I’ve been trapped for measures beyond time. If suffered in solitude, any source of comfort wiped away by the hands of unfair retribution. My body, scorned and muddied in pools of black, had lost its heart. Or so I had thought.

When my beloved returned, a dream I had hoped and discarded countless times, I felt it flourish. My old life was restored; we were with each other again. In the days of us having four young daughters smiling at us with love, I thought that maybe I could survive this prison with them.

And I tore my world apart.

My beloved’s betrayal came unannounced, trying to steal our family in the dead of night. It was a rage I had never felt before, a carnal urge to obliterate his very essence. When the dust settled, our home was in rubble, the two of us the only ones left breathing before I fed him to flames.

My four beautiful girls were gone and with them a piece of myself. And yet I do not miss them. The yearnings for security and love no longer had their strings in me. That weakness has been cured and left me invincible to those trivial frailties.

While I make those claims, there is a curious occurrence that makes me pause. I find myself back in those long-lost days, remembering the voices of my daughters, seeing their faces more clearly than anything in my recollection. When I realize I have slipped, I quell that fantasy.

What makes me curious is why these moments happen. In the thousands of years of my memory, those are the only ones that escape my grasp. What makes them so different? And why, as I watch a young girl struggle in the vice of a twisted family and losing hope, do I find these occurrences becoming more frequent?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was almost blinded by the light reflecting off of Pem’s silver attire, a lustrous display fueled by pain and rage. My body reacted on instinct, freezing under Pem’s wrath. Obsidian cawed above me. His cry shocked me free of my flash of fear. I drew my blades, holding Midnight at the ready, and taking a stance like I had so many times in training.

As she ran, Pem threw out her arms to her sides. The large cuffs on her wrists began to change, sheets of condensed metal coating her forearm and hands in a protective cover. Two thin, razor-sharp claws emerged from each cuff, so clear that I could make out slivers of the surroundings being reflected. Shimmer Selene has been drawn.

I parried her first slash with one of my swords, blocking the next that came. Pem pushed us apart, locking eyes with me as we separated. Her eyes were bright and her pupils were dilated. She roared and lunged, slashing at my throat. I retreated back, feeling the tip of her weapons graze me. She spun with her momentum, spinning on her foot to swing her arm back around. The metal struck my wrist, knocking my blade from my hand. I doubled over as Pem connected a solid kick to my gut. I flew back and landed on my side. I looked up to see Pem falling towards me, one claw pulled back.

I rolled away, hearing the claws sink into the soft earth. I flung my Semblance out, feeling for my blade. I heated the metal and pulled it to me as I stood, the metal flying through the air to my outstretched hand. Pem pulled her claws free, and I charged. My blade sang through the air, seeking out any exposed target. Pem lifted her arm, blocking the blade with the brace on her forearm. The metals screeched as Pem moved forward, my swing sliding over her protection. With her other hand, she raked my side. I felt no pain, my Aura absorbing the damage and protecting me.

I spun around to face her, but she was around turning. The back of her hand struck my face, snapping my head back. Her foot hit the back of my leg, making it give out. Her hands found the back of my head and she pushed me down, my face colliding with her knee.

I gritted my teeth as the shock rattled my skull. I pushed myself up and tackled her around her midsection. Grabbing her clothes, I pulled Pem off balance and spun her around. Putting all the strength I could in my next move, I threw Pem into the air and away from me.

Pem righted herself in mid-air, landing lightly on her feet. I heard something click. The claws of Shimmer Selene started to glow navy. She lifted her arm, ready to slice when a blur of black fell from the sky and rammed her shoulder. Pem’s aim was knocked off, her claws slicing towards my left. As they tore the air, arcs shot from claws. They flew through the treeline, slicing trees into three sections. They toppled, the crash muffled by the loose soil.

Water Dust. It was one of the lesser-used types of Dust, usually mixed with Wind Dust to create Ice. Pem was one of the only Huntress that used that type on its own, and one of the few who could use it to her degree of mastery. Coupled with her weapon, she could create high-pressurized projectiles like the ones that cut down the trees.

Pem’s eyes never left me, but she drew in a sharp breath. With her Semblance, Untethered Sight, she could see Obsidian hovering above us without having to look at him. She whirled and fired another arc at the dove-like Grimm. My breath caught in my throat. I threw out my power, finding a piece of debris that was still hot from the crash, and threw it between her and Obsidian. The arcs tore into the metal but didn’t make it through, leaving deep gouges behind. “What are you doing?” She yelled at me, her voice quivering with emotions that I had never heard from her. “You protected a Portent, you stupid girl.”

I didn’t stop to focus on her words, barely registering that she called Obsidian a Portent. I focused my Aura, sending it out to wrap around Pem. I found that I couldn’t use my Semblance against her. It was like a sheet of interference, a wall that I pushed against but couldn’t move. Her own Aura protected her, my Semblance unable to penetrate her defense. My power slipped from her and reached into the ground. The soil at Pem’s feet started to glow orange. I could feel the heat building up, and I willed it to keep growing. Pem noticed and jumped free right before the heat surged and an explosion decimated the spot where she had been standing.

Pem raised her arm to fire another shot, but I closed the distance between us before she could. My blades struck at her midsection, the steel finding its mark in a rapid succession of shallow cuts. Pem threw her arm down, and I narrowly pulled away before an arc of water sliced my head.

Pem took a step towards me, pausing as an earsplitting shriek pierced the clearing. Obsidian was flying around in wide circles, opening his mouth wide and emitting that awful sound. Goosebumps rose on my arms.

Pem cast a disgusted look at Obsidian before coming at me with renewed vigor. Her claws were a blur as they diced the air around me without rest. I swung my swords, catching and parrying each frantic slash. Pem's body twisted, spun, almost danced as she kept the attacks raining down on me. I kept up, pivoting and adjusting with each motion to keep her claws from finding purchase. The air rang as our weapons clashed, the force of each impact traveling up my limps.

It wasn’t enough.

As the barrage continued, my defenses started to slip. The claws grazed my bicep, followed by another slash at my torso. No matter how much I defended, Pem never let up. More and more slashes broke through, whittling away my Aura little by little. I couldn’t counter. Any sort of attempt gave Pem an opening which was always exploited. Pem had been regarded as an exceptional Huntress, one of the best. I never guessed I would be on the receiving end of her fighting prowess, and I was falling to her.

As another slash found my collarbone, I activated my Semblance in desperation. There was nothing in reach, my concentration scattered with each clash of our weapons. I threw it at the closest thing I could find: the ground. The soil heated, glowing orange, before it exploded.

The blast threw us apart, a crater left in our stead. We were both on our feet immediately. My breath was coming in huge gasps. My aching arms were glad for the brief intermission. Even now, I could feel my weariness being erased by the healing factor of my Aura. I knew the same was happening for Pemphredo. It was merely a break before the second act.

Then the clearing became quiet.

Obsidian, done with his frantic shrieks, had come back down and flew around me. Pem stiffened, having seen something no normal person should be able to see. Her eye scanned the treeline, her focus split between me and something else.

In the tense silence, I heard the rustle of leaves. I turned my head to the source and saw a pair of glowing red eyes. I had become familiar with their inner light, void of any other except for the hue of blood. They were the same ones I had seen myself reflected in every day since I found Obsidian.

“Grimm,” I found myself whispering to no one.