Homeless girl, Rosalie, is found on the cold streets of Crausley Sands with nothing but the clothes on her back and a black obsidian stone key around her neck, having no memory of who gave it to her.
When Rosalie is taken in by none other than Princ...
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Ten years ago...
Crisp autumn leaves painted the forest floor in a sea of red and gold.
The soft caws of ravens gliding through the trees tickled Rosalie Thornton's ears, evoking a giggle.
She skipped along the path, kicking the leaves up in the air and watched them swish from side to side as they gravitated toward the ground, nestling together in a cluster once more.
Her little moment of lightness was disrupted by a loud thud landing on wood from behind, alerting her of a presence. However, Rosalie need not be afraid as she knew full well who it was.
"You can not sneak up on me, Jared," Rosalie smugly informed her best friend, "even as a raven."
'I will get you one day, Rosalie. I can promise you that.'
She scowled at his overly confident presumption.
Jared was perched upon the only branch with an isolated brown leaf still clinging to its wooden haven. His chest puffed out with surety which slightly aggravated Rosalie.
"Then you will have to learn to be quieter. You are one noisy bird when you fly." A sly smile tickled her lips as she teased him.
With no cutting remark, Jared spread his wings and in a burst of black feathers sprinkling in the air, he morphed into the human boy he was.
"You won't be saying that when I get home before you do," Jared retorted before sprinting through the woodland.
Rosalie huffed. "Jared! That's not fair. I had no warning and now you have a head start."
"Well then you better get moving if you're going to catch me up," he called back, glancing briefly behind him to poke out his tongue to mock her.
Oh, that's how you want to play it. I'll play, Rosalie thought, giddy as a plan was formulating in her mind.
Kneeling amongst the leaves, Rosalie threaded her fingers through the dirt and closed her eyes, focussing on communicating her desire. She could feel her silent instruction rushing within the veins of the undergrowth.
As her lids peeled open, uncontrollable hysterics took hold once Rosalie observed a mammoth of an arm of roots folded together erupting out of the ground, hoisting Jared up as high as the trees. His squealing caused Rosalie to laugh harder until her stomach hurt and she couldn't catch a breath.
It was a move Jared hadn't foreseen, therefore giving him very little time to transform into his winged form.
Before he could miraculously fight his way out of his entanglement, Rosalie ran as fast as her legs would carry her, skipping over the topsy-turvy stones lodged in the terrain to avoid any cuts or grazes. The last thing her mama needed was seeing her daughter soiled by dirt and blood.
