Sorry this is short, it's just a prologue :D please RnR! and thanks to Becca118 for helping me come up with ideas for this fic :] If I get enough time (and reviews! ;]) I'll continue it.

And it will be a fantasy story, but it's set in the real world.

Ella brushed her hair out of her eyes as the rain seeped unwelcomingly into her clothes, making her shiver. She pulled her sodden coat around her tighter, wishing she lived either nearer or further away from her school. Since she only lived a half hour walk away, her mum insisted on her walking home, which she normally didn't mind. But on days like this, she wished she had a much shorter walk, or a car drive home. Or at least an umbrella.

She reflected on her day at school. It hadn't been that bad today. Victoria had managed to ignore her for most of the day, except when she'd elbowed her out of the lunch queue. But she hadn't said anything to her, which was a welcome change.

Ella let herself in her front door with a relieved sigh. She shrugged off her sodden coat, hanging it on the radiator, which was freezing cold. She went to turn the heating on, wondering why it wasn't already on. "Mum?" she called, walking into the kitchen.

She flicked on the heating, hearing the ancient boiler crackle to life. It was on turning around from there that she spotted a note, one corner held down on the kitchen table by a cake tin. It was her mum's unmistakable scrawl, and she squinted her eyes to decipher it.

Sorry darling, I've gone out to meet an old friend- won't be back 'til late. You can make what you want for dinner. There are cookies that I baked earlier in the tin. Call my mobile if you need anything. Ella immediately opened the tin and took a cookie. She took it up to her room, and went to get changed out of her water-clogged uniform.

Ella was almost changed when she heard the doorbell ring. She finished pulling on her jeans and looked in her mirror. Her dark brown hair was tangled and knotted from the rain. She ran a brush through it quickly, wishing her mum would let her dye it to get rid of the copper highlights that made her hair appear to have red streaks in the sun. Ella plonked the brush down and ran down the stairs. Looking through the peephole, she didn't recognise the person on the other side. It was a teenage boy, with dark, messy hair that fell into his black eyes. He was quite tall. Ella hesitated, not sure whether to open the door or not. She definitely didn't know this person. After a second of deliberation, she opened the door.

The boy stared at her and said nothing, as if he was waiting for her to speak.

"Ummm… can I help you?" Ella asked politely.

"Can I come in?" he asked. Before Ella knew what was happening, he had pushed past her and into the house.

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