My Story - Old Beginning.
by: Me.

The sound of the rushing wind was the first thing Onela heard that night, after she lay down in her bed and closed her eyes. The wind was a familiar one, soft and cool and ran through her hair like fingers searching and seeking; she loved that wind. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a place like none she had ever dreamed of before. It was nothing like the forest of Kalinesti with its shimmering bark, stars during the daytime, and beautiful scenery - it was a much darker, far more ominous wood, with no stars and an extensive amount of fog and it stretched so far that she could barely see in front of her. Feeling a shiver rush down her spine, Onela let out a quiet cry, wrapping her arms tightly around her petite frame in an attempt to shield herself from that said breeze. There was something about this unknown forest that gave her a sense of fear, but the cool and familiar breeze calmed those fears, relieving her of any doubts she may have had. The trees loomed so high above her head that she felt trapped, but there was still something else in the darkness; something that was calling her.

Apparitions played within the shadows of the trees and she found herself unable to sit still, looking left and right and feeling the calm slip away very quickly. Being in this brand new place was scary and she knew nothing of her surroundings, but this could not be - she was Onela, born and raised in Kalinesti, destined to live there until her dying day and then to probably live on there in her afterlife. She knew every inch of her island, be it in the forest, caverns and even in most of the water, but this was not Kalinesti. How could she know of a place outside of her home?

"Where am I?" She asked aloud as the realization of her situation soaked in. Her huge eyes widened even more and she spun around on her heel, glancing down her body to see what she was wearing, but nothing seemed out of place for she was dressed in silvers and blues, but her cloak was missing and so was her circlet, the sign of her heritage and the gift from her ancestors.

"Onela..."

The voice whispered so softly she felt it was almost on the wind, or even part of the wind and she jumped back nearly five steps, spinning around once again, her arms wrapped even tighter around her body. Her thigh length braid hit against her back as she turned, but everywhere she looked there was nothing. "Who is there!" She did not call out too loudly, but only so that anyone very near to her could hear her. "I know you are there. I heard you. Show yourself."

"Onela.."

The voice repeated and she felt her stomach drop; she had heard this voice before, but it was a voice that she had only heard in her dreams.. a voice that was usually so sympathetic, compassionate, warm and composed, but now it was empty and silent and icy. "Please... show yourself.." She pleaded with the darkness, her head snapping left and right, as she looked for the owner of the speaker over and over again, but nothing could be found.

"Don't be afraid.. I won't hurt you."

She wanted to believe this voice, but at the moment she wanted nothing more than to feel safe and secure - a natural response to fear, but she couldn't trust this voice, this mood or this place. She had to know where she was and she had to see the person's face, "Tell me who you are. How do you know my name? Where is this place?" She was a little more demanding this time, stomping her foot down and dropping her hands down to her side as the frigid air vanished, replaced with a heated flame deep within her chest.

"Onela, relax. You have to let me help you. Just come to me."

She began to shake to her head, her hands clenching into two fists, before she sighed, "I cannot see you, so I cannot come to you. Where is this place.. who are you.." Onela knew she was not going to get any kind of actual answer but she wanted to know and as she looked around, she began to think of her homeland once again, but this time of the inside; the palace, the cold, icy people that so closely resembled perfect, model statues of gods and goddesses that it was occasionally unnerving. This place had nothing like those beautiful people with their glowing auras and their silver silks and hairs; it was murky and obscure, but still.. Her mother and her father were in Kalinesti and as their faces came into her mind, she blinked them away, shaking her head violently and stumbling back over the damp night ground and she would have fallen had a pair of muscular, strong, comforting arms not reached out and caught her inches before she hit the ground. Her heart was racing and for some reason she suddenly became very nervous, but she did not want to get up, "Th-thank you," she stuttered, straightening up onto her own two feet and turning to greet the stranger who had caught her, hoping to see the most handsome man she had ever dreamed of with hair dark and long and eyes soft and beautiful, but when she turned and looked, all she saw was more darkness. "No, please," she whispered, tiny steps being taken as the words stumbled from her lips. She reached out with her left hand, gripping at the darkness and the fog, searching for the person that had captured her in more ways than one. Those arms were the dream she had every night; the home that she knew she truly wanted, but it was gone now and the panic of being alone in a place where she knew nothing began to set in again and she began to hurry up her pace, stumbling along blindly, her arms reaching out in front of her, pushing her body off of trees and weakly over the bramble and bushes in her way. On and on she went, for how long, she was not sure, but as the end of her path came, she knew it, but for one reason or another, she cared not. She just continued to run, feeling that wind blow through her hair, tangling in her curls and whipping over her dress and as the cliff came to be before her, she squatted just a little and jumped down, off and into the darkness, of a void she knew nothing of, praying only for the end. She could not live in a world like this, like this.

