A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

He was right. Her mind was in too much panic at the moment. All she wanted was to grab her weapon and make some effort to defend herself. Will had already made it quite clear, though, that he wouldn't let her go until she answered his questions. (F/n) forced herself to find the courage to speak, to utter at least something. Gulping, she replied, "... Yes, he is."

She didn't give him time to react, for she only had moments to spare. After the words left her lips, she drew her head back and brought it forward. Their foreheads collided, and a cry of pain left them both. Will, however, had lost his grip on her.

Despite the sharp pain in her head, she pushed her hands against his chest hard, which allowed her to fall backwards. Her hands sunk into the soaked blanket and snow. The cold bit at her, but she dug her hands in further until she felt the solid ground beneath. Once discovered, she crawled backwards on her hands and created some much needed distance between the two of them.

Her right hand flung to her boot and unsheathed the blade there. As Will locked his gaze with hers, she pushed herself to her feet. The dagger pointed towards him while her free hand was pressed against her forehead. "Oh, so you have been playing me this whole time? Do you wish to kill me, then? Or, is it something else that you want from a lonely mage in the woods?" he asked, getting to his feet and healing his forehead. "Then again, some of your actions were definitely genuine."

"I did laugh with you and become embarrassed, but that's it. There's nothing more to it. As for what I want from you, I want you to come with me to the pixies. You're to protect them." Her response was greeted with silence and an unreadable expression on Will. Everything was falling in around her, and her plan in the end had resorted to threatening him with her dagger.

A grin began to form on Will's lips while his hands rested on his hips. "Is that so? So, the pixies sent you to me. And, that's why you were so observant of me and so doubtful of my words. They had told you about me." The grin grew wider, and it was as though all kindness had left him. He took a step towards her, and her grip on the knife tightened.

"Though, I do wonder what would cause you to make such a deal with them. Maybe, they spared you the details of what I do to my victims when their time expires. Even then, only someone mad would agree to enter my home willingly once they knew about my favorite treat unless there's something that they desperately wanted from the pixies. Again, I question what that is." He came closer, and she backed away more, preparing herself for an attack from him.

Stopping, he brought his left hand up to his lips and tapped his index finger against them. "I'm also curious about how you intended to originally persuade me to come with you. Did you hope to learn about my past and find my weakness there? Did you think that you could turn my past against me by becoming a sympathetic maiden? Were you going to try and comfort me into being your friend?"

Seeing her bite her lower lip and the evident fear in her eyes, his eyes seemed to gleam. "So, that was your plan." A loud chuckle left him before he burst into more laughter. His hands clutched his sides, but she knew better than to attack him then. He might look vulnerable, but he was still probably fully aware of her.

Regaining his composure, he stood upright and placed his hands back on his hips. "Unfortunately, Bluebell, that wouldn't have worked. Despite how different you are from my past victims, I still and will always consider you a prize for me to claim. Your natural kindness and innocence have led to some most amusing incidents with you, but they only would've extended your life with me, not saved it. The same goes for if you had comforted me once I told you my past, but I see in your eyes that you're still curious about my childhood friends. So, I'll indulge you.

"When I was seven, I lost my mother to an unfortunate wagon accident. She had been leaving the house and had walked onto the street only for one to hit her before she could've done anything. Her injuries being healed wouldn't have done anything because her head had been crushed by the horse's hooves, and she was already gone. So, I was left with my two older sisters, who ordered me around as though I was their servant.

"My only freedom from them had been when I went out for supplies. It had allowed me to spend some time with my good friend, Patricia. In our interactions, she had loaned me that book of children's tales. That had been a mistake as my sisters had found out. They had learned that she wasn't a mage as well, and they had decided that I could no longer interact with her. I had refused to listen and had continued to secretly meet with her.

