Briar ran into her house. "Sorry I'm late! I was hanging out with Shell, Willow, and Jace at the park, and we weren't looking at the sun!" She announced as she ran into the kitchen where her parents were. They'd never judged her curfew by the time, but how low the sun had dipped in the sky.

"It's alright, hun. Dinner's ready, come sit down." Her father replied. Briar nodded and took her seat across from her older brother.

"Hey dork." He teased.

"How's it going, nerd?" She replied with a smile. Her family talked casually for a while before her father looked at her sternly.

"Briar, did you go out into the woods after school today?"

"No, why?" She lied. Her parents hated it when she went to the forest. No one was supposed to.

"Good. We got a report today around an hour after school got out. They said there was a girl who went into the forest. She was followed by a guy, and the person decided to investigate. Apparently the man attacked her, but she defended herself with shadows. As far as we know, she lived here." Briar's eyes widened as she gaped at her father.

"Ugh. Stupid magic users." Her brother, Kade answered.

"Y-yeah. Stupid magic users." Briar stuttered. "I'll tell you if I see anything, dad." She stood up. "May I, um, be exscused?"

"Of course, honey. Goodnight." Briar's mother replied.

"Goodnight." Briar managed before hiding away in her room. This was great! Just great! She was screwed. Once her parents found out she was a magic user, she'd be killed. Why'd this have to happen to her, of all people? Why'd bad things always happen to her?

The man watched Briar through her bedroom window. She clearly had no idea about her powers until tonight. She also clearly knew how much danger she was in. He watched her as she brought her hands up to her head and entangled them with her beautiful hair. No. Stop it. All you're here to do is get her back to the village. That's it. The girl looked at her window and met his gaze, then stared terrified at him. He smirked. Good. Took her long enough.

Briar knew she was being watched. She stared at the man in horror. It was the guy from the woods. He was smiling at her now, grinning in a horrific way. She screamed at the top of her lungs, and the man simply walked away, as if he hadn't just been stalking her. Her family came running in, and darted up to her. "What's wrong? What happened?" Kade demanded. Briar pointed to the window.

"Th-there was a man watching me through the window. I've been feeling like I've been being watched all day, and he was right there!" She kept out the part about having been attacked by him in the woods. Her dad glared at the window and ran out the door. Briar wouldn't let herself cry. She hated feeling weak. Her mother sat down on the bed next to her and hugged her while her brother looked around out the window. A minute later her father walked back in.

"I didn't see anyone. I'll report it to the police, but I'll need you to give me his description." He said tenderly, looking kneeling down in front of her. Briar nodded.

"Alright. He was tall, had dark hair and amber eyes, and tan skin. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, but that's all I could see." She reported.

"Okay. I'll tell the chief. No one's gonna hurt my baby girl." He stood and walked out again. Her mother followed him with a smile at her, and her brother came and sat down next to her.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah." Briar replied.

"Then why didn't you tell me you went into the forest?"

Briar hesitated. "I didn't want you to get mad."

Kade sighed. "I wasn't going to get mad. I just want you to be safe. What if it was you that got attacked instead of that other girl? You don't have powers. You could have died, Bri."

Briar pressed her lips together. I was attacked. And I do have powers. She thought, but nodded instead. "I know, I'm sorry." Kade smiled.

"Just be careful." He replied, then stood and walked out. Briar turned her gaze back to the window and just stared at it. What did this guy want from her? Why wouldn't he leave her alone? She sighed and lied down. It was pitch black outside now. Even if the man was back, she wouldn't be able to see him. She needed to sleep, anyhow. Briar closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift into an uneasy sleep.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The sun filtering through the windows was what woke Briar. It was still early, judging from her clock. She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow. She'd never liked mornings. Forcing herself out of bed, she walked over to her dresser and grabbed a blue short sleeved shirt and some jeans. She quickly closed her curtains before changing, and then walked out. Her parents were already up, but her brother was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, hun." Her mother said as she walked in.

"Hi mom! Can I, um, go to the park?" Briar asked.

"Sure, just grab a granola bar or something first." Briar nodded and did as she asked before sprinting into the streets and bee-lining for the woods. She was curious about her powers. What could she do, and how? Why did she have them, anyhow? Briar let out a grunt as she continues through the towering pines. This was stupid. The brunette didn't stop until the town was far away from her view.

"Okay, let's see how this works exactly..." She took a deep breath and focused on conjuring the shadows that began swirling around her. So, um, what now? She scanned the clearing, searching for something she could use to help her be able to better focus her powers. There was a sturdy looking tree sitting north of her, scratched and weathered, but holding itself strong nevertheless. Briar decided that it would make a good target. Inhaling deeply, she turned her full attention to the tree, and made a small flicking motion with her wrist. The shadows shot forward, racing into the truck. The tree began to sway, and then fell. The green eyed girl just stared. "What the hell?!" She almost screamed the words, confusion flooding her senses. This all made no sense. None of it. The magic, the strange guy, the tree collapsing. Why can't I just be normal? She sighed and walked out of the trees and back toward town.

Okay, 1129 words. Not half bad. Sorry, this chapter definitely could've been better, but I lost a bit of inspiration. I'm going to try and get the next one out sooner, now that it's Summer I'll have more time to write. See you later, Enjoy!