text: You can barely move, so you know you're in a susceptible state. The question is, does she still want to see you?
  
  "Catia," you whisper.
  
  You wait a few tense seconds and feel the pain in your head begin to relieve itself. But then, nothing. She never comes and the pain comes rushing back. You find tears streaming down your face as you realize your chances with Catia are probably over. You're also in no state to continue working as a guard and will probably be fired soon. The only thing you can do is lay in bed and suffer.
  
  Days past and your state of mind only gets worse. You begin seeing shadowy figures at the corner of your eyes. One day you manage to touch one and ask,
  
  "Who are you?"
  
  He laughs and laughs before disappearing. This isn't the most psychologically scaring part of this ordeal. Your recurring nightmares are much worse. You dream of your family returning home in vivid detail, only for it to all come crashing down as you realize they're not real. You stop eating and drink only when necessary. It gets to a point where you know if you don't try to seek help you will die.
  
  You have no idea where to go for help, especially since the local witch doctor has been arrested for using humans as potion ingredients. You wander aimlessly taking morning walks in a vain attempt to find your savior. Shadowy figures whisper about you as you walk past.
  
  "There's nothing out here, return home"
  
  "You're never going to get better, why not end it?"
  
  You've been seeing these shadowy figures more frequently recently. You chalk this up to your lack of sleep. Sleeping is when your most vulnerable, so you try to do as little of it as you can.
  
  During a morning walk you run into a familiar face. It's your childhood friend Julia. You haven't seen her since schooling and boy does she look different.
  
  "Is that... " she says
  
  "Yeah it's me," you reply
  
  "Boy do you look different."
  
  You haven't been grooming yourself since the madness occurred. You have lots of dark circles under your eyes and probably don't smell too good either.
  
  "You also look different."
  
  She raises an eyebrow not knowing if your complementing or insulting her.
  
  "In a good way in a good way!" you clarify.
  
  She laughs as her dress flows in the wind.
  
  "Sorry I can't say the same to you. Down on your luck?"
  
  "That's putting it lightly," you say jokingly, even though it's the truth.
  
  "Hahah I bet. I was just about to get some coffee, wanna come with?"
  
  "Would I ever! Is it ok if the shadow people follow along?"
  
  "The what?"
  
  "Never mind."
  
  Later
  
  Julia and you decided to go to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe. As fancy as it may seem, its nothing more than a place to eat pastries and drink coffee. She begins telling you what's she's been doing lately.
  
  "You know Andy right?"
  
  "Of course, me and him have been on guard duty together a couple times."
  
  Julia bites her lips and chooses her words carefully,
  
  "Well we broke up recently due to the fact that he...he...raped me..."
  
  You're shocked at this revelation, Andy has always seemed like a standup guy.
  
  "How could he do such a thing?"
  
  "He's a piece of shit that's how!"
  
  Your lower your head as she composes herself.
  
  "Sorry, I'm just not in the best mental space right now."
  
  "No need to apologize, you have every right to be angry."
  
  "Thank you."
  
  "So tell me, what happened?"
  
  She explains how one night, after a long tiring day working as a cleaner, Andy wanted sex. They had been dating for a few months and had yet to have sex. The conversation went a little like this,
  
  "All of my other friends constantly brag about sex. If I keep telling them I haven't fucked you yet they might start thinking I'm gay," says Andy.
  
  "Stop pressuring me! I told you, I am not in the mood and am not ready to pursue that kind of relationship with you."
  
  "You're such a bitch, you know that right? Fuck you make me angry," Andy says while walking towards Julia menacingly.
  
  "Back off, get away from me!"
  
  Julia stops talking and begins to choke up. She covers her face with her hands and says shakily,
  
  "He grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I tried to scream but he covered my mouth and clenched my throat. He violated me and nobody cares to do anything about it. Everyone's to focused on the damn demons to give a shit about poor ol' me."
  
  "That's horrible, who else have you told?"
  
  "Just you and the captain of the fucking guards. He wouldn't even fire him, saying the demand for guards is 'very high' right now. No guard is better than a guards that's a mother fucking rapist."
  
  "I wish I could help, but the captain probably won't listen to me anymore. I haven't shown up for work in days and didn't give any notice."
  
  "It's ok, I don't want the captain's help anyways. I need to move on and be strong."
  
  You make small talk about various things before saying your goodbyes. With Julia in such a vulnerable state, you wonder if it's best to give her time to heal. At the same time, you long for human relationship. The shadow figures just aren't the same as real human contact.
  > pursue a relationship
  You're both facing adversity in life. In a sense, you've both been raped. Julia in a literal sense and yourself in a mental sense. Catia cursed you and has left you a shell of your former self.The past few days have been hell. Why not reconnect with a old friend and see if it leads anywhere? Everyday you walk to the Cinnamon Pearl Cafe hoping to see Julia. A few days go by and you never see her, however it's not all bad. You're now eating and staying hydrated, which is never a bad thing. You haven't seen any shadow people in days and have stopped having nightmares. Things are looking up for you.
  
  One day after ordering your usual (a cup of coffee and cinnamon toast) Julia walks in. She's all alone and you make eye contact with her. She winks at you and holds up a finger indicating that you should give her a second. You watch as she orders a coffee and raisin bread. After paying, she walks over to join you.
  
  "I'm surprised to see you here," she says.
  
  "I'm here all the time now. I mean, their coffee's really great."
  
  She laughs and asks,
  
  "How have you been doing?"
  
