The girl lay on the frost-bitten grass beneath the forest canopy, cold and alone beneath the sheet of white snow. Tiny, iced flakes danced and dawdled upon her face, washing over the scent of a freshly-salted nearby road. The ambiguous, silent yet lurid sounds of winter engulfed the conscious that had chosen to sleep as she let the rest of her mind roll out and fly free into the starry night sky. The time could not be past midnight but no earlier than ten-forty, and around this time dreams were beginning to fly about.

Emma yawned, for the waking time had not yet worn. Drooping green eyes fought to remain open in rebellious wake, even as weariness forced itself upon her. Tousled blonde hair grew more scrambled with every toss and turn she dealt to the frozen ground. She licked her chapped lips in an effort to avoid dry pain as the deciduous trees kept allowing crumpled leaves descend unto the skeletons of once-vibrant bushes.

A small dream approached her sleeping place, carefully, curiously. It listened to the stuttered, small intakes of breath followed by the tiny voice of an exhaled word, lost in eternity as was said over again to assure its speaker that it, indeed, existed. "He...llo…? Hello?" A voice sang out to the being. The shining little reverie hid behind a great oak and stopped to peek around once more, unsure whether the voice was behind or in front of it.

Glistening dust caught Emma's eye and pallid skin grew paler as she realized that the thing was a craft of one of her greatest enemies who was, however, her best friend.

There was much sly hiding to do, along many hours and a countless number of miles to travel before the destination was reached. One could only hope to make it far as she had, considering the place, and time she was to be there.