The next day, that song that the girl hd sung reverberated through the boy’s head. It was all that he could think about. The day went by slowly; the boy felt strangely tired, as if the dream had taken his sleep away. But that couldn’t be possible, could it? It was just a dream; dreams can’t really sap energy, can they?

Again that night he hurried through his bedtime preparations, eager to get back to the dream world. When he materialized once again at the entrance to the garden, he quickly stepped in, wondering where he would find the girl this time. Walking through, he saw none of the mysterious animals that had attacked him the night before, although he couldn’t be sure that they weren’t waiting in the brush. 

He found her on the swing again, except this time she was actually swinging. He walked up and leaned against the tree, waiting for her to open those freakily enticing eyes. 

"I was kind of hoping that you'd chicken." She fixed him with a stare.

"Nope...you're stuck with me." He smiled that cocky smile again. 

The girl sighed, "Fine." Then she stood, walking off towards the creek, boots squishing softly in the dew covered grass. The boy followed closely behind, wondering where they were going this time.

As if she could read his thoughts, "I have to check on my plants."

"What kind of plants need checking up on?"

She rolled her eyes "The kind that grow in gardens. Duh." The boy rolled his eyes right back, but didn't bother responding. Soon they came to a dome shaped building, one that had a huge silver padlock. The girl took off her hat, and rummaged around on the inside. 

"Hold this." She handed him a vial of blood red liquid.

"And this." A small book with the words Grimoire Lunii written on it. As he was opening it she slammed her hand down on his. "Don't you dare."

"Why not?" The boy asked almost petulantly, wanting to know what could possibly be so bad about a book. 

"That's a shadow book. You want to keep your soul? Don't open it." Then she went back to digging around inside the hat before pulling out a set of silver keys. She tried a few before opening the lock with a small, slightly rusty one. "Aha."

She opened the door and stepped inside, gesturing for him to follow. He did, and the door clanged shut behind him.

All throughout the next day the boy went about in a haze. Who was this girl? Why was she all alone? He hurried to bed that night, barely brushing his teeth and throwing on pajamas before laying his head down. He wanted to get back to his dream world as soon as possible.

When he finally fell asleep, he materialized in the same spot that he had the night before, at the beginning of the garden. This time though, he ran through, past the trees and the stream, past the swing, heading for the trees. It was only when he was somewhat deep inside them that he realized that he was lost. He looked around for a sign, a light, anything, but there was none. So he stayed still for a bit, listening. It was then that he heard the singing.

Come little children,
I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.

Come little children,
The time's come to play,
Here in my garden of shadows.

In an instant, he was on his feet; he knew it had to be her. Who else would be singing in this lonely world? Her voice was haunting, and from where the boy was, it was very quiet. He followed the soft strains, letting them guide him to the strange girl. 

Follow sweet children,
I'll show thee the way,
Through all the pain, and the sorrows.

Weep not poor children,
For life is this way,
Murdering beauty and passions.

The very trees seemed to gravitate towards the sound of her voice. The boy didn't know if he was even heading in the right direction, but something in the air made it feel as if it was. 

Hush now dear children,
It must be this way,
To weary of life, and deceptions.

Rest now my children, 
for soon we'll away,
Into the calm, and the quiet.

The boy knew he was getting closer when he could see some sort of silvery glow coming from the trees. He didn't know what it was, but again there was that feeling in his bones.

Come little children,
I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.

Come little children,
The time's come to play,
Here in my garden of shadows.

The boy reached a clearing, where there was a huge fallen tree. Sitting on that tree was the girl, who had a crowd of all kinds of animals clustered around her, listening. He was awed; her voice was beautiful, and obviously he wasn't the only one who thought so. He started forward, but stopped, speechless, when the animals all turned--in sync--to look at him.

He had thought them to be pretty at first; all silvery and glowing slightly. It was actually them that were causing the glow he had seen through the trees. But when they turned to him he gaped. They had no eyes.

