---

Sylph sat longingly under the tree as she watched her classmates run around and have fun, dancing and playing as their magic joined them in the fun.

"Why is it me that's different" She sobbed quietly as she turned around and pushed her back further into the tree, aiming to hide herself from judgemental eyes that sought out the weak and vulnerable, their next pawn in their game of 'mercy'.

She sighed softly before wiping the cold stranded tears with the back of her hand, sniffling along the way as she leaned on her knees to push herself up and stand on her two shaky feet, stumbling in the process as she was tired and worn out from the half hour of crying. Dusting off her knee high dress, moving gently because of the somewhat loosely tied corset as she wore the cream coloured material under the long white lantern sleeved shirt. 

The yellow dress that she wore was placed over both the clothing items as it had thin straps to hold it in place and present the front bust area as overalls. To say that this was one of her favourite dresses was an understatement, this was the one dress she loved more than anything else in her entire wardrobe, nothing matched its simplicity and beauty.

She then bent over to pull her socks back up to her knees as she readjusted her velcro straps on her black ballet flats as Sylph then threaded her fingers through her curly locks of hair that she had half tied behind her head in a clip, supporting her long waist length hair into place so it wouldn't go flying everywhere.

"One less person to worry about" She mumbled while picking up her satchel and placing the long strap on her shoulder as she walked the opposite way from her group and into the forest, looking for some silence and some peace that she figured she wouldn't find with all the laughter and happiness that surrounded her back in the field where all the other students were.

She held onto branches as she stepped over larger logs twice her size as Sylph gently hopped down and jumped over little puddles and smaller logs the size of her arm as she smiled and frowned at times where she almost fell over into dirt and mud.

"Oop-" She quickly fell and held onto the vines that hung above her head as she stood on her toes as she was seconds away from falling face first into a mud puddle "Oh thank goodness" She whispered while using all her tiny strength to pull herself up and leap over the puddle to the dryer side of the dirt path.

"Almost there" She whispered in hope as Sylph was struggling with all this mud and filth that was sure to be a topic to be lectured about once she returned to the palace by Frigga as it wasn't lady-like to venture into the woods without an adult or without her teacher or anyone who couldn't protect her from any harm-another way of saying how useless Sylph was without her magic.

Feeling emotional at the thought of Frigga being disappointed in her, Sylph then walked towards the light sound of water splashing, signalling her that either a river was nearby or a waterfall with the triangle rocks that Loki talked about where he normally went when he didn't want to participate in the class projects. 

"Loki!" Sylph called out as she walked faster towards the sound of water, hearing the rush and speed of the clear liquid becoming more louder and louder. Sylph then began to pick up speed as she hurried to get the waterfall and just hug Loki, all she wanted was to tell someone how she felt and Loki was the one person she trusted beyond everyone and he was the one person she could always go to if she just needed some comfort. 

Sylph didn't know why she was so attached to Loki, either because he was the sweetest person she ever met, or because he was the nicest boy that she ever came across with that wasn't necessarily mean to her but was nice enough. He was the one boy she could spill all her secrets to and cuddle and watch the night sky, the twinkle of the bright stars as they both laid across a nice blanket while Loki pointed towards all the constellations and the different alignment of the stars and what shapes and patterns they were.

Other times they would cuddle up on a couch and read stories and go through over fifty books in one night as the fun they seemed to have never once seemed to end, never seize as it looked like they'd be best friends for a long time before things tore them apart.

---

"Loki!" She called out once again while she openly stared out into the lake with the waterfall close behind as the water was beautifully clear as you could see the white crystals and rocks in the bottom of the bank, slowly creeping around to the other side to take a look into the waterfall to see if Loki was indeed in there practising or just living in silence as you could melt and relax at the sound of water splashing and running down the streams above, only to softly crash down into the lake in front of them as the hollow cave behind the waterfall proved to be an excellent hiding place, a perfect hideout if anyone ever needed an escape for palace life; Loki.

"Loki!?" She yelled out once more while pressing her back firmly against the stone wall to avoid the water from drenching her dress as she tip toed from one foot to the other in small side steps with the small heel of her flats echoing which each 'click'.

"Phew" She exhaled with a breath of relief as she held onto the wall, her small heart wouldn't of been able to take the stress any longer, especially if she ended up falling into the water.

Eyeing the cave carefully, she took notice that no one was here, as there were no sounds to indicate that someone was here, or any sort of clothing, food or essential necessities you would need if you were in a cave that could perhaps crumble or collapse at any given moment.

She was about to call out his name once again when a hand clamped over her mouth, a hand gripping both of her wrists behind her back as she struggled in the hold she was kept in.

"I've finally gotten to you little Faysoline". He whispered evilly into her ear as she squirmed in order to get away as she felt like bursting into tears.

"You've been running for long enough, time to get caught now sweetheart".

She saw a blue glow emit from his hand that covered her mouth, and before she could scream she felt a dull ache begin to throb in the back of her mind, a small thumping a heartbeat that was growing louder and faster with each passing second as her eye lids felt to heavy to keep open. Struggling to hold herself awake, she felt the intense torpid feeling taking over and much to her liking, she let go the sensitive ache as her body fell limp into the arms of her kidnapper.

---

[A/N:]

I'm aware that this is a short chapter, but I intended to leave a small cliffhanger as I'll try to promise the next chapter to be much more longer than this.

Happy day my lovelies❤️