"This tale of woe and darkness true,
Is one to serve as a warning to you.
To beware the shadows and what lies within,
Prepared or not, allow us to begin."
"In times of darkness when the plague had spread,
The streets were littered with the bodies of dead
Yet plague and pain were the least things to fear,
They knew in their hearts that death was near"
"The twilight had arisen, the winds grew strong,
Those in the village knew that something was wrong.
The doors were locked with the utmost of care,
They knew in their hearts that they had best beware."
"The heavens above danced with lightning and thunder,
Filling the hearts with an ominous wonder.
For the hearts and the minds knew these were the nights,
When the warnings pf children were not just mere frights."
"Down the path our feet will now tread,
And with each new step a feeling of dread,
Would corrode the soul and harden the heart,
And hasten the desire to thus depart."
"Death and decay has corrupted this place,
And those alive and healthy were but a mere trace.
They avoided their kin and hid behind walls,
Ignoring the pleading and begging and calls."
"'Throw out your dead!' The officials would cry.
And move to the next where the dead would there lie.
Yet one home remained untouched by Black Death,
And whom could still draw a live breath."
"A home that was warm and further from the rest,
Where the family protected each to their utmost best.
They swore that soon they would leave this foul place,
By morning their existence would show no true trace."
"For they made a deal with a soul that was most dark,
And now they reneged and a new home they would embark.
For they knew not what deed they had pledged,
To remain untouched the councils had alleged."
"`Twas not natural!' The town leaders would cry.
That these good people alone would not suffer nor die.
For why should they alone be free of this curse?
To lie there in torment to decay or far worse."
"A pact had been made, but with whom they would not say.
The priests begged them to repent and give unto the Lord pray.
For now the shadows roamed everywhere they could see,
And the elders knew that if they could, they must flee."
"For the tithe must be collected, when a pact had been made.
And to betray the Pale One, you had best be afraid.
For fear was the key he held over in sway,
It was true in the beginning and thus to this day."
"They watched through closed shutters, as his visage passed their street,
His amber gaze turned toward them yet known could they meet.
They warned their young if they were wrong he would arise,
And now that he had, they could not believe their eyes."
"For in shadows he lurked, in closets he came,
The sense of his being one that they could not name.
For their legends were old and their tales debased.
A sad but true fact that their faith was misplaced."
"For no god would protect this family from he,
To back out or escape there was no chance to be set free.
A deal had been struck and payment was now due.
There was no escape, this family they now knew."
"For he usually crept in shadow and secrets from eyes,
But now out in the open he walked with head high.
He watched the lights flicker, he knew they would hide.
And that sinister smile parted his black lips wide."
"His feet splashed puddles caked with mud and sick gore,
And further he walked until he approached their front door.
Knock he did not, for him there was no need,
For smart as they were, their own precautions they did not heed."
"He could be kept out, oh yes there were ways,
But those secrets seemed lost in this age and these days.
He looked at the windows where he saw the fire's glow,
And savored this moment, enjoying the macabre show."
"They knew he was there, and yet they continued to pray,
Thinking the cost could somehow be delayed.
The family cat sensed him, it's fur bristled and it hissed,
His presence not one that could be easily missed."
"When he wanted to be seen, there was no mistake,
That his very aura would make you tremble and shake.
They lowered the lights as if that would give them a chance,
Yet it excited him more and he made to advance."
"Across the wooden porch their home he would breach,
His nails against the window, an ear splitting screech.
He heard their shrill cries, it was music to his ears,
To feed on their panic, the hopelessness, their fears."
"A pity the payment was too young to conceive,
That their time on this earth would soon end on this eve.
He reached into his shadows and out from the dark black,
He withdrew what they feared, the ominous burlap sack."
"Around to the back did intrude this dark scourge,
And from the shadows of a nursery did the dark one emerge.
His flesh as pale of the moon's soft light,
The only luminescence in this most ominous night."
"For all their forebodings, the parents ignored doom,
For their youngest, a babe, was asleep in the room.
The scent on young flesh was intoxicating and he leered.
Yet what he did to these bodies was unknown but yet feared."
"Only too late did the parents know the plight,
And the sounds of their screams could be heard through the night.
For soon they rushed in, ignored their cries for aid.
Their babe, their youngest -- gone -- payment had been made."
"And now in this age, at this unfortunate hour,
This Pale One again has been summoned by power.
To do battle with a victim, one that he stalks,
A man in a boy's body, James Huntington-Hawkes."
"A sacrifice to She who set free from a void,
An innocent life he would soon see destroyed.
For a taste of this flesh was a desire she craved,
And a soul for eternity that would soon be enslaved."
"Think not against he you will be able to defend,
Your attempts at salvation have met a dead end.
Pleas of mercy, they are foreign to him,
Beware 'Brat prince' for the One known as Grimm."</color></size>
