Hello readers! I really appreciate all your reviews, and I was really glad to have the time to write some more.

I usually try to plan out a chapter before I start writing it, but then again, the chapter always ends up differently from the one I planned out. Oh well, maybe it's better this way.

Thanks again for the reviews, and I dedicate this chapter to those people!

Enjoy!

By The Tick of the Clock

Chapter Two

She hated it.

She hated the strange, yet formal way of saying hello. Oh, good evening to you too.

She hated the clothes, so soft, yet so tight that it is hard to even breathe. It's the new style they all said, though is necessary to sacrifice breathing?

She hated the way she had to put her hand over her mouth to cover up her giggle, like that does much. Why can't she laugh normally? No, it's not proper they all say.

She hated the way she had to act like a lady, proper, formal, beautiful, a delicate young woman who had to follow all the rules. To never ask questions about society, about why things are the way they are.

Sakura was just tired of it all. She wish she could back to her books and get lost in a world she could only read from stories. Her mother had stopped telling her stories years ago, and now she was twelve. Twelve years meant six more years until she was an adult. It was like her mother was looking forward to it while Sakura was dreading it. She changed after all the years; her hair was long and thick, green eyes still blazing with youth and curiosity. She almost looked liker her mother, an exact replica, a clone. She never cared about beauty though; she always could find flaws within her.

Sakura would sometimes think it would be wonderful if Peter Pan would take her away and she could be a child forever, and never have to deal with adults again. She still believed in things that others might think were silly, but she grown up with myths, and old tales from medieval days.

Even at this moment, she was leaning her left cheek on her left hand, gazing off into her own world. She was sitting through another boring lecture her teacher, Shizune, was giving to the class. Some of the girls looked very interested, while some tried to pay attention, but who wants to listen about history? It's not even the good kind.

"Sakura," Shizune called out. Sakura jumped out of her thoughts and stared at her teacher with a blank face.

"Sakura?" Shizune said again, "What is significant about this time period?"

Sakura, surprised, felt a little sick in her stomach. She knew why she was called out; she was the one who looked like she wasn't paying attention. Everyone turned their eyes on her, some girls were even giggling. Karin, the girl who sat in the back with her click, was giggling madly.

She turned her attention to the board, where a map was drawn out of Europe. It showed different countries in red and blue, with arrows drawn over to North America, and she could guess easily what was going on.

"It's significant because it shows how Europe's population migrated towards the New World, known as America. In Ireland it was a large amount because of a poisoning in their food supply, and they needed to find a better place to start anew." She answered swiftly, like she knew it from the top of her head. Sakura remembered reading about how people would go to America to escape to a better place.

"V-Very good Sakura, however, please try to look interested in my class," Caught red-handed, Sakura turned pink and the rest of the girls giggled. Ino, who was sitting right behind her, tapped on her back.

"Don't worry, Sakura, everyone knows you're the brightest in our class," she said.

"Thanks, Ino." Sakura replied in a whisper, but she still felt embarrass from being put on the spotlight. She hated the attention, and she felt worst when the other girls made fun of her.

There were times when she would be picked on, mostly for her weird hair color that didn't match right with her eyes, and also… her large, annoying forehead. She was constantly trying to cover it up with bangs, but Ino would keep telling her she looked best without bangs. Now she kept most of it tied back with a red hair ribbon she got from Ino.

The rest of the day went on how it usually went. Snacks of simple pastries were delivered on a thin, china plate. Lunch was made around noon, with sandwiches small as a palm, and tea that made the room smell of honey and a tint of mango. Everyone would pull out a chair, carefully sliding into it, and not to wrinkle their school uniform.

The uniform was simple, a deep red skirt, with a ruffled, long white shirt that had matching color red bows in the front. Snow white tights, and black shoes that would squeeze uncomfortably at the tip where the toes were crowded.

Sakura and Ino ended up sitting in the back tables, away from the rest of the girls. They knew they didn't fit in that well, even though they grew up with them all. Everyone has known each other for years, since their parents were most likely friends or acquainted with each other.

