Chapter 2 is rewritten and uploaded. Again, please think of this as a sort of novel. It will make things easier. I will upload the next chapter next week. Please Read and Review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem

Thanks to magicalmel, BabyBumblebee17, and PinkDiamond for reviewing my last chapter.

Chapter 2: Travel

Alice groaned as the hazy darkness cleared from her mind. She lay still for a moment, going through her mind of the day before, wondering if she could get some more sleep or if she had to get up for school. Alice frowned as strange memories flashed through her mind.

Rain. A storm. A cloaked man. No air. Falling.

Alice's eyes flew open and her heart missed a beat as the final bits of fogginess cleared from her mind and her memory of the night before came back to her. Her first thought was; Am I alive? She slowly reached her hand up and placed it over her chest. Though she'd felt it earlier, relief swept through her as she felt the soft 'thump thump' of her heart beneath her palms.

Starting to calm, Alice focused on figuring out what had happened. She stared at the sky for a moment, frowing at the bright, cloud free, sky. Well, no so much the sky, as the leafy canopy that obscured most of the view of it.

Alice's frown deepened.

A forest? Though she could see the forest from where she lived, there were none really near her. Except that park she visited often with her father and brother. She shook her head. There was no way it was that forest. No matter how far you walked or how deep into the forest you went, you could always here cars. And, based on the fact that it was morning and a Saturday, there was no way she wouldn't be able to hear at least one.

Frowning again, Alice sat up slowly. She noted a dull pain in her lower back, one she knew well. She looked down at the grass below her and spotted a single rock sticking out of the ground, about the size of her fist. Alice glared at the rock. The stupid thing had probably bruised her when she landed on it. She continued glaring at it a moment longer before averting her eyes to look at her surroundings.

She was in a small clearing, no more than eight feet in diameter. Surrounding her were many large, beautiful, trees. Among the tree roots, light pink and white flowers bloomed, sharing their beauty with the lost teenage girl.

Alice had never seen such flowers before, though she was by no means an expert on them. She smiled softly, feeling a bit relaxed. Though she was lost, with no idea where she was or how she got there, she felt a tingle of peace tickle her heart and calm her mind.

Alright! She thought. I might be lost, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless. I just have to find somewhere to call my parents and get them to pick me up-after I figure out where I am. Alice smiled, though she felt doubt still lingering in the depths of her heart. She pulled herself to her feet, groaning and placing her hands on her legs to help support herself.

"I feel like an old man." She groaned softly to herself as she stretched out her back. It was a bit painful but the following 'pop' and relaxing muscles were well worth it. Alice looked around again, a thoughtful expression crossing her features.

"Which way should I go, though?" She wondered aloud. She looked around at the trees surrounding her. While there was no clear path, there were a few points in the forest where the trees were further spread apart then others. She looked up at the sky and glanced at the sun.

Well, I can at least follow it to the west-as best I can-and see where it takes me. Since Maryland is on the east-coast, if I go west, I'm more likely to come across some sort of city or town. She thought. She smiled and nodded sharply, as if agreeing with her thoughts. Shooting one last dirty look at the rock that had bruised her, she set off.

(Time lapse)

Four hours.

It had been four hours since Alice had woken up and she hadn't found so much as a beat up old road. The only thing she'd seen, other than trees and plant life, was a squirrel and a few birds. Continuously, she looked up at the sky and watched the sun, making sure she was on the right track. Once or twice, she would meander off course, but she always steered herself in the right direction again-with the help of the sun of course.

Now, the sun was almost directly above her, shining brightly. Base on that, and her grumbling stomach, it was around noon. She frowned. She really wanted to find some place soon, so at least she could get something to eat.

Thinking about it, though, she didn't have any money with her. She didn't have her purse or wallet. Honestly, she didn't have anything besides the clothes on her back. At least she'd still had her shoes on-having been in too much of a hurry to write down an idea that she forgot to take them off when she went inside.

Gro~wl!

Alice glared down at her stomach, annoyed with it's noise. As if she didn't already know she was hungry. It's not really that she needed food at the moment, considering she'd only missed dinner the day before and breakfast. Obviously, she could last without food for a while longer still. However, she was also getting parched. She never remembered how long a person could last without water, but she knew it was far less than going without food.

"I need to find some water soon." She whispered, looking around at her surroundings. She sighed. She didn't hear the telltale sounds of water, and all the trees around her looked so healthy and well nourished that she had no way of using them to help her find any.

As she looked up at the sky again, Alice shook her head. She looked back at the vague path before her, fire of determination in her eyes.

"No! I can't let myself get down! I have to find a way out of here and back home! That's that!" She stated, her voice a little louder than it needed to be. A few birds, who were perched in a couple of trees near her, chirped angrily at her and flew off. Alice giggled sheepishly and ducked her head, a little embarrassed and a little amused at the same time.

