Rachael groaned. It was bad enough that she was being forced to go shopping with her family, but she was also being forced to get up at the crack of dawn. Living and working on a farm, she was used to this, but today was her day off and she'd been looking forward to a nice lie-in.

Her mother had come to her the previous day and basically guilt-tripped her into going into Glasgow with her family, saying that she didn't spend enough time with them. Rachael didn't understand that; she worked with her family day in, day out. How was that not enough time? Glasgow wasn't even that far away from where she lived. Only about half an hour to forty minutes by car. An hour if the traffic was bad.

Rachael lived on a farm on the outskirts of Balloch in Scotland, near Loch Lomond. Balloch wasn't a particularly big town, but it was big enough. Situated on the edge of the loch, it was a key area for tourists, and Rachael was ever thankful that their farm was far enough away that they were undisturbed. She still lived with her parents, despite the fact that she was eighteen and everyone else her age was now going off to university. Not that she minded. Her parents needed help on the farm, and they'd been struggling for money lately. Her younger sister, having just turned fifteen, was still too young to help and was just starting her exams. Not that you'd know. Her sister was one of the smartest people that Rachael knew, and she had no doubt that it would take minimal effect for her to ace every single one of them.

Her older brother, who was twenty-two, now had a permanent job on the farm. But even with him, her mother and her father working there, there was still too much to do, resulting in another reason why Rachael had to stay.

But today, apparently her mother had decided that her children needed a break, and as Rachael crawled out of bed, she hated her mum for it. Her sister Paige however, had not stopped talking about their shopping trip for the entire night. It was a rare thing to go into a city and go shopping, especially for her family, but Paige's excitement was too much to bare, and Rachael had had to retreat to her room to escape the never ending giggling.

Rachael's father Craig McKay had met her mother Maisie Piper who was at the age of nineteen, her dad being twenty-three at that time, and it had been 'love at first sight'. At least, that was what her dad had said. He'd been working on the farm with his family, incidentally the same one Rachael now lived at (it being a family business after all), and had gone into Balloch to do some trading. Her mother had gone to the town with her own family, they'd met at the farmers market that had been on that weekend, and they'd been together ever since. And now, at the ages of forty-three and forty-seven, they were still going strong. Rachael had never seen a couple so in love, even if it did make her slightly sick at times with the way they acted.

Finally managing to drag herself out of bed, she shuffled out of her room (banging her arm into the door and mumbling some choice curse words as she did so) and across the hallway into the bathroom, duvet dragging behind her as she huddled into it for warmth. It was the beginning of autumn, a few weeks after the summer holidays, and there was beginning to be a little bit of a chill in the air.

Looking in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, she winced as she saw the state of her hair. Her thick, bright red curls that hung half way down her back were all tangled into knots that would hopefully come out in the shower, and she had faint rings under her blue-green eyes. She wouldn't class herself as pretty (although her dad always referred to her as 'daddy's pretty little princess'; a name that never ceased to embarrass her to this day), and she didn't exactly have much male attention as she was either at school and focusing on her work, or working at the farm.

Stripping, she stepped into the shower and smiled at the hot water that slightly burnt her skin. There is no better feeling than this first thing in the morning, she thought to herself as she washed her hair with her favourite raspberry shampoo and conditioner. Feeling more relaxed than she had done in a few weeks, Rachael was just about to turn off the shower when she heard someone shouting and knocking on the bathroom door.

"Rachael! Hurry up, will you?! You'll use up all the hot water!" Rolling her eyes at her brother (who took more care in his appearance than she did), she turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around herself.

"Calm down, Aidan. I'm out." She replied, bundling up her things while simultaneously trying to make sure her towel didn't fall down as she opened the door. "Jesus. Someone would think that you've never had a shower." She made a point of sniffing the air. "And judging by the smell of you, that seems about right." Laughing, and ducking out of the way of the hand that had tried to hit her around the head, she shuffled back into her room and dumped her things unceremoniously onto her bed.

