving her alone and lost in the nothingness. She heard a sound not unlike a low moaning, and it grew louder and louder as they progressed forward. �What� what is that horrible sound?� she asked. The man said, calmly: �It is some cows, and that is all. There is a farm nearby, beyond the forest, and what you hear is but the mooing of those animals, made frightening by the fog.� And so her heart was made lighter, just picturing those docile animals. Soon, the sound disappeared and their path led up some hilly, rocky terrain. The fog was beginning to thin, and the girl could begin to make out something of their surroundings. Spiders willow trees grew here and there, their shadowy forms looming large and sinister, and there was spongy moss upon the ground. Suddenly, Sanguina tripped over what she thought was a rock. Her guide caught her before she could fall, and they both turned to look at the object. It was an old, broken gravestone. The girl stared at it, unsure of what to say or do. The man explained: �There is an old graveyard in these hills that lies between us and the land where my home lies. We have reached it, apparently. Walk closer to me, and I will guide you between the tombstones, since I know well the way even if it were in total darkness.� And so she put an arm as much around the man as she could, and he wrapped a tender arm around her shoulders, part of his cloak draped behind her back. Like this, they continued onward. �Who is buried here?� she asked him. He did not know: �The stones that mark where these bones lay are old beyond counting, the names and inscriptions upon them long worn away by wind, storm, and time. Who knows by what names these men and women may have been called when they still lived? None live today, who can name them, or even remember one who could.� And up hillier and hillier terrain they climbed, coming at length to a great marble monument in the shape of a dragon. The girl had a fondness for stories about dragons, and so was not afraid, merely curious. �Why would someone make a monster to guard the dead?� she wondered. Again, her guide answered as best as he knew: �The simpler folk believe that to scare off evil, you must make an image of the evil you wish to frighten away. If the monster sees itself, it will be scared off by its� own ugliness! That is their belief.� And after seeing the monument, the man knew that they were in the center of the old, ruined graveyard. Half of it still had to be crossed before they could put the dead safely behind them. And so they continued on without stopping. Behind them, the cawing of a crow could be heard, the flapping of its� black wings carrying it away. After what seemed another long time, the pair reached the bounds of the graveyard and passed from the frightening place. Only then, did the man admit to having himself been afraid while they walked in the fog, and across the domain of the dead. �Such places are partly of another world, and it is not a world for the living.� He explained. The girl understood all too well, and said as much: �I felt only dread in the fog, and in the graveyard. I am happy to be free from that dread!�

Chapter Three: Sheep and Wolves�
The fog had long since lifted, when Sanguina and the man who guided her reached a pleasant land of vineyards and orchards, the starry skies of nighttime lighting their way. �Twice, sir, I thought I felt, or heard, a black bird of death spying on us. Once by the stream, and once before we left the graveyard.� Complained the girl. Her appointed guardian confessed: �I too had a similar experience. But fear not! They are but birds, much the same as any other. Such creatures as they have only the power to harm the dead and the wounded. We are safe from such eaters of carrion.� And as they crossed the orchards, Sanguina imagined that this odd hooded friend was Death, and that perhaps she had perished after running away from home. And that, now, Death was taking her to be with her father. Forever. �Sir�� she began, �Are you the angel of death?� and he shook his head no. �I am neither Death, nor am I dead. Fear not, child! You are still amongst the living.� But she felt no relief in his words. In the distance, a wolf howled at the crescent moon. It was the second time, the impression of such a beast was made upon the child�s mind. �Two death birds, and two wolves. Surely, sir, this is an evil omen!� she whispered. He calmly said: �The only difference between wolves and sheep is the coat they wear. Nothing in nature is inherently evil. It is merely itself.� The girl then grew impatient, demanding to know how far they were from the man�s home. He pointed towards a densely wooded area not far off, just past the end of the orchards and vineyards. �My home is a cottage in those woods, not far from here. I trust you will be patient, since we have come so far already?� And so she agreed to be patient. They had come so far already, after all! Without another word, the pair was on its� way. �Who owns these orchards� and those vineyards across the way?� she asked curiously. Her guide replied: �No one. Once, farmers and vintners worked them, making wine and growing fruit, which they would sell at market. Now, the trees of the orchards no longer bear fruit and the vineyards have long since grown wild with weeds.