The Muse Manor

It had been a hell of a dream, a hell of a week. Helen couldn't remember the last time she'd had nightmares this bad, bad enough that she'd been sleepwalking. She was a terribly light sleeper usually, so the fact that she'd been interacting with the waking world and didn't remember it was frightening. The city was new to her and the fact that she'd never once gotten lost played to her advantage. Still, that didn't really make any of this better.

"Ashley!"

Her eyes were open, but she couldn't see anything except the daughter in front of her. Above her, as Ashley struck and Helen fell to the ground.

"Ashley, please-"

And then John came out of nowhere and punched a hole through their daughter's chest with his fist. All Helen could think about was the loss of her daughter. Their daughter. What happened next was a blur to Helen, even in her dream state. All she knew was that Ashley was gone and John had killed her.

She woke to the sound of rain drops falling, sitting on the ground in the middle of the night with tears streaming down her cheeks, crying for her child, whom she'd lost over a year and a half ago... and the former love of her life, whom she'd lost over a century ago.

"Ashley..."