"Sorry." She whispered, though she figured the birds could neither hear, nor understand, her. She continued walking down her 'path', ignoring the groaning protest of her overworked legs.

(Time Lapse)

Twelve hours now.

It had been twelve hours since Alice awoke in the little clearing of this godforsaken forest. And yet, she'd still found no sign of life other than the animals of the forest. She found no roads, no old houses. She didn't even see a single power line. There was nothing to tell her that she was headed in the right direction.

Alice, kneeling in the dirt before a small stream, sighed as she cupped her hands under the cool water's surface. She brought the water up to her face, splashing the cold liquid on her overheated skin. She'd already drunken her full, after confirming-by the many number of animal tracks-that the water was safe to drink. Now, she used it in an attempt to cool down as she thought over her situation for the hundredth time.

Where in the world am I? She asked herself, again. Why can't I find a single city or town? How the hell am I so far from home?During her traveling, Alice had slowly come to realize that there was no way she was anywhere near her home anymore. She didn't know if it was because of the direction she'd chosen or if it was because of something else, but she was feeling her hope of getting home and her confidence of finding civilization dwindling with each passing minute.

Sighing, Alice sat back on her butt, placing one leg under the other and resting her arm on her upraised knee. Sitting back on her other hand, she looked up at the sky hopelessly.

It was starting to get dark.

Her guide, the sun, was sinking well below the line of trees and beyond the horizon. She pulled herself up a bit, wrapping her arms around her raised leg and resting her chin on her knee, which was covered in dirt from kneeling.

For a few minutes, as the sun sank lower and lower, taking her hope and courage along with it. Alice just thought over her options and her situation, her thoughts drifting to her family every once in a while. She felt tears prick at her eyes everytime she thought about the chance that she might never see her family again. Each time it came up, she forced herself to change the subject, to look at ways to get out of the forest, alive.

Five minutes later, Alice sighed and pulled herself back to her tired feet. She looked at the last remaining rays of sun she could see through the canopy of the leaves. She would need a place to sleep for the night. She was tired and the woods grew dangerous at night.

Looking around, Alice found that she had no idea what to do. She knew a few things about camping and the woods, but she had no idea what to do if she was stuck in the forest at night-particularly with no gear. Normally, she would try and find some cave or some sort, but she didn't see any mountains, not that the huge trees blocking her way helped much.

Alice looked down at the water beside her and frowned. Seeing as she didn't know where she was, she didn't know what the nocturnal wildlife was like. As far as she knew, there were no dangerous animals in Maryland, but, then again, as far as she knew, she could be in Alaska!

With that in mind, Alice figured sleeping near a stream, that other animals obviously visited, wasn't the best idea. She felt fear bubble up in her as she thought over her possibilities. It wasn't a pleasant thought when curling up in a tree and hoping for the best was the only idea she could come up with.

"Maybe that will-"

Arwoo!

Alice practically jumped out of her skin, her words shifting into a frightened sqeak.

The howl of a wolf, no mistaking it. And it was close, almost directly behind her.

Arwoo!

The answering call, this time from her right, scared Alice as much as the first. Confused, scared, and at a loss for what else to do, Alice took off running in the opposite direction of the first howl.

Around her, trees became a blur of movement. In the, almost, pitch blackness, it was near to impossible to see. Alice zig-zagged through the trees, stumbling over their roots but missing their trunks.

Arwoo!

Another howl, this time closer than the other two, spurred Alice on faster. Her stumbling increased and it became harder and harder to avoid the trees.

Ar-Arwoo!

Alice, eyes wide with fear, looked over her shoulder, certain that the wolf was right behind her. She saw nothing other than trees, but she was certain the wolves were close to her. Alice turned back just in time to see a tree in her path. Shrieking, Alice just managed to dodge the tree's trunks. . . only to trip over one of it's roots.

"Ah!" Alice gasped as she put her hands up to shield her face. She hit the ground with a solid 'thump', hissing at the pain shooting up her leg. She took a second to look down at her uncovered shin. Starting just under the hem of her denim capris and continuing half way down her leg, a large, though not terribly deep, scrape marred her skin.

Gggrrr.

Alice completely ignored all pain and other thoughts and flipped over on her hands and feet at the sound of the growl, taking off in the opposite direction of the angry noise. Alice could now hear the sounds of many padded paws pounding against the solid ground. Frightened, she kicked up her speed.

But it wasn't quite enough.

With her burning lungs, injured leg, and tired body-along with the fact that she was against wolves-the predatory animals reached her in a minute. The first one, leading the others, pounced on her back, knocking Alice forward onto her face.