� And then they continued along, as though nothing was odd or amiss. Soon, the man led Sanguina to the outskirts of the woods wherein was built his cottage. As they approached the small home, the girl spied a large, black raven perched upon the thatch roof, plucking some straw from it for use in its� nest. At the same time, a wolf darted through the woods behind the cottage and was gone before she could so much as cry out in fright. By now, it was evening, and the child was too tired to run away even if she wanted to. Besides, she did not know the way back, having walked the whole way relying on the man in black�s sense of direction. Hunger and exhaustion combined to make her weary beyond fighting� all she could do was utter one thing before fainting: �Sir! I saw a third death bird, and a third wolf. Both were around and about your cottage! I�� And then the man in black collected her into his arms and entered his cottage with his young guest in hand. He placed her upon a comfortable couch decorated with a wolf skin blanket, and fetched some water from the kitchen for her to drink. He passed it to her lips, but she was deep in dreams just then and so he let her slumber on. �Time enough for nourishment when you awake, my pretty little Sanguina. We have all the time in the world, now.� Then he reached out a hand and caressed her dark hair, brushing away her bangs so he could kiss her forehead lovingly. In the lamplight of the cottage, her pale skin was aglow. Even asleep, she seemed to bustle with the energy of youth, invigorating him with the very thought of it. �I am not old, sweet Blood-child, but neither am I so very young. Yet, your life force is strong, and the rush of it makes me feel young once again! Thank you.� And so, he removed his cloak and sat down in a big chair in front of the couch, his pale skin shining in the light of the lamps and the nearby fireplace, which crackled and snapped in the silence. He was perhaps in his thirties, with long auburn hair and a beard. His eyes were blue, and flashed with mirth and sadness, in turns. His lips were small and thin, beneath a regal nose. He appeared slightly wild and unkempt after the long journey, even though he strove to always look his best as a rule, and there was something in his features that resembled the features of the little girl who slept on the couch before him. He walked over to the girl one more time, and gently touched the pendant around he neck. Wrapped in some distant memory for a minute, he snapped out of it and kissed the girl on the cheek. �I should get the meal ready for when you awaken, lest we both starve.� And so he disappeared into the kitchen while the child had nightmares about ravens, wolves, a dragon, and the slumbering skeletons of those long dead rising up to chase her through the woods. She never once cried out in her sleep, for such was her weariness, and so she slept long and awoke around the third hour of after midnight. �I feel so much like a sheep amongst wolves!� She complained, before the meal was set before her.

Chapter Four: The Big, Bad Wolf�
After a hearty stew and some warm apple cider, both Sanguina and her host felt much better and soon both were in pleasant spirits. The man in black sat upon the couch finishing his mug of cider, while she draped herself over his lap, gazing up into eyes while curling her fingers through his beard. �You promised to tell me of my father. The truth, you said. Well, what is it?� she said in an almost singsong tone of voice. The man responded: �Very well, then! Somewhere within this cottage is a single room that has not been opened in years. Within that room is your father.� At hearing that, the girl�s eyes widened with excitement. She giggled hopefully: �You mean, he is actually alive� not dead after all?� but the man in black would not confirm this hope. He merely stated: �I told you I would show you the truth. Within that room, is the truth about your father, and that is all I ever promised you.� The girl pulled the man�s beard until his face was closer to hers. Then, she darted up and kissed him fiercely on the lips, which he was quite unprepared for. �I felt you watching me all through the night, you know.� She said, an unusually adult tone in her otherwise childish voice. The man sat back, and Sanguina sat up in his lap to meet his gaze. �Before I enter that room, tell me who you are.� She begged. And he replied in a grave tone: �Very well. I am your brother, born of another mother� but of the same father. Our father tried to keep me a secret by killing my mother and keeping me locked away in this cottage. But, one day, a wolf had gotten into one of the rooms through a window. Father ran in without a weapon, thinking it was a mere human intruder, and I locked the door behind him. The wolf tore him to pieces, and then fled back out into the woods. Three pieces were all that was left of him: his head, his torso, and his legs. The wolf took everything else for its� meal. And so, I gathered up the pieces and laid them on the road for someone to find. He spoke much of you, father did! Praised you, even as he despised me. He would have killed me, just as he had murdered mother� but it was not to be. It took me years to learn where you lived, who my other relatives were by his other marriage to your mother. And so, I found you at long last! Or you found me. I will not object if you still wish to regard me as unrelated by blood, however. Rather� the sinfulness of it delights me for I know it would pain our wretched father!� And so he drew her closer to him. She was shocked speechless, and could only stare into his eyes. So much like a wolf�s eyes, they were! Then, something in her mind snapped and she kissed him madly. �Yes, brother! Let us make father despise us as no children have ever dared before. Tell me your name.� And he whispered into her ear: �My name is Mortus. I was named for death itself.