Aeonia

Prologue

The moonlight peered in through the gaps between the tree branches as the girl silently made her way off the small front porch. The building was a monstrosity – old and withering, as if it had been standing for too many years. A sign above the door read 'Girl's Orphanage – For girls of age 13 to 18'. It was barely attached to the wall, nails had rusted and fallen out. The windows only led anyone to see a dark interior, plain and poorly treated.

Dry leaves softly crunched under her feet, as the girl weaved through trees where the forest had begun to thicken. Every so often, she would pause, tilt her head back and listen with a terrified look on her face, as though she feared someone was following her. Once she had reassured herself it was only wildlife, she continued to rush through the woods. As she ran, her thin and poorly made coat would flap behind her, picking up in the wind along with her long platinum blonde hair which looked as though it was shining in the moonlight. Following along what seemed to be an unused dirt path, she slowed down to a fast walking pace.

This girl had almost made it far enough into the woods that the dirt trail had disappeared when a rustling in the trees behind her made her swing around to take a look. Two bright red eyes stared out at her, and the only warning she had was the low growling. She figured it was a hint to run or she'd be the beast's midnight snack before you could say, 'Eaten alive!'.

Picking up her pace, she tripped over fallen branches and roots, leaves flying in a trail behind her as she stumbled through the eerie forest. Panic seeped through her body, trying to overwhelm her as the four-legged beast slowly caught up to her. As she stumbled over a log, she released a stuttered breath and clawed desperately at the air, reaching as far out as she could for something – anything – to pull herself back up. The full moon illuminated dark shadow loomed above hers as she inevitably fell into – no, through – the brush, twigs snapping roughly around her face and scratching her skin until she eventually thudded onto a jagged rock. Claws reached out to tear and dig through her already torn flesh. However as soon as she felt the slightest scrape of a nail against her already tender back, adrenaline shot through her veins and she jerked and rolled out of the way. This movement had in the long run been an almost self-sacrificial act, because when she rolled, the towering beast dug his claws through her skin, and almost stabbed her right next to her heart.

Before blacking out from pain and terror, the last thing she saw was a glimpse of a young girl and boy running towards the murdering monster with swords and bows drawn, striking at exactly the right angle to kill the beast.