Terrified, Alice's instincts took over. She swung her arm around, nailing the wolf in the mouth before he could get his teeth around her. The blow, filled with her normal strength and the power of her survival instincts, threw the wolf off her, and into the wolves approaching her from the side.

The two other wolves-formally following behind the lead-jumped at her. Alice let out another frightened squeak and kicked out at the two of them. Landing squarely in their chests, the blow sent the two wolves flying back, one landing on his back and the other landing on his side.

Alice, not pausing for a second to think, scrambled to her feet and took off, running faster then before-fear fueling her tired limbs. She heard the wolves following after her again, another howl piercing the night sky. Alice's already wide eyes grew all the larger and all thought of pain or exhaustion flew out the window.

Alice took off running.

A few minutes past. Alice was tiring and the wolves were gaining. Things weren't looking up. She wasn't sure if she could hold off the wolves again if they got close to her, particularly without some kind of weapon. She needed somewhere to hide and get away from them.

Lady Luck seemed to favor her that night, for the moment she started thinking this, the trees cleared around her and she was met with the steep-but climb-able-mountain wall. She looked up at it, thinking she was screwed, but noticed a dark spot in the side of the mountain, accented by the moon.

Alice wasted not a moment, running straight at the first handhold she saw. She practically threw herself at the rock wall, grabbing onto the handhold just a few inches above her head.

Ggggrrrr.

Alice, gripping the second handhold and hauling herself up, looked abruptly over her shoulder. Seeing the wolves charging at her she shrieked and reached quickly for the next hold. The first wolf reached her just as she started pulling her left leg up, having already found a hold with her right foot. A powerful claw swiped at her leg, slicing down her calf.

"Ah!" Alice cried out, the sharp pain forcing her to falter a moment. A bark below her steadied her grip and forced her to climb faster. Under her, Alice heard the scraping of claws on rock and the soft 'thumps' of the wolves as they tried to jump and catch her. Alice just kept climbing, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

Eventually, the sounds of the wolves died as they gave up, going to look for easier prey. Alice didn't notice as she pulled herself up the edge of the cliff and onto a flat path that passed by the cave. Alice, finally feeling like she was free of danger, sat on the path, looking down at the clearing she was just in a moment or so ago.

Now noticing the lack of furry, angry, animals, Alice relaxed, breathing out a sigh of relief. Looking down the paths, which seemed to be a road of sorts, though it wasn't paved or anything, she felt a little bit of hope flutter into her chest.

"Ugh." Alice groaned, pain and exhaustion finally hitting her now that her fear was gone. She looked down at her wounded legs. Since she was high up, the moon's light reached her, which was enough for her to see the damage to her limbs.

Her right leg was no longer bleeding, but there was a long scrape down it. On the calf of her left leg, three slash marks made their way down her leg, from the back of her knee to the back of ankle. Luckily, it wasn't deep and it was, by far, the worse injury. The only other wounds were a few on her arms and her hands, both of which were covered in more dirt than they were blood or scratches.

Alice, feeling tired, turn and dragged her exhausted, sore, and painful body into the cave. It was dark and damp, but the humidity felt kind of nice, warmer than she expected. She didn't want to face whatever might be slumbering deeper in the cave, so she sat near the entrance.

Pulling off her light jacket, she removed one of her layered tanks, wrapping it tightly around her wounded calf. The tank was a bit too small to completely cover the wound, but Alice felt it would do for the time being.

Slipping her coat back on, the brunette curled up against the cave walk, laying her head against the rock and pulling her knees close. She kept her left leg stretched a little, so the pain was dull enough for her to ignore.

Outside the cave, the wind howled loudly, a small breeze grabbing softly at her hair and chilling her body. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she looked out at the forest that she'd woken up in. With the full moon halfway over the tree line, the forest glowed softly, almost as if the forest itself were coaxing her to sleep with it's soft beauty. Alice laughed quietly at the thought.

The same forest that keeps me from my family is trying to comfort me into sleep? Silly. Alice smiled softly despite her thoughts. As she pulled her legs closer, snuggling against them for warmth, Alice let her guard drop. It was only for a second, but it was long enough for a single tear to make it's way down her cheek.

Her thoughts were on her family as she drifted into a dreamless slumber.

Thank you for reading. Please Review. Though I am no fan of the 'flame' do what you will. I will take whatever you dish out.

PLEASE NOTE! This is where the rewritten chapters for The Earth Girl ends! All chapters after this are part of the story a year ago. I would thank you NOT to comment on the other chapters as if I have written them recently. Of course, if you actually read this story, it should be obvious that something is strange. I have only updated chapters one and two. Thank you.

Ja ne,

Shezu