Hey there! I replaced the old intro with this one, so if some of you are a bit confused where this came from, now you know. I'm going to divide this story into three parts, so I also changed the title. The writing might sound different to the other chapters, but that's because I'm going to start editing them to try and make them sound better. Anyway, enjoy!

"Huff… huff… huff." Her heavy breathing echoed in the still night, a cold sweat chilling her. She angrily wiped the silent tears that fell away, cursing herself for being so weak. No matter what happened, she had to make it back and report what happened.

She hid under the canopy of the leaves, trying not to snap any twigs lest she give herself away. I must survive, I must survive, I must survive, she chanted repeatedly in her mind, fighting back the fear that crept up on her. I must survive, I must survive, I must survive.

A vortex of air suddenly cut her off, and she shielded her face from the flying debris with her arms. The wind died down, revealing a cloaked figure. From the size of the figure, she suspected it was a man.

"A slippery kid you are," his deep voice mused. "A shame you'll die today. Take her away."

The girl spun around in surprise as three figures descended on her. How did she not sense their presence?

She lashed out at them, unsheathing her sword strapped to her back, doing her best to keep them at bay. A blast of air hit her in the back, sending her crashing into a tree.

"Such a shame to get rid of one with potential," a new voice said. The girl shivered in fear against her will at the sound of his voice. The magic emanating from him terrified her. It felt colder than death and filled with so much darkness it'd suck her in and never let her out. Every fiber of her being told her to flee, scream, live. But the power emanating from him left her paralyzed and accepting that today she was going to die.

"Good, accept your fate," he said, startling her. He couldn't have read her mind, could he?

"What about the others, Noire?" the man asked.

"Don't worry; they're in no condition to move. I believe one even stopped breathing." The girl's breathing hitched, panic and fear flooding her. They couldn't have gotten the others, could they? Even though she couldn't see the man called Noire's face –she doubted that was even his real name –she could feel his sadistic eyes on her. All blood left her face, because she knew it was true.

Her scream was stuck in her throat as he moved towards her. Even though she knew it was useless, she aimed a swirling cone of air at him. He batted it away like it was just a breeze and in a flash appeared before her. She didn't even have time to scream as he wrapped his hand around her neck, lifting her up and slamming her into the tree.

"Good night little rose," his cold voice whispered. Something hard and cold was clasped around her wrist and all energy left her body. It felt like her blood had been replaced by liquid metal, weighing her down. As her consciousness started fading, she hoped someone came, even if just a moment before she died.

Or else she'd never be able to tell her story.