Ominous Beginning

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three times the knocking sounded on the door, echoing throughout the room, awaking the young sleeping Princess inside. She sprung up from her restless position, flinging out both arms and throwing the blanket off of her, "Wha-" she started, her eyes opening and letting the bright and shining sun into her vision, causing her close them almost immediately afterwards. Discombobulated and perturbed she looked around from her left and to her right when the knocking started again, making her jump once more.

"Onela!" A woman's voice yelled from outside the thick, heavy wooden door; her voice was tiny and meek, and yet loud and screeching and it made Onela wince, her eyes narrowing a little and her head instinctively twitching to the side. "Are you in there, Onela! Are you awake yet, girl?"

Onela would have recognized that voice anywhere and after rolling her eyes back into her skull and slamming back down into the pillows she called, "Yes, mother, I am in here and awake. What is it you need?" The woman yowling outside her door was none other than her very own mother, Iliandra Damondred, the High Queen of Kalinesti. Iliandra was a very proud and prestigious woman, never thinking she could do any wrong and always very demanding from Onela and her father, Ellester, the Overking, as well. When Iliandra wanted something she got it and usually rather quickly. Many of the servants and other people that lived within the Palace trembled in fear at the approach of their tiny Queen and Onela had even heard whispers of late of strange, dark magics and ominous tidings in their mist, but she did not pay it much more mind and even now with her mother banging on her door, she felt the overwhelming desire to just ignore her, but when she started banging again, Onela knew it was going to be one of those mornings and she weakly threw the blanket off of her and pushed herself weakly from the bed, trembling, though she did not know why. For a moment she stood there, her hand held out in front of her face and she frowned thoughtfully as it shivered and moved, but then she began the walk across her large room and across the moonlight lambskin rug, the warm fur tickling the bottom of her feet. Her dressing gown was made of the softest, most delicate silk and was a deep, maroon color which fell down to the ground, and she toyed with it using her left hand as she made her way across her sitting room, pass the couch and around her desk, until she was at the door. It took her only a second to unlock the heavy door before she pulled it open, stepping back so that she could greet her mother, "Good morning, mother," she said, with a slow bob of her head.

Iliandra was dressed in a gown that Onela could only dream of wearing and it was a night onyx velvet, with royal purple lace strung throughout the bodice, sleeves and up the sides of the skirt. It hung down to the ground, dragging a bit behind the petite woman, and the sleeves were puffy and then tight, reaching down to her mother's wrists. The neckline was cut low and revealed the top of her mother's perfect and flawless breasts and creamy, perfect neck and as Onela looked her mother over she noticed how deeply and slowly her mother was breathing, and looked to her face for a sign of what exactly her mother feeling. Iliandra was a very extraordinary woman to stare upon, which Onela thought was nothing like herself; her hair was so light that it appeared to be like platinum and was as straight as an arrow and fell like silk down her back, with a perfect, even cut above her waist. In her hair was a circlet made of velvet and it was entwined into her locks, keeping it out of her beautiful face. Iliandra's eyes were small, but beautifully shaped, like almonds and were a deep, majestic plum, her eyelashes silvery and long, her skin powdery and flawless. She rarely smiled, except in moments of victory and she had the most perfect posture Onela had seen in anyone. Around her throat was a silver and gold choker, and centered in the middle was a huge ruby, almost as big as Onela's fist - her mother's most prized piece of jewelry and on her fingers were an assortment of moon and star crystal rings, which glittered and sparkled like no other jewels in the kingdom. Iliandra only wanted the best and she always got it. She was a proud, cold and powerful woman and she looked upon Onela no differently than she looked upon everyone else.

Except right now.

Iliandra's face lit into a radiant smile, her plum eyes glowing with a light Onela had never seen before and she swept into the room, pass her daughter and into Onela's sitting room, where she spun around until she was facing her daughter once again. Onela looked briefly around her room, admiring the cool and soft blues and silvers which decorated the surroundings before she turned to her mother, who was staring at Onela, studying her and for some reason Onela felt like she was on display and nervously reached back to close the door her mother had left open. It was extremely rare that Iliandra came up to Onela's room, let along inside. She was pretty sure this was the first time in several years and her curiosity was already growing as to find out, why?

