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    Prolouge:

    The freshly fallen snow that blanketed the cold ground was untouched: Not a single footstep, not a single paw print ruined its crystal-like surface that sparkled in the early mornings struggling rays.
    The woods were dark and dense and the light that managed to seep through was thin and weak, but still they caught the shimmer of a lavender nightgown that disappeared into the forest and vanished completely into the dark.
    The ground however was still perfect. Not a flaw upon its surface.
    Almost as if the figure had glided above it...










    Chapter 1

    The cool, light colors of the study made Jewel Royce shiver involuntarily as she seated herself as silently as she could on the windowseat, overlooking the forest. Her brother, Wyatt was deep in reading, his glasses high on his nose and his face close to the pages of the book. He spent every morning in the study, reading or taking notes on whatever it was that he was studying and wouldn't come out until the breakfast dishes were cleared and the food cold. Jewel herself had just finished her usual deviled eggs and down in the dining hall, she had the fleeting thought to bring her sibling up something to eat, but it was gone as she ate and it hadn't occured to her until she was sitting quietly at the window...
    "Did you need something, Jewel?"
    "Ah...no," Jewel said, coming out of her thoughts, "It's just so lonely downstairs...with Iris gone every morning..."
    "I know what you're getting at, but I can't force her to stop"
    "But its every morning Wyatt! The forest is dangerous and..."
    From downstairs, the front door slammed and Wyatt and Jewels heads snapped in the direction of the studys doorway anxious to see their sister strolling nonchalantly down the hall.
    "She's back," Wyatt murmured and Jewel nodded quickly as Iris stopped in the doorway and smiled back at the curious faces of her siblings.
    "I figured you two would be in here. What a beautiful morning it is, had you your breakfast Jewel?"
    Jewel nodded.
    "And you Wyatt?"
    "Not yet..."
    Iris's violet eyes danced from Wyatt to Jewel and then back again with a sense of playfullness in them. As if there was a secret she was keeping and it was a game for them to figure out...
    "Well then, I'll be up in my room then"
    And with that, she disappeared down the hall. Jewel flopping back down on the windowseat and Wyatt returning his attention to his book.


    (To Be Continued Upon Request)