� And suddenly, some twisted sense of the perverse humor in all of this came over Sanguina, causing her to giggle uncontrollably as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He placed his hands firmly upon her waist, caressing her soft girl�s form through her even softer garments, basking in the forbidden. And so Death and Blood kissed long and lovingly. As the fire burned away and morning approached, Death and Blood had made love. And within the sealed room of the cottage, the spirit of their father grew angry and restless at the seduction, madness, and transformation of his only daughter. A desire for vengeance formed, and the wrathful spirit went out from the place where it had died, searching for one certain wolf in all of the forest. Finding it, the slain father�s spirit took possession of the animal�s form and as the wolf he scampered back to the cottage and burst in through the sealed room�s window. Patiently, the animal waited, the scent of sweat from the two in the other room driving it mad with bloodlust. �I will avenge myself and this wickedness in one bloody deed!� the wolf whispered to the ravens outside. �Get ready, for this morning you shall feast on the blood of my vile children.� And so, when they had finished their lovemaking, the brother and sister dressed and Mortus opened the sealed door. �I will check on the room first, for I�ve never sealed the window. I can only hope that no animals have found a way therein.� He explained. Taking an axe from a tool alcove in a nearby hallway, the brother opened the door slowly and peered into the room where, of old, his father met a grisly end. The bloodstains were still upon the floor, but pacing anxiously was the same wolf that had been there all those many years ago. The brother then closed the door and locked it once again. �Sister dear, it seems the old wolf has returned to the scene of its� crime. It thinks to make of us a meal, but we shall be cleverer than such a dumb beast! Come, I�ve�� and at hearing itself called a dumb beast, the dead father�s spirit spoke at last through the wolf to its� son: �Call me dumb, will you son? You thought me slain, but ere I am through I will eat you and Sanguina both! Then, my wicked seed will be erased from this world forever.� Mortus urged Sanguina to stay and keep the wolf talking whilst he slipped outside with his axe in hand. A plan was in action.

Chapter Five: Death and Blood�
Sanguina spoke to the wolf, which had once been her father: �Father� what big teeth you now have!� And the wolf responded: �All the better to tear your flesh with!� Then, she replied: �Father� what big eyes you now have!� And the wolf replied: �All the better to hunt you down with!� And the girl laughed, mocking the wolf, saying: �But how can you tear my flesh through a closed door� and how can you hunt me down if you cannot reach me?� The wolf: was too blinded by his own rage to think to escape through the window and live to exact his revenge another day. And so, he did not notice his son sneaking in through the window behind him. His attention was so focused on his daughter that he never noticed the axe that was bearing down upon his head. And so the wolf met his end at hands of Mortus, who has now slain his father for a second time. Sanguina laughed madly, screaming at the top of her lungs through the door: �Yes! Die, father! Die again!� And she unlocked the door and pushed it open, reveling in the scene before her. Her sanity was by now fully broken, as she was placing her hands in the wolf�s blood and making handprints all over the walls. �Pretty handprints on the walls�� she began to sing, as her brother Mortus has likewise begun to lose his mind. He kept kicking the wolf over and over, screaming at the dead beast: �That�s for all those years of suffering! And that! That is for mother!� and he pulled one of the wolf�s large canine teeth out, breaking it off with a hammer he found on a nearby table before giving it to his sister for a present. Sanguina licked the blood from the tooth and said in a sinister monotone voice: �Brother, I know a secret ritual that will ensure father stays dead this time! Come with me to the graveyard, quickly. And, bring the wolf�s carcass.� And so, Mortus and Sanguina� Death and Blood� brought the lupine form of their dead father to the middle of that old burial ground and laid the dead beast on the ground at the base of the statue of the dragon. The girl then held the pendant firm, and spoke the words to one of the many dark incantations she had studied in secret over the years. At first, nothing happened� but then, dark clouds gathered above the site and lightning struck the mighty statue, shattering the ancient monument with one strike. Thunder roared in the heavens, and the bones of the dead knitted themselves back together, rising up from their graves to seize the soul of the dead father. To seize it, and take it to Hell! The girl and her brother began to run from that place� back towards across the rugged and hilly terrain towards the orchards and vineyards. As they ran, Sanguina noticed the ghosts of the farmers and vintners, still working the old trades even now that they were long passed from their bodies. The girl laughed and screamed, both at the same time. Her bother was merely silent. Unnaturally silent, for in him madness had left him quite unable to put into any words what he was experiencing. Seeing him lagging behind, the girl grabbed his arm and pulled him along, her strength almost becoming as great as his had been before. �Come on, brother� lover� friend! We must brave the forest and return to the road. Once there, the dark magicks will not be able to reach us� we will have escaped the doom that is befalling this land.