As she watched, her mother's eyes widened with disapproval and she marched over to her daughter, reaching out with her hands to tap at Onela's dressing gown, "You have not even dressed yourself yet, daughter," she stated and Onela nodded slowly, "Yes, I just woke up when you came to my door." She made sure she watched her words carefully, as her mother could easily take things the completely wrong way but her mother barely heard her and she walked around her mother slowly, but making sure she now stayed out of Onela's reach, "No, no. It is better this way. You must wear something wondrous today; something stunning! Something to bring out the Star Elf in you." Iliandra reached up with both of her tiny hands and caressed both of her cheeks, something she had indeed never done, before she stepped back slowly, but Onela was frowning at what she had said.

Onela knew how hard it would be to bring out the Star Elf in Onela. Like the other Kalinestians, Onela was not fair of hair and eye, just of skin and hers was like her mothers and the other Kalinestians, being it was as pale as snow lit by moonlight and had a soft shimmer to it, like the dust left behind on fairies. But beside that she was nothing like the rest of the Kalinestians. Males and females alike had hair that ranged from periwinkle to salmon to shimmering silver and platinum, but Onela's hair was far different and was as dark as chestnut and unlike the Kalinestians who had straight hair, Onela's was long, to her thighs, and thick, and loosely tangled with curls and ringlets, and would have been wild and unruly had she not kept it entwined into a wrist thick, intricately woven braid. Her eyes were huge and wide and instead of being silvery or blue, hers were a deep and depthless green with tiny flecks of silver, which were identified when she was much younger as bits of starlight. Kalinestians were a sleek and were born with a grace that unnatural to the rest of the world, or so Onela had heard, but she always found herself to be gawky and awkward compared to the rest of the Kalinestians, especially her mother, the Queen. Onela was taller than Iliandra, but it did not change the fact that she always felt like the tiny woman stood a head above her; other Kalinestians were both tall and short, but all were lithe and graceful, whereas Onela was skinny and yet muscular from all the time she spent outside, and with curvaceous hips, which her mother called large, but there were times when Onela thought they made her look.. different, but in a much different than bad way, but those times were few and far between.

Suddenly her thoughts were torn away from her and she felt herself falling, falling and falling into a darkness that was far too familiar and far too large. A darkness that was destined to swallow her up and take away everything she loved and cared about wanted; a darkness made to leech her life away from her until she was barren and bleak alone. How had she gotten here? How? She had jumped, willingly and with the hope that she would be no more, that she would be gone, that the family she dreamed of would never lose or know her and that -

The second was over and Onela's eyes were wide with fear and her soft pale skin had turned deadly pale and again she was shaking violently. She had completely forgotten what she had been dreaming before her mother had awakened her, but seeing it now, she almost felt tears in her eyes and began to shake her head in little tiny and rapid movements, her hair flipping back and forth, "No, no, no," she began to repeat, whispering so quietly it appeared her mother could not even hear her as she spun around Onela elaborately waving her hands and smiling eerily and then she was going through Onela's wardrobe, pulling out gowns and disapproving each one, but Onela was hearing none of it; she felt something else, a cold and icy hand over her heart, the feeling that had torn through her life a knife as her feet had touched that dark mass of hatred and fear, but she was back in her room now; she had awakened, only her feet had touched it; she could still be free.

"Onela!" Iliandra's scream shattered Onela's doubts and pondering and she jumped a little, both hands reaching up to her heart and clenching together, her eyes darting over to her mother and locking her bright purple eyes, "What are you doing, Onela?" Her mother had both arms cross over her breasts and she was staring down at her nose at her daughter, and Onela knew that her mother was getting upset with her and she apologetically bowed her head, rushing forward to her mothers side to examine the gown she had chosen for her daughter to wear. It was a fine velveteen gown with loose sleeves, a neckline that was cut daringly low, something Onela disapproved of and was finished up with a lace bodice, that only went halfway down to her stomach. The skirts of the gown were wide and would have pooled out at the bottom had she been wearing it and was a mix of emerald and sea foam green silks. Onela had never worn it before, although she had always thought it was a very pretty one, but she rarely got dressed up like that, but her mother seemed insistent now and Onela smiled a little and nodded once, not sure what her mother was up to. "I like that one."

Finally, Iliandra looked pleased and she nodded, laying the gown across Onela's couch before turning back to her and looking up to her, "Onela, my daughter, bathe and dress quickly my dear, for we have a special guest tonight."

