I couldn’t take it any longer; I had to get out of here. Through my tears, I grabbed things out of drawers and swept about anything into my black backpack. I grabbed my blue coat and white knit cap and barreled into the kitchen to pack an entire box of granola bars and an already made ham sandwich from the fridge. I dashed for the front door and slammed it shut behind me.
My feet crunched in the snow as I ran to nowhere in particular. Snowflakes hit my face. I tripped once, caused by the uneven sidewalk, but got back up and kept going. I ran into the trees nearby, deciding to hide in the forest and decide things there. I needed a place to think and this place would do the job.

I loved the woods. I have for as long as I can remember. They have always welcomed me and gave me comfort when things were bad. Like right now.

The snow was becoming higher with each step as it snowed, but still I ran deeper into the heart of the woods. I shivered with cold along with the fear of being alone. The moon’s light glazed through the clouds, hitting the snow which lit up the forest. I could see more visibly. It was almost as if it was day.

I finally collapsed, to weak to stand and continue on. I leaned against a near tree, the snow piling up over me, and the tree’s snarled roots sticking out from under the ground, digging into my skin. I shook and sobbed until no more tears came. I sat like that for a long while, debating what to do after my eyes were dry. I didn’t want to go back but I didn’t want to stay here either. Time passed and some of my tears had frozen on my cheeks and I could barely move. I was slowly dying and I knew it. That’s when I heard something. A strange noise rang through the night, sounding almost like bells. More strange noises followed that I couldn’t decipher.

Turning my head slightly, I could see what looked to be two tall, slim girls. One had fiery, red hair and the other had such light, shiny hair it looked to be silver. They were both running, in a much too graceful way, in my direction, taking glances every few seconds behind them. That’s when I noticed the two boys. They were also tall and slim. One had long shoulder length, wavy brown hair and the other had short black hair that also went to his shoulders that was half up and half down. The odd girls suddenly stopped and no longer laughed, which made me realize that the source of the bell ringing was them.
“What’s wrong Eritha?” a pure voice floated about. I saw it came from the black haired guy. The four looked young, in their late teens but I could see their eyes were filled with something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on which made them look older when you looked twice.
“There’s a girl!” the white-haired girl or Eritha exclaimed. “She looks to be around sixteen, although she looks rather small.” She wrinkled her nose as she said this.
“There is? Out here?” I heard one the guys respond.
“We could have fun with her!” the other girl laughed as she said this, eyes filled with eagerness.
“No one does anything until I tell them too! Including you, Shawnee,” the brown headed boy ordered as he took long, graceful strides towards me, inspecting me once he got close. “She’s a pretty little thing,” he breathed on me, his breath smelling like honey and apple blossoms.
“You and your pets,” Shawnee sneered. He ignored her.
Now that he was up close I could see that he had pixie like features on a sharp, angular face. He had high cheekbones, thin lips, and a small nose. His eyes were what gave him most of his beauty. His eyes were a forest green and had gold flecks, mainly around the pupil. They looked eccentrically beautiful. I was guessing the others all somewhat looked like him. They all didn’t look human-like. They were all outlandishly beautiful.
“W-Who are you?” I managed to croak out. He jumped back in surprise, clearly not expecting me to speak. Fear etched itself across the girl’s faces and the other boy just smiled, almost…wickedly. His smile passed too quickly to where I wasn’t sure if I had seen things right. The smile was replaced with concern.
“You can see me?” he said shocked.
“Of course she can see you. Did she not just acknowledge your presence?” the guy in the back said, now clearly bored.
Ignoring his friend, he asked, “Can you see them too?” before nodding his head towards the others. I nodded my head weakly, unbelievably feeling a little warmer.
“How can she see us?” Eritha said fearfully. The others were just watching.
“I don’t know. What’s your name blossom?”
“A-Ad-Audora,” I attempted to say. He nodded.
“If she can see us, that must mean she has some of our blood,” Shawnee stated. “What if she’s the one…?” I was completely confused. The more they talked, it became clearer to me that they were inhuman.
“I’m c-cold,” I managed out.
“Don’t worry,” the guy next to me said, tucking a lock of my auburn colored, wavy hair behind my ear. “We’ll get you out of here.” He picked me up and carried me over in his arms to the others.
“We’re taking her?” Shawnee asked through gritted teeth.
“We are not going to leave her out here to die.”
“Why not!” she hissed.
He blinked angrily and then answered, “First off, I am not unkind like you, who does not care for anyone but yourself, and second she is clearly important if she can see our kind!” He glared at her, making her face turn red with anger. Her red hair made her face redder.
I was barely catching on to this. I could hear it all, but could make no sense of it. I knew I was dying and didn’t care. I had no where else to go. No home, no family, or friends. I looked up at my rescuer. His expression was worried.
“For being a faerie you sure don’t act like one. You care too much,” Shawnee carried on.
He ignored her and said, “We need to hurry. She’s dying.” The others simply shook their heads, besides the angry one who was cursing under her breath and continued on, leading the way.
“I apologize for the way they acted towards you,” he declared looking down at me.
“S, okay,” I answered, starting to feel all tingly and much warmer. His body was warm and it was like lying against a heater. He sighed and I thought I heard him muttering something. “What’s your name?”
He looked down at me, gazing at me wonderingly. Probably wondering why I would ask such a question at a time like this. “Kihmen.”
“Oh.”
“You need to sleep now.”
“I don’t want to,” my words came out in a slur. I was already falling under the sandman’s spell.
“Sleep my blossom,” He gently closed my eyelids. Warmth spread from his finger tips, pulling me down under.
“Kihmen,” I whispered.
“Shh.”
I then faded into my dream world.