"Sakura, you seem out of it," Ino said, noticing Sakura's strange behavior. Sakura was again staring off into space, chewing slowly on her food, but her eyes seemed sad. The familiar glint in them seem gone, and now they were darker than usual.

"It's nothing," Sakura said, picking at her uneaten salad. Ino wasn't buying it, and her face puckered up, like she eaten something sour. It wasn't the lemon cake, that's for sure.

"Sure. Now tell me whats up," the blonde demanded, giving her friend a hard, long glare.

Sakura sighed in defeat; "my mother doesn't talk to me much anymore. If she does, it has something to do with a party she's going too, or when she patronizes me about everything I do wrong."

Ino nodded in understanding. She knew how Sakura's life at home went, and vise versa. "I never see my father, he's too busy with his job, and well my mother, she's usually with her friends," Ino added, to show Sakura that she understood.

Sakura stamped her hand on the table, "I never want to be like my parents, if I had kids, I wouldn't force them to be something they don't want to be."

Ino, alarmed, looked at her friend with distaste, "Look, if we want to survive in this world, were going to have to follow its rules. That means listening to our parents lectures or speeches on how we should live our lives. Were girls, we don't have power here like guys do. It's been like this since… since, uh, for a long time!"

Sakura wasn't listening though, "I know that, but why can't we change things?"

Ino sighed, "It just doesn't work that way. You know our home room teachers, Shizune? The only reason why she's able to teach is because she's extremely religious and close enough to Tsunade, who runs this town from all angles."

"Tsunade is a woman though, I thought men had all the power," Sakura shot back, proving a point.

Ino gave up, she let Sakura win, "I'm going to pretend we never had this conversation."

The bell rung loudly through the room and all the girls got up to get back to class. Everyone placed their plates and silverware in the same tub, while the attendants cleaned out all of what was left of lunch.

When Sakura walked into the hall, she could smell a deep smell of some detergent that made her nose wrinkle. She could also see puddles of water spread across the floor from what was left of cleaning. All was quiet, with the small clicking of heels hitting the floor, until a girl slipped.

Everyone from the front turned her heads towards the small cry of surprise. It was Hinata, the quiet girl who never uttered a word, and if she did, her stuttering problem made it hard for her.

Karin, who was leading her group down the hall, started laughing. "Look everyone, the nobody actually said something, not like anyone actually heard anything."

Sakura took defense immediately, "back off, the only reason why we didn't hear anything because your obnoxious, ugly laugh blocked all the sound." Some of the girls gasped in surprised, and Karin growled back.

"Back off, forehead," Karin stumbled, 'or I will…"

Sakura smirked, "it's seem like you're a lost to words. Now scram before I make you!"

Karin and her clique backed off, but Karin wanted to make sure she had the last word.

"I'm telling on you! You'll regret this billboard brow!"

Sakura huffed and turned back towards the sniffling girl on the ground. Hinata's hair was short, almost as short as a boy, but it curved into her face making her look feminine. Where her knees bent on the ground the skirt had absorbed water, and the skirt was turning a darker red. Her face was covered by her hair, and also by the shadows of the hall.

Sakura moved towards the crying girl, and gave her hand, "Here, let's get you to the bathrooms. We can find an extra uniform and get you cleaned up," Sakura said in a smooth tone. She knew she scared most of the girls away earlier with her argument with Karin, but Ino was still there.

Ino also moved towards Hinata, and a look of pity came upon her face.

Hinata looked up from her thick black hair and looked at Sakura's stretched hand. She sniffed loudly and un-lady like but Hinata at this point didn't care. However, she didn't take the hand.

Sakura eyes widened when the shy girl got up quickly and ran down the opposite way. Sakura's outstretched hand closed slowly and Sakura wasn't sure what to think at that moment.

"What was up with her?" Ino asked, obviously bothered about how rude Hinata was.

"I have no idea," Sakura replied. She and Ino started to walk back the way they were suppose to be heading, but Sakura was bothered by the way Hinata ran off like that. Was something bothering the girl? She heard rumors about her family, but that doesn't explain why she wouldn't accept a little help.

…

A snow fairy has to be strong. No feelings, but only to feel the bitter cold they live in.

…

She shook her head and followed her blonde companion back to the classroom.