"A guest?" Onela gasped in complete and obvious shock. There were no guests in Kalinesti and Onela could only remember one other guest that had ever visited Kalinesti when nearly ninety years ago, when Onela was much younger. That woman had been a seeress and a supposed friend of Onela's mother, although she had never been able to figure out how the woman got here or where she came from or how Iliandra could befriend anyone when no one ever left the kingdom, or ever had.

"Yes, daughter and a very important one; one that truly desires to make your acquaintance," Onela watched as the all too familiar cold smile took over her beautiful mother's features, but she did not turn to Onela again. "So, hurry and dress quickly. I suppose you do not have to wear that one. Which ever you like."

Onela nodded blankly and said nothing as her mother left the room. Of course she had many questions but she knew her mother well enough to know that the woman would never release any information to Onela. Not about anyone.

In silence she sat, running her fingers over the dress lightly before sighing. Who could be coming to visit the castle? Perhaps a noble of the faeries? Perhaps one of the wild Star Kalinestians that lived in the forest, or were whispered to. She had never actually laid her eyes on one so she had no proof, but she had heard whispers of them in the past. The people that lived deep within the forest and who regained their energy through the starlight. The people that never slept and who were more magical than any Kalinesti could dream. But they were just myths, so Onela did not think that was who would be coming.

The loud sound of someone hitting her door startled her from her thoughts and she picked up the dress she had been wearing and held it to her body in protection and surprise. "Who is there?" She called, but no one responded. "Hello?" She repeated. Things were going to strangely today that she was feeling uneasy already and she had only been awake a little bit. "Hello, is anyone there?" She raised her voice a little so that she would be heard, but there was still no response. Pushing herself up from the chair she had stumbled back upon she made her way slowly to the door, placing the dress down gently and wrapping her robe back around her slight body. "Elinwes?" Her voice was fainter as she moved to grab hold of the doorknob and pulled the door open.

There was no one there, and for some reason she had already felt that someone had come and gone. Glancing down the hall she saw no guards anywhere, but she knew they were further down the hall somewhere, watching her tower and ready to sacrifice themselves just for her. It was a kind gesture but she thought nothing of it as there had been no war in Kalinesti ever that Onela knew of. About to close the door she looked down with a frown and spotted what appeared to be a bag made of royal purple velvet resting on the floor. It looked to contain something inside. Peaking her head out once she looked for the person who had left the satchel but there was no sign of anyone. "Should I pick it up?" She wondered, knowing well aware that her father and mother would look down upon such a thing, but there was no way she could resist. Kneeling down upon one knee she picked the bag up in between her two fingers and moved further inside, closing the door once again.

"What is this?" She asked again, walking back pass the table and the dress, forgetting all about everything her mother had been talking about, the way she had forgotten all about the dream she had been having. Seating herself on the edge of the bed she slowly pulled back the folds and gazed upon the contents of the bag. "Huh?" Came her confused response as she stared upon items inside. There was a chain which shimmered and sparkled, etched with tiny runes wrapped around a small, black velvet covered book. "I.." she started before retrieving her circlet and making sure it was securely fastened in her hair. She never did anything without consulting the magic of her circlet, her most prized possession and most magic item.

The light of her circlet was blinding so quickly that she shrieked out and fell off the bed, and hard onto the floor. "What!?" She began, but the light only began to grow lighter and she shuffled backwards in fear, her hand above her face as she tried to see into the glowing white light. "What is there?" She did not know what to do or what was going on. There was a soft and gentle heat that began emanating from the bag which washed over her like a soft and warm breeze. Onela gasped in shock and closed her eyes, reaching out with her hand to grab hold of the bag and pull it closed but it did not work. "What is this.." She asked as her fingers gripped around something smooth and cold. She tried to open her eyes to see but there was nothing to be seen. "What is it!?" She screamed suddenly before the white light completely enveloped her and the gentle warm sensation started to burn harshly at her skin.

"What's going on in here?!" Came the sound of man's yelling voice, "Your Majesty, are you okay?" There was someone else in the room calling to her or so she believed, "Alert the King and Queen. Princess Onela, look at me!" But she could not see clearly or even be sure that there were people there, "I," she tried to respond but the air was being taken from her. Someone cursed me, she told herself blaming herself for being so foolish as to open the bag. As the air got hotter and hotter, she began to feel weaker and weaker, and more and more vulnerable and she had no idea how much had passed before the familiar voice of her mother returned, but with another one and yet another she did not recognize. "Onela! What is that!?" Her mother screamed to her, "Onela..." Her father was whispering and his voice was sad, but he did not sound surprised at all, just lost. "You there! Get my wife away from that before she gets hurt!" Wife, Onela questioned her eyes suddenly flying open in an attempt to see who this person was and who they were talking to and for just a second she did indeed see him. It was a person like nothing she had never seen, with skin as dark as night but with glowing sea eyes that seemed to burning through the light and into her. It was a youthful and beautiful face, surrounded by soft obsidian hair and his entire body was clad in black. "I said save my wife now!" Onela stared breathlessly as he looked to her as he pointed, marking her clearly as his wife, but she was no such thing, "No," she gasped, shaking her head, "No, they would not have..." Then suddenly a jolt of light shot through her chest and began to expand, searing her and tearing at her and as she began to scream finally, a heart torn and pained scream, the light vanished and everything went black.

