A.N Thank you very much for the generous reviews and the support you've given me. Don't worry I think the whole point of the story will be introduced soon, so you won't have to waste time reading on trivial facts, and just get to the point! Lol, I think this chapter will see a great turn of events.

Enjoy.

----,---,---6

Chapter 3

THE FALLEN TREE

The girl ran through the cedar trees, shrieking with mirth when she tumbled to the ground and landed on the riverbank. Mammy would not be pleased when she found she got her white frock muddy again. Her hair was a mess too, as it had twisted its way out of the pretty curly locks and ribbons and tangled around her small face in a wild mop.

She could hear Suellen close behind her, but Scarlett being the three years her senior, could run faster than her sister. She quickly leapt to her feet and started running again, just as Suellen came crashing in the clearing and toppled over a loose tree root, which landed her slap on her face in the water.

The resulting shrieks of rage and petulant cries that ensued were surprisingly loud coming from something so small and relatively harmless-looking. Scarlett whooped and put on another burst of speed, effectively gaining her more ground, till she reached her goal.

"I win again!"

She sat on the grass by the gate and patiently waited for her little sister to find her way, a pleased little smirk on her childish face. Suellen always lost races, and she couldn't manage to be as good a climber as Scarlett, given the fact that her limbs weren't as long as her sister's. This gave her infinite chances of whining and crying, like the petulant cry-baby she was.

Scarlett enjoyed beating her at every game immensely, especially when Suellen ran off crying to Mammy and her parents that Scarlett had made fun of her again.

She supposed she found it irritating that all Suellen did was whine and cry loudly, but there really was no one else Scarlett could play with, since the other plantation children were all off to school and so far away from Tara. Her Pa found less and less time to be with them, now that the crops were to be collected and Christmas was approaching.

Scarlett grinned at the thought of more delightful presents to be gained from Santa Claus; she reckoned she'd been a VERY good little girl this year, so she probably would have more presents than Suellen.

Although she liked having pretty dolls wearing pretty little dresses, and many fairy tale books, Scarlett would love nothing more than having her own pony.

Pa told her she was old enough to get one soon, and then she could go riding with him every day, and he'd teach her to jump just like his horse! Scarlett wouldn't let her little sister near the pony though, because she'd have to wait until she was older to get her own too.

A sudden gust of wind made her skirts fly up and expose her pretty little pink-ribbon stockings. She shivered and drew her knees towards her chest.

It was getting pretty cold outside these days, which meant she'd have to stay inside the house very soon.

She frowned in disappointment when she realised she'd have to fill her time with Suellen's teachings in the nursery and completing her needle work.

Scarlett was getting bored of having to wait for her sister to come find her so she could show her she was the best and pull her tongue out to make Suellen mad.

She sighed with impatience and crossed her arms over her chest, an annoyed frown marring her pretty face.

Why couldn't Sue just hurry up and come already?

Then the thought of having her own pony quickly replaced her thoughts of victory on Suellen, and she smiled. Sue would be positively pea green with envy when she saw Scarlett's pony and she would tell her that she couldn't be allowed on it.

Even Pa and Mother would tell her that she was too small to ride just yet.

Serve her right for ruining her doll's pretty blue dress last week; that doll had been her favourite, and now Scarlett didn't have any other pretty dresses for Sophia to wear.

When Suellen failed yet again to make her way over to where Scarlett was sitting, Scarlett got a bit worried, and a sluice of guilt prickled her conscience.

Perhaps she'd run too fast for Sue to see where she was going, and now she was out there in the trees, trying to find her, and calling out for her.

Scarlett bit her bottom lip as she pondered on what she should do.

She was sure she could find her way back, and if Sue snitched on her, Mammy wouldn't let her out of the house for a week, and then it would be too late because winter was coming. She traced her way on the path, but frowned in confusion when she found it blocked by a fallen tree.

Scarlett knew she hadn't seen the tree on her way to the gate, which meant that she must have taken a wrong turning.

She stopped and stared at her surroundings then hugged herself to fight against the chilling wind that was tearing its way through the trees.

Although it wasn't outright sunny, the clouds sometimes gave over to let the sun shine through for a short time, before hiding it again; now, however, it looked like it was going to rain, the clouds were so grey and overcast.

Scarlett shivered with apprehension as she thought about getting home – Mammy would scold her senseless, and then she'd tell Mother, and once Mother found out about what she'd done, even Pa couldn't help her. Despite letting Scarlet get away with many things, Gerald was absolutely bent on protecting her from harm.

This meant that if Scarlett took ill again because she returned home drenched all the way through her bones, her Pa would be the first to scold her. And she had to find Sue, who was probably wailing her head off by now.

They were too far away from the house and the fields to be heard by someone, even Big Sam and the other boys.

Then the wind suddenly died down, and nothing stirred.

The leaves themselves remained as still as the rocks, frightening the little girl till it took all her effort not to cry out and whimper like Sue. Scarlett raised her chin and her eyes sparkled in determined defiance not to be frightened by this.

