"Poor girl." Emilee said to Armod. She was one of the many girls who surrounded him on the balcony looking into courtyard.

"Who?"

"Xanthe. Over there." She said pointing, "It is so sad that she has no friends her age. She only has that wolf."

"Really?" he asked taking great interest in the girl who was getting tackled by a grayish brown wolf, "Has she tried to make friends?"

"Well, I tried talking to her, and she was ok, but then she has been spending more time with that wolf and out in the forest and such. I'm beginning to lose hope with her."

Armod locked eyes with Emilee; "Never give up, for there is hope for everyone." With that he strode away leaving a giggling group of ladies behind him.

*~*~*~*

"Stop! Aynsley! Stop it!" Xanthe giggled.

When she had let her guard down, Aynsley tackled her and was licking her face. The slobber instantly froze one her face. The snow was somehow finding its way into her boots and she was trying to make her way inside.

She flicked his snout playfully and when he was distracted, she ran for the heat of the place.

"Catch me if you can!" she yelled over her shoulder.

She was a surprisingly fast runner and made it to the castle before Aynsley got a starting chance. She was running through a corridor when she smacked right into a man.

They both fell to the floor with a hard thud, for he had been running too.

"So sorry." Xanthe apologized and then looked up to see who it was.

Armod stood and then helped her up. She smoothed out her coat nervously as she tried to avoid his gaze. It was impossible. She soon found herself staring into his deep gray eyes. Again it felt as if a stick was jamming into her, only instead of into her brain, it was like it was poking into her soul. Not liking this at all, she started to tremble.

A growling noise is what brought broke the trance. They both looked down to find a very mad looking wolf, with its hackles up, glaring at Armod.

"Nice seeing you again, Lady Xanthe." He said and then strode away, almost strutting, before Xanthe had the chance to respond. She felt worse then she had after their last encounter.

A worried whine came from below as she swayed on her feet. Before she could register who had made the noise, she fell, as if she was a rag doll, to the floor.

*~*~*~*

Xanthe knew this was a dream, but it still scared her.

She was standing in darkness. Something liquid pooled around her feet. An unfamiliar smell filled her nose and seeped into her lungs. The only sound that she heard was the sounds of her own shaky breaths. She didn't know where she was. She was cold, hungry, and alone. Her body ached as if it had been put through more then it could handle. A light slowly grew from somewhere and the visions around her slowly began to take form.

She was in a very fancy room with lavish drapes and rugs. It was on one of those rugs that she was standing in a puddle of blood. Her blood.

*~*~*~*

She woke up screaming, grabbing at her right side as she sat up.

"Xanthe!" Aynsley ran up to her and grabbed her.

She was in her room on her bed. How she got there she didn't know.

"Aynsley!" she sobbed throwing her arms around him, "Oh, Aynsley! It was terrible! There was blood! So much blood! It was my blood!"

All he could do was to hug her. Something was not right here. In fact, something was horribly wrong.

*~*~*~*

Armod smiled at himself as he sat in his cushiony chair. His search was over. Xanthe was the one. The one that the ancient prophesies spoke of. The glorious thing was this-nobody knows. She was all his.



A/N: Short! I know! I know! I like working in short chapters! Sorry! Anyway, writing block is fading! Yeah! ^_^ I will post more soon! Am very stuck on my other fic though. If you have any suggestions for 'A Circle is Round, it has No End' please e-mail me or something! Thanx! R/R!!!! ^_^