It wasn't that their eyes were taken out; no, they just didn't have any. Where there should have been eyes there were just black pools. As if that weren't enough, the pools were filled with shadows, shadows that spilled out and down their faces. 

Every single eye was on him as he walked to her. There were a variety of animals, everything from wolves and a bear, to deer, to rabbits, or birds in the trees. He sat down on the trunk next to her.

"Hi. Again."

"You shouldn't be here." The girl looked at him with her curious eyes. "It isn't safe, nor do I want company." 

"And yet, here I am." The boy smiled his casual--and kind of cocky--smile. 

"And yet here you are," the girl muttered exasperatedly.

"It's not so bad to have company...why don't you try it?" The boy scooted closer to the girl, and was surprised to find she didn't move away.

"Do you really think that I haven't tried?" The girl smiled wanly, letting true emotion shine through.

"Well of course you probably have," the boy smiled brightly, "Just not with a person like me." 

The girl threw her hands up, and stood up, walking away, "For the love of Hades, why this one Zeus?" She turned back to look at the boy, crossing her arms. "Fine."

"What?" The boy looked perplexedly at her.

"Fine, you can follow me around, and learn about me. We'll see whether I'll tolerate your presence," sighed the girl. Then she walked away, fading into the dark, "Until tomorrow."

"Wait, tomorrow?" The boy asked, starting to follow. But the animals closed in, and even though they had no eyes, the boy could see the malice in them. They forced him back, until he was pinned to a tree, vicious faces on all sides. And even though the boy had not been afraid at first, fear began to gnaw at his stomach. Just as they leaped at him, just as he closed his eyes and waited to feel their teeth on his skin, he heard a beeping. It was then that he opened his eyes to the walls of his room, the beeping his alarm for the day. 

A/N: The song above is called Children of the Night, or Come Little Children, and is totally the theme song for this story. 

The boy walked slowly throughout this section of the garden; he had never seen this part before. It was hauntingly beautiful, with the whispering willows, the lilies floating in the slow stream. He followed the little path for awhile, until he came to a little wooden swing. 

There was a girl there, one who looked very much different than him. He wore the clothes of his time period, Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, the like, but she had several time periods fused together. A gypsy blouse was held together with an azturpealean, gold-laced corset, and she wore a layered skirt with the front cut open to reveal ripped skinny jeans underneath. Around her neck lay a clockwork angel, and her ears there were several black rings, all the same size. A blue velvet top hat clicked and whirred on top of her dirty blonde updo, locks of hair falling free to frame her face. 

She sat there, legs crossed, looking off into the distance. As the boy neared, he gaped. Her arms and face, all visible skin, was marked with what seemed to be moving, inky black tattoo lines. But what was most shocking were her eyes; they shined a mesmerizing blue, and were so deep that you could fall into them. 

And yet still the boy approached, not afraid, curious.She did not move, from her position. The wind continued to whisper through the trees as the boy sat next to the girl. As he looked closer at the lines, his earlier view was correct; they were moving, twisting up and down her body.

"Why don't you run like the rest? Are you not afraid?"

Her voice, soft yet unwavering, seemed to echo through the silence. It was quiet, and he could feel a tinge of pain laced through it. 

"Because. You look lonely," he shrugs. 

At this the girl throws her head back and laughs, a crystalline ringing sound that really does echo through the garden. "And what makes you think I want company?" She turns to look at the boy. "What if I've chosen solitude?"

"I don't think so," counters the boy, looking defiantly back at her, "nobody would choose solitude." He smiles, thinking that it makes perfect sense.

The girl stands. "Well I have." She begins to walk away towards the trees, her laced up converse boots making no noise on the path. 

The boy follows, not letting her go so easily. She looks at him.

"What?" Her voice is now edged with weariness, as if she's tired. 

"I'm going to change your mind." He says this fiercely, and the girl is--just a bit--taken aback. Then she smiles sadly, and before the boy can react, she runs off into the trees. He tries to follow, but the world starts fading, and he wakes up in his bed.