Changing of the Seasons

Chapter: 1

The snow had stopped falling and all seemed perfectly still. The day was coming to a close and the sky was flush with pinks and reds. It almost seemed as if it was on fire, the snow mimicked the sky and it was a scene that could make anyone stand there and gaze at it in awe.

Nature made the best things. It was all so pure and untouched. Not tainted by humans and their filthy ways of destroying this world. There were ways of living without having to destroy the lives of other creatures of the forest. But no. The people of her village believed the forest to be evil. Full of impure and tainted beasts. That whoever goes into it will be tainted and taken away forever and swallowed by the abyss.

The young village girl scoffed. �Morons. The lot of them.� She muttered. They were the tainted beasts, and they should be taken away forever. She cuddled a baby rabbit to her chest and sighed as it nuzzled itself deeper into her coat. She had promised it�s mother that she would look after it while she was out looking for food and some soft bedding for their burrow. It was the only survivor from the mother rabbit�s last birth. The others had been eaten by wolves.

Wolves. The village girl adored them with all her heart. They were hunters but in the true sense of the word. They used their built in weapons and co-operation. The thing she loved and admired the most about them though, was the fact that killed what they needed. Nothing more. They hunted for food and that was it. They were not malicious in their intentions and they were very ritualistic at the end of each hunt, she had watched one time after a pack had downed a bear. They asked for it�s forgiveness and blessing and thanked nature for providing them with food to survive. It was stunning and she had wished to be a part of that�but she couldn�t. Because she was a rotten horrid human.

She didn�t want anything more than to live her life in the forest with the other creatures. She had made eye contact with a wolf before. His eyes clear blue with rings of gold. It was on a snowy day much like this, years ago. It had been the first time she had snuck out into the forest. Now as a young woman at the age of 18 she had grown to love the forest even more and ached every time she had to part with it.

She wanted to live with the forest.

Unfortunately her family, hell even her village, wouldn�t let her. For many, many reasons. First off they would deem her a witch and have her burned or drowned. Depending if they would give her a trial or not.

Tears came to her eyes as soon as the second reason came to her mind.

She was being courted by the son of a very powerful village chief of the south valley of Taitus. Her village resided on the west face of Mount Taitus.

She sobbed. Why couldn�t that awful man live far away from her mountain? Then she wouldn�t have to deal with his abusiveness. He wasn�t physically abusive yet� But she was sure that it could soon escalate into that. Beating her and slapping her and so many awful things. For now he taunted her, insulted her, and tried to manipulate her into giving him what he wants.

Why would her parents do this to her? Why would they give into their leaders demands? Especially ones that were so degrading to their daughter?

She let her head fall in despair. She knew exactly why.

The only reason they so vehemently demanded she marry that horrible monster was because they were promised their weight in gold by both village leaders, and the only reason the leaders wanted her to marry the heir to the south village was because they wanted to for a strong allegiance. Their marriage would show a great deal of the world that they were a force to be reckoned with�

But why her? Why did he have to be infatuated with her?

There were plenty of girls fawning over him. Why couldn�t the village pawn off those girls? They were easily manipulated and prettier. Most were blond and blue-eyed. Like porcelain dolls. They were the ones every man in the village were after. Including the boys she had fallen in love with. Gejar and Tybor. They were funny and smart�and apparently went after the dumb pretty ones. Her dark red hair and hazel eyes put all of the men of the village off. Not to mention how she was �too skinny�. In most of the village weight meant that you were wealthy. The wealthier you were the better you ate.

She wished she was an animal. Then she wouldn�t have to deal with the idiocracy of human antics and society. She would be free from all this. The hate, violence�

Wolves were so much better than all this. Not to mention so majestic.

She looked down at the bunny in her hands and carefully set it down when she saw it�s mother approach them.

�Thank you so much for watching my baby, dear. You are a blessing from nature itself. The animals of this forest know of your kindness. You are much different than those other humans.�

And with that the mother rabbit nudged her baby along to get it moving back to their little home.

The village girl sighed. She wished she had a home in the forest to go back to.

Instead she turned her back on the forest unwillingly and trudged through the snow back to the hell she called home.

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