Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!

P.S. I always listen to my twin's endless blabbing.

"You may want to get a coat. It's cold outside."

"The cold never bothered me anyway." She said matter-of-factly.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Well, come on then, but if you get cold; don't say I didn't warn you." I giggled.

We slowly wandered through the frozen gardens. The ground was covered in white powder, and all of the plants were covered in a thin coat of ice, the sunset creating a rainbow across the plain. It was enchanting. I had almost completely forgotten about the fire incident, and I was back to my bubbly self.

Winter was seemingly eccentric as well, she wore a huge smile on her face, and had a skip in her step. I suddenly grew suspicious; this is always how she acts when she knows something. I decided to find out what.

"So," I started, "What were you reading about?"

"Oh, just some history." She shrugged.

"But, I thought you hated history." I replied questionably.

"Well, yeah," she stuttered, "but, this was different."

I could tell she wasn't lying, just not telling me the full truth, I only needed to go a little further. "So, what was so interesting about this?"

"Oh, um," she stuttered. "Wait, did you hear that?"

That had surprised me. She just deliberately changed the subject. I was about to comment about it, but I then heard a strange sound. "Yeah, what do you think it was?"

"It was coming from the woods. We should check it out." She said as she ran off into the woods.

"Wait for me!" I yelled, chasing her down.

The sun had set, so the forest was dark. The bare branches appeared as long, slender limbs; reaching for us. I shivered at the sight. Soon, a rustling came from the bushes. I looked over; to see a pair of yellow eyes gleaming at me.

"Winter, be careful; I think we're being watched." I whispered.

"What? Why?" She asked.

"Quiet!" I hissed, but it was too late. A pack of wolves emerged from the brambles. The largest one, probably the leader, growled, and leaped at us.

"Run!" I yelled, as I grabbed Winter's arm and started to rush off. As we raced through the woods, the branches scraped at my skin, and caught on my dress, but I just kept running.

"Help!" I heard Winter shriek. I looked behind me, and saw her, surrounded by wolves.

Right then, everything seemed to freeze. The wind stopped blowing, the wolves had stopped approaching Winter, and the leaves froze in mid-air. The only thing I noticed; was emotion. Fear, anger, and shock coursed through my veins. Heat had seemed to surround me, and before I knew it, sparks flew from my fingertips.

"Get away from her!" I yelled as I threw a surging ball of fire towards the closest wolf. The wolf got knocked out on impact. I started handling the others, but was stopped by a gasp of disbelief.

"What….how?" She stuttered in fear.

"I'll answer questions later. Just go!" I yelled as I tried to fend off the wolves, but there were too many. There seemed to be two for every one I defeated. I had to scare them off. I looked everywhere for answers.
I looked skyward, and saw a hawk, gliding through the skies; searching for prey.

That's it! A bird of prey! I realized. I didn't know if it would even work, but it was my only chance. I gathered all of my power, and created a cloud of fire, shaping it quickly. It soon sprouted wings, talons, and a sharp beak. The fire had turned into a large bird of prey, made of fire. It screeched loudly into the air, and flew at the pack of wolves. Knocking most out instantly, and sent others fleeing. The bird turned to me, looked into my eyes, and disappeared.

I ran over to Winter's side. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Me? You just shot fire out of your hands, and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

I was about to explain, when I heard another rustling from the bushes. I stood up, ready for more wolves, when two boys emerged from the brambles.