Disclaimer: I only own Aleyna, for now anyway.

Chapter 1

Walking Alone

Aleyna resettled the pack on her back before walking on. She wanted to find a place to camp down for the night, before it got too cold for her to want to move. The sun was already beginning to dip beneath the horizon. Shivering through her jumper Aleyna looked around her. There were trees that were really close together, tall and imposing. Ahead though, was a small cave, with a little peaceful stream running by it. Smiling Aleyna made for the cave, moving her bag into it.

Looking around it was a perfect spot for camping. The small stream gurgled its merry way on through the forest. The cave was small, not too small, but not large enough to house animals either. Also the cave was part of a large outcrop of rock, which could be climbed to give a good view of the countryside.

A few minutes later Aleyna had a small fire going on the outside of the cave. After she had unpacked all her cooking things, and her sleeping bags, she sat back and sighed. The sun hadn't yet gone down, and Aleyna decided to watch the sunset from the top of the outcrop. Carefully she began to climb the outcrop, feeling for hand and footholds. Finally she found the top and sat, looking out over the landscape. The sunset painted everything a light red, a bit like crying blood.

As the last light faded away to the West Aleyna still sat quietly, looking out over the landscape. The moon came up about half way through the night, and still Aleyna sat there, watching the moon bathing everything in its silvery glow. The stars still shone just as brightly, they were entrancing. The North Star shone the brightest, a beacon in the night sky.

After a while the temperature dropped, and Aleyna seemed to feel it a little more sharply, now that her attention had been drawn away from the stars and moon. Peering over the outcrop she cursed as she saw that the fire had gone out. Climbing down again, very carefully as there was very little light to see by, Aleyna scrambled down the now sheer rock face. That was a little disconcerting to say the least. It seemed in those few hours the whole world had shifted and changed around her.

Reaching the cave Aleyna cursed. Her bag and everything had disappeared. But then, was she sure it wasn't her that had disappeared, and reappeared somewhere else? Because the cave seemed so much larger than before. Also the river seemed much wider and larger, definitely more powerful, as it slowly moved its way wherever it was going.

Panic clutched at Aleyna with its cold claws. She stumbled out of the cave and looked around her. Knowing that there was nothing she could do about her situation she decided to at least try and get some sleep in the cave. Huddling against the wall seemed to be the best option, apart from the fact that it was so cold and wet. There was nowhere else to go, so Aleyna had to make the best she could about the situation, and eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.

The morning light woke Aleyna, though it offered her little comfort. She was cold and tired, she had slept fitfully. She was also stiff. A few stretches helped to alleviate her stiffness, though it did not totally eradicate it. But she did not have the luxury of staying where she was, she was cold wet and wanted to be somewhere warmer. So, she walked outside and looked a little dubiously at the water. Seeing that it seemed fresh enough she tasted some. After she discovered that it tasted fine she took gulps of the water.

Afterwards Aleyna felt a little better, so she set off walking, following the river. The sun came out and warmed everywhere, though not as much as a summer sun should. But then, looking around, it wasn't summer. From the way the leaves were turning to russets and golds it was already autumn in this place, wherever it was. It wasn't altogether unpleasant to walk in the sun. The forest seemed to whisper on either side of her. Aleyna thought she could hear them talking about her.

At what about Aleyna judged to be noon she stopped and took more of the water to drink. She had nothing to eat, so she carried on walking, ignoring her stomach, which was rumbling fiercely. She just carried on walking. She walked solidly all day, until she was getting too tired to walk. Then finding a comfortable hollow she settled down, this time at least she was dry. She allowed herself a drink of water.

The next day passed in much the same way. This time in the afternoon the rain started to pour down hard in the afternoon, leaving Aleyna soaked, with nowhere warm and dry to stay. She soon managed to find another tree hollow to stay in. This time it wasn't so pleasant, although it was dry it, Aleyna herself was freezing cold and soaked through to the skin. The fact that she found a blackberry bush with ripe fruits on it was of little comfort. Her hunger had been appeased for a little while, but it had not completely eradicated. Settling down for another night, Aleyna tried to sleep.

The next day that dawned found Aleyna shivering where she was. She found herself unable to move, she was so cold. Her hunger had abated a lot; she was now filled with an unbearable thirst. She managed to stagger to the river to take a few gulps of water. Then crawling back into her hollow she fell into an uneasy and troubled sleep. Later on she woke for a few moments, but soon found things were no better, so she fell back into her troubled sleep.

During the night despair took hold of her. She knew that the chances of anyone finding her were very slim, she didn't know where she was; let alone where anyone else was. She knew she shouldn't have moved from the cave, but it had been so depressing and cold and wet. At least now she could lie here with at least the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. The thought that she was going to die alone made her sad; she at least wanted to die with her father around her.

A sob almost tore its way out of her throat. Since her mother had died she had relied very heavily on her father. And he had been so caring. Her dying out in the wild would break his heart. Aleyna hoped someone would at least find her body, it would at least tell her father she was dead. She couldn't bear even now to worry him; she was still his little girl in his eyes, his little pearl. She was so cold, and then she was burning hot, but the thought of her father made her cry badly. She wanted to be home and safe, warm and dry, with her dead mother looking after her.

"I never dreamt that I would walk alone like this, die like this." Aleyna muttered to herself.

"Never alone." Came another voice.

"Mummy?" Aleyna asked.

"She's delirious." A male voice muttered.

"She's burning, we need to get her back to father." The woman's voice said.

"Let me get to her then." A third male voice said.

"She's slipping." Cried the woman, as Aleyna slipped out of consciousness.

Author's notes: This story has been in the pipeline for three years. I finally get it up after the second revamp. So here we are, hope you enjoy.