Chapter One

The middle-aged woman stood in her kitchen, stirring her stew as it cooked and looking out her opened window. It was the end of another long, lonely day for her. Ever since her husband Richard had passed away two weeks ago, it seemed as if her life had never been emptier. Every night she would cry herself to sleep, feeling all alone in a huge world—Richard had been her only family left, and she could not bear to think that he was gone.

Suddenly she heard a rustle in the bushes behind her house. Looking up quickly, she saw a shadowy form dart behind the nearest clump of trees.

Abandoning her dinner, she rushed out the door to the trees, but the figure had gone. Then she caught sight of it again, an almost invisible shadow heading towards the forest. If it reached the forest, there would be no hope for her of catching it—the forest was a dark place where many strange animals lurked. Once you were in it, it could be impossible to find your way back.

Running at full speed, she tried to reach it, but it evaded her. She could not see its face—whether it was a human or creature she could not tell. But it was holding something in its arms, and wore a long navy blue, almost black cape that brushed against the ground. Using the last ounce of her strength, she snatched at the cape and managed to tear off a small fragment of it. With a shrill scream, the creature dropped the thing it was carrying and disappeared into the woods.

The woman, whose name was Rose, walked over to the bundle lying on the ground. At first she was afraid to touch whatever was in it, but then she heard a soft sniffle. To her amazement, when she lifted the cover that enclosed it she saw a baby—a little baby girl.

There was no clue to who she was or where she came from, except for the name embroidered on the blanket, which Rose could only assume was the baby's name. Not knowing what to do with the newborn, she figured she would adopt it, and maybe it would fill the empty space left in her heart from when Richard had died.

Holding little Ana in her arms, she headed back to her house.

"Honey, wake up!" Rose called up the stairs. "Today is your big day!"

"Hmph." Ana mumbled in her sleep, turning over in her bed to try to block out Rose's voice.

"Get up!" Rose came into the bedroom. "He's coming in less than an hour, and you're not even out of bed."

Ana sat up with a start. "Who? Who's coming?"

"Why, don't be silly. It's that nice boy from the neighboring village—Jonathan, I believe he is called."

"What am I supposed to want from him?" Ana asked. She didn't like the sound of it. Rose was definitely tricking her in some way, but she couldn't figure out how.

"We're hoping he'll agree to marry you, of course." Rose replied impatiently.

"MARRY ME? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Ana jumped out of bed. "How many times have I told you, I DO NOT want to get married. That's final!" She was red in the face from shouting so loud.

"Don't be silly, dear, it is just the right time for you to marry. Imagine what people will think when you turn sixteen and are still without a husband! Now get up right now, and put on your best clothes so that you look presentable!"

God, Ana thought, I hate her so much. She thinks she is the boss of me just because she saved me from some stupid stranger in a forest. Ana had heard the story of Rose finding her many times, and each time it would make her angrier and angrier. Maybe I belonged with that stranger, she thought. At least I wouldn't have to do chores day and night, and dress up in stupid clothes just so that I will get married.

She didn't understand the whole fuss about marriage. Sure, Rose had mentioned it a few times, but in a casual way.

She would say, "So, have you given any consideration to marriage?"

Ana would say, "No," and make a face.

That had been the end of it. But Rose had evidently decided that if Ana didn't marry she would not be respectable in society. Rose was all about looking good in society. That's why I do all the work while she goes out to socialize, Ana thought bitterly. When it was fashionable to buy tight dresses making it hard to breathe, that's what Rose would buy for her. Just because most girls married by age fourteen didn't give Rose the right to do this!

Fuming at the injustice Rose was doing to her, Ana went over to her closet to get dressed. Ignoring the tight corset Rose had left for her to wear, she reached for a loose blouse and a pair of beige pants that Rose hated. Rose wouldn't be pleased, she knew. But Ana didn't care anymore. She was determined not to meet Jonathan.

She had, in fact, a little secret that she kept from Rose. Rose believed that she was interested in no young men, but in fact Ana's sweetheart since she had been a young girl was a guy named Paul. He had slightly tanned skin, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. She had been attracted to him ever since she could remember, but she was too shy to admit her feelings for him.

He was already sixteen, and although he seemed to show no interest in other girls he had never acted romantic towards Ana. They were just friends, and often met while Rose was off chattering with her friends and Ana was stuck at home doing chores.

Ana was determined that someday he would have feelings for her back, but for now all she could do was delay getting married to any other person. Rose had made it clear that this "visit" from Jonathan would actually be the seal to her fate. If Ana wanted to avoid it, all she could do was run away.

She gathered her few belongings in a simple bag, and snuck down the stairs to grab a bit of food from the pantry. Grabbing her coat, she rushed out the back door into the garden. She was preparing to flee into the forest when she realized there was one other thing she had to do. If she was never to see Paul again, she had to at least say goodbye to him.

Keeping out of sight by darting from tree to tree and hiding behind them, she made her way to his house. It was still fairly early in the morning, and she hoped he would be awake so that she'd be able to signal to him in his room.

Just as she was frantically thinking of a way to get his attention, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey."

She whirled around to see Paul. "Hi," she said back shyly. Ever since she had began to feel attracted to him, she could hardly speak when she saw him.

"What's in the bag?" he asked, nodding his head towards her bag. "You've come pretty early today."

"Oh," she said, suddenly realizing again what she had been about to do. "Listen, I have a problem. Rose is convinced that I have to get married, so she invited some guy to come to my house that she intends to have marry me. Even though she says it's just a visit, I know it's more than that. She wants to make the wedding plan final. I'm not ready. I hate her so much!" Ana said in a whisper, trying to hold back tears."I don't know what to do. But I've put up with Rose for too long; I think all I can do is just to run away."

"Calm down," Paul whispered soothingly, patting her back. "I've no doubt that your fears are true. But where exactly to you expect to go?"

"Away—just anywhere away from here. Maybe I can find my true family, my real parents. Rose has never been a real mother to me."

"Can I come with you?" he asked in a low voice.

"What?" Ana, lost in thought, had not been really listening. After pausing to take in what he said, she said, " Really? Would you?"

"Sure," he said, smiling.

He is so nice. That is just the typical thing he would do. If only he understood that I would gladly marry him! But no, to him I am just a friend. And I'm younger, so I guess he feels as if he has to protect me. Still, even if it was just an offer to protect her rather than wanting to be with her, she would like company.

She flung her arms around him in a hug, then suddenly drew back as she realized what she was doing. "Um, sorry. But if you're going to come, you're going to have to get your stuff fast. But wait—what about your brother?"

Paul lived alone with his eight year old brother. His parents had divorced, and he had been living with his father when he mysteriously disappeared. That was three years ago; since then he and his brother Frank had had to take care of themselves.

"I was assuming he could come…" Paul said nervously. "Is that okay with you?"

"Sure," said Ana, trying to sound confident. After all, she couldn't just ask Paul to abandon his brother. She wasn't sure that her attempt to escape would even work, and it would be a lot harder to escape from the city unseen with three people, but if she wanted Paul to come she knew that Frank would have to tag along.

Paul emerged from the house and Frank followed behind him. He had a big bag of food in his hands as well as a bundle of clothing. "You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Now let's hurry, I can see Jonathan coming up to my house right now."

They walked silently around the edge of the town, trying to keep out of sight. Out of the corner of her eye Ana could see Jonathan knocking on the door, the door opening…and then Paul pulled her into the forest and the trees blocked her vision so that her house was out of sight.

Author's Note: so here is the first chapter. i hope you like it. again, please review so i know what you think!