Her gentle footsteps created no sound. There was no cracking of brittle boned sticks beneath her dirty feet. She had walked many miles, the thick forest of which she had journeyed through left its mark on her skin in the form of dirt and cat-like scratches. Although her knees threatened to buckle and give out under her, a force stronger than her own desire for sleep egged her forward. She walked with such grace and speed that it gave the illusion of her floating, her flowing white dress drifted behind her like a cloud.

She was late.

The sun had just begun to rise beyond the mountains. Dusty grey clouds blocked out the warmth of the burning star and instead shrouded the small village of Bamberg in a veil of cement-like smog.

Her eyes glanced over the small town she once called home, her chest caving in on itself in an emotion she labeled as doubt. She couldn’t afford to doubt her decision, it was too late. Her wrist gently flicked a lock of brown hair over her shoulder as her posture straightened and her eyes hardened. With a deep breath, she made her way towards the quiet village.

With her head held high and her lip trapped between her teeth, she glided through the village streets like a dove. A boy glanced out of window from his home and had to blink multiple times. He cried out for his mother, exclaiming that a large white bird was flying through the streets. His mother hurriedly pulled him away from the window as he protested, the rumours of the fellow townsfolk swimming through her mind.

They stared at her with eyes that read no emotion.

There was no awe of her return.

Only fear.

“Stephanie!” A girl broke free of the crowd that had surrounded the brunette and surged towards her, blonde locks flowed behind her like the sun that had disappeared.

“Erika-” The brunette’s walls crumpled at the sight of the girl as her arms wrapped tightly around her. “No, Erika don’t-” She wa