Once again Onela was awakened by the sound of something nearby, except the sound compared nothing to the loud banging on her bedroom door she had last remembered. Upon opening her eyes the young princess was met with a dark and dreary and even bleak seeming forest. Not exactly sure what had happened she began to push herself up from the ground, and then realized it must have rained some time earlier for her clothing, hair and skin were absolutely covered in mud. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she looked down to her clothes, only to see her legs bloody and her robe torn from what ever displeasure had befallen her earlier and she worked hastily to cover it up, but it did no good. It was so completely torn and wet now that she could not really tell what color it had originally been, nor could she remember. All she knew was that now it was torn and ripped halfway up her thighs, which of course was inappropriate should someone in the palace come out here and see her. As she began to stand to her feet, Onela felt a sudden shock of pain strike down her back and down the back of both of her legs. Crying out, she reached back to touch the back of her thigh with her left hand, but she felt nothing and it appeared that nothing was wrong, so she easily concluded she had harmed herself some time earlier and just did not remember. "That does not tell me what I am doing out here in the middle of night." Finally, she spoke, and as always, it was to herself, but she took another minute to stretch out her legs and arms reaching them high and over her head until a cold, frigid breeze swept through the small clearing in which she stood and she shivered from head to toe, instantly freezing and on top of that she could sense the rain coming back once more. "I suppose I should start back then," she concluded, but before heading off she tried to wrap the rags that were her outfit back around her, briefly touching the circlet which was still tucked safely into her hair.

"Now, where am I headed again?" But suddenly she felt as if she were lost and this feeling grew heavier as she looked to her left, right and then up at the trees, "These are ... unfamiliar," she noticed, as these trees were gloomier and felt far more cautious than the ones in her home. "Could it be I have found a new place within the Forest of Stars?" As the butterflies in her stomach began to fly around, she giggled, ignoring the pain in her body once more. If she had found somewhere new to explore that was something amazingly exciting and she would have to get on it right away, despite what she was wearing or whether or not it was going to rain. After all, she knew the way back by heart and once she put her sight into the direction of home, she would go.

Heading what she thought was south, Onela pushed some of the strange ferns and vines away from her face, the raindrops from the leaves shooting icy spears down her spine and chilling her even more, but her blood was boiling with excitement, so it made no difference to her. The environment around her was much darker than the parts of Kalinesti she was used to and where there were usually glowing flowers and moonlight leaves, here there were only black trees and dark leaves, as well as an ominous fog that she could not help but walk into. "What will I find in here?" She started to ask herself aloud once more, wrapping her arms tightly around her and glancing nervously back over her shoulder. The cool grass was wet beneath her feet and constantly got stuck in between her toes, but she was used to walking around with no shoes, but still something felt different, almost as if she should not be here.

As she approached what appeared to be a wall of vines, Onela finally stopped, the wind blowing stronger now at her back. She felt something in the wind, that made her look back behind her, an eyebrow arched in wonder. "Is.. is someone.." But she allowed her voice to trail off and smiled foolishly to herself. Of course there was no one there, she reminded herself. No one came here.

Turning her attention once more to the dark wall of leaves in front of her, she reached out with her left hand and gently brushed her fingers over the wet leaves. "This seems odd ... somehow.." she whispered, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. At the touch of her fingers the leave appeared to move, but Onela was sure that the dark light could be playing tricks on her and stepped back looking over the wall yet again. It was so dark that even the light from her circlet and her vision were not helping her out as much as she would have hoped. "Perhaps there is nothing... there?"

"Hey! Who's there!" From behind her a man began to yell and she perked up at the sound of footsteps crushing grass beneath their feet. "I said, who's there! I'm gonna whack you one, I am." Eyes widening in shock Onela rushed out of the front of the leaf wall and dashed behind a nearby tree, covering at her body once more.

