Prologue
Even if she was all alone, it always felt as if there was someone watching her, keeping her safe. It was a good thing too, as the little one was always curious, always had to look at, and touch everything. It caused her parents a lot of grief, as their little daughter had a habit of getting into the worst kinds of trouble.
They tried their best to keep a better eye on her, even going so far as to setting up child-proof locks to keep her from going out on one of her 'expeditions' as the little one liked to call them.
She was a child though. And as anyone will tell you, children are curious little things, and you can't keep them trapped forever.
Currently, the girl was playing outside in her fenced in yard, hair in a long braid, the same color as the dirt she was digging through. Her bright green eyes darted around, looking for any 'creepy crawlies' to make homes for in her mother's garden.
Her attention was caught by a little brown creature in the corner of the yard. It stopped, aware it had been noticed.
"Bunny?" the little one called out, before standing and making her way towards it.
But the little bunny did not want to be caught, so it ran, underneath the small gap between the fence and the yard.
"Bunny! No!" The small girl made a beeline for where the bun had escaped, only to be stopped by the wooden fence.
As if awakened from a slumber, the fence seemed to part, allowing just enough room for the girl to escape.
Continuing her mission, she saw the creature she was after by the edge of the forest, and began to chase after it. "Wait!" she called out to it. The girl ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her, but the bunny was too quick.
The creature was easily outrunning the girl, and could have made a more zig-zagged escape to confuse it's stalker. The rabbit seemed much more interested in taunting the small child than in getting away. It was almost as if it wanted to bait the girl away from her home more than anything else. To make her the prey of a very clever predator.
The bunny finally darted into a rabbit hole, and the little girl was left all alone in the middle of the woods. She tried to squeeze her head into the hole to see the rabbit, but she was much too big, and could not fit. At least this Alice wouldn't be falling down the rabbit hole.
The sun was beginning to set, and the forest would be plunged into darkness soon. From there it would only be a matter of time before the wolves found her. Or something worse.
But she was never alone. Despite some of the creatures that lurked in it, the forest was the girl's friend. It would never allow harm to come to the curious child.
'Demetria..' a soothing voice called out to her.
Looking to find the source of the voice, the little girl found herself staring at a bush of bright, wild roses. Suddenly, the little girl had completely forgotten about the creature that had led her there, captivated by the bright red colors of flowers petals.
The briars of the rose bush began to grow, a flower blooming every few steps. They led the girl out of the quickly darkening forest, and away from danger.
As much as it did not want her to go, the forest knew the girl would not be safe there. So it had the rosess lead the little one back to her home, where her parents were desperately calling out for her.