A\N: Summer break just started, so I was enjoying my days doing nothing at all. Sorry about the long wait. P.O.V stays constant unless changed, just so you know. This chapter is longer and will finally get into the main plot of this online novel. So for the 5 or so people who actually read this fanfic, it means a lot. :)

Days passed, and my life seemed like it was standing still. Life wasn't going well for anyone lately. It appeared that we were in the middle of a drought, and the lack of rainwater took a huge toll on the local plants and wildlife. My favorite pond had dried up from the harsh sunlight, and the flowers began to wilt. This greatly worried my parents, but something tells me that it's not for the reason I'm thinking of.

For as long as I can remember, I can't recall going through a drought before. The event almost seemed...unnatural.

I had snuck out again today. This time I visited the river that still managed to flow under these conditions. A group of giant wolf-like prints could be seen in the mud. The way they were positioned indicated some sort of struggle, but they didn't seem to go to or come from anywhere. There weren't any prints here during my last visit. What would've been big enough the leave pawprints in dried land? I attempted to ask my parents when I returned home, but they wouldn't give me an answer. It only seemed to scare them more.

The sightings just got scarier as the nights passed on, from deep growls to rows of trees being found on their sides. One night, I decided to investigate myself. My parents seemed to never leave the house anymore, so it was time to take matters into my own hands.

Alex was sitting by the door and stopped me before I left.

"Anna, where are you going?"

"There's something I need to do."

"Then I'm coming with you!"

"No, you need to stay here. I'll come back, I promise."

I gave her a hug and continued on my way. I headed back to the river where the pawprints were most recently seen.

There it was.

It almost seemed like a silhouette against the forest landscape. It had the paws of a wolf, the body of a horse, the head and neck of a dragon, and the tail of a long snake.

The sight of this living shadow struck fear in my very soul. In an attempt to run, my foot was on the verge of contacting with it's tail, and I prepared for the worse. Unexpectedly, it phased through as if nothing had ever been there.

This thing wasn't real!

It's head whipped around to face me, and it let out a roar so loud that it threatened to deafen me. The shadow reared it's long, whip-like tail and slammed it into me; sending my body flying a few feet away. My arms trembled as I tried to lift myself up, and my head turned back towards the titan. It's neck seemed like it could stretch for miles as it's face came just within inches of mine. It growled, then opened it's jaws as a purple flame came raging out. Everything went black.

-Alex P.O.V.-

She's still not home yet. She promised me the she would be back! I climbed up onto the table and looked out the curtain covered window.

Nothing.

It's been too long, something bad happened to her, I just know it!

"Papa!" I called, and because we live in a small house, he came to my side almost immediately. He kneeled down so he was at my height and spoke.

"Alex, what's wrong, why aren't you in bed?"

"It's Anna, she left hours ago and hasn't come back!"

There was silence as he pondered over what I just said, then he stood back up.

"Stay here."

"No Papa, please stay!"

"I have to go find your sister."

After that, he left out the door. I didn't want to lose him too, but I knew I had to stay. I sullenly walked to my room and crawled into the bed. I pulled the warm covers over me and drifted to sleep.

"Please find her, Papa..."

Morning arrived faster than I had realized. When I walked to the kitchen this morning, I expected to see Anna sitting there, ready to greet me with open arms.

But she wasn't.

Instead, my father had just arrived home from last night. He didn't say a word to me; he wouldn't even look at me. The weight of the silence was unbearable, but there was no question about it. She was gone.

I could hardly breath as he left the kitchen and headed down the hall.

The house seemed so empty, these past few days without her. Mama still weeps every now and then, and Papa has to go comfort her.

"Baa-aa."

We were never able to properly domesticate an animal ourselves. So our farm only consists of animals that wandered in to stay. We got a new visitor yesterday. She was a black sheep with long, soft white wool and droopy ears; rather than fluffy, bunched up wool and pointy ears like the others. I named her Anna, after my sister, Annabelle. She was given a blue collar with a round, golden bell on it so we would never lose her. She always spent time with me, and she reminded me of her. My parents allow her in the house, and she sometimes sleeps in the room with me.

"Hi, Anna..." I said as I ran my fingers through the soft wool on her head. She nuzzled close to me in a comforting way.

The sky looked red this morning, and everyone seemed to be in some sort of panic when I told them so. I remembered something from one of the books my sister used to read to me. It mentioned that "The sky was a blazing red as the eagle took a swipe at the black stallion with its talons and his companions fought against the army of boars."

I don't believe that an evil dark horse is going to come for us, but something about that story felt true.

My thoughts were interrupted when a loud roar sounded outside. One that could shake the earth itself. Mama and Papa ran into the room.

"Is everyone alright?"

"Yes, but...what's going on?" I asked with a hint of fear in my voice.

"Desmond, and his magic," Papa growled, "I knew the drought wasn't natural."

"Magic?" I said, utterly stunned. There was no such thing as magic anymore, was there?

"We can't just let him destroy everything!" Mama told Papa.

"We won't, we have to go after him."

"Allen..." She called and motioned to me.

They couldn't leave me behind.

Papa thought for a long moment before turning to Anna and shutting his eyes.

"I must be insane..." he muttered, and opened his eyes to look at her again.

"Anna, I need you to carry her far away from here, okay?

With a request like that I wasn't sure if I would see them again or not.

Despite his overlaying doubt, Anna nodded in understanding and he placed me on her back. I hugged both Mama and Papa goodbye, trying my best not to cry. They needed me to be strong right now, and I would be. Afterwards, Anna rushed outside with me on her back, escaping from our home. The entire forest had been set ablaze, and Anna struggle clumsily to dodge the trees that were falling over because the trunks were being reduced to ash. Is this what magic can do, I wondered?

The fire spread quickly, engulfing anything in it's way. It seemed like it was following us.

Just as the hungry flame began to lick at her heels, she dove over a ledge and into the river. Preventing the fire from chasing us any further.

Anna slowly swam across the river as she carried me. It seemed that I was weighing her down, yet she pressed on. Thankfully, we reached the other side before too long. The trees here were taller than anything I had seen before, and the winds were so strong that I felt as if I would be blown away. I layed down on Anna's back and kept a good grip on her fur. I was getting tired, and maybe she will find a safe place to rest while I'm sleeping. I closed my eyes and relaxed as I trusted her to find us a new home.

A\N: Hello everyone! This chapter took way too long to type, so hopefully the next one comes out much sooner. The first A\N is made at a different time than the one at the bottom. The next chapter will introduce more characters, yay!

...R&R I guess?