The Raven Women surrounded the stone fortress, imprisoning me. I realized that this was the place I had dreamed of. Somewhere nearby, though, was the land of my mother's people and the place of their final entombment. A silent tear rolled down my cheek as I thought of the fate of my mother.

Dark stone monoliths jutted out in the distance from the mist-filled water. I watched the sun fall beneath cloud-strewn skies, creating a burst of pink and purple. It should have been a glorious sight to me, but instead of white clouds colored pink and purple, I saw white wings covered in shadow and stained with innocent blood.

Wrapped in large black wings, the Raven Women silently guarded me. I gave them no notice because I knew I would be ignored. But their presence was oddly comforting to me.

There was a lot I still did not understand, but this I knew--Mine is the dark face of night, the silver moon my only true friend. Solitude is all I have ever known and will ever know. This I have come to accept as I accept that the sun rises each morning and sets each night in a fiery ball of glory. My only regret is that I should have realized this much sooner...before love.

It is strange how life can change in an instant. Perhaps I should have heeded my dreams, listened to my inner voice. But I have learned that life does not always go the way it was planned. No wonder mortals were so tormented. Of course, the Romans had again played a role in destroying my peaceful existence. But I feared that I was to blame for that. My thoughts whispered to me that there was more for me to learn about my past. By allowing the dark one to bring me here, lost memories had rushed back and I was not the same person I was before. A prisoner, I was alone again, and perhaps that was my true destiny. I wanted to place the blame on others, but the truth was, I made my own choices. I could not change what I was. I was foolish to believe it could be done. Maybe I was not meant to live as a human among human beings. And I have learned a secret that has changed me forever. My eyes filled with tears at the memory of what I was and would always be.

What have I done?