  "I'm great, but I've been worrying about you, how have you been holding up?"
  
  She gets a little teary eyed while saying,
  
  "That's so sweet of you, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm planning on leaving Ashton tomorrow morning."
  
  You sit mouth agape shocked at the news. She could have easy left without telling you. You might have gone mad waiting for her, but now you have a chance to leave with her.
  
  "Why are you leaving? I get why you might not want to live in a place with bad memories of your past, but why leave so soon?"
  
  "It's no longer safe here and you should know better than anyone being a guard and all."
  
  "Former guard, and what do you mean it's not safe? I haven't heard of any demon sightings..."
  
  "Well there was one just a few nights ago and people living in Ashton died. I have family up in Kingsburg and know I'll be safe there."
  
  "Are you going all alone or bringing anyone with you?"
  
  "As of now, all alone. I don't know how difficult travel will be, back if I survive, I'll finally have a place to call home."
  
  You really don't think it's a good idea for her to travel alone. One for the selfish reason of wanting to be close to her, but also because it's the middle of winter and travel hasn't been safe since the demonic invasion. This is all happening so fast, you barely know Julia the adult considering you just reconnect with you. Will she even let you come with her if you ask?
  
   
  > ask if you can come with her
  "Hey do you think I could go with you?"
  
  "Umm...why would you want to do that?"
  
  You explain how you don't have any reason to stay in Ashton anymore. Your parents are likely dead and you're unemployed. A new start in Kingsbury is just what the doctor ordered. 
  
  "You can come...just meet me outside the Cinnamon Pearl at dawn."
  
  "Yes! Thank you so much, I can't wait!" 
  
  You leave the cafe and feel an incredible sense of euphoria. You can't believe she said yes, although she was a bit apprehensive. You can't wait to show her that she made the right choice in letting you come along. You spend the rest of the day gathering all your most prized belongings. You also take all of your parent's savings figuring they're never coming back. You fall asleep and begin to dream...
  
  You're back in school and are sitting next to Julia. You don't hesitate and begin talking to her fully lucid of your actions.
  
  "Hey Julia! Want a cookie?"
  
  You pull a cookie out of thin air and hold it out to her. She reacts in disgust,
  
  "Did you really think you could win my love so easily? Andy's my boyfriend and we're going to be together forever!"
  
  You stammer out,
  
  "One day you'll realize Andy isn't as nice as he may seem. Appearances can be deceiving..."
  
  She bursts out in hysterical laughing and you have no idea why. Your look of confusion becomes apparent as she says,
  
  "Appearances sure are deceiving!"
  
  "Yeah..."
  
  "For instance, I'm not even Julia."
  
  Your pulse increases as you feel yourself losing control. Julia's face contorts feature by feature. First, her eyes turn red, then horns grow out of her head. By the end of it you are staring face to face with the demon of your nightmares.
  
  "Catia?"
  
  "You may think you've escaped me, but Julia will never be your true love."
  
  "Shut up! Julia's just a friend..."
  
  "No, YOU shut up! I know your deepest secrets and desires. Why keep up the charade? I know you think Julia can fill the void in your life, but that's just a fantasy."
  
  "None of this is real and that includes you. This is nightmare, that's all."
  
  "Go ahead, believe that. Just don't act like I didn't try to warn you."
  
  You wake up as your head pounds like never before. You're suddenly very scared and seeing Julia and aren't sure why. It's clearly irrational, but a part of you wants to contact Catia again. Who's to say the curse will go away just because you're with Julia? Should you even bother?
  > go to the Cinnamon Pearl
  It's best to ignore the nightmare and pretend it never happened. You head to meet Julia at the Cinnamon Pearl. You arrive shortly after and see her waiting for you.
  
  "Ready to go?"
  
  "Ready for anything," you stay while brandishing your sword.
  
  The road to Kingsbury is no easy journey. You feel Julia is glad you came along as you can scare away any thieves and bandits you come across. Who knows if you'll make it in one piece but at least you have a purpose. You leave through the city walls and take the old dirt road to Kingsbury.
  
  "You know the forest would be faster?" you say.
  
  "I know, I have a feeling we're much safer this way."
  
  You look at her and smile. Her blue eyes sparkle as you realize one thing: true beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You've been staring it in the face since childhood and are only realizing that now.
  > epilogue #4: The Kingsbury Kiss
  The journey to Kingsbury wasn't easy. You and Julia saved each other's behind on multiple occasions. Through adversity, you grew closer together. Once you arrived at Kingsbury you had no plan. Julia saw this and invited you to stay with her. Before you knew it, you two started dating. She was everything you've ever wanted and more. You never cared that she wanted to take things slow, in fact, you embraced it.
  
  "You only live once, might as well enjoy the whole ride," you said to her one night.
  
  "Oh shut up, you and your cheesy sayings need to stop," she says while touching your shoulder. 
  
  "You want me to shut up? I'll do it, just for you my Cinnamon Pearl."
  
  "If you say something cheesy one more time I'll..."
  
  "You'll what?"
  
  She pauses and stare at you with her beautiful, shinning blue eyes. You don't have time to react before she leans in and says,
  
  "I'll... kiss you."
  
  Your lips connect and you feel a fullness in your heart for the first time in years. You're reminded of the night you met Catia where everything about her gave you joy. Except this time it's different, this isn't some spell or magical aura. This is all real, and you can't believe it.
  
  "I love you," you say to remind yourself this is really happening.
  
  "I love you too."