The young girl knelt on the dewy ground, staring at the soft waves of the green pond roll back and forth. One hand lay clutching the hem of her small white dress, the other gripping a crushed flower as her knees dug into damp dirt. She watched with tear-streaked cheeks as the soft breeze stirred life within the pond.

The wind softly shifted strands of disheveled dirty blonde hair over her delicate face, but she made no attempt to move it. She stayed, frozen, in the exact same position, staring down at the golden fish now swimming carelessly in the water.

She ignored her erratic breathing, captured by the beauty in front of her. She couldn't understand how there was still be beauty in the world. Everything around her, everything that she used to love and enjoy, now seemed harsh and cruel, and she hated all of it . . . except for this pond. It was comforting somehow and her tears dried as she watched it ripple.

She had been running for what seemed like a lifetime. Trying to run away from everything. Running from the yelling, the screaming, the crying, the image of her mother taking her last breath . . .

A lone tear started to form and she let it run down her face as the picture of her mother dying flashed vividly before her eyes. The breeze rustled something softly against her hand and she broke from her trance to look down at a light-green leaf sticking idly out of her fist. She blinked and timidly opened her hand to look at the flower within. A white daisy. Her mother's favorite. She slowly raised it, cautious not to break it any further, and looked sadly at its rumpled form before placing it gently in the pond. She watched unblinkingly as the wind and water carried it away from her before it slowly sank down into the darkness of the deep pool. She closed her eyes, resulting in another tear running down her fragile cheeks.

'Goodbye Mommy.'

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The young woman stared down into the deep green pond, her chin resting comfortably on the back of her hands, her body laying softly on the gentle ground. One hand left the warmth of her body and skimmed lightly over the surface of the jade pool. Her eyes watched longingly as the cool ripples of the water ran lazily through her fingers. She knew she had to go back to the estate, but the water was so tempting, beckoning her to jump in and leave the dry day behind. Her thoughts washed over one another and her problems momentarily quieted as she gazed at the emerald waves.

She remembered that first day she found this pond and this clearing. She had been nine and her mother had died that day. She remembered breaking free from her father's firm grasp on her wrist to run to her mother's bedside to give her a daisy she had picked in the meadow for the new baby. Looking happily at her mother as she died, quietly smiling at her child's excitement. The girl didn't understand at first why her mother wasn't moving, smile slowly falling from her face. Then her world collapsed completely as she slowly reached comprehension.

She ran. She ran from her father yelling at his children and loudly at the midwife. She ran from her newborn baby brother's screams and her little sister's screams for food, not knowing her mother was dead in the next room. She ran from the endless crying of everyone, her older brother's silent tears, her little sister's wails of want, and her newborn brother's cries of confusion. Most of all, she ran away from the image of her mother's deathly pale face as she exhaled for the last time, and she tried to run from the ache building inside her, but that never went away.

She blindly ran until she reached the forest, then this clearing. She knew she was pulled to it somehow and she decided to rest there. She collapsed by the pond that was to become her sanctuary for many years to come.

The memory of that day brought a dull ache back inside her, but she was used to it. She had spent many nights crying over her mother's death and the heightened cruelty of her father but she had come to accept it. She at least had her siblings to keep her company and that was enough.

The woman sighed and reluctantly heaved herself up from the grass. Catching her basket with one hand and unconsciously wiping her other hand on her long white dress, she straightened until she was standing with a perfect posture. Posture that had been taught to her for her whole life.

With one last hesitant glance at the water, she spun on her heel and started walking out of the small clearing and into the forest surrounding it, light brown hair flowing freely behind her.

A/N: Hello there, thank you for reading my story

Please don't be too harsh on me'cause this is my first real (sorta)story. This chapter's a bit short but oh well, it's onlythe prologue. I have more of this written but I'm gonna see what kind of a response this gets before continuing it so review review! Hopefully I'll not stop writing after the first chapter like all my other attempted stories (they didn't go anywhere). Well yes that's all I have to say..hope you liked it so far and it wasn't too bad !

Angelbmo