A/N: Hello my dear readers! I promised you a Nalu fic, and here it is! I want to let you know a couple of things before we continue. First off, this story is a lot darker and more serious than anything I have ever uploaded to but it will have a bit of comedy and other elements in it. Expect to see a lot of curse words, swearing, and some lemon. Death and blood and demonology play a big part in this story, as the whole theme revolves around that. If slightly morbid scenes are not ok with you, you can skip them all together, as they will not hinder the plot, but serve to add to the atmosphere of my story. Lastly, please forgive any typos and mistakes I may have overlooked!

She sat very still, hands tucked beneath her bottom, pressed hard against the wooden chair she was sitting on. The room was dark; the sun was setting, and the red drapes cast an eerie, scarlet light about the large room. The wooden desk infront her seemed to stretch out for miles, but that was just her nervous, scared mind playing tricks on her. The door to the room creaked open and she whipped her small head around. It was a tall figure; it wore long, dark green robes and a mask. The mask was the most hideous thing she had ever seen, and she recoiled at the sight of it. Its pale, swarthy texture reminded her of old leather. It was a mask that made her think of darkness and the monsters that lurked within it. Two black eyes, no nose... a sewn mouth. Like a giant, macabre rag doll. The person sat at the desk, facing her. There was a moment of silence before the macabre doll removed the mask, revealing an elderly, tired man. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Placing the mask on the desk in front of him, he looked at her.

"How old are you, child?" he asked in a weary tone.

She didn't answer for a couple of seconds. "Go on, tell me, little one" the old man urged. He had a look of deep sadness etched upon his wrinkled face.

"Six" she answered, looking down at her lap. The old man sighed. The soft ticking of a clock was the only sound in the room.

"And your name?" he asked gently.

"Mortem" she replied. The man remained silent.

"Mortem" he repeated after a minute. She nodded her head. "Do you know what that means?" he asked. Mortem looked up at him and shook her small head. "No, of course you don't know" he said, more to himself than to her. "Do you know where your parents are?" he asked. Again, Mortem shook her head. "They are dead" the old man said, not unkindly. Little Mortem looked up at him, not really grasping what he had just said.

"Dead?" she asked. He nodded this time.

"You killed them, Mortem" he explained. She gasped, shaking her head. That couldn't be right. She would never kill her parents. She loved them! "Do you remember anything?" the old man pressed.

"I remember a light" she said, tears falling from her eyes. The old man nodded as if he understood more than she did.

"Mortem. Long before you were born, there was a prophecy about you" he said, "do you know what that means?" Mortem shook her head. "It means," he began, "that long ago, someone told us that you would be born, and you would bring about change to this land. With your birth would come death and destruction. Do you understand?"

Mortem shook her head.

"I don't kill. Mommy said never to hurt anyone" she said.

The old man sighed again. This was a task he had not wanted to undertake. This child was innocent still, and to be the bearer of this horrendous news... well, he would have liked someone else to do it. "It was an accident, Mortem. You didn't mean to kill them. But your powers got out of control. Such is your nature. You are a bringer of sadness" he said.

"I don't like sadness. I want my mommy... I want my daddy. Where are they?" Mortem asked, wiping her eyes with her small hands.

"You are too young to understand. But, as Elder of the Order of the White Wolf, I have been burdened with this task. I have to send you away now, Mortem. To protect the people and yourself..." he said. The door to the room creaked open once more, and a second macabre doll peered in. This one wore blood-red robes.

"Elder. It is ready... we are ready" the doll spoke. It was a woman this time, but Mortem never got to see her face. The Elder stood and summoned the woman inside. It was then that Mortem noticed she carried two pups. One was as white as the snow she had once seen. The second was black. So black she could barely make him out in the dark room.

"These two wolf pups will be your company from now on. This one here... his name is Kako" the old man said, lifting the small white wolf pup. "He is the bringer of misfortune. This one," he lifted the black one this time, "is Batibat, bringer of nightmares and death during sleep. Both pups were born on the very day... the very hour... that you were born. And so it was foretold that they would be yours. Come child. Walk with me" the Elder said after placing the pups gently on the floor. He held out a wrinkled hand for her. Mortem slid off her chair and took the Elder's hand.

"Where are we going?" she said, following him out into a dark hallway. The two wolf pups followed the little girl. The Elder remained quiet until they reached a dark, dank, stone room. There was an intricate pattern drawn across the floor, giving off a gentle, pale glow. Around this complex design were gathered more members of the Order of the White Wolf. Some dressed in blood-red robes... some in dark blue robes. Only two others wore dark green robes like the Elder. One of the blue robed dolls, as Mortem thought of them, came forward, pulling behind him a foal. With a jolt of surprise, Mortem noticed this baby horse had a single horn protruding from its head. She pulled gently at the Elder's hand.