"At age fourteen, somehow they had discovered that I was still meeting up with her. They had never disclosed to me how they had learned of our meetings, but I imagine that someone in the town had betrayed Patricia and me so that they could earn the favor of mages. Regardless, they had punished me by killing her in front of me. I hadn't been able to stop them because they were more skilled at magic than me back then. Of course, they had made it look like an accident as though her balcony railing had become old and broken on her, sending her to the pavement below. In reality, they had used some wind to send her and the railing to the ground. Like my mother, a wagon had ensured her death.

"So, in repayment, I had killed my sisters that evening. I had waited until they were asleep before I had slipped a sleeping potion into their mouths. They had remained unconscious as I had dragged them down into the dining room. They had always demanded the best meals from me and had always burned my fingers if they weren't pleased. So, I had decided to return the favor. I had made them the best meal possible by throwing them both into the fireplace. They had considered themselves the best, and they had always ordered for the highest quality of ingredients."

Disturbed, (f/n) stepped back from him more. Her hands trembled, and she thought that he may charge at her. He remained in the same place, however, and the grin never left his lips. His tongue glided across his lips while only more madness entered his green eyes. The beast was finally coming fully out of the shadows. "I must say, though, that they really weren't the best. They tasted rather dreadful. It must've been the perfume that was on them. So since I thought that it was high time that I have the best food, I went in search of more.

"I had decided to find girls and later on women when I was older that were like my sisters. Tight and revealing dresses, hair done up in the latest trends, too much makeup, etc., you understand the picture. I would seduce them, bring them to my home and comfort them until I grew bored of them. Then, I would test out to see if they tasted better than my sisters. None of them ever did. Even when I moved out to the cabin because things were finally starting to get too risky in the town, I still wasn't able to find one with a divine taste." His eyes lit up somehow more as he took two more steps forward. "But, then you came to my doorstep. And, you taste extraordinary, and I've only had a small sampling too."

(F/n) felt like she may be sick. How could she ever sympathize with a man who committed such treacheries? His sisters didn't sound like the best of people, but what he had done and continued to do was taking things too far. She had known of his cannibalistic nature beforehand, but this story just made it all the more horrifying. Will's anger at his sisters had developed into him truly loving the taste of human flesh. This man was terrifyingly beyond reason. Never had she wished to run so much; how was she to convince him to come with her to the pixies? There was also the nauseating fact that he had done something to her in her sleep. "What did you do?"

Laughing, he took his left index finger and pointed to the palm of his right hand. He proceeded to place his finger on his right shoulder. "I cut your hand and bit into your husband's mark. Your blood tastes truly phenomenal. I almost lost myself the other night."

The urge to expel the contents of her stomach grew stronger. It didn't help that terror laced her veins and made her desire to curl into a ball and pretend that her present situation wasn't reality. "Don't look so disgusted. You should be honored. After all, you're going to live longer than any of my other victims. I can't possibly kill someone as charming and delectable as you immediately. No, no, you'll be with me for at least year. So, you see; I really have no intention of going to these pixies. I'd rather just enjoy you."

It was a foolish action, but her fright had gotten the best of her. Her legs darted to her left to run. In that instant, it seemed like the only reasonable option. She wished to continue her journey and find the five authors, but she didn't know what to do against Will. This flight, however, served her no benefit.

Air slammed against her, and she was thrown back into a nearby pine. Needles scratched her skin and tore her already revealing dress. By this point, the skirt was see-through from the snow soaking it, and the now falling rain only added to it. Quickly, though, she went to get to her feet and grab the dagger. A force of air hit her again and held her there. The blade was out of reach, but her attention turned to Will.

Standing a foot away from her, he crouched in front of her and shook his head. "Running will do you no good. You should've considered that before dealing with a mage." He reached over and picked up the dagger before he grinned at the metal. "Now, I'm going to tell you what's going to happen to you for the next year or so. I really want to see the horror overtake you even more." Swiftly, he grabbed her wrists and pulled her to him so that she was on her knees. The dagger lay under her chin while her body shivered from the cold. Desperately, she desired to call out for Tarhuinn, but they were too far from the pixie home. She was trapped, and any nearby pixies wouldn't lend her aid.