Chapter1 –Meeting again–

–Ten years later–

I got up early that morning, went washing my face and put on one of my favourite dress. It was pale green, almost white with light lavender frills and beautiful tiny like roses formed buttons. I loved the dress because Dad had brought it from town and Granny said that it went perfectly with my dark-green eyes.

I looked at my reflection in the washbowl and smiled.

Yes, that was the most important thing today. – Looking nice so Granny would be happy on her sixtieth birthday.

I combed my hair quickly and tied it in a slack bun – I would have to ask Mom to stake it in an elegant chignon for me later – and tiptoed downstairs.

Quietly I took a clean bucket and went out to the Milleux's who lived a few houses away from us.

"Good morning, Monsieur Milleux," I greeted when I turned in the little courtyard.

"Bonjour, Chloe," he responded. "You are pretty early."

I paused. "Oh, sorry."

He laughed. "No need to apologize. Actually, Antoine is already up since five o'clock to get you the milk you wanted. He's waiting in the cowshed for you."

I smiled relieved. "Merci, Monsieur Milleux," I said and then I headed to direction he had pointed at.

The cowshed was a simple hut made of wood and bricks. It smelled like hay, sweat and dung. The cows were already outside on the field; only one was left that was milked by a tall boy. He was covered in dirt and a few straws were plugged in his uncombed blond hair.

He looked up and smiled when he noticed me at the open door. "Morning, Chloe."

"Good morning, Antoine," I greeted back and stepped closer. "I'm sorry about bothering you."

"No, not at all," he objected kindly and took the bucket out of my hands. "Dad and Fabien said that they would go the woods today so I had to milk the cows today anyway."

I smiled. "Thank you, Antoine. What would I do without you?"

He bit his lip and continued his work to hide the delicate blush that made its way across his cheeks.

Antoine Milleux was one of my best friends and the most helpful person I had ever met. No matter when or what I asked him to do, he would drop everything in his hands immediately and help me. Chantal claimed that his behavior was due to the fact that he was in love with me but I didn't believe that theory. We were just simple friends, right?

I blushed at the thought that Antoine might be in love with… me and shook my head fiercely to forget that weird idea.

"Is something wrong, Chloe?" he asked, recognizing my strange behavior.

I shook my head again. "No, no. All is fine."

He watched me sceptically for a second then he smiled. "Bien. Well, I've finished now. Should I accompany you home? The bucket is pretty heavy."

I nodded gratefully. The bucket looked very heavy. "Only if it doesn't bother you."

He smiled. "Not at all. I need to move my legs after this anyway."

We walked to my house together, chatting and laughing happily. I looked up at the sky. It was June and summer was entering our little village at the Appalachian Mountains with sure steps.

"What a beautiful day," I commented, closing my eyes and appreciating the warm sun stroking my skin.

"Hmm…" Antoine agreed grinning. "I bet it's because today is your Grandmother's birthday."

I chuckled. "Sure it is."

Antoine helped me to get the milk in the kitchen, then he said "Good luck, I will come again later to congratulate your Grandmother" and left quietly to not wake up anyone in the house.

I inhaled deeply, getting ready to work and started putting all implements on our wooden dinning table. I planned to make an apple pie – Granny's favourite.

Carefully to not make my dress dirty and silently to not wake Mom or Granny up, I finished my work and pushed the cake in the old stone oven.

"Mmm… smells good," Mom said when she entered the room a few minutes later. "Well done, ma chérie." She placed a kiss on my cheek.

I smiled shyly. "Merci."

"Come. I will do your hair," she said and pushed me on a chair. She combed my long honey-colored hair with her skilled hands and staked it to an elegant chignon. I smiled satisfied at my reflection in the windows.

"Merci,mamman," I said.

She kissed my cheek again. "Pas de problèmes, ma petite princesse. " She handed me a basket. "Now, go and get some flowers. I will take care of the pie."

I nodded eagerly. At the door, I turned around again and asked, "Mommy? Daddy will arrive at sunset, right?"

"Oui," she approved.

I smiled delighted. I hadn't seen him for about a month and he had promised me to get me something very beautiful this time.

My father worked, unlike other men from our village, in the next big town Baltimore which was a day ride from our home. I didn't know what exactly he was working as but he earned enough money to support our whole family. Sometimes he even brought presents from town for me like the pretty dress I was wearing that day.

I entered the forest at which's border our village was located. The mild June sun shined through the different shaped leaves and transformed them into thousands of emeralds. A dreamy smile stretched across my face at the sight of this glamorous scenery.