The day passed by slowly, the clock moved gradually as Sakura concentrated on it. Leaves of yellow and orange passed down by the window, as the wind gently continued to blow at the trees. It was like it pressuring the trees to give it up and just accept the fact that winter was drawing near.

The wind patterns never change now. They are forever heading north where it continues to get colder.

The sun was gone; it disappeared and hid among the dark clouds.

The plants died…. The peppermint smell was gone… it continues to smell like ash from the burning. There is a warm heat coming from the kingdom, but no one knows what it is.

A blazing orange light glowed from the distance, one could barely see through the thick gray smog. The ash continues to rise up in the air, and the burning fires bring no joy to the people. The people are so lost… no leader; the evil queen crushed all hope and happiness that use to fill every part of the kingdom.

The ashes covered everything; the burning of coal and trees bring no warmth to the now Iceland.

Though, there are some creatures that enjoy the cold… winter fairies… they use to live up north where it was the coldest, but they seemed to have travel down to live in the crispy weather. They are not kind… they are not cruel… they have no emotions.

Forever being part of a group of flying creatures that travel together but rarely gets along. A conflict that has lasted an eternity still affects them all, bitter words with bitter hearts.

There are tales based on these fairies, one fairy in particular was different from the rest of the winter fairies. She looked like the others, pale, small, fragile. She wore a white, winter gown that glowed blue, almost like a corpse. Her hair was long, black as night, and lips cold as winter's day. However, She was kind… she thought of others… and she danced. She could dance for days, feeling the snowflakes through her hands, and bending it into beautiful patterns.

However, she had to keep this a secret. The others forbidden any acts such as dancing, for the fairies were unemotional, and such acts described emotions.

The young fairy knew what she was risking but she couldn't stop it. She felt free of the disciplined life she grew up in. So she continued to dance in caves filled with ice, allowing herself the freedom one could only dream of.

One day… another fairy found out about this girls secret. This fairy quickly told the others, and when the young fairy came out of the cave, that's when she got into serious beginnings.

They decided the only way for her to stop her acts…. Was to break her. They spent days beating at the poor girl, they tore her wings, they cut her hair, and spread bruises on her pale skin. It went on for five days… by then the girl got her lesson, to never be different, and to never act with emotion.

They left her buried in the snow. She was dying from starvation and broken limbs. She couldn't fly. She was left to the will of nature.

She couldn't move and she knew that her fate was sealed… to die in the snow. She lost hope. The bitter cold that she was used too was now killing her.

That's when she saw a bright light. Warmth filled her inside and out. She felt something… something that the others could never enjoy… happiness. She could feel the joy bursting through her and she wanted to dance again, to spread this feeling everywhere.

She felt free again.

Days after… the other winter fairies found her dead in the snow, with a warmhearted smile on her face. They were disgusted, leaving the body in the snow and flying away like it never happened. They didn't know that the heavens took the girl's soul and spread it out across the stars, to be forever remembered as the girl who became happiness itself.

Sakura began her walk through the school, girls were going in all directions but most were heading in the same direction she was going, to the main entrance. She was glad the day was over; she got tired of the lectures, the painful history lessons, and the crazy art teacher trying to tell every student what art is. Mrs. Morris was old, mean, and very old fashion. She truly believed that every girl was a disgrace, and more disciplined was needed. She would repeat the same sentence over, and over again, "when I was your age, I would never act like such fools. Soon you will all be running around, acting like the devil has a hold of you!" She would scare anyone who came near her; the old hag would even scare some of the other teachers.

Sakura isn't even sure why she decided to take art in the first place. She wasn't artistic in any way, and besides, she preferred arts such as music. That's what she thought she was going to be getting into when she asked her mom if she could join the class, but she guessed they didn't have any music teachers at the school.

Sakura learned to play a little bit of the piano from her mother, but mostly she learned to play by herself. She wished for further tutoring on the instrument; however, her mother wouldn't let that happen. Apparently society didn't allow girls to play any musical instrument; the only way for a girl to express a song was by singing. Sakura couldn't sing, and besides, the only way to sing at school was by joining the school's choir. The church ran the school so the only songs the girls would be signing were those about heaven and every other story in the bible.

