A/N: Okay, the first chappie is a bit boring because -well- it's the opening chapter of course. Hah. And please, I beg you! DO NOT steal my idea, PLEASE. :(

But other then that, enjoy!

It was December 19, 2009, and the streets of Kent, England were crowded and bustling noisily with rich people on errands to buy Christmas presents. My stomach growled ferociously as I passed a window showing off delicious pies and desserts. I ducked my head down, ignoring its protesting and struggled through the crowd quickly. They were merciless people, pushing and shoving me.

It was indifferent. To them I was just a poor, homeless and starving girl on the streets. Which… I was exactly that. Finally, I managed to creep into an alleyway, away from the hoards of people. I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, pulling out the small loaf of bread from my dirty robes. I had managed to sneak it from one of the wheat stands.

Piece by piece I put into my mouth, making sure I ate every parcel. My next meal probably would not be for another day or two. Maybe three. Suddenly, before my last bite, I heard a scuttling noise. I gasped and pressed myself flat against the wall and looked at the dumpster in front of me. A mouse scurried out from underneath it and paused to look at me. My heart melted. He was dirty, but adorable. I slowly bent down so not to scare him, and held out my last piece of bread.

"Here you go, little buddy." I murmured. The mouse sniffed the bread and grabbed it, before disappearing into the darkness of the alley. Then, much to my horror, I heard a cat hiss, and then an agonizing squeak, which was probably the mouse. I gaped at the darkness, and then turned to flee the alley. Back into the crowd I was, and I quickly made my way to the outskirts of the town.

My name is Alexandria Bernetta, but I have always been called Alexa. My parents died in a fire, and nobody helped them. Never had my family been rich or popular, but we were happy. Many families in Kent had lacked that one thing. We were also smart, but never went to school. School was too much money, so my parents tutored me with what they had learned as children.

Now here I was, alone, nowhere to live, nobody to love and not to mention I was freezing cold. Had I mentioned the snow that was piled on the sides of the street? Yes, at least a foot and a half. All I adorned now was a thin, cotton dress that went to my calves, dark blue leggings, dirty, scuffed up boots, and two thin robes I had found in an alley a few days before. My hair was up in a ratty bun, and my face was probably smudged with dirt. I was exhausted, so blue shadows were also most likely forming underneath my eyes.

As I finally left the shopping centre, my eyes drifted over a sign and I realized I was on the other side of Allington, the city in Kent that I was currently residing…on the streets, anyway.

I continued to walk up the suddenly silent cobblestone roads, and glanced briefly up at the sky. I would need to find a place to stay soon, for the blue sky was becoming indigo. I looked around me anxiously. There were only the buildings and homes of people. And alleyways. But I did not want to stay in another alley. They were creepy. And they smelled like rotten eggs, or decaying bodies. I crinkled my nose. Not like I would know how that smelled, anyways.

I turned back to continue and noticed a grassland, and then some trees. I hurried over to the trees; perhaps I could sleep behind one. And then I froze, grasping onto a tree as I looked past its family. It was a huge castle, and I immediately recognized it to be the Allington castle, the one that was privately owned. I bit my lip. If I was caught near there, I could be arrested. Well, it would be better than sleeping on the streets, correct?

I ran towards it and saw a small lake ahead of me. To the left of it was a short, cobblestone bridge. There was a fence, claiming, "No Trespassers". As I neared the fence, I realized the whole castle was fenced off. I sighed in distaste. Glancing up at the large castle, I admired its beauty. The windows seemed to have been placed in and barred. Moss had developed on parts of the castle walls, and vines climbed up slightly, giving it the ancient appearance. I knew it had stood there for centuries, and had been destroyed and rebuilt.

All of a sudden, I heard a rustling in the trees and grass behind me. I did not hesitate to grab hold of the fence and haul myself up and over it. On the other side, I looked behind me and saw a crow. It stared at me from the ground just a few feet away from the fence. Childishly, I stuck my tongue at it.

It cawed and flapped its wings, startling me. I pivoted and ran over the bridge, my leathered boots clapping against the stones. Finally, I made it the other side of the castle, and it stood hundreds of feet above me. I suddenly felt like prey and it was going to crash down and devour me with one of the windows.

Now that I was on the other side of the fence, everything seemed eerily quiet. No animals made noises, and I didn't see any birds overhead. It was as if the castle was an overgrown scarecrow. Which, I wouldn't doubt that in anyway possible. As I gazed at it, I felt fear ripple through my spine. I ignored it and continued to walk around the castle, to the back, where nobody from the fence could see me.

As I walked around one corner, the building shadowed over the trees and me, and I felt like somebody was watching me from a window.

"Don't be stupid. This castle is vacant and for looks only." I told myself aloud. It calmed my nerves in the slightest bit.

But when I made it to the back of the castle, I stopped dead in my tracks. The smell of the alleyway suddenly made itself a lot more welcoming then the smell that suddenly overrode my senses. The smell I had thought was decaying bodies was intensified, and I squinted past me to look into the darkness. And I screamed.

The next thing I knew, there was a sharp pain in the back of my neck, and the world went darker then the night sky.