Like thunder, fire struck the banshee, and Taylor laughed hysterically as she repeatedly struck the banshee. “It’s mine, mine, mine! The world is mine! And you’re going to help me take it! Perhaps with my powers, we can find a way to resurrect your prince!”

The banshee shrieked in pain, but stopped writhing at Taylor’s words, and Taylor managed to prevent herself from launching more fireballs, despite her desire to. 

The banshee gazed at Taylor. She hissed gently, but her hands shook, showing her reluctance to engage in further battle. She hoisted herself to a sitting position, shaking.

Taylor saw a hint of intelligence in the creature’s eyes–proof that she wasn’t entirely a feral beast. Taylor lowered her hands, letting the fire in them extinguish. She looked up at the red sky as the nearby volcano benched smoke into it. “Part of me… part of me wants to say that I, too, would sacrifice all that I am for a man I have grown attached to. He is the only one who has ever cared for me… when I was lost in the darkness, being buried and suffocated by my counterpart, he was the only one who kept me alive–the only one who wanted me around. He somehow found me, lost within my own body, when I thought I would have been lost on these illusory plains my whole life. I’m a monster for what I want to do to him, but I know when I have him with me, there’s nothing I can’t accomplish. I would kill him if it’s necessary to accomplish my dreams. Can you find that strength within yourself?”

The banshee’s contorted, angry face suddenly turned sweeter, her forehead wrinkled. There was a pause, and then the girl asked, voice barely above a whisper, “You can really… bring him back?”

Taylor took a deep breath and approached the banshee  slowly. Eventually, she knelt by her side, touching her shoulder. “I can’t promise you that I can do it. I have read theories about how to do it, and they look promising. But I will do everything in my power to try and resurrect him.” 

The banshee shakily stood up. She rubbed her arm, choking back tears.

“I killed my prince. The madness overtook me, and I killed him. I thought, when I met him, that my life would be over…” she swallowed sullenly. “My father married me to him to gain more power for our kingdom. I did it out of duty, I wasn’t expecting him to be so supportive and loving. I came to lean on him… and he leaned on me. For me to have earned his love–a man who had been so hurt and damaged–was quite a thing. And I–I’m vile for what I did to him… he saw past my monstrous fangs, and got to know the woman inside of me. It’s those cursed dryads!” 

The banshees eyes flared with anger. “They turned the humans against me! I would have made a great ruler if it weren’t for them!”

Taylor stood back at the banshee's voice–it had turned into a shriek, and it had hurt her sensitive ears. 

The banshee wiped her eyes, the fury on her face giving way to sorrow. “I just wish I knew about the fate of my children… do you know of their fate?”

Taylor shook her head. “They are long dead, and I don’t know how they died.”

The banshee was baffled. “Long dead…? What is the date?”

Taylor sighed. “At least five-hundred years since you became… this.”

The banshee clutched her face, howling and scratching pieces of it off. “Why should I help you when everyone I have ever known and loved is dead?”

“I told you; I can potentially resurrect your prince, Eike--whose body you crawled into. Not only that, but I can fix the world that killed you and your husband. It’s that, or you can return to dust.” Taylor said confidently.

The banshee panted heavily. Eventually, she met Taylor’s gaze. She swallowed. “What does this deal entail?”

“I will inhabit your body and your powers, but you will still be cognizant inside of me, and can share your opinions with me. Eventually, I will try to transfer my body again, and you will gain control of yours again. And, as promised, I will do all in my power to ensure your prince is resurrected.” Taylor assured with a confident nod.

The banshee took a deep breath. She hauled herself unsteadily to her feet, and shook hands with Taylor. “How do you plan to take my body?”

“I’m going to leave this space in the dream plains, find your body in the ether, and you have to let me in when you feel me knocking on the door to your mind. Your name is Naomi, isn’t it?”

The banshee’s gaze flicked to Taylor’s eyes, then back down to her feet. “Yes, that was my name once. It doesn’t fit me anymore, though. I was once… something of a gentle and sweet lady, before I became a beast in the woods. Now, I think the Blackened Lady is more appropriate. If we do this, I only ask that you create a better world through your rule. I’m so tired of meaningless suffering…” Naomi whispered. 

Taylor nodded. “Of course. Under my rule, the world will become a good place for all to live.”

Naomi looked reticent, but eventually nodded. Taylor knew that the banshee knew she could only hope that taylor would follow through on her promises, as, Taylor was her only hope for becoming a cognizant creature outside of the dream plains.