The walk home was easy; she could just run there and be there in less than fifteen minutes. Oh, that's right; running wasn't lady like at all. Sakura scoffed at the thought, she was always running with Ino, they would race each other to see who would get to the destination first.

Once she got outside from the building, she carried on walking home. She said goodbye to her friends, sharing a couple laughs from inside jokes, and even gasping at times when sharing rumors among each other. Sakura didn't gossip as much as the other girls, but she did join in for the jokes.

"Did you see Hinata today? The girl's so clumsy she slipped on her own feet," one of them said. Gretchen, a red-haired girl with thousands of freckles on her face, and her hair was always in pigtails, a pattern Sakura remembered since preschool.

"I heard that someone saw Hinata fake it," A brunet said.

"Fake it? She's a terrible actor then because she fell and got her uniform all soaked. What is she trying to get, attention?" A black-haired girl asked.

"Probably," someone giggled.

"No, I heard from a girl who was there that she fell flat on her back," another said. The girls were all giggling, except for Sakura who wasn't sure what to say. Gretchen saw this and smirked.

"Sakura, weren't you there? Karin told me that you pushed her," Gretchen told her.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Karin is a liar, or have you forgotten that? Besides, Hinata just slipped, it could have happened to anyone."

"True. You stood up for Hinata, didn't you?" Gretchen asked, like Sakura was crazy. The tone in her voice made Sakura uneasy.

"You make it sounds like it's a bad thing," Sakura said, unsure where this was going.

The red-haired girl giggled, "Hinata is a freak show! Her family is so weird…"

"I heard this from my mom, apparently in the past they would kill off an heir so that another one would take its place. Dreadful and so inhumane, right?"

"Another rumor. I think she's just shy naturally, but that stutter of hers just makes her less approachable. She can't even answer a question in class."

"I so know what you mean!" A girl giggled.

Sakura was getting tired of the gossip already. She knew these girls talked behind her back as well, even their closest friends weren't safe from the harsh words that they spoke in whispers. It reminded Sakura of witches, they were beautiful on the outside, and then once they were revealed, their hideous features would show. With warts, yellow teeth, grey hair, and a hideous huge nose that could prick someone's skin.

Sakura slowly made her way from the group of giggling girls and found herself looking at the topic. Hinata was standing behind a tree, barely visible, but close enough to hear what the girls were saying.

…

The girl became happiness itself, dancing through the heavens.

…

"Hinata…. Come out of shadows where I can see you," Sakura said. The poor girl has tearstains that reflected in the light, cheeks pink and eyes puffy. Even her hair couldn't cover the sad gleam that showed in her eyes.

The girl shook her head fast and ran off like she did before earlier that day. Sakura tensed up… the girl did it again. Hinata ran off… never giving Sakura a chance of reason. The girls in the background continued to giggle among themselves… they were so caught up in lies they didn't see the little black hair girl run off.

…

One pure, true heart broke that day.

It was cold, too cold for this time of the year and Sakura was curious on why. The leaves were still falling down, the birds were still migrating south for warmth, and the weather earlier was warm. Sakura pictured fairies behind this strange occurrence of bitter cold. Her mother did tell her that fairies did have a way with changing the weather how they wanted it to be.

"Sakura, are you going to be looking out that window for the rest of the evening, or will you do something more productive?" Elizabeth asked while she walked into the brightly lit room. The study is where Elizabeth always found her daughter, either reading or staring out a window lost in her thoughts. She found it unsettling for Sakura to be so strange. It is just a phase; she will grow out of it I'm sure. Once she's older she will be more social and maybe find herself a boy. She smiled a little at that.

"What else can I do? I read every book here more than twice and John is too old to play with me anymore. He's too busy with his new friends," was Sakura's only reply, not even glancing at her mother, she just continued to stare outside.

