The young girl opened her eyes to a beautiful town of gray stone buildings and gorgeous green fields with crystalized fountains. She sat up quickly and her head started to spin. She had no idea where she was…or who she was for that matter.

She stared at her hands and then back to the scenery confusion making her dizzy once again, or maybe it was the weather? She didn't know. Everything was a blur to her.

"You…ady…llo…miss?" She snapped out of her daze and turned her attention to the man addressing her. Fear suddenly struck in her heart and she recoiled from the man curling up into a defensive position and looking around frantically. She thought about screaming for help but she doubted anyone she knew would be near. Not that she had any names to bring forward from her memory.

As she tried to remember…anything…her head started to hurt and she became dizzy once again.

The elderly man smiled approaching the girl with a gentle touch. He held open his arms and she hesitated not sure how to react. He ushered her forward and she finally gave in realizing the man meant no harm.

"You poor child, you're shaking like a leaf." He said with concern clear in his voice. He genuinely cared about her well being. He wouldn't prod her with questions. His first priority was to make her feel safe. "Come lets get you indoors and feed you. Do you like pasta?"

She nodded and allowed the man to lead her to his home. It was stone like the rest of the building's but she could smell mint in the air as he led her to a couch that looked incredibly soft.

"Make yourself at home dear while I go fix us up some of my famous white cheddar pasta with chicken." The man said as he left her to her thoughts and disappeared behind a velvet curtain.

The young girl sat down on the couch and quickly realized it was as soft as it looked. She sunk down into it relaxing with a small closed-lipped smile on her face. What was this place? Where did she come from? Who on earth…was she? These were the questions floating around in her head. These thoughts were interrupted by the garlic-y aroma of the pasta flowing from behind the curtain. She stood and made her way to the curtain when the man emerged making her jump almost out of her skin. Her heartbeat raced and she started to feel light headed as if the world around her was slowly drifting away. She heard more than felt her breathing picking up.

The man reacted almost instantly placing the plates down and grabbing hold of her hands. He began to rub circles into her palms with his thumb and gently speak soothing words to her. It was working. Her breathing was becoming more stable and she could feel her heart slowing by the minute until it was once again a steady beat. She looked at the man with wide eyes that suddenly started to tear up.

"Th-thank y-you." She stammered out finally. The man pulled her into his arms and held her for a moment. She was beginning to feel safe with this man like nothing bad could happen to her. They sat and ate in silence for a bit. Once the man saw that she had finished her food, he thought it was time for an introduction.
"Well, now that you've been fed and I believe you feel a bit more comfortable, how about a name dear? Mine is Declan." She looked at him wanting to give something. She opened her mouth to speak but no words would escape her lips. She shook her head with a frown as she looked down at her plate.

"I don't know it…" She said sadly. That was all he got from her but it was unfortunate enough. He didn't like seeing the frown on the young girl's face and shook his own head.

"That won't do at all." He said. Declan tapped his chin inquisitively. "How about…Skye? Your eyes remind me of the sky around Radiant Garden at dusk so I think it is quite a fitting name. She looked up at the man with her eyes shining from the tears that formed before and she smiled. "I like that." She said and looked out the window as the sun began to fall beyond the horizon. It was beautiful and looking in the mirror nearby, it really did look like the blue-green shine of her own eyes. Those eyes slowly grew heavy and Skye drifted off into a sweet slumber.

…Six years later

Skye sat up in her bed and stretched out her tiny arms. She rolled out of the bed and went to the window, opening it to let the fresh air grace her with its presence. She took a deep breath closing her eyes as the gentle wind blew through her hair. One of her neighbors waved at her from the street. Skye waved back excitedly.

"Good morning!" She called cheerfully from her room. Then she remembered she needed to run errands for Declan today. She quickly got dressed in her white dress with intricate gold patterns woven into it and white sandals and ran down stairs right into Declan.

"Whoa there, what's the rush dear?" The older man smiled and held her shoulders keeping her from falling. Skye blushed at how rude she had been just running into him like that. She had trouble not smiling when he was around.

Declan had storm grey eyes that sometimes shimmered crystal blue and black hair that had greyed in spots giving it a gun-metal shade. It was cut short with a bit of wildness to it and bangs that covered his eyes barely.

"Sorry about that, I remembered I still have errands to run and was in a bit of a hurry." Skye said in the slight Scottish accent she had picked up from Declan over the past few years living with him. He just smiled at her with a little chuckle and pat her head.

"You've no need to worry lass. I've done most of it already. I do still need you to trip into the market and get some ingredients for dinner tonight though." Skye frowned at the fact that she had overslept and Declan had to handle the errands he asked her to take care of. She felt a strong but gentle touch on her cheek and looked back up into his eyes. "Now, now no need for such a sad face. It doesn't suit your beauty lass." He smiled lovingly at the girl which made her blush. "Happy Birthday, princess. " He said pulling her into one of his usual hugs. Skye smiled and thanked him before heading out the door. She needed to get to the market before everything was sold out. She pulled out the list Declan gave her and shook her head with a smile. He didn't have to make her favorite dish but it was obvious from the ingredients that was exactly what he was planning.

A scream from the market had Skye moving without thinking. She rounded the corner and gasped as one of the local residents disappeared in a shadow. The gasp seemed to catch the attention of whatever had caused the disappearance and they rounded on Skye. She let out a scream and backed up against the wall. She was cornered with no escape. Bracing herself against the wall as the creatures drew closer, she felt a heat building in her hand and suddenly a blast of fire flew from her fingertips disintegrating one of the creatures. She stared confused at her hands before one of the bigger ones towered above her. She couldn't breathe as it stared her down as if it could devour her very soul. She closed her eyes trying to force the same thing to happen as before but the fire never came. The creature reached for her as the thought dawned on her.

Im really going to die here….

As the creatures hands were about to grab hold of her, a golden light exploded in front of her causing the creature to recoil. Suddenly a golden oversized key with some blues and pinks splashed in intricate patterns appeared in her hand. The creatures seemed to back away from whatever it was but one of them decided to brave it and charged her. It wasn't much but she did have something to defend herself with now. She closed her eyes and swung blindly. It connected easily with the creature but instead of feeling a weight against it, Skye felt the object pass through the creature as if cutting it like butter. The creature vanished in a puff of smoke. She looked at the key with wonder in her eyes but there was no time to be surprised. The other creatures started coming at her in waves. She wasn't very skilled with any kind of combat. In fact she only knew one particular spell that Declan had taught her and that was the cure element. She was well aware of the others but never felt a need to learn them.

She quickly became overwhelmed ash her stamina was draining while she tried to fight back. The Key blade was knocked from her hands and she was thrown into the far wall. Her vision began to fade in and out as she watched helplessly while the creatures began to move in for the kill. The last thing she saw before passing out was dark hooded figure standing between her ad those creatures.