"A unicorn? I didn't know they were real!" she said excitedly. The Elder smiled at her.

"They are not real. This one here is the exception. Her name is Dharmapala, protector of the Way of the Higher Truth. Stand here, child" the Elder said, pointing at a circle in the middle of the intricate pattern. The blue-robed doll handed Mortem the rope with which Dharmapala was being pulled. Mortem looked around at the hideous figures in the room. She didn't quite yet understand what was happening. She was scared, she was sad. She wanted her mommy and daddy. As she stepped into the circle with her horse and two pups, the symbols on the ground began to cast a bright light. The members of the Order began to chant in a language she did not understand.

"What's happening?" she asked, but no one answered. Even the Elder was chanting now. And then they were chanting words she understood, even if she knew not what they meant...

"Pale, beyond porch and portal,

Crowned with calm leaves, she stands

Who gathers all things mortal

With cold immortal hands;

Then star nor sun shall waken,

Nor any change of light:

Nor sound of waters shaken,

Nor any sound or sight:

Nor wintry leaves nor vernal,

Nor days nor things diurnal;

Only the sleep eternal

In an eternal night"

They chanted these words over and over, and Mortem watched, transfixed, at the portal that was being ripped open on the wall. Fear coursed through her little body.

"Please! Stop it!" she cried. But her pleas fell upon deaf ears. The portal was open.

"Go now, Mortem" the Elder said. She shook her head.

"I don't want to!"

"You must!"

"No! Let me stay with you! Please! Oh please!" she begged. The Elder shook his head.

"My child, if you stay here... everyone will perish" he said.

"Where am I going?" she sobbed.

"To a far away place... somewhere where you won't be our problem anymore" said a woman standing next to the Elder. She too wore dark green robes, but unlike the Elder, she didn't remove her mask. "You are cursed, child. Now go!" the woman shrieked, startling Mortem. She ran into the portal, pulling Dharmapala along, Kako and Batibat running at her heels. The four of them were engulfed by the bright light, but ironically, all around her was darkness. Mortem felt a pulling force dragging her across space and time and then... nothing. She was sleeping now, surrounded by a forcefield bubble. Her companions were with her, all sleeping too.

"Where did you send her?" the Elder asked.

"Her course is to be suspended in space for eternity" the woman said.

"Muriel! You cannot do that! Her destination was to be the Gardens of Prosperine!" the Elder said.

Taking off her mask, Muriel looked at the old man.

"Albafica, I too am an Elder in this Order, and I have a right to choose where to send that cursed child" Muriel said coldly.

"Not before asking the other Elders and an agreement is reached! It was agreed in the last meeting that Mortem was to be sent to the Gardens to remain there for eternity" Albafica said, exasperated.

"Nothing guarantees that she cannot break free of the Gardens and kills us all!" Muriel replied stubbornly.

"And nobody can guarantee that Mortem will not accidentally land on another planet! Muriel, if that happens... you have doomed that planet to their death!" Albafica bellowed.

"Better them than us!" Muriel shrieked. The Elder shook his head, cast one last look at the people gathered, and then left the room.

Mortem opened her violet eyes and smiled a sinister smile. She let her slender hand drop to the side of the couch she was lying on and immediately Kako and Batibat licked it. Yes... it had been nineteen years since she had been cast away from her home planet. She had floated through time and space... eventually landing on this strange planet called Earth Land. Her powers hadn't yet matured, nineteen years ago. The Elders thought it was easy to dispose of her as they saw fit, didn't they? Well, after the annihilation of this planet, she would search for them. She peered out the window into the field. It was a gloomy, cloudy day, but Dharmapala seemed to enjoy it. Stepping back, she grabbed her dark purple, velvet robe and draped it around her thin shoulders. Now that her powers were mature, now that she could control them, her plan could be set in motion. Drawing strength from the lives of the people in Earth Land, she would open the portal and go home. She had a score to settle.

A/N: Well, there you have it! My very first chapter to my very first Nalu fic! But! The base of the story (to include all OCs, themes etc) is something I intend to make into an original story, maybe even publish it. As far as the fic goes, I hope you enoyed the chapter, and expect to see these ships along with the main Nalu pairing: Gruvia, Gale, Elfeen, Freeiajane, Rowen and Jerza. This story will be long, and I do not know yet how many chapters it will contain. Please be patient with me as I will take longer to update this fic because I want to make sure it's just right. Also, the story plot will progress slowly, but not so slowly that I bore you all to death, I promise!

One more thing: The "prophecy" chant used in this fic is actually a poem written in 1866 by the talented Algernon Charles Swinburne called The Garden of Prosperine. This poem was the inspiration for my character, Mortem.