Just as she started walking to make her way out of this clearing she'd never seen before, she tripped over her boots and crashed to the ground.

A startled cry left her lips as her body toppled, then a grimace of pain marred her features when she hit the ground and scraped her hands.Oh dear, it was getting more difficult to be brave now.

Her hands were stained with dirt and blood oozed from the several scrapes on the abused palm. She stared at them forlorn, and sure that she was in even more trouble now.

How could she find a way to slither her way out of what was going to come once she stepped through the front door?

How could she blame this on Suellen? Perhaps she could tell Mammy that she'd been out looking for Sue but Sue kept getting away and she had to chase her through the woods, and that's how she became all messy.

A sliver of doubt traced its way in her reasoning. Sue would deny everything till she turned blue with it; and that wouldn't do at all, because Mammy could always tell when Scarlett was lying.

As she was taking her time on the ground to think about ways in which she could avoid being scolded, she heard something in the vicinity crack.

She gave a startled gasp and quickly spun to her left to see what had caused the sudden noise. The fallen tree met her stare unblinkingly, and now that it was getting darker, it was becoming very threatening and quite frightening.

Before she even realised it, she was lying on the wet ground as mist shrouded her from all around her.

She could still see the fallen tree, as it was the closest thing to her, but she wished she couldn't see it; Scarlett was sure the tree was the one to have made that noise. Her shoulders shook with the cold and the effort it took raise herself into a kneeling position.

She was very scared now.

She couldn't hear any sounds at all, and couldn't see anything at all, except for the tree.

She looked down at the ground and realised that the wetness was seeping through her dress and stockings to chill her little legs.

Katie Scarlett…

Scarlett raised her head to stare at the tree, horrified by the notion that it was talking to her. She started crying, for she didn't understand why the tree would speak to her at all.

Was she dreaming?

This wasn't real, of course it wasn't real, her Pa told her late at night that the stories he told her were just stories, and none of them were true, and she believed him.

Pa wouldn't lie to me for all the grits in the world.

You are unfortunate, little girl.

Where are your parents?

Scarlett screamed and shot upright, trembling while staring in a horrified fashion at the tree as it twisted and modeled itself into another shape. No longer did it lie on the ground, twisted and gnarled and dead.

Now it stood upright, imposing, and dark and terrifying and looming closer to the terrorized girl.

Her voice seemed gone as the thing loomed closer in a threatening manner, like that man did to the little puppy that day, leering and spitting insults at it.

Poor little bird, too afraid to move. Can you fly at all, or are your wings too small? Poor Katie Scarlett, so alone and lost in the dark forest…

Remember me when they come for you tonight, with their dogs and their torches. You tell your Pa I've come to visit him, but found you instead.

This be your legacy, young Katie Scarlett, this be your legacy…

With a prolonged, frightened shriek, the whole world turned dark and as the ground loomed closer again, Scarlett fell to her knees unconscious and unfeeling as a cold feeling swept through arm and buried itself in her chest.

Hushed voices surrounded her, grim faces stared down at her from their great height; there were intervals of light and those moments filled with darkness that clutched her in its cold embrace and refused to let her go, no matter how hard she struggled.

"Here now, young miss, can you open your mouth and swallow this please?"

Scarlett turned her away from the nasty smell that assaulted her nose as the spoon came closer to her face.

"Now see here, little girl, you must take this medicine if you want to get better. It won't do to have you so pale and drawn on this bed. Just one mouthful."

Ellen thanked the doctor and ordered Pork to usher him outside. She took the warm cloth from her daughter's forehead and replaced it with a cooler one.

If there was one disturbing thing about this ordeal, it was that Scarlett, who had never been afraid of anything yet in her life, was found trembling and muttering wild things in her state of unconsciousness.

The girl who made every minute of every day matter, now lay limply on her bed, softly breathing but never opening her eyes, as though waking meant she'd face something monstrous.

Gerald had been very curt with her in giving her those few details of what happened when they found her lying in the woods; his face was shuttered to her even now, as though he was pondering something that should be kept a secret.

No matter how blank his expression had been, Ellen had caught that moment when his eyes held pani and a deep despair when he carried Scarlett over the threshold unconscious.

He'd gone as far as actually snapping at her not to ask any more questions.

Ellen had been so shocked by such angered behaviour from her husband, who was always gentle towards her, that she actually froze and looked at him with wide eyes as he ascended the stairs to the nursery, barking orders at every servant to send someone for the doctor.

She'd had the feeling Gerald had more of an inkling of what had befallen their Scarlett than he let on, since last night, when they found her. Yet for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why he refused to say anything, and remained silent every time she attempted to broach the subject.

This being the first time she saw this side to Gerald O'Hara, Ellen did not know how to tread, and for the first time in their marriage, she felt uneasy about him; however worried she was though, she had to push it at the back of her weary mind for the moment.

She had a daughter to nurse back to health.

----,-----,---6

A.N this is as far as I got to introducing the THING that would give Scarlett nightmares till her dying day. Tell me what you think of it and let me know if you have any suggestions.

Thank you very much everyone, for your stupendous support.

Lady Zee