Amaranth

Shadow

The crickets cried out as the summer heat continued to blaze and seemed to scorch everything in its light.Belle was no different, she sat on the banks of the river, the cold water doing nothing to cure her of the heat. She sighed and held on to her camera as she tred deeper into the banks of the water. The water stopped right at her ankles and she desperately yearned for the cold water to overtake her entire body, but she couldn't get her dress wet, her mother would hate that.

Belle's feet reached the rocky terrain of the river and she carefully walked in the river, hoping it would cool her down soon. The sun bouncing off a broken bottle momentarily blinded her and she lost her footing. She fell into the water and her white dress now clung to her body, heavy and ruined.

"Oh, mother is not going to be happy." She pouted.

At the corner of her eyes, she saw a shadow, but shrugged it off. Belle had been used to the shadows by now. She'd seen them every since she was little and although she used to think she was crazy, she just learned to ignore them like they ignored her. This time, this time was different. She felt the shadow stare at her and her frowned deepened, not sure what the shadow wanted with her.

"Are you a good shadow or a bad shadow?" she called out.

That's a stupid question. She thought. If it was bad, why would it tell her, It would probably just attack her. She was just as bad as any other typical girl in a horror movie, asking all the wrong questions. The wind blew and she shivered as the wet water met with the wind, making her feel like she were an ice cube.

"That depends on who you ask."

Belle gasped, not expecting the shadow to actually answer back. They never did. But they never really cared about her existence either. The shadow started to come into the shape of a teenage girl. She had a smirk planted upon her face and stared at Belle with a bored stare. She white hair that contrasted with her dark skin and was a bit short.

"So, you're her? Hmm, have to say, I'm a bit disappointed." She drawled.

"What? What are you talking about?" Belle asked confused.

"Doesn't really matter. Not sure why you can see me now, since you never saw me before. I guess they think you're ready, a bit late though, I mean I was ready by the age of nine, how old are you girl?"

"Why should I tell you?" Annabelle sassed.

The girl lifted her eyebrow and gave a short laugh and shook her head in amusement. "I like you, you have spunk. Do they still say that? Eh, who cares."

"Who are you?" Belle asked, backing up. She still wasn't sure if the girl was good or bad, better safe than sorry.

"I'm Alice of course, Alice in Wonderland!"

"Huh?"

"I'm joking. I'm just Alice. Now answer my question."

"I'm twelve." Belle chattered out, cold and sure she was going to get hypothermia.

"You can't even warm yourself? Weak!" Alice sing songed.

Alice flicked at Belle and the wind seemed to pick up around her. The warm wind surrounded Belle and she gasped as her clothes dried and her body was back to her normal temperature. She stared at the proud girl who put her hand on hips and nodded proudly. Belle stared at Alice with her mouth wide open.

"What? You can't do that? Wow, you're weaker than I expected." Alice frowned.

"How did you do that? What do you mean I'm weaker than you expected? Do you know me?" Belle shouted.