"Don't tell your mother, but I got you a little surprise in town today". She just looked at his face as they carried the crate to the door. It'd been so long she'd started to forget some of his minor features. Here she could see his black and gray mid-length hair, the bronze color of his oval-framed glasses, and the scar right above his left eye.
As they slowly set the crate at the front door, he leaned down and began rummaging around in it. After a few seconds, he pulled out a dark brown rectangular case and handed it to her. Her eyes instantly widened with recognition.
"Well, don't get too excited now." He let out a hearty laugh. "Go on and open it up already, Jitter-bug".
She popped open the gold-colored clasp on the front of the case. Inside was an all too familiar large-barreled silver revolver, only without its trademark etching.
She looked up at him, tears still running down her face. She remembered this; he'd given it to her for her 16th birthday. Her mother had protested that fae had no such need for human weapons, but her father had taught her to shoot regardless. It was one of the reasons she loved him so much; he was never afraid to take her side.
"It's great, ain't it? I was able to get it for one hell of a price from Thomas' old shop".
He put a large callused hand atop her shoulder. "You remember what I told you, right?"
She did, she fought desperately against whatever held her voice from leaving her throat to tell him.
His mouth widened in a stark white smile, like he'd heard what she wanted to say without her speaking a word. Like this place was a memory on replay.
"That's right! Now get on outta here. You've got some practice to put in". He made a gun gesture with his hand at her, and she made one back as she stepped down from their porch.
Her body moved on its own as she padded down the cobblestone path, gun case in hand. She reached the end of their yard. The world beyond it had no appearance, just a formless void.
"And Cass..." He called out from behind her. The tears started flowing again. Deep down, she knew this dream could only end one way.
She turned around and saw her father still standing on the porch, and the tall masked figure that stood behind him like the grim reaper.
She tried to scream, tried to run towards him, tried to get him away from it.
She could only stand there and cry.
The dark mask of the figure had two sets of ruby red eyes set in its middle. The figure raised its cloaked hand and placed it around the back of her father's neck. Its dark cloak seemed to eat all the light around them, spilling shadows around both of them.
Her father just looked at her, a soft smile on his face and tears welling in his eyes.
"Love ya Jitter-bug."
A long dark blade through his chest. The force of the blow knocked his glasses down from his face. Blood gushed down his shirt, covering the crate in a stark crimson.
Her entire body was paralyzed in fear. Something held her mouth shut to keep her from screaming. Her legs might as well have been made of stone as they stood still, not even shaking.
She had to stand there and watch the light leave his eyes.
The figure de-summoned the long blade, and her father's corpse plummeted to the ground with a sickening thud.
She fought to break free of the paralysis with every fiber of her being.
This is wrong! This isn't how it happened!!
She needed her gun; she needed to kill this bastard. The bastard who took what little she had in this life away from her.
The red-eyed figure put its hand on the door to their home, and the wood under their hand began to char and burn. The entire house was consumed in bright orange flames in an instant.
Cassidy's heart broke at the sight, her childhood home in flames. Her dad is dead, murdered by the figure before her.
She recognized them back then, and she recognized them now. The unmistakable mask of a fae king, those ruby red eyes that she felt on her even now.
The one king her mother would never tell her anything about, no matter how much she pestered her.
The Briar King.
All she could do was close her eyes and cry. Her home in cinders, her parents gone, and her life ruined. Yet even now she was powerless to stop it.
She closed her eyes as she sobbed, trying to force the violent memory away from her. She found herself back in the darkness that had taken her, but still felt the Briar King's gaze on her.
Cassidy...
The distorted voice called out to her. She pushed it further away.
It's not real! You're not real!!
Cassidy...
It called out to her again. She could feel the memory chasing her through the darkness. She thrashed against its beckoning call.
Cassidy...
She felt it grab her, the first thing she really felt in what felt like ages. In an instant, she felt the weight holding her hostage break as she summoned her pistol to her side and rocketed out of her bed.
Only to find Heath standing before her, hands raised with an absolutely horrified look on his face