Grade
8
There was once a carriage on its way to The Fay Hills. In it was a girl named Winter. You couldn't even really call her a girl. She was a Brownie of sorts. One that could hide her cat-like features and look human. Her kingdom was under attack and she, being the regent, had to vanish. No one but her coachman knew where she was off to. But do not let me spoil her journey. Study her two-edged tale yourself. There will be death, love and more if you would only put a standstill on reading this preamble.
There was fear in her face. He could see she didn't trust him. I mean it was completely justified since he had just sort of robbed her carriage. He looked at her again. This time she looked fierce. There was still fear but it was slightly demolished by a fiery look on her face. She had dusty dream colored hair, high cheek bones, and warm green eyes that looked softer than a summer's breeze. He grabbed her arms and moved her towards the woods where his clan lay. They were ruffians.
Tears filled her eyes as she was being led away from her belongings. The only things she owned were in that carriage. She tried to pull her wrists away from the boy but he had strength that was not to be reckoned with. Her wings under her dress faintly fluttered angrily. She glared at him and a fire rose in her eyes. Focusing on one of his dimples, she burned him. His face jerked away and he winced. "I thought Fairy Girls were supposed to be nice?" He mocked her, knowing it would run her down. She winced at his taunting and sagged her shoulders, making it harder to drag her along.
The walk to his clan was not long and they arrived shortly there after. Drunk clan members laughed and smirked at what now seemed be a little girl. "Max! What's with the girl?" The leader of Clan jeered at her captor. He looked down, and made his way down to the holding cells in the basement of the castle. She screamed and pounded her fists on his chest. They just laughed at her. He looked down and might have felt sorry if his clan mates weren't in the same section of the castle. "They can smell fear, you know." Max said in a joking whisper. She noticed his voice was not incredibly deep but still resonant. She nodded and giggled softly. He rolled his eyes.
She looked up at him from her 5'1" height. From what she could see, looking up at his 6'3" height, he had a stealthy, highly defined jawline, thick dark eyebrows and searching ice blue eyes that would pierce you if they could. His sandy brown, curly hair shook when he moved. "Here's where I leave you." Max laughed at her. He pushed her to another guard. "Keep an eye on this one. She's slippery..." The guard grabbed her and pushed her to a cell. The gate had the shape of a heart that had the words "This be the house of lone wolves who couldn't make it back to the pack." under it. She shuddered.
There wasn't much Max could do. He ran errands. Just because he was Clan Leader's son didn't mean he could roam free. His father was disappointed he had gotten such a worthless son. Max walked up the stairs to the Main. It was where all the men ate. "Max! Come here," his father yelled from across the room, " What is the matter with you! First you fail at Section T for thievery and now you kidnap a girl? Are you going mad?" Max just looked at his worn shoes. His father continued to ramble on about what a dunce he was and that he definitely didn't get his mind from him. "Max, are you listening?" He nodded, lying. He got the same lecture everyday. "Where have you been? What have you done now? You lost what!" But then again, he was always feeling sorry for himself.
The girl didn't speak much. Max was forced to check on her everyday to make sure she hadn't escaped. One day he went down and found her missing. Her dress was over one of the skeletons. "She tricked us," he said, turning to the guard, "How did you not notice her absence, you imbecile!" Her pale violet ribbon from her hair had caught on the barred windows.
Max had to go look for her because according to his father it was his responsibility since he was the one who kidnapped her. He looked for hours. "She couldn't have gotten far." He walked back to the Clan Stronghold. Max knew his father was going to be mad. "I need a horse..." Max was raised to believe every man is responsible for himself. Still, he couldn't just abandon her. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something strange about her. She wasn't normal.
Just as he walked up to the gate, he heard his father on the wall. "If Maxim doesn't come back with the girl, there will be severe punishment..." Max sneaked through a hole in the wall. There were guards in the halls. He had tunnels in the walls that he had dug as a young boy. He jumped behind a tapestry. The guards walked past and as they did, one said in a thick Scottish accent "If they find Max, there will be hell to pay." Max trembled at the idea. There was an area in the wall where, if you push just right, it will open up ever so slightly. He did so and slipped his hand through, making his way to the tunnels. He had had a map at one point but it had been burned with a fire in his playroom. It would be difficult to make his way through without it.
As he made his way through the fortress, trying not to get noticed, he heard his mare getting dragged into a stall. She was in distress. He started to run. This made a lot of noise, for the walls were not sound proof. Guards in the halls were saying such things as "What's that noise?" and "The rats are back!" Another said that he was afraid of rats and he would go home to his mother if they were back. Max ignored them and continued, down to the courtyard and through the barn to where his mare was being poked and prodded into her stable. The guards turned but there was nothing there. Next thing they knew and he was on his horse's back riding off into the dark night.
"Winter. My name is Winter." She said, trying to remind herself. Trying not to forget. If she forgot, she would lose her title as Brownie. She continued to walk through the woods and entered a field. The Field of Torment and Intimidation was its name. It was where all the wicked creatures of the Gloom resided in the Daylight. It was a collision course of Bugbears, Black Eyed Beings, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and many more. Winter heard a small wail of agony, coming from a Sylph, being shot down. This was very hard to do, you see, because they could not be seen by the "Human" eye. She ran in the direction that meant death. The other meant the same. One direction there were Ogres and in the other Black Eyed Beings. They screeched with joy as she screamed while they were closing in on her.
Max had gone into the woods as fast as he could, but he knew he couldn't survive in the woods without weapons or food. Of course, he had his dagger, but that isn't enough to keep him and Jessa, the horse, and eventually Winter, safe. He had to go back, but the girl was on his mind first. He nudged Jessa and she began to trot. Max heard a scream that wasn't quite like one of the banshees or other creatures. It sounded more human like. He had heard it before. Perhaps after the robbing of the carriage. Perhaps it was the memory of the girl, pounding on his chest and screaming for him to let her go. That had to be it. He hadn't known her name, but he tried to remember any name that came to his mind, fitting her personality. She was reserved, but had a mettlesome spirit. Fire burned in her eyes. Nothing he thought of could bring forth a name fitting her. "Winter!"
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