Not even bothering to dress up (what was the point, she thought. It's only shopping.), Rachael pulled on the first set of underwear she could grab her hand on, along with her black 'I'm not a princess, I'm a Khaleesi' t-shirt, a black pair of leggings, a red checked shirt and a burgundy pair of Dr. Martins. Nice and casual¸ she thought.

Deciding to just leave her hair to air dry, and never one to wear make-up, Rachael trudged downstairs. She could already hear the voices of her mother and sister talking about things that she had no doubt would not interest her.

"Good morning, darling." Said her mother, standing up and putting a plate down in her place on the table. Whenever they had a day off, her mother always made them a full English breakfast; bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, baked beans and black pudding. It was a nice treat this early in the morning.

"Morning mum." She replied through a mouth full of egg and bacon, earning her a look from her mother. She made a point of swallowing loudly. "When are we going?"

"As soon as we've finished here and your dad's ready. Which should be any time now." Nodding, Rachael wolfed down the rest of her breakfast, knowing that once her father and brother came down, they'd want to leave as soon as possible. They always seemed to be in a rush, even if it was half past eight in the morning. It wasn't even that early anymore, but Rachael still felt tired. And Aidan stomping down the stairs certainly wasn't helping the headache that was forming.

Cramming into the car was never fun. Her brother was rather muscley and took up half of the room in the back seat, and her sister (who sat in the middle) didn't seem to understand the concept that other people needed space as well and took up the other half. This, by default, left Rachael crammed up against the window, forced with nothing to do but stare out of it and listen to her iPod.

The sky seemed to be clouding over, and looked ominously like rain. Rachael didn't mind this, she'd worked in the rain enough, but wet through and trudging through shops that didn't interest her didn't seem like an eventful way to spend her day.

"Will you cheer up?" Paige asked, yanking her earphones out as they entered the city. "We're going shopping! Think of all the things we can buy!"

"With what?" Rachael asked. "With all of my money I don't have?"

"It's not my fault you've spent it all, you know. You spend most of it on books and clothes that say things that make no sense. I mean, what the hell is a 'Khaleesi'?"

Resisting the urge to snap back at her sister, Rachael sighed and banged her head against the window.

"Paige is right, Rach." Said her mother. "You should cheer up. Enjoy spending time with your family. You spend far too much time with your nose stuck in a book."

"I like spending time with my nose in a book. It's a lot more interesting than most things here." She scrolled through her songs, finding a particularly good one and turned the volume up, drowning everything else out. She had got this argument for years. Her parents constantly told her that she spent too much time reading, and not nearly enough time socializing. She bit back by saying she spent enough time socializing and rewarded herself with reading. The argument just went around and around in circles, and her parents had long ago learned to leave her to it.

It was only a few more minutes when her father pulled into a virtually full car park in the middle of Glasgow. Rachael made a point to get out of the car as slowly as possible.

"For God's sake, Rachael. Get out of the car." Said Aidan, walking around and pulling her up.

"Fine. I'm out. I'm out." It was just starting to rain when she got out of the car, and Rachael cursed herself for not bringing a coat. Maybe she could hide in HMV or something.

"So, where do we want to go first?" her mother asked. Rachael rolled her eyes as Paige listed about fifty shops that she wanted to go to. "Right…well, your father and I are going to go and look at some new phones. My contract's nearly expired… and Aidan is meeting up with some of his friends. So, Rachael, you can go with your sister."

Rachael stared at her mum with her mouth hanging open. "But…mum…I hate the shops Paige goes into! Why can't I go off by myself?"

"Because I don't want your or your sister getting lost on your own in this place. Now, we'll meet up around…" she looked at her watch. "Half twelve by that coffee shop over there?"

"Awesome!" squealed Paige, already backing towards the main high street. "We'll see you then! Come on Rach!"
Grumbling to herself, Rachael couldn't believe her luck. How was it better if they got lost together? They'd still be lost! Add that to no money, and stuck with her sister for an morning. This ought to be fun.

By the end of the morning, Rachael had to admit that she'd had a good time. Paige had dragged her into countless shops, and having taking pity on her moneyless self, had bought her sister a pair of inner fur-lined boots and a brand new set of oil paints that she loved. They'd stopped to have lunch in the coffee shop they'd met up at, and had a coffee at Costa (the Costa coffee was much nicer than any other). Her mum had even bought her a chocolate brownie.

