_AnaTolia_ & xD3siR3x

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss was giving her goodbyes to the Cook and all the other servants that she had befriended all her life. They were with her ever since she came to the world. Some women were weeping for her departure while the more older ones gave her their gruff 'hmph's. But, Aly knew that it was their way of saying goodbye. The Cook said to her, "Well, it's about time. Think of this as an adventure." She embraced her, thinking about all the times she tested the Cook's fabulous recipes.

Before her carriage arrived, the Cook thrust a big book in her arms. Alyss looked at it carefully, and hr eyes widened when she realized that it was her cookbook. "But, I couldn't." She protested but the Cook shook her head. "Spread your gift, Alyss."

Those were the last words she heard before she left her house, her previous life and into the forest, where she started a new one.

[xD3siR3x]

As soon as the carriage entered the forest, a gang of wolves surrounded it. They didn't stop the carriage, nor they tried to frighten the horses who already felt they presence anyway,they were following it from sides making sure they take the right path to the mansion. Not only the wolves followed the carriage, but also a dark shadow that seemed to round them all up, soon, however, the shadow went ahead.

"Master, Master!" Dia appeared in front of him waving her hands frantically. "The carriage," she said in front of surprised Eric. "The carriage is almost here!" she exclaimed, "Oh my, oh my! She's actually coming..." the little sprite couldn't hide her excitement. "May I go greet her, may I?" Her eagerness amused Eric and he gave a nod of approval. He didn't intend to show himself just yet.

((What should we make the season? :o ))

[_AnaTolia_]

((Lets start at autumn...))

Alyss looked out of the carriage window and saw the wolves. She was fairly surprised that they didn't attempt to hurt the horses. 'They seem to be leading us to where the castle father told me was.' She wrung her hands, greatly nervous. 'Think of this as an adventure.' The Cook's voice rang in her head yet again. The cookbook was on her lap, open. Her eyes scanned to the outside and she saw the castle looming into view.

The castle looked menacing on the outside. Alyss lurched a bit when she felt the carriage stop. The footman opened the door, just as surprised as she was. The wolves looked at the people with alert eyes. Aly thought that they would jump at them at any moment.

[xD3siR3x]

The wolves followed her right to the front door while keeping a respectful distance. Their orders were to make sure she arrives to the castle unharmed. As soon as she was on the doorstep, a gust of cold wind swept through and all the wolves perked up, smelled the air and slowly retreated.

Dia was flying around restlessly, she couldn't wait to greet the new arrival, however she didn't want to frighten the girl too much. When she heard the carriage arrive and the girl approaching, the little sprite hid behind a small vase and with a snap of her fingers, unlocked the door with a loud click.

[_AnaTolia_]

'The door o-opened by itself!' Alyss thought, frantic and scared. It seemed the footman was as scared as she was. For when she looked back, there was no one there. No carriage, no people, and no wolves. The only things with her were her luggage. She clutched the shawl close to her body, shivering. Te sudden blast of wind made her shudder all over.

Firming her resolve, Aly then grabbed her luggage and went in. Her nose wrinkled at the sight of dust on every furniture. Although some were used recently. She could see that one of the chairs had a lighter blanket of dust than the others. But still, seeing all of it made her sneeze.

"I-is anyone here?" She asked, her eyes scanning everywhere for a response to her answer. Alyss then noticed a little ball of light and thought that it was just a lit candle.

[xD3siR3x]

Dia fidgeted with her little fingers trying to think of a way to approach the girl without scaring her pants off... The sprite sighed, she was much too unreal for the human world so no matter what she did, it would result in surprise. Coming to that conclusion, she flapped her little wings and flew out from behind the vase.

"Hello," she greeted the girl, "you must be someone from Mr.Adel's family?" She flew an inch closer, "I hope the wolves did nothing to harm you on your way here, did they?" she asked seeing the frightened girl.

[_AnaTolia_]

Surprisingly, the first words that came out of Alyss' lips when she saw the sprite was, "My, aren't you a pretty thing!" She seemed to think that it was just some ornament that talked, seeing it's brilliance. Aly had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sprite's light. Hearing her question about her father, she nodded. A while later, she realized what she saw was real and dropped her luggage. "Y-you're real?"