� For her spell had the unintended consequence of doing just that: dooming this entire stretch of ancient haunted land. �What� have we done, sister?� he muttered. She replied: �I have sent for the Devil to take our father back to Hell with him. But the Devil won�t just be content to claim one soul. I think the dark one intends to claim all the souls that still linger here!� And Mortus could only say: �Where did you get such power� my love?� But he soon came to his senses and the brother and sister ran hand in hand through across the land, through the forest, and as hours passed they found their way back to the familiar stream once again. �We are almost there! Come on� it isn�t much further.� The girl shouted, perhaps needlessly since Mortus was at her side as always. Suddenly, however, a glimpse of some white flash out of the corner of her eye made Sanguna turn back her gaze. Behind the pair was a tall woman in a diaphanous white gown with long, flowing blonde hair and green eyes that were totally green with no whites in them and burned with pale green eldritch flames. Mortus recognized the being: �Mother!� he called, and the woman in white answered: �Your father never told you the truth, did he Mortus? He said he murdered me, when in truth he could not. Rather, he escaped my grasp then� even though he failed to escape it a second time. Did you not know, my son, what drove your father insane? It was the fact that his bride� was Lucifer. Son, know your true mother!� and six white wings of light stretched forth from the woman�s back. The knowledge that his mother was Lucifer drove what remained of Mortus� sanity from him. He stared blankly at the Devil as she came for him. All the while, Sanguina pulled on his arm, pleading with him not to look at her. But it was too late. There was no escaping, for either of them.

Epilogue: A Devil�s Child�
The little girl with black eyes awoke on the side of the endless road. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, imagining she had dreamed the horrors that befell her and the brother she never knew she had. �Mortus!� she called out, but there was no answer. His mother had taken him home� back to Hell with her. So often had people called Sanguina a Devil�s Child� little had they known, that the Devil was not so distant from her family after all! She took hold of the pendant that once had belonged to her insane father, and she tore it from her neck and cast it into the woods to the north for as far she could throw it. �Perhaps it was all just a dream, but even so� I don�t think I want anything more of my father�s.� And then, a familiar man in black and a certain woman in white appeared to pick the pendant up. The little girl could see them from where she stood, and in that instant� she knew it had not been a dream. �Mortus! Lucifer!� she cried, but neither of the two gave answer. They belonged to another realm now. �Ah, well� someday, Mortus, my beloved brother. Someday, we will be reunited.� And Lucifer nodded her head knowingly before she and Mortus disappeared into the deepest, darkest depths of the woods. Sanguina started to make her way back in the direction of home, as the seemingly endless road wound its� way back to familiar places once again. But after a while it seemed that she could get no closer to home, no matter how hard she tried. Frustrated and driven beyond reason by her adventures, she sat down on a log by roadside to cry. Finally, the woman in white returned and put a graceful arm around the girl�s shoulders. �Pray, do not weep so! Follow me for a ways.� And so the Devil led the little girl back into the woods, to a circle of burnt birch trees that had been struck by lightning. In their midst was something Sanguina had not noticed before: her own body lying cold and still upon the charred ground. Lucifer explained to her: �You were struck by a bolt of lightning when you went to that circle, thinking it was a cooking fire you smelt. That is how you were able to meet Mortus. You see� your brother, who was also my son, perished long ago. That is why I had to come and claim him. Your spell did not call me, although had you been alive it might have! Rather, it was the appointed time to claim those souls who belong to me. Now, it is your time.� And Sanguna wept bitterly, crying as loud as she could: �But I wasn�t evil in life� I don�t belong in Hell!� to which Lucifer explained: �That is why you had to be tested after death, in this purgatory. And after meeting Mortus, you proved to be every bit as capable of wickedness as he was. But fear not! Hell will not be a place of torments for either of you. I cannot punish my own son for sharing in his mother�s infamy. And so, likewise, I cannot punish you. Rather, your eternity shall be spent together in my presence, within a part of the netherworld where exists a paradise. You may not be worthy of Heaven, child, but not all who enter Hell must suffer.� And so, Sanguina took Lucifer�s hand and was at last reunited with her brother in the infernal paradise. Her mother left the house and frantically searched for the child, but it was a kindly woodsman who chanced upon the little girl�s remains and buried them at long last. He eventually found out who the girl had been, when the mother met him by pure chance upon the seemingly endless road, and there and then the woodsman told the child�s mother of the girl�s death. The woodsman helped her in her time of grief, and eventually the woodsman and the mother married. It was said that they lived happily ever after: for such is often the way that faerie tales do come to their end.