Elizabeth almost pouted, "Maybe this weekend you could invite Ino over. You always enjoy spending time with her, right? Besides, John is not only playing with his friends, but enjoying time with his father," she said, giving Sakura a hint at what she expected from her, "maybe it's about time that we done something together. You can't spend your days reading stories that aren't real, they settle for only some entertainment," she added and walked over to the walls of shelves, gliding her finger across the books, she looked at her finger. Dust. Now that won't do, she made a mental note to dust the room tomorrow. She wiped the gray substance on her skirt and turned back to her daughter who had not replied.
"Books are all I need right now… You use to tell me tales all the time," Sakura pointed out.
"Stories that I expected you to learn morals from not go looking for more. I enjoy the fact that you read, and you have grown smarter because of it, your teachers take pride in what you do in class. They think high of you. However, I don't think sitting her will help you… expand," Elizabeth explained. She almost crossed her fingers, just begging for her daughter to open her eyes. Sakura didn't even blink, she just mumbled something to herself and repeatedly ignored her mother.

"I also know that you enjoy music… I think that's very, uh, promising. No, that's not it. It's very, um, excellent…" Elizabeth stumbled over her words, cheeks burning red. She couldn't even figure out the words to say to her own daughter.

"I don't need to expand, my books do that for me," Sakura said, already grown tired of discussion.

Elizabeth sighed, "very well, Sakura… In a half hour, I would like you to wash up and go to bed." Elizabeth knew she wasn't getting anywhere and decided to let it go for tonight.

Sakura never replied back, and Elizabeth left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Sakura was too caught up in her own thoughts then to care what her mother thought of her. She loved her books… they let her travel to different worlds. She loved the characters, especially the dashing heroes that saved the day.

However… her thoughts kept going back to Hinata…. Something was wrong, and it was eating away at her. She needed to find out, but… was it her right to go into other's secrets? What happens if Hinata doesn't want to share it with her? The girl ran away from her twice in the same day.

For some reason Hinata stood out to her, and it never occurred to her that something might be wrong with her. She never even looked at the quiet girl in the back. She didn't have a reason to socialize with her…. until now. Hinata acted strange.

She gave up… she was over thinking everything and it was causing her a small headache. She moved her fingers gently over her forehead and massaged the muscles there to ease the pain. She decided that she would rethink this later, besides… there was always tomorrow.

She gave one last glance at the window… seeing her reflection, and then looking deeper into the outside. The wind was almost howling, and the leaves were blowing away then she has ever seen this season.

Winter… those fairies are acting up again…

She shook her head… fairies? Fairies didn't exist. Even if they did, why would they be here of all places?

Sakura giggled and got up. Before she left the room, she blew turned off the oil lamp, making the room dark and gloomy. She would continue to figure out what was wrong, but for now she needed to retire for the night. Besides, maybe this cold weather might bring some luck of a lot of snow this winter. More snow meant more fun outside and less school. She smiled at that.

…

The girl kept running… she couldn't breathe. Why couldn't she breathe? Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

She was pushed to the solid, cold ground. They pushing on her back and she couldn't fight back.

"Emotion… how disgraceful. You brought this down upon yourself."

The pain… the pain… it kept getting worst. She kept screaming but they continued to beat her. They wanted to break her.

"…Hinata?"

"Is she dead?"

"Stupid girl… dancing, only she would do such a thing…"

"Let's leave her be… she will learn from this."

…

Hinata shivered violently… the others caused the weather to turn cold, and it wasn't even snowing.

She then remembered the girl from earlier… the warm feeling she felt when the girl stood up for her, it was frightening, but also felt so good. She smiled a bit and picked her self up… she would continue her fight for freedom… even if it kills her.

…However…

Why does this feel so familiar?

…

Winter is coming. The bitter cold of winter's breath will continue until springs awakening draws all the frost away.

Chapter Three

Sakura just couldn't believe it.

Her eyes widened a bit and she almost gaped.

When she got up this morning, she felt so warm and refreshed for some reason, and then once she looked outside… it was shocking.

Her door slammed open, the door handle bounced off the wall next to it and quickly closed again, but caused a loud sound to echo the room.

