C1 The Meet

"Kristine! Don't you dare go into the woods by yourself!"

Her fathers words fell on deaf ears as Kristine rushed towards the woods. She was excited to finally venture out on her own, away from the guards, away from her parents. Being the most ambitious, adventurous six-year-old that she was, nothing phased her. She was always rushing off to do something that her parents didn't want her doing.

Kristine trudged her way into the woods, clearing low hanging branches and roots sticking from the ground. The smell of the Earth clung to the air; breathing it in, she sighed. The feeling of freedom from everything that was going on was evident on her face. Swiping away spider webs that were in her way, she continued forward, not a lick of fear or doubt plagued her. She wasn't a normal child, as many of her family would put it. From the day she was born, Kristine was destined for greatness.

Being born into the highest branch of the Hunter's society, she was necessarily considered a Princess among the rest. Kristine wasn't the one for having a gold spoon shoved down her throat essentially. Initially at age six, the training commenced to learn how to be a proper Hunter. Hunter's aren't the same kind of hunters most would think about. These Hunters not only hunted for food, but they had also hunted Werewolves and Vampires. Creatures that were made out to be the worst "monsters" out there to walk the Earth. Kristine didn't have any interest in killing any type of creature, animal nor "monster" alike. She felt the need for peace among all living things. Being only six, her mind and manners surpassed those of adults. Her mother was constantly impressed with the level of diplomacy that she enacted every day.

As Kristine traveled through the woods, her mind wandered the possibilities of creating peace between all nations of people. Werewolves and Vampires to her weren't monsters, but another legacy of people who wanted to live among each other. She acknowledged that each race had their bad eggs, but not all of them were evil. Continuing on her path, her mind raced. She was coming up with different diplomatic ways to confront each head of the races and find a common ground. Not realizing her surroundings, she walked straight off the edge of a hill into a little pond beneath it.

"Aw man! Mommy's going to yell at me for getting my new pants dirty!" Picking herself up off her knees, she looks down to see a slight gash on her knee from the fall. "And I cut them too?! Aw man, I'm really going to be dead!"

"Are you okay?"

Kristine looks up to see a young boy, about the same age as her, standing in front of her with his hand out. She looks him up and down, eyeing him before reaching her hand towards his and grasping it. His hand was warm, gruff and a bit calloused, but she didn't complain.

"Yeah, I'm okay. My mom is going to kill me for ripping my brand new pants though, and I'm all wet on top of it."

"I'm sorry that you fell, I tried to warn you, but I don't think you heard me. My name is Michelo."

"I'm Kristine. It's nice to meet you."

"So what are you doing so far out in the woods?"

"I was walking. Something I like to do by myself. What about you? What are you doing out this way?"

"I found this place earlier this month and it's peaceful. It's a nice and quiet place to get away from my family for a little bit before they get too worried about me."

"Yeah, I agree. My dad is getting on my nerves. Hey! Would you like to be friends?"

Kristine's smile grew across her face, waiting for Michelo to answer. He seemed to be taken aback by the sudden question. She held his hand a little tighter, hoping he would say yes. She absolutely loved meeting new people, and making friends. This boy standing in front of her was shy, but he came off friendly.

"Sure! I don't mind new friends." He shrugged his shoulders, trying to act nonchalant about being her friend. She squealed. Jumping up and down, she pulled him into a hug. Michelo froze, not understanding quite what was going on. He slowly wrapped his arms around her back, hugging her back.

"Michelo!"

"Kristine! Kristine Marie where the hell are you at?!"

Startled, they both jumped away from each other. Michelo caught Kristine before she could fall back into the pond. She giggled slightly.

"Meet again here tomorrow?" She asked her new friend. He nodded, looking over his shoulder.

"We both should probably go now, before they catch us here and we lose our peaceful place."

"Okay, see you here tomorrow?"

"If I can get away, yeah, I'll be here tomorrow." Michelo shoved his hands into his pockets, turning on his heel, he faced away from her. Walking away from her, he waved at her. "Tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow."