"Ok, enough with the stories already, we have to find Jessie."

"Right, let's go."

And with that, they set out into the town, keeping a sharp eye out for Jessie and those that Father Cassius had warned him of. After a while, he asked,

"Father Cassius, how is that you know so much about this, 'Aphotic Angel'?"

"Well, my boy, I derive all of my facts from that poem that I told you earlier. You know, 'On a day of snow, when the sky's aglow...' and all that jazz."

"Really?all that from those few lines?"

"Well, I may have had more help." He smiled."A magician never reveals his secrets.

"No offense, Father, but my interpretation of that particular poem differed slightly from yours."

"Oh? Well, I suppose that whatever conclusions drawn from those writings are possible. But I've studied those scriptures for over a hundred years, and you, dear boy, have heard it but once and had less than an hour to take it all in. You tell me who's conclusions are more plausible."

"I see what you mean, but wouldn't you at least hear me out? Perhaps I have some insight you overlooked."

"Alright, let's here what you've got."

"Okay, the legend goes:

On a day of snow,
When the skies aglow,
Blinding light and chants of fright,
Shall warn the cursed of her delight,
A house she'll make where she will take,
the pain from ghosts and evil forsake
Free, they will rise,
Back to the skies and shed no more tears,
Her darkness remains,
As the Flaxen gains an evil thought, a whimsey,
Forever in darkness, forever in beauty, as her walk grazes the earth,
A light inside will end her stride when it is born at the hearth.
...Correct?"

"Yes, that is perfect! My, you have an excellent memory!"

As if ignoring his comment, James continued,"Most of what you said makes perfect sense to me, except the end. Although it does vaguely sound like Armaggedon, couldn't it also mean the end of the curse? I mean, before the end of the world?"

Father Cassius thought a moment."Yes, I suppose so. But Armageddon does make more sense. After all, how many possible meanings could 'a light inside' have? The most logical reasoning is that it is the human spirit, shedding its human body when God sets the earth afire at Armageddon."

"But ' a light inside' could be referring to her true being, her real self, right? It would also explain the darkness, her loss of self identity, perhaps?"

"Very insightful interpretation young one, and very possible. But, I still must remain faithful to my own conclusions. For me, they make the most sense."

They were so involved in their conversation that they almost missed what they came for. As soon as the sight met their eyes, they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Jessie..."

"..."The priest knew what was happening, but the sight of the woman, like that, was too much for him. He cried tears of happiness, silently thanking his god in his own language as he beheld the holy sight. She was there, in the snow, lying among the ashes. Her face, her body, her strange clothes, the very bend of her fingers...all of it matched the statue perfectly; the statue he had stared at for hours, hoping to uncover its secrets. And there she was. So beautiful, as fragile as the statue in her present state. Blacked out? Asleep? He didn't know. All he knew was, soon, he would be free.

James approached her and knelt by her side, but before he could stroke her sweet skin, caress her soft hair, verify that she was still alive, the priest ran over and, without hesitstion, pulled him away from her.

"What the..."

"You mustn't touch her now, boy! It is too late. She must be preparing to transform." Then, as he was speaking, something caught his eye, something that wasn't on the statue; a necklace."And that...is how...she...will do it! Of course, it's so simple! I should have figured it out long ago. That pendant, round her neck; it contains that which is neccessary, It must."

James stood up and dusted the snow off of him."I'm afraid I don't understand."

"The power has to come from somewhere! It is in that necklace!"

"That necklace?...That liquid inside...Its dark, how can that possibly be a source of light?"

"I never said the primaves must be beaten by light. Perhaps darkness must engulf them..."

"No, that can't be! Its always good over evil, light over dark; take it from someone who knows."

"Well, I suppose that it may be a source of light cloaked in darkness. Remember I told you that the primaves thought themselves angels on earth? It makes sense to them that a creature from the darkest depths, from the evilest of places, where no light trespasses, would attack them. But since, in truth, they are evil, it could go either way. Unlike forces of light, forces of darkness bear no allegance to one another. It's every man for themselves as far as they're concerned."

James studied her, his heart pounding, and despite the cold weather, sweat pouring off of him."Why," he began,"Is she lying in ashes?"

"From what I've studied, I would say that those are the ashes of the first dead primave. From those, she will be able to determine his or her fears, darkest memories, secrets, and perhaps even pleasant things. She will use those things to build the legendary house, where the rest of the monsters will meet their demise."

"If it only takes a fire to kill them, then what's the need for all this?"

Father Cassius sighed,"Ok, dear boy; the flame that consuned that one was a holy flame, one whose ashes bring on only pain and death. Were that fire to burn all five of them and the ashes to reach this girl, she would destroy the very thing she is meant to save."

"Oh. Alright, I think I understand."

Suddenly, Jessie stirred. She sat up and looked at the two of them, though it seemed more like she was looking through them than at them. Almost instantly, every street light in town went out. Father Cassius noticed that just before that, the neclace had drained into her chest

Everything was silent. James stood still, to shocked at what had just happened to move. Then, they saw it; an orb of light that was generated in her hands as she whispered inaudibly into them while cupped. It rose to the sky, the only source of light for miles around. Jessie fell back to the ground. They felt an impending darkness, a feeling of doom.Then, the orb, the blinding light, began to speak...

That's the end of my first fanfic, but not the end of the story. I'm going to continue it in my next fanfic; it'll be part two of a trilogy if everything comes out as I've planned it. It'll be called "Sleeping Beauty", I think, but I may decide to change the name. What'd you think of Part 1? Loved it? Hated it? I want to know! E-mail me at Samantha@DavidBowie.com or Hrtsfilthylssn@AOL.com; I love feedback! Don't be afraid to send brutally honest flames, either. I want to improve!:)