Maybe if I had stayed awake that night I'd never have left.

Until that November night I was an ordinary seventeen year old girl. Selfish, reckless, confused. And I felt small and powerless, most of all underneath the show.

My parents were out of town for the weekend. I had planned out the party for a month. The alcohol, the guestlist, the music - everything.

I told myself that I'd let everyone else drink, and I'd stay sober to take care of everything if anyone got out of hand. Yeah, like I could stop a bunch of drunks if they ransacked the house.

However, I drank too in the end. After a while I'd had a little too much, and my best friend Aleesha, who hadn't had a lot yet, walked me upstairs to my room. I laid on the bed and watched her lock and shut my door. I closed my eyes.

The room got bright with grey light. Well, somewhat blue tinted. It was like ice, and the room got very cold. Suddenly sober, I sat up.

The room that I had just been in was transformed. I was now in a room with dirty looking wooden flooring with large spaces inbetween the boards. The walls looked like the inside of a log cabin.

Was I high or drunk?

The window was dusty and propped open by a broken broom handle. The bed was unfinished, old looking wood, and the blanket was a patchwork quilt.

I sprang up instantly, and ran over to the worn out looking dresser and wiped some of the dust off the mirror and it revealed me just as I was at the party...the same old Alice. But I was not in my own house.

I hesitated to leave the room but decided that I would have to if I was ever going to get home.

What the hell has happened?! Was this some kind of cruel joke? Did someone move me while I was out of it?

But Aleesha locked my door! Or did she? No, she did.

Well, I wasn't getting answers just standing here...but wait! Could it be a dream?

It was so icy cold in the room, I would never feel that if it weren't real. But I did pinch myself for good measure. No, not a dream.

Well, whatever dangers outside this room I'd have to face. If not, I'd be in this room forever.

I opened the door carefully. To my surprise, it led outside! The small room I was in had been a one-room house!

There was a horse hitched to a post outside. Being a skilled rider with a horse of my own, this was good news. I had done alot of cross country and this horse looked quite athletic and I could probably escape most dangers and move along at a good pace. Perhaps I could find civilization before night.

I stepped out onto the little porch. I made my way down a couple of stairs and stepped across some stepping stones. The horse reguarded me curiously.

Suddenly I wondered if he was broken or not. He would be useless if he wasn't. But there was no way to tell except to get on, and even though it was truely not recommendable for most situations, now qualified as an emergency, right?

He was tall. His withers towered over my head infact. He was a dark, dark color. He was black, but he had a purple sheen in the strange light the clouds was giving off. He was wearing a bridle, so I took it as a good sign he was broken.

I untied him and led him over to a near by stump and aligned him with it. After two attempts I was sitting atop him.

I walked him and trotted him in circles for a few minutes to make sure I wasn't getting myself into something dangerous. He seemed to be responsive and well trained.

I let the reins slack a bit and paused to concider what direction I should ride in. My thoughts were broken by someone yelling.

"Hey you! Get off my horse! Get off! Now!"

A boy with blond hair was running down a grown up path towards the stallion and I.

I gave the horse a good kick in impulse, startled by the boy. Wow, he took off like a rocket! Almost unseating me, I grabbed his mane to regain my seat.

We thundered down the dirt path that seemingly led into nowhere.

But at least that guy wouldn't get us. He'd never run down this stallion. Hell, probably not even in a car! I'd never been this fast on a horse before.

It was thrilling really. I began to enjoy riding the wonderful creature and in turn forgetting that I was being pursued. Blurs of brown and green flashed by my eyes as the stallion lurched foward!

Apparently, the boy had horses I had yet to see. Because before I knew it, the stallion was being pulled to a halt by the blond boy riding on an even larger dappled grey horse.

"Do you mind telling me why you felt the need to steal my horse?" the boy demanded hotly.

"I..." I began. I wasn't quite sure how to explain myself. If I'd known this guy owned the horse I'd have asked first. Or more than likely asked the guy for help!

"Well?" he said impatiently.

"I'm lost," I said lamely.

"And that's why you stole my horse?" he said doubtfully.

"Well, more than lost. I went to sleep on my bed and ended up asleep on the bed in that house. And I went outside and there was this horse and I wanted to try to find someone so I thought if I rode him I'd get around faster," she explained.

"Right. You were trying to find someone, and when you see someone coming, you run like a bat out of hell!" he said raising an eyebrow.

"You scared me!" I exclaimed. "What would you do if someone was running and yelling at you?"

The boy shook his head. "Look girl, I don't know you, and I'm not too fond of you right now either, but if you promise not to try stealing my stallions anymore, I'll try to help you out," he said. "You seem kind of confused."

"I'm sorry," I said. I really needed to get on his good side! After all, it didn't seem that there were any towns close by, and it would sure be a long walk to one without this guy.

We rode back to the house awkwardly silent.

"Could you at least help me put the horses away?" he asked. "It's the least you could do."

"Sure," I said.

"The black one you rode - his name is Cobalt," the boy pointed out. "And this dapple I rode is named Thunderhead."

"They're lovely," I remarked, but the boy's ill mood didn't lighten.

We walked a short way into the woods behind his house and found a stable that was at least six times as large as the boy's house.

"Wow," I said. It was practically enchanted!

As we led the stallions in the barn several beautiful horses of every color known to horses stuck their heads out.

It was enough to take my breath away.

"His stall is the one on the end," the boy said.

I turned the beautiful black horse into his box and latched the door shut.

I petted a few of the beautiful horses and looked around for the boy.

He was standing in front of the barn, so I walked out. He started towards the house without another word.