Elena was a dark fairy who had lived alone in the mountains for centuries. She was cold. She was distant. Then a little girl named Sarah got lost and gave her an apple. Sarah kept coming back. She became Elena's only friend. Then Sarah married and disappeared. Eight years later, on a stormy night, Sarah's two children dragged their mother's beaten body up the mountain. Their father, Thomas, had killed her. Elena was consumed with grief and rage. She used her magic to take Sarah's form. She adopted the children. She hunted Thomas down and killed him. Then she lived as "Sarah." She learned to work. She learned to be a mother. She protected the village at night. She punished abusive men. She sheltered the weak. The villagers called her the Dark Goddess. Chloe grew up and married. Toby was drafted into war. Elena sent her soul into a flock of ravens and protected him on the battlefield. When a blizzard trapped the village, she opened the floodgates at the cost of her own life. Years later, she returned to the forest and slept. A little girl with a red apple woke her. The cycle began again. The apple was still sweet.
