Chapter 1

  Sixteen year old Alanna Vangelic sat in the corner of her small room, crying. Light filtered in from a small crack in the broken down shutters. A little cot sat nearly on the ground to her left, a dark wardrobe in front of her that had splinters everywhere. 
  Alanna sat with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried in her knees. She had been crying all day yesterday and all through the night. She still didn't have the will to dress herself for the day.
  It had only been a week since her fathers tragic death. She could remember her fathers screams as the burning flames of fire danced around the already-falling-apart house. The burns on Alanna's arms made that day all to real and she would most certainly never forget it. The smell of burning flesh as she tried to rescue her father. But by then it was already to late. The next thing she remembered was awakening in the towns physician's home. Her arms being in torment from the burnt flesh.
  Then the physician, Tom, told her everything that she did not want to hear. Everything about the house that she grew up in was gone, burned to the ground, about her father also being gone. Tom had said there wasn't even a body left to bury.
  Now she sat in the corner mourning the death of her beloved father.
  A silent knock echoed the room as someone tapped on her bedroom door. Alanna lifted her head towards the door and quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes. "Come in," she whispered softly with a whinny tone.
  The old hinges on the door squeaked as a young girl with golden blonde hair that fell to her shoulders and blue eyes opened the door. Her hair was tangled and she wore raggedy clothes - a light purple shirt but with dirt everywhere so it made it a bit darker, she also wore black pants but she had cut them to where they came a few inches below her knee.
  She waved to Alanna in the corner. "Can I come in?" she asked softly.
  Alanna nodded her head and sighed. "Yeah, Safina. You can come in."
  Safina opened the door further and walked inside. She strode over to Alanna and sat down beside her. She turned her head towards Alanna and she could see that her eyes were puffy and red from where she had been crying. "You've been crying again haven't you?" Safina asked.
  Alanna turned towards Safina. "You can tell that easily?" she whispered again.
  Safina nodded. "Better wipe those tears before Derrick sees you." Safina couldn't help but smile. She loved teasing Alanna about the guy she liked.
  Alanna finally smiled. "He's seventeen and got a lot more things to do in life then think about me. There's no reason to dream something that big."
  Safina laughed and Alanna joined in. "What about that guy Ned? I mean, you seem to fancy him quite a bit."
  Safina's face became straight. "Don't involve him in this," she said sternly and plainly. Both girls stared at each other for a moment. Then they both began bursting out laughing.
  "Come on," Safina said gesturing with her hand. "Phineas told me to come get you."
  "Oh, you mean mister slave master?" Alanna said with a stern voice.
  Safina nodded. "He wants his breakfast every morning at exactly the right time." Safina looked outside through the crack in the shutter. "By the looks of the sun you're about fifteen minutes late."
  Alanna sighed. "I wish I could read time like that."
  Safina shrugged and smiled. "It's a gift and a curse." Then she stood to her feet and walked away.
  Alanna continued to sit on the ground. She was a petite little thing with bright red hair and emerald green eyes. She was wearing her night close at the moment which was a torn up, beaten down white night gown.
  She climbed to her feet slowly, and shuffled over to her wardrobe. She opened the door carefully so she wouldn't get a splinter in her hand. She picked out a dirt smudged yellow long sleeve shirt - she always wore long sleeves to cover up her scares - and her black 'pants' that fell a little bellow her knees - the same way as Safina's were. She hurriedly put them on.
  She moved to her smashed mirror where only a few shards remained in the frame and she began to brush her long red hair that came to just above her waist. She stopped and placed her brush down onto the wooden table. She stared at herself in the mirror. "Today's gonna be a better day." She tried smiling. "I'm not going to let that old Phineas get me down." Alanna stood up and strode out of her room.