Afraid

~Prologue~

Prologue:

"The end," her father chirped softly in the little girl's ear before his lips were gently planted on her pale cheek. A genuine childish-like smile curled upon his daughter's lips. She has always loved her father, and no matter what it was, she never let anyone or anything take that power away from her; even the strongest force. Although, she didn't know what she was going to confront in the future, or even that night...

"Goodnight Princess," he whispered above her skin as he tugged her gently into her covers as though it was a shield from the outside world that he knew too well...

Thievery.

Want.

Greed.

Death.

Revenge.

Really, anything that defined evil. He knew his little girl couldn't survive such a planet, as much as he denied it, since all the girl believed in were fairy-tails. That's all the world was to her, and for now, he wanted it to stay that way. He knew that there were no happy endings, and he wanted her to understand that once she got older. He wanted to build his little girl that believed in fantasies into a woman who had a back bone that was indestructible, since that was his duty as a father and only guardian. Without her mother, he was all on his own. Everyone else was his enemy. She was all he had left, and he wasn't going to let any demonic creature snatch her out of his almost empty palms.

"Goodnight Papa Bear," she mumbled as her eyes threatened to close. He smiled sweetly at the nickname as it escaped her lips, making his heart flutter. He stood up from beside her bed and flickered off the light. As he reached to turn on the night light plugged in, her hand suddenly went up.

"Papa, you can leave it off. I'm a big girl now. I can sleep in the dark," she muttered tiredly.

He bit his lip almost hesitantly. He didn't think his little girl was ready for the dark, but he gave in to her glossy, almost shut eyes that still found their way to glisten. He slowly nodded and moved his hand back as he stood up. He blew his last goodnight kiss before he slowly exited the room and left his little girl isolated in the darkness.

*****

The girl jounced from her mattress as a sudden eruption of glass throbbed her petite ear drums. A small wince escaped her lips and utter fear quickly filled her. Instinctively, she shot up, running towards the closed door and squeezing her way through it.

"Papa! Papa!" Her voice exclaimed off the wall, echoing just like wind chimes as she scavenged the halls to find her father. Before she could receive a response, a gloved hand suddenly stopped her voice from escaping her. Her voice was turned into weak muffles that were filled with bewildered fright as the palm pressed against her already dry lips. A low rasp suddenly filled the child's ears.

"Shh little girl, if you be quite no one will get hurt. Now be a good girl and show your new friend to Mommy's jewelry box."

His voice chilled her skin, causing goosebumps to prickle upon it. Her eyes screwed shut and an aflutter tear slowly rolled down her cheek as she nodded. She felt a roguish grin slowly curl upon his lips, right against her temple.

"Good girl, now I don't have to use this do I..."

His voice deepened and as the girl looked over her eyes almost popped out of her sockets. She stared back at the sharp tip, that was far to close. Another muffled screech escaped her lips, but suddenly her voice echoed off the concrete walls as the glove lost contact with her mouth. The man was lifted up by the collar of his leathered jacket and only seconds passed before a weak 'oof' puffed from his lips after he was pushed against the wall. The girl easily heard the man's body make harsh contact with the wall as a cacophony of a crack suddenly filled the room. She watched her father's face move into his, so their noses hovered over each other. It looked as if steam was escaping her father's flared nostrils as his eyes drilled holes into the man's. His chest was heaving wildly as he stared up at the intruder.

"I told all of you to stay away from here," he muttered slowly, "I told you all I wasn't going to let you touch my wife...or my daughter, but you did it anyway..." His voice dropped deeper and his grip tightened around the man's collar, making a choking sound escape him.

"Most importantly..," his voice rasped, almost into a growl as he held up his fist. Before he could finish, a sudden choke and gasp escaped him, and her father collapsed to his knees, now gripping his stomach tightly, causing another high pitch scream to escape his daughter. The man was able to move from against the wall. He still held the blade that was already dripping with what use to be inside the man kneeling in front of him. A deep, mischievous chuckle escaped the invader. He maneuvered in front of the father. The father looked up at him with glistening eyes that were filled with what he never felt before. Mercy. All the man did was smirk devilishly at the sight. He knelt on one knee and crouched in front of the man with the dripping wound in his hand. He sighed softly as he looked down at the man, almost is disappointment, but that gleam in his eye told the father otherwise.

"Any last words before I finish, cause I still have another one beside me to work on." He nodded towards the girl making the father's eyes flicker off and stare intently into the man's eyes. His eyes burned into the man's, knowing the intruder was using his only weakness against him. He bit his lip rather harshly as he kept his gaze, only to cause more blood to escape his veins. He let his hand slowly trail into his back pocket and tightly grip the object now hidden behind his back and sighed almost in defeat.

"Yes I do," he whispered calmly, but inside his nerves were bouncing back and fourth, like fireflies quickly trying to find their way out of a jelly jar.

Surprisingly, the man waited with a devious smile, wanting to hear the helpless coward speak. In just seconds, the same smile curled on the father's lips, and he let the words slowly escape them.

"I told you not to mess with a cop."

The moment after the words were said he quickly took the gun out of hiding and pointed it straight at the man. The only reaction the man could make was wide eyes before the bullet was planted straight through him. In a millisecond, the bullet went straight through his skull making him collapse into the puddle of blood that was already waiting for him. The father slowly trailed his eyes to his daughter that had her jaw planted to the ground, making the sticky wetness on her cheeks evident. All she did was stare at her father with her blood shot eyes while sirens were the only noise heard. Doors were broken down and people came swarming in making the father and daughter snap their heads over into their direction. As to men approached her she quickly looked at her father that was being helped up by two other men. She didn't know what to say or do. She didn't understand what just took place. She felt like her father...was indeed a villain. To be honest, even her story books didn't tell her the difference between a hero or villain. So really, she didn't know who her father was anymore, nor anyone. She watched her father get placed on a small bed as paramedics quickly dragged him out of the room. She just stared at the sight, her mind going completely blank. She didn't know what to think after what she just witnessed. What has her father been keeping from her, was the only thought now on her mind.

"Don't worry sweetheart, we will make sure he is ok." A woman paramedic whispered softly as she stroked her back soothingly, just like her mother did. She knew that. The thing she didn't know was, was she going to be ok, because now she was stuck in the dark.