Hair like jet black silk, her white shapeless gown flowing in the autumn breeze. A thick fog hangs in the air, blanketing the forest that has now gone preternaturally silent. She stands with her back to me, unsettling, a small mercy that I cannot see her face.

I remember Nan's words, repeating them like a mantra in my mind.

_Do not look them in the eyes, and do not answer their calls - no matter how tempting._

The woods are no stranger to me, and I've stumbled across many dark creatures before. Man eaters, whisper wolves, reapers. There's something about _her, _though - the_ _feminine entity standing in front of me - that causes me to stop in my tracks. Fear roots my feet in place, constricting my stomach like a hungry snake.

"A lamb strolls into a lion's den, despite the warnings whistled from wise old crows." She croons, her voice sounding both infantile and ancient - frigid and warm. "Tell me, what does it wish to prove?"

I swallow, not offering a reply. My gaze is fixed on her frame; long, lanky arms ending in hands resembling bone. As if something had picked all of the flesh off, leaving only scraps.

She hums, a tune that chills my bones to the marrow. Her weight shifts, feet beginning to shuffle silently on the moss covered ground. I put my head down, forcing my eyes to focus on the forest floor.

"Is it courage?" She purrs, her voice now ringing out from behind me. Breath fans the nape of my neck, and the hairs on my arms stand straight. "Independence? Perhaps strength? Tell me, lamb. And I will help you prove it."

My hands clench into clammy fists at my sides, a cold sweat beginning to sheen my skin.

_Don't look. Don't speak_.

The humming resumes, sending chills crawling up my spine like spiders on a web. I keep my gaze locked on the mess of moss and roots beneath me.

"Look at me." Her breath is now hot against my cheek, riddled with the metallic tang of fresh blood and the sour sulfur of decay.

I let out a long shaky breath, nails digging into my palms.

"Look at me. _See me_. LOOK AT ME." She grows louder with every chant.

"_LOOK AT ME_. **LOOK AT ME**." It's a desperate, inhuman screech, piercing my eardrums and gnawing at my mind itself.

My hands fling up to cover my ears, my face twisting in pain.

"What... are... you?" I choke, my heart almost stilling within my chest.

I've spoken.

A raspy, satisfactory sigh sounds from directly in front of me.

"I am all that ever has been, and all that ever will be. I am nothing and everything all the same. As you will be. No longer the lamb."

Cold, damp, skeletal fingers grip my chin and force my face up to meet hers. I cry out, then...

Nothing.

I see only white. A raw, guttural scream is all I hear. It takes a moment to realize the sound is coming from me.

My eyes fly open.

Trees, mist, moss and tangled roots. I'm still in the forest, not having moved an inch.

She's gone.

A strangled gasp leaves my lips, hands moving to run down my face. I pause. These do not feel like my hands. Cold, damp..

I peel them off, trembling as they come into view.

Skeletal fingers, laced with flesh. As if something had picked it all off, leaving only scraps.

"No, no, no... what have I done?" I whisper in a voice that is not mine. One that is both infantile and ancient, frigid and warm.