Alyss was speechless. Her father never said anything about a sprite. Besides, she thought those kind of creatures came from her imagination.

[xD3siR3x]

(( I'll be away from 26th to 30th))

Dia felt delighted when she was called pretty, however afterwards she pouted, "Well of course I'm real," she crossed her arms, but soon let it go seeing that she really didn't realize anything. "What's your name?" she asked and blew a dog whistle. A dark big wolf emerged from the shadows and approached them. The wolf's head was a bit higher than the girl's and it looked like it could gulp down Alyss without any problems at all, however all it did was carefully pick up her luggage and turn towards the stairs leading to the second floor.
"What's your name?" the sprite asked turning to go after the wolf and motioning the newly arrived girl to follow them.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss froze when she saw the enormous wolf walking towards her, and soon emitted a sigh of relief when she realized that it was only taking her luggage. For a moment there, she thought that it would swallow her in one gulp. 'I'm sure none of the wolves in the forest are as big as that. But then again, I don't eat much.' She thought, answering the sprite with, "Alyss. Alyss Sherwood. What should I call you, then?"

((Alright... ))

[xD3siR3x]

"I'm Dia," the sprite replied leading the girl upstairs and through a maze of hallways. They were still terribly dusty and full of cobwebs, just like the time her father was visiting. Son they approached the room that was dedicated to her. The bags were already inside and Dia just turned on the lights and let the girl inside. Unlike the rest of the house, that room looked quite tidy and well kept; it had a wide bed that could fit up to three people, a comfortable couch, an armchair and a small coffee table placed in the middle. There was also a huge wardrobe and a bathroom connecting to her room.
"I home you'll be able to make yourself comfortable."

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss looked around as she followed the little sprite who called herself Dia. The dust and cobwebs made her sneeze a few times as she walked. 'This mansion needs a lot of work.' She thought, sniffing. Once she entered the room which she thought to be the one she would stay in, Aly was surprised that it was tidy compared to the hallways they both passed. She saw that her luggage was already there. She nodded, hearing Dia's words.

[xD3siR3x]

"Well then," Dia spoke, "I'll leave you to unpack, if you need anything, just call out for me," the sprite smiled and then disappeared. Minutes later she appeared in Eric's room. "Master, the guest has arrived and I've just showed her the room," she reported. Eric turned his head towards Dia and nodded. Heavily he stood up and started pacing about the room. Could he go see her? Should he do it now or later? Will she get scared...? Frowning he left the room and wandered the halls in hopes of cooling down a bit. Another human's presence was an unusual thing for him, maybe that was the reason Eric suddenly felt so edgy.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss nodded. She then began to unpack her stuff, placing them in the dresser and the cabinets under it. "The vanity is beautiful." She mused, looking at herself in the mirror. But, looking at it just reminded herself about how plain she looked, compared to her pretty sisters. What did she want to prove when she accepted her father's request? 'I have to admit,' Aly thought, 'I wonder what the master looks like. All I saw was a sprite and wolves.'

[xD3siR3x]

Eric wandered the halls for just a little bit longer before giving up on doing anything special. To pass the time, he went back to his workshop. He looked around the room full of heartwood logs and small figurines made from it. The sapling was also there, shedding a soft light around it. Eric went inside and took a piece of wood he was working on earlier and went to the further corner of the room to resume his work. He liked that corner, it was away from everyone's eyes the reason being the screen which hid a comfortable armchair in which he sat.

[_AnaTolia_]

Alyss decided to explore he whole mansion. There's no harm in trying to find your way around here, right? She flinched at the sight of cobwebs and dust covered furniture. 'Looks like nobody else except the master and the sprite lives here.' She thought as she dusted her finger off when she took a swipe off the staircase. 'Everything needs dusting.' Aly then came into a room that was much more cleaner than the others, and full of carvings. She raced over to some of them to inspect their details. "These are finely carved. I wonder what kind of wood this is." She muttered to herself as her nimble fingers traced the carving.

Alyss never noticed the corner, which was being covered with a screen. And at the far center of the room was the Heartwood. She had recognized its' unearthly glow and nearly fainted at the sight of it. "Th-the Heartwood." The words passed through her lips, unbelieving. She lowly neared it, her hand outstretched, trying to touch it to make sure that what she saw was real.