After lunch, they'd split up again, but this time Rachael left with Aidan, who thankfully liked the same shops as she did. They spent at least forty five minutes in HMV, and Rachael didn't even complain when Aidan dragged her around half a dozen gaming shops, opting to put her on her new boots and break them in.

"Did you meet up with your friends?" she asked as he put yet another game into his 'maybe' pile.

"Erm…yea, I did." Rachael didn't fail to notice the blush that spread over her brothers face.

"Why've you gone all red there, Aid?" She poked his cheek with her pinky finger. "Has somebody got a girlfriend?" she teased.

"She's not my girlfriend." Aidan snapped. "But…I do like her."

"Aidan!" Rachael squealed, grinning. "Oh my god! I was only joking! But this is great! What's she like? What's she called? Is she nice? Is she pretty?"

"Honestly Rach, sometimes I swear you're as bad as Paige." Aidan chuckled.

"Is it my fault that I like seeing my brother happy? Besides, Paige is just…in another league."

"True. But if you must know…" they walked to the cashier. "…her name is Freya, and she recently started at the university here. I met her when she visited Balloch the other week. And yes, she's a nice person, and so beautiful." Rachael's grin widened at the, what she would describe, dreamy look on her brothers face. They are so going to fall in love and get married, she thought. Rachael didn't consider herself a sappy, romantic person, but seeing the happy look that had overcome her brothers face, she couldn't help those thoughts that swam through her mind.

"Well," said Rachael, as they walked out of the shop. "It's good to see you so happy. You'll have to introduce her to the family!"

Aidan groaned. "God, no. Remember the last time I took a girlfriend home? Dad gave her a tour around the farm and a goat chased her around a field. It took her half an hour to calm down, and when she did, she never called me back."

"Aidan, you were fifteen. Are you seriously still caught up on that?"

"Hey! That goat has had it out for me since the day I accidently pulled his beard." He pulled his hood up over his head as the rain came down harder than before. Rachael envied him and glared at the smug look he sent her as he took in her damp hair.

"Yes, but it wasn't you the goat took it out on. That poor girl is probably traumatized for life! And I highly doubt that will happen again."

Rachael smirked when her brother decided not to reply, and instead headed back to the car park where they'd agreed to meet before going home. Somehow, today had not ended up being so bad, and she found that she was actually looking forward to the next time they did this.

"Oh, good!" said Rachael's mother when they walked up to the car. "We thought you'd got lost. I was just about to ring you. Got everything you needed?"

"Yep. Are we going now? I'm getting soaked." The light(ish) rain that had been falling a few minutes ago had long since passed, and now it was absolutely tipping it down. Faint sounds of thunder could be heard from the distance and people around them were running around for any sign of shelter.

Cramming into the back seat (which was now even more cramped due to the mountains of shopping bags her sister had bought; how she afforded it, Rachael had no idea), Rachael threw her original shoes into the boot of the car and plugged her music back in, setting her songs on shuffle.

Rachael couldn't even see out of the window as they were driving down the country lanes on the way back to their farm. They couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes away from getting back, but just as the song changed to one of her favourites, none of her family expected the car to skid off the side of the road after turning around a particularly tight bend.

Rachael's head banged repeatedly against the glass of the window as the car tumbled further and further down the ditch that had unfortunately been at the side of the road, and she could feel the multiple shopping bags tumbling around at her feet, the contents flying everywhere.

It felt like hours before the car eventually came to a stop, and as it crashed into what seemed like the biggest tree around for miles, Rachael's body was thrust forward as her head snapped forwards into the drivers seat.

Rain was still pouring down the sides of the car as she turned her eyes to outside the window. She could feel something warm drip down the side of her face, and her entire body ached. Her arm felt broken and as her vision became spotted and blackened, Rachael could swear she heard somebody shout her name as a huge bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

And so we have chapter one of my new story. Chapter two should be any time in the near future, so wait in suspense, as I know you'll all be doing…

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