Chapter the First

Slender fingertips gripped the brass doorknob, turning slowly to release the catch. The heavy wooden door swung ponderously, allowing a thin sliver of light to fall on the dark floorboards in the hallway beyond. A pair of pale grey eyes peered out of the fractional opening, darting back and forth to survey the length of the hall. A small sigh of satisfaction escaped through the narrow space, and then the door swung open to reveal a diminutive figure. A girl of nine or ten stood in the doorway. She was slight and pale, lack-lustre hair only a few shades darker than her ghostly complexion. A button nose cast no shadow over her full lips, and her light eyebrows were almost indiscernible, giving her a wide-browed look. She held a pair of plain leather shoes. One last furtive glance in each direction, and she was scurrying off towards the stairs, the hem of her grey woollen gown tangling in her bare feet. The stairs were the work of several short seconds, and no sooner had she reached the bottom than she was out the door and running.

Maryanne took off down the lane as fast as her legs would carry her, and didn't stop until she was hidden from view by a copse of scrubby trees. The girl sat in the rust-coloured dirt and pulled on the shoes with a triumphant smile. She thought she would never escape that dreary house! Mother had cornered her in the main room, insisting that Maryanne should hear what was going on in the village, as if it were in any way relevant to the girl's interests. Mother had droned on endlessly about farm production, the progress of construction on a new barn, the blacksmith's new son, current chicken populations, and other boring tidbits that Maryanne could live without hearing about.

It could only be called a stroke of luck that the village doctor arrived with "important business" to discuss, and the two women had retreated to the study. If there was one thing Maryanne knew, it was that opportunities should never be wasted, especially if they came in the form of a chance to escape to the woods.

Maryanne continued on her way down the road, kicking at pebbles as she went. She could see the edge of the forest from the top of an angular hill and quickened her pace. She often escaped the manor house in favour of spending her free time in the woods. Of course, her mother would be very displeased with the notion of her daughter travelling this far alone, but in Maryanne's opinion, what mother didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Topping the next hill, she could see the tree-line again and broke into a run once again.

The girl stopped just inside the trees and flopped panting to the ground. The air around her was still and silent. Not the enclosed, claustrophobic aura of the manor house, but free and open feeling. She loved the softness of the trees, so unlike the harsh geometry of the house. She would be happy to lie in the soft bed of pine needles forever, except that there was so much forest to explore!

It was a beautiful day. The sky was a calm grey-white, devoid of any clouds, and the sun's white glare was impeded only by the black boughs of the trees. The stale quality of the air had been erased by recent rain. Maryanne was bypassing a large patch of stinging nettle (she'd learned that lesson the hard way) when she heard a sound. Now if you have ever been in a forest, you'll know that sounds are not at all unusual. This sound was very unusual.

"Hello." said a soft and melancholy voice from the upper branches of a particularly large pine tree.

This was the last thing Maryanne was prepared to hear and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Eek!" she screamed, and dove behind a tree. When no hideous monsters appeared, she decided to risk a glance, and saw a young boy climbing down from where he must have been perched. He hung full length for a second, and then dropped the last four feet to the ground. Maryanne crawled out from behind her tree and dusted her dress off.

"Sorry if I scared you." The boy apologized.

Maryanne straightened to look at the offender. He was perhaps a year younger than her, thin boned with a shock of light brown hair. His eyes though, were the strange part. She was accustomed to brown eyes, or grey like her own. These were a shocking and unnatural color; the lovely grey-blue color that she had thought was exclusive to the blue jays in the woods and the expensive dyed wool that arrived occasionally from the city.

"You startled me is all." She said, smiling. He returned the smile shyly. Strange, she thought. She knew all the children in the village, but this boy was a complete stranger. She was about to ask where he was from when she recalled her conversation with her mother earlier that morning.

"I'm Maryanne," she offered, "Are you the blacksmith's son?"

He nodded. "My name is Silus."

A/N: Hi! This is my very first fiction press story, so I hope you are enjoying it so far! Just a few things I should share with you; first THANK YOU so much for reading this, it means a lot to me! Second, this story was born of a strange idea that my sister had, and I'll warn you that it is not going to be fast-paced and adventurous. I promise though, there are some aliens! Until next chapter then,

Shero : )