Stohnz, as I know her, is an odd one. Not that she wasn’t ever not odd, but… wait no, I’m starting this all wrong. I should be dramatic, emphatic, and enthusiastic perhaps. I was that once. Anyway…

Once upon a time a girl was born with hair as red as rubies and eyes as silver as the moon. Now other girls are lucky girls, they get fairy godmothers, or wishes or princes. Stohnz had none of these and the world was cold and cruel, everyone wanted to eat that little girl because they were monsters and she was the only thing that moved with life in the Doldrums. It was a scary place and Stohnz would have been lost, but Stohnz was special. Stohnz had a sister.

Styx was a sister all girls need, strong and determined and she gave the best of hugs. She always had patience for that girl as she grew and looked after her, even against the monsters. Stohnz knew her sister would always look after her. Styx protected her at first, then taught her to hide, taught her to fight and loved her unconditionally. Stohnz was special in more ways than her sister and not all ways were good. The darkness was scary and her mind wasn’t always a happy place. Filled with stories and memories that didn’t make sense… and a darkness that stole so much. It made Stohnz very unhappy and even Styx didn’t know what to do, because who can fight a nothing? Though perhaps even strange girls in strange lands have their own protectors because that’s when the music came.

The girl who fought, the girl who cried, the girl who hid so much inside… learnt to dance. Music drowned out the fighting and the tears and lit something within that little figure that chased some of the darkness away. It made her happy and it made her special sister so happy too.

It wasn’t all the monsters of their world though, sometimes the monsters of the world you know called on them. Brief forays of light and colour and sudden activity… not all of it nice. Though often Stohnz would remember good times and things that didn’t always want to hurt you. Learnt that sometimes people could be nice like her sister, but you had to fight for it sometimes. Memories like this, that were hers, made the darkness that bit better and we both know the darkness is often worst before dawn.

And it was.

Poor Stohnz had to fight a lot in that place. The older she became the older she looked, the older she looked the more mature her soul became and, the more mature her soul the more that wanted to eat her. It was time to put to use all her sister had taught her so well. But it did not last.

Chance is not often nice to people as special as Stohnz, it tests them, it tries to break them, but sometimes just sometimes it gives them something they never expected. It gave Stohnz a master, but not like any they’d had before. This was not a master that would beat her, not a master that would experiment on her as an object, not a master that would only see what he would gain. This was a master who sought to protect and let her be who she needed to be. Her master was Torentus. He had troubles too but he showed her that was okay, that they could be there and still have good things too. He is not prince, but she’s no princess and our special Stohnz has no time for such things, her life has been too difficult to think such people worth having, but he is.

Even I think so and I have never trusted mages and I passed that distrust onto you my Stohnz. I, the devil you once were and now your guide, your teacher. I had thought once that either you or I must die for some life to return but he has given us this chance to learn. We have a chance to grow and a world in which to love that we could never have imagined. So fight for it my girl, fight for it with tooth and claw and become what you need to be to keep all we have gained. This is no fairy tale our special Stohnz. Happy endings must be won in blood. Let it be the world if need be to keep those we love safe.