A Ruby in the Snow

Chapter 1

Eden never thought she would be an important girl, she was too simple for that. She was an only child, and she never talked to anybody outside their cabin. Even though she went to school, nobody ever talked to her. Did she do something wrong? Was she just weird and different?

Maybe not. She was always told by other people how gorgeous she was. Eden has long blonde hair, not too yellow, a soft cream color. It pairs well with her pale skin and rosy cheeks. Her violet eyes are quite rare among people, so many people call her eyes pretty, too.

Eden finds herself walking along the edge of a lake around where she lives. The snow was pretty deep, as the snow had been falling pretty hard earlier. It's now down to a slight flurry, but the snow is still coming down. Even if Eden did fall onto the lake, she wouldn't fall in. The lake is covered in thick ice around where she is.

The sky was white, and the snow crunched below Eden's feet with each step she took. She had been out looking for berries in the forest to make a pie. The forest seems to be picked through already by different animals, but Eden knew she could still find some. Eden had been foraging since she was a little kid, so she always knew where the animals would miss the berries.

The side of the lake was sort of thin, Eden had been clinging to the trees to get around them. She saw a clear opening up ahead, and sighed in relief. I'll finally be able to rest for a bit, it's been a while since I found somewhere to sit. Eden pondered, reaching the area she had seen earlier. The snow was untouched by any animal or human, a soft layer of powdery cold.

Eden walked over to the snow and fell over on top of it. The snow was maybe two feet deep, so her fall was safe from harm. She let out a warm gust of breath, looking at the sky. The snow fell slowly, landing softly on her face. Eden imagined that the slow wind and graceful dances of the snowflakes was what her name meant.

Well, her second name. Her full name was Epione-Eden Fleur Sapphire. Her parents couldn't decide on a name for her when she was born, so they picked the two they loved the most. It's a little love from both parents, but being called Epione-Eden everytime anyone referred to her was a little too much. Eden is a more normal name than Epione, so she tends to use that name more.

She had been sitting for a while, maybe she should get up. Eden picked up her basket, and began to walk again. The snow was getting hard to walk through, and her legs began to tire. Eden hadn't taken a long break, but she had been walking quite a while. Her basket was only half filled, so she decided to just push through.

Her mint green coat felt heavy as she heard rustling. She wouldn't be able to run away if it were to be something of a threat. The sound of snow crunching underneath something else's feet, or paws, was starting to worry Eden.

Before she knew it, she was hit right in the chest with something slightly circular from what she could tell. She could feel herself slide across the ice as she watched a very elegant reindeer stand before her. Eden stopped sliding across the ice, and pushed herself up with her hand. Much to her horror, the ice began to crack.

Eden looked at the reindeer as if he would help her get up, but he did nothing as the ice below he began to crumble into the deep water. She fell in, screaming as loud as she possibly could. She had always feared dying in deep water, but she never anticipated today would be the day.