"I din't hear anyone, Jine, I think yer imaganing things again," came another man's voice, this one not as deep, nor angry, but she still would not relax.

"I am tellin' you I heard something," came the first one, whom Onela was guessing was Jine. "Let's hurry up just in case," and at that the sound of footsteps approached and out of the dark trees broke two men both dressed in black from what Onela could see, head to toe. Both were considerably larger than her, with dark, what appeared black hair and darker eyes. One wore a hat, but both wore swords and heavy cloaks.

As the two men growled to each other and looked around the entrance of the wall Onela crept even further back into the trees unable to believe her eyes. "How.."she mouthed, but nothing came out, and she began to shake her head once more, stumbling back another foot.

"Hey, did ya hear that?" That was the Jine one talking, Onela thought. "Yea, that I did, Jine," came the other's response but this time his voice was not really so friendly. "Who do ya think is out here?" The other spoke again and Jine replied, "Someone after the treasure, you louse," Jine laughed loudly suddenly, bounding through the trees and stopping right in front of Onela. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that all she could do was back up a few feet more before falling down onto the ground. Gasping for air she looked up at the huge man before her, his sword drawn and his ominous eyes locked on her.

"What is it, Jine?" The other one yelled and Onela continued to stare up at Jine, the man with the sword, wide eyed and panting for fear. "How.. Your hair.." She continued, not even realizing she was in danger, but more shocked at how a man had dark hair like her and she could not figure out for the life of her what he was wearing.

"It's a girl," Jine responded and Onela's eyes widened even more, if that was possible, to turn and look at the other man, smaller even upclose and whose eyes lit up at the sight of her. "Ooh, Jine, what luck we have. Isn't she a perty thing?"

"Aye, that she is," Jine said before poking her with his food, "Are you a spy girl?" Jine demanded of her but the littler man placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder and whispered something in his hear that Onela could not hear, but the look on Jine's face lightened circumstantially and he reached down with his huge, gloved hand and grabbed her by the arm, lifting her easily from the ground. "He's right. There's no way you're a spy running around in those clothes!" He laughed again, pulling on the torn string that was once her strap for her top and she cried out harshly, kicking instinctively with her feet, but it hurt so much to move that she whimpered a moment after. "And you fight, too. Wow, we really are lucky, aren't we?" He laughed again, before walking back the way they had come, Onela held easily in his one armed grasp. "Let me go!" She shrieked suddenly reaching out to kick him again.

"Be nice, dearie," came the smaller man's reply as he reached out and pinched her cheek roughly with his fingers, "Ye were on our land and that makes you ours now," he grinned evilly and Onela felt ill deep within her stomach. "Where.. Where am I? Where is here?"

For a moment the man looked troubled, then surprised before laughing at her and stroking her hair lightly with his hand, "We're in Gluliaen, dearie. But you knew that already or maybe the fact that you don't know means that no one will be looking for you and we can keep you as long as we want." He stared at her a moment longer, his black eyes penetrating her own before he grinned again, "No, I am sure someone is looking fer you, dearie, but that doesn't mean they'll find you right away."

"Who is looking for me?" Onela asked, her curiosity getting the better of her before she realized the present position she was in and began to squirm once more, kicking the man good and hard in the nose, "Get your filthy hands off of me," she cried out and the smaller man fell back a step, reaching up to grab his nose with both hands, "Why you little!" He began and probably would have stuck Onela if the bigger man, Jine hadn't grabbed her other shoulders and slammed her hard and fast against a wet tree. She cried out as the bark began to dig into her back, but he paid it no mind and held her there for a good minute before taking a step closer. "Yeah, you'll be a fun one all right. You're certainly pretty a thing, aren't you?"

"Let go of me," Onela commanded kicking her legs once again but the man easily blocked her attacks by straddling her against the tree, which was when her heart began to really pound. "Let me go."

Jine's eyes hardened once again, but it was not with anger this time and she struggled once more, but it did no good and as he pushed harder down on her wrists she screamed out again, unable to control it.

"That's it you pretty thing. Cry out for me," he growled at her, lowering his head to drag his tongue slimily across her collarbone causing Onela to scream on the top of her lungs, her voice piercing the forest around her. "Oh yeah... that's the way I like it, you know," he grunted repeating the same motion again, but she tried to fight him off once again. "Release me now." She told him, but he laughed some more and started with his tongue again moving this time to her neck, his hands never even softening on her wrists.