"Sakura! Sakura! Look at all the snow! Can you believe it?" John was almost squealing with delight, and he was jumping around, and grabbed her. "Snow! Right in the middle of autumn!" Sakura couldn't help but laugh with him and also smile at the delight of what she was looking at. Outside was like a winter wonderland. The snow was crisp white that shinned like diamonds. The sky was a light, grayish haze, and the trees were covered in icicles several inches long. Some of the colorful leaves were still stuck on the white branches, their orange and yellow colors not clashing well with the white, but stood out to make a beautiful picture. It was… breathtaking.

Sakura giggled at her little brother, "Yeah, I can hardly believe it."

John was laughing and jumping so much that he stumbled flat onto her bed, taking deep breaths only to laugh some more. "Do you think there will be school? I hope not!" He breathed out.

Sakura was about to answer when her door opened again. Her father was standing there with a smile on his face, "hey, you guys have to look at this!"

John got up from the bed and ran over to his father, "Dad! We get to play outside in the snow again!" John exclaimed happily.

Her father was panting and he looked like he just got up. His robe was not tied around his waist, and he had boots on so Sakura guessed he went outside to see the snow in person. He hadn't shaved and his hair wasn't brushed. He looked… so different! He was always so clean and neat in the morning.

Then her mother popped in as well with the same expression as her husband.

"Snow! I can't believe it!" She said in awe, joining Sakura by the window.

"Do we have to go to school?" John asked impatiently.

Elizabeth was speechless, "Well… I have no idea. Usually they would tell us if school would be out, but I don't know, we might have to check-"

Her husband, Richard interrupted her. "Liz, please. Let the kids stay; we can just tell them we were stuck inside the house all day. There's so much snow!"

Richard said and walked outside the room with Elizabeth going after him demanding what he meant.

"Come on Sakura! Lets go play in the snow!" John said and ran from the room as well. Sakura grabbed her boots from her closest and long red coat from the hanger, then running after her brother. She couldn't keep the grin from her face.

Who ever thought that it would snow?

Winter always seemed like the season for death… Sakura realized it was also the season for awakening.

She danced in the snow with her brother for hours that day. Her thoughts were happy and content with an almost bearing emotion of happiness.

Thank you, fairies. She whispered in her mind.

…

Hinata smiled at the happiness she saw from the families enjoying their day playing in the snow. She could feel their breaths of laughter, taste sunlight from the sky, and hear the giggling of children.

Snow. She had no idea it could bring this much joy to the world.

Where she came from, it brought people pain. The bitter cold wasn't something to look forward to back in her old town. That's where she was from... a strict, disciplinary family that would no doubt disown her if she didn't act like what she was suppose to. She failed another test yesterday... it made her father mad... so mad that he went so far as to beat her. She shook her head from those thoughts.

She was used to it.

She would get stronger.

She looked out the window again and watched the neighbors throw huge balls of snow at each other.

This moment was hers to watch.

Though… she knew someone was patiently waiting for something. Not for spring… not for the sun… but for someone. Everyone in her family could feel it, too, but since they left that world behind, they all agreed to ignore it.

Hinata felt an uncomfortable presence, but when she looked around, no one was there. A shiver went through her body even though she was perfectly warm by her standards.

He's still watching us all… we abounded him… he's not letting us go that easily.

Wow… that took a while. Though, I enjoyed writing this one. Sorry that there wasn't a lot of prince in this chapter… I sort of mentioned him in the last part if you got that.

Anyway, I feel so bad taking such a long time with this chapter. I am actually just enjoying the summer too much and forgot that I also have summer homework… not fun.

Any questions, comments about the story? If so, please leave a review so I can answer it, or maybe I'll answer it in the next chapter.

Notes: I decided to let Sakura grow up fast because the pace of the story would be so slow if I continued to let her grow up little, by little. I wanted her to be more grown up because she thinks and acts a little too mature for this chapter I feel, but I tried to add dialogue where she still acted like a kid.

This chapter was based on Hinata... she's going to be a minor character in the future, but I wanted to add her in like this because it describes that the world is mixed in with the other world. We will call it that for now one. I actually hope to hear what you think of this.

Also, sorry for the short chapter three, I just didn't have too much to add to this. I wanted to end it with happiness, based on the little tale which if you noticed, is like Hinata.

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews last time, it means a lot to me, and I hope to read more what you think so far soon!

Thanks and see you next time!