Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a carpenter and his wife. Although they weren't rich, they had everything their heart desired. They had found true love with each other and in their years together they were blessed with a beautiful baby girl named Aeliana. She was a sight to be seen and grew up kind and caring. The little girl loved to be around people but at the same time she could be alone for hours, wandering, roaming and discovering things on her own. The small family lived in a wooden cottage that was located on the edge of a village and was separated from the nearby city of Alicante by a forest. The young carpenter had spent hours in the forest with his little girl, teaching her about its ways, animals and plants. And by the age of six, she knew the forest almost better than her father.
The little girl often joined her father when he set off into woods to collect wood to use as fire logs. Walking side by side, playing silly games and singing hymns on their way back home, they had spent numerous days in the forest. And always when they returned from these days, her mother, Emilia Claridge stood in the front door, waiting for them while a pan of hot soup stood on the table, a fire crackled in the fireplace and her grandparents waved at them from behind the window. It was a perfect family, the one children wished for, but one day all of that changed drastically.
On a cold morning in September the carpenter and his wife were getting ready to travel to the city. Arthur Claridge sold furniture in Alicante that was made from the finest wood of the forest. He made the most beautiful, smooth sanded furniture and his work was widely known in the kingdom. That day was like any other day. Aeliana's parent's had hitched up the wagon and had led their horse Comet down the road, leaving their daughter with her grandparents. Together with her grandmother, the girl spend her day searching for small pieces of wood to try and make a birdhouse where the birds could stay to breed. They had spent all day making it and it was only late in the afternoon that her grandparents started to worry. Usually her daughter and son-in-law would be home already. Now, however, it was already starting to become dusk. They didn't yet fear that something had happened because the furniture their son in law made was very popular in town and it wouldn't be unusual that they turned out later. The girl hadn't noticed this concern while she was worriless, reading a story about princesses and big castles. But by the time it was dark, her grandfather didn't had the endurance to wait anymore. He grabbed his coat and lit a piece of wood, to search for them. As her grandfather left to scam the dark forest, the girl was finally aware of the situation and got anxious for what had happened to her parents. Her grandmother who had stayed with her was pacing around tensely before she noticed that her young granddaughter was watching her with big, fearful eyes. The women forgot the anxiety she was feeling and made her way towards the little girl, holding her for a long time and softly brushing her hair. The women rested her head atop the little child, listening to the rhythm of her breathing as it slowly evened and knowing the little girl had fallen asleep. After what seemed like ages, a shimmering light was visibly approaching the house. The old woman noticed the light, praying that her husband had returned, accompanied by their children. She picked up the little girl in her arms and moved her to the couch, laying a blanket above her calm sleeping form.
Dread crept into her stomach as she opened the front door. And the sight in front of her did nothing to reduce that feeling. Seeing her husband, she knew something was wrong. He stood there. Alone and with a helpless expressing on his face. And without saying it out loud, she knew that her only child, her precious child, was gone…