"That's what you get ya little bitch," the littler man cursed her, "Jine's going to teach ya a lesson, but don't worry. I'll get you ne-" the words were cut off and replaced soon after by a coughing, gurgling noise and suddenly the release on her wrists was relaxed and instantly she nearly onto the ground and would have landed hard on the bark beneath her, had two strong and steadying arms caught her, "You're safe now, don't worry," came a voice so warm and calming to her that she instantly believed it, but the feeling was gone as soon as the arms were away and she screamed out again seeing the body of the smaller man laying dead in the mud, a puddle of blood surrounding him in the dirt. Raising her eyes to the scene before her she finally saw a tall, but lean figure dressed in a black cloak which covered it from head to toe, and she knew from the voice it was a male. He was circling the much thicker man in front of him a kind of sword Onela had never seen in either hand. Jine, her attacked, lifted his huge and heavy arm and moved to punch the man in the cloak directly in the head and Onela gasped, but to her surprise the man easily moved aside, quicker than any deer she had ever seen. With ease and skill she watched him dance around the larger man, a bounce in his step the entire time and the cloak flowing with him as he moved.

A bright flash of lightning was the only warning before the rain started to fall down from the sky. It was light for the briefest of moments before it fell harder and heavier on top of the scene before her and forest around them and she was shivering from fear and the cold all at one time, but still the man in the cloak never faltered. Weakly, almost with no energy, Onela pulled herself back to her feet, steadying her shaking body against the tree, her head resting heavily on her arm. She watched in silence, working lazily with her free hand to organize her clothing in some kind of refined appearance, abut it was no good.

For Onela, as she watched, it seemed that the heavier the rain fell, the quicker the man moved and the more the larger man attacked, swinging and kicking and even pulling his sword out, but it was no use and as Onela watched she knew the smaller man was going to kill Jine the attacked, but for some reason she could not allow this to happen. "How bad can he really be..." She muttered to herself, shaking her head in frustration and rushing out to them, one arm wrapped around her body and one hand held out in front of her to get their attention, "Stop it!" She called out, stopping before them and even though she tried to see the cloaked man's face is was useless in the dark, in the rain and in the shadows. Jine laughed once and reached out quickly with his arm, wrapping it around her waist and pulling her closer to him, so hard that she had to feel their bodies crush against each other. Gasping in fright she reached out with both hands, but he just grinned, "This one of them folks who are coming to get ya?" Onela, clearly confused, stopped struggling, shaking her head, "No one is coming to get me," she said innocently, knowing that no one was coming for her, for she had just gotten lost and would return home soon. Jine grinned down at her a moment longer, before licking his lips, "Yer going to be a great prize after I take out this youngin' here." Again, Onela felt weak and as her body went limp with fear, the lightning flashed above their heads lighting the forest for an instant and because she was looking down and because he was down there, as the light flashed, she saw the man's face and for a moment her heart stopped in her chest. He had been looking at her, but surely could not see her face from all the way down there, but she had in fact seen his and it had been like something from a dream. From the distance she had seen him at he had been young, but older than her, with striking features and high cheekbones, serious eyes and she thought she saw dark strands of hair beneath the hood.

As Onela sat stunned and petrified she did not even notice that the fight had began once more except Jine had not put her back down and instead had her tucked securely in his arm, holding her close to her body and finally Onela began to feel faint with fear and shock. "Where am I?" She whispered, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again and once more she saw the youth's face beneath her as he looked up to her and her captor with something she had never seen before.

"This ends now!" His voice was quiet at first but raised as he shouted at the man holding her captive, and she looked up just in time to see the young man rushing at the two of them, both of his swords held high and his eyes alit with fire. Onela's eyes snapped shut and her body clenched, but the next thing she knew she was released and kneeling in the muddy puddle of water and blood. The rain was falling harder now, but she felt so weak in her mind and in her body she could not move any longer and fell forward onto her hands, coughing into the puddle below her.

"Hopefully this will give your friends and clan an idea of how not to mess with..." Onela winced as she heard a loud thud in the mud, before the youth muttering, "Bah, you were scum anyway."