It had been a similar day like this when I had met the strange foreigner man at the meadow. Since that day I had met to the meadow at least once a week, and if the weather didn't allow it I had been sitting in my room at the window and watched wishfully at the sky-stroking trees. But despite my efforts and hopes the mysterious man stayed vanished. I hadn't told anyone about him. – Even my best friend Chantal, with whom I usually shared all my secrets, didn't know anything about my unknown savior. But I so wanted to see him again and thank him for helping me ten years ago. If he hadn't appeared at that time, I probably would have been founded by some Grey Wolves, which lived in the woods here, rather than by my father and friends.

I sighed. "Who and where are you?" I asked quietly, but only the leaves' rustling answered when a light breeze touched them.

I continued my way in silence. Although there were many pretty flowers on my way I didn't stop once. I knew a place where the flowers were the most beautiful ones that I had ever seen and I needed to go there this week anyway.

I reached my target after about twenty minutes. At the beginning it had taken me more time to find it, but in the mean time I could find it with closed eyes.

The little meadow welcomed me with a choir of rustling leaves and warm sunlight. I smiled when I stepped on the colorful flower field.

Through the years I had seen this little meadow in all four seasons. The first time I had come here was in summer. From middle of June to July through August until the first September week the meadow was like a bright emerald island. Grass, leaves, moss – everything was green.

In autumn the green would fade, leaving beautiful warm colors like yellow, red or brown back. Then, every time when a cool breeze combed through the forest, the colorful leaves would slide to the ground, shining like crystals as if it was raining rubies and ambers.

In the last November- or the first December-week each year's first snow would fall, covering the meadow with a pure white carpet.

And then, when the first sunlight of spring touched the little meadow, the plants would start to wake up from their long sleep and break through the blanket of snow. From May until the first June-weeks the flowers here would be in their greatest glory.

Exactly the perfect time get a pretty bouquet for Granny's birthday.

I bended down and began to pluck some pretty light pink flowers.

"Happy Birthday to you… happy Birthday to you…" I sang while plucking one flower after another. "Happy Birthday, dear Granny… Happy Birthday to you…"

When I had got enough flowers I sat down on the fallen tree trunk which laid in the meadow and started to arrange and tie the flowers to a bouquet. The entire process took about an hour. I lifted the flowers to my nose and inhaled deeply when I had finished.

"Ah, lovely," I sighed.

I put my work in the basket and got up to leave for home when I heard a quiet noise behind me.

I paused and turned around slowly, listening concentrated to the noise. It wasn't very loud so I assumed that the source was something small. But it sounded very shrill and urgent at the same time, as if someone was asking for help.

Slowly and carefully, I stepped towards the direction where the sound was coming from. It was something at the bottom of a tree that localized the meadow. I walked closer and espied something brown and fluffy in the high grass. – It was a sparrow-fledgling.

I kneed down and stroked its tiny wing carefully with a finger. "Oh, how cute. Who are you?"

The little bird squeaked in response.

I smiled. "And where do you come from?" I looked up at the giant tree. Between the many layers of leaves I espied a small nest. "Did you fall out of up there?"

I got up and measured the height with my eyes. It wasn't very high and there were enough stabile branches to climb. I bended down again and picked the little fledging carefully from the ground. It flapped excited with its wings and squeaked.

"Don't be scared," I assured it. "I will help you."

I put it cautiously into my basket and stepped at the lowest branch. "Let's go."

With one steady flip I pulled myself on the branch. It swung slightly at my weight. The bird in my basket went on squeaking excitedly.

"Just a minute," I promised and reached for the next branch. "You will be home soon."

I continued my way like before step by step. Climb on one branch; reach for the next and then climb on the next one…

I had never climbed much when I was small. I had always been too fearful and worried to not be able to get down safely. But at the moment I shook all those thoughts off and concentrated on helping the little squeaking bird to get home.

I didn't know how long the whole process took, but sometime I finally reached the little bird's nest.

"Voilà. Bienvenue à la maison," I said and placed the tiny runaway back in its home where its siblings greeted it squeaking. I watched the four little "fluffy balls" for a while, then I decided to go home myself, too. "And don't make any tries to fly without your parents again," I reminded them and turned around to go down.

I froze. Did I actually climb so high? I hadn't appeared so high at the ground. I noticed that I had stopped breathing and took a deep draft of fresh air.