Shaking still Onela tried to sit herself up but only succeeded with minimal success, balancing on her knees and pulling her hair around to her front, tugging on it for support, but he was gone or Onela saw no sign of him. All that was left were two bodies that she presumed were dead in front of the large wall with vines and it was raining again. "He.." She huffed, unable to really speak anymore as her eyes fluttered closed. "This is not..." She knew it and she thought she knew it from the moment she had opened her eyes. This was not Kalinesti. But if this was not Kalinesti, where could she have gone? What had happened? Onela did not remember anything from the recent past and even the past few weeks were a bit fuzzy to her and as she tried to remember she got dizzy and reached out to balance herself again, but was caught soundly with a pair of arms around her waist. "Hey now," came the exasperated response of the young man who had saved her catching her as she fell. As her eyes came to be open yet again she tried to scramble away from his grasp and up to her feet, but he kept a steady hold. "Relax, relax. I'm not going to hurt you." The voice was calm and soothing without a second to spare Onela conceded, her energy disappearing as if sapped away from her body. "There we go," it was such a warm voice that Onela stopped wondering where she was. He slowly began to lean her back into what Onela, did not know, but she moved with the motion, unable to fight any longer, when she felt a warm and fuzzy feeling envelop her body.

When her eyes had closed again she did not know, but when they opened yet again she could feel in the air around her that she was someone else, but for some reason there was no more rain and she felt somewhere safe and warm and comfortable. Her heart pounding Onela moved to sit up and cried out in horror at how much she hurt before laughing a little and looking around where she was. It took a few moments for it all to stick in and then Onela sighed, brokenhearted and confused, before paranoia took control once again. "Where - where am I?"

Onela had never seen this place before and it was unlike anything she had ever imagined. It was a room, small and neat with two, plain, uncomfortable looking beds and a large dresser for her things on the other side, but beside that where wasn't much else. A screen of some sort stood in the room but Onela could not even begin to wonder what a screen would be used in a room like this for. The only windows were on the far side and consisted simply of two long windows with maroon drapes to match the blankets on the beds.

Hopping up from the bed she had been sitting on Onela peered down to it with a frown. "Whose bed is this?" She sighed to herself fearing no one would answer, but Onela was sure it was not one that belonged to her and in Kalinesti it was rude to sit on other peoples' beds unless you were young, good friends, siblings or married.

"Hey, you're awake?" Onela jumped, pulling at what was wrapped around her even tighter but she released her grip a little when she saw the person that entered the room. He was taller than her, but most were, but he seemed to be the perfect height to talk to that she would only have to tilt her head a little bit to talk to him if they were upclose. His features were extraordinary and unlike any she had ever seen, both masculine and a bit effeminate as well, as he had high cheekbones and startlingly beautiful eyes; large and gray, yet calm, serious and calculating, but they sparkled like no eye she had ever seen before, and at the moment they appeared to grey crystals. On top of that he had hair so dark a grey as she thought it was black at first, but in certain light she saw that some was grey, but unlike an old person's hair, his was a dark gray, like stone. He wore all black and grey and was dressed simply, and the way he looked at her made Onela feel weaker than she already did and she huddled back into the cover of the protection she was wearing, hiding her face in her hair.

The man looked a bit worried for a moment, frowning and looking to the side, but he grinned to her a moment later, "You can come out of there, don't worry. You're a mess and we can get you cleaned up if you want or I can send someone else up for you? I can't be staying long but I'll help you while I'm here."

"Th-thank you," she whispered before she even knew she was speaking and as his eyes widened with surprise hers did, too and she stumbled back another step, threatening to lose her balance but he caught her behind her back with his arm.

"I think you should rest miss. I am sorry about what those men tried to do, but you know you shouldn't be wandering out in the woods alone dressed in..." He stopped talking but Onela knew what he meant and she blushed profusely beneath the shadows and he laughed, "Not that I saw anything, don't worry. I was worrying about my life not how pretty some girl is because they all are." He grinned again but Onela stared not understanding through her hair and the curls, listening to him.

Onela had the feeling he would have kept talking, but as she failed to respond he walked her over to the bed and began to sit her down, but she jumped up and directly into him, not wishing to offend some stranger by defiling their bed with her filthy situation. "No!" She moaned, shaking her head once, before her eyes fell closed. "Hey, are you all right? What were you doing out there anyway?"

"Do not remember..."She muttered innocently once more, her head shaking slowly and the world spinning around her.

"You don't remember what you were doing out there?" He sounded amused for a moment, though Onela could not understand. "So you are just some little brat that went and got drunk, lost and got herself in trouble?"

Out of nowhere came a burst of energy and Onela lurched forward and out of his arms and even though she fell to the floor it felt better than being where she had been. "I was certainly doing no such thing!" She shook her head and as she did so the covering over head fell back revealing her features and even in her shaggy and mussed state she saw Sage's eyes open in surprise and then soften a moment after. "What is it?" He shook his head but said nothing, bending down on one knee, "You're a mess you know." He said, smiling weakly, but Onela knew something was clearly wrong. "What is it?" He asked, the grin returning again, "You're kind of cute is all."