"Oh. My. God," I gasped. My voice was a few octaves too high. Now I knew why I had never climbed on a tree before. I bite my lip. How was I supposed to get down now?

I turned back to the nest and swallowed. The little birds watched me with black curious beady eyes. I pressed my eyes shut and inhaled deeply to calm down. "Don't be a coward," I chanted to myself. "Don't be a coward. One of them has jumped out on its free will to learn flying. So don't be a coward."

I turned back and looked down, but this time I focused on the branches I had used to climb upwards. If they had helped me to get this high, I should be able to use them to get back to the ground safely again.

I took a last deep breath and checked whether my basked was still securely in my arm, then I started to climb down.

First branch… second branch… third branch…

"Bien, Chloe," I encouraged myself; my voice was still as high as the squeaking fledglings' "You can do this. Just don't look down…"

I don't remember when exactly, but at about the seventh branch my foot slipped form the smooth round wood. I lost my balance and feel with a shrill scream. I pressed my eyes hut and prepared myself for the painful landing. I didn't know how, but somehow I noticed a quiet rustling sound at my right, then I felt something hard and cold around my torso. A strong air draft pulled at my clothes, and then, in the next second, everything was still again.

I didn't dare to open my eyes; still waiting for the pain… But nothing came. Carefully, I blinked my eyes open.

And I froze.

"Are you okay?" the gorgeous creature asked with a deep velvet voice. He had pitch black messy hair that fell partly in his beautiful ochre eyes which shined like gold in the little sunlight that had found its way through the many layers of leaves. His skin was smooth and perfectly white, like snow. His face as longish and slender, his features were prominent but not hard. They were rather soft and warm with concern.

"Are you okay?" he repeated in that dreamlike velvet voice, his perfect lips moving in synchronization with the words.

I blinked dazzled. "Huh? What? Umm… y-yes," I stammered.

He nodded stiffly, but I believed that I had seen a relieved smile had twitched on his lips for a wink. "Do you think you can stand?" he demanded.

I didn't know whether I had reacted at all, but I must have approved his question somehow, because he had said "Good" and put me down on my feet carefully as if I was something hugely breakable.

That was the moment I had finally noticed that he had carried me. He had saved me… again.

"Th-thank you," I said, it wasn't louder than a whisper.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said, looking up at the tree of which I had fallen off. I guessed he hadn't heard my weak words. "The fledgling won't be accepted by its parents now anyway."

I blinked in irritation. "What do you mean?"

"Birds don't feed kids that had been touched by humans," he explained.

I looked up at the tree sadly. "D-do you mean it will…" I was unable to finish the sentence.

He nodded emotionlessly.

I bit my lip and lowered my head guilty. "I-I didn't mean to… I didn't want that… I…" My voice broke away at the end.

"It's not your fault," he comforted me with that soft voice of his. "You didn't know."

"Yes… b-but still… it's my fault i-if the little fledgling…" I sobbed.

He didn't say anything this time. It was absolutely silent around me and I feared that he was gone again. My head snapped up. I suppressed a sigh of relief. He is still here.

He was watching me. A strange expression lied on his face. Maybe it was because we were standing in the shadow of the trees, but I thought that he looked painful somehow. As if he was suffering in agony.

He controlled his features when he saw me staring at him. He cleared his throat. "You should go home now. Isn't your Grandmother waiting for your bouquet?"

"Ah," I made in realization. "Right… Granny…" I spun around, looking for my basket and found it on the ground a few feet away from me. I went to pick it up, but the bouquet wasn't in it anymore.

"Here," he suddenly said and held my bouquet in front of my face.

I stared at it, unable to move an inch. I had never received flowers from a boy before. I blushed.

He waited patiently. But then he noticed the embarrassing situation. He cleared his throat again and turned his face away. He looked ashamed. "Your Grandmother is waiting," he reminded me and placed the bouquet gently into my empty basked as if it was made of glass.

I followed his hand with my eyes. "Thank you," I said, my eyes still lingering shyly on the pink flowers.

No one responded. I looked up again and discovered that I was alone. He had vanished like he had ten years ago.

And then I finally recognized something.

How could he have known that this bouquet was for my Grandmother?

woa... this's starting great... I wrote 10 pages... and that was just the FIRST Chapter!! XDDD omg.... my hand is gonna to have some kind of permanet damage because of my "Cannot-stop-writing-sickness" XDDDD

please review, so I'll know that the pain was worth it XDDD

-Mulan-