The ground Ally was expecting never came. Instead, a hard, crudely made floor greeted her pained body. She moaned for while, her hands clutched together as though they were the last real things on Earth. She curled her legs in, hoping the pain would go away. Fabric swirled around her, eventually settling on the wood she laid on. Even with her eyes closed, the light was as bright as ever. But, thankfully, it began to recede. Ally welcomed the darkness like an ice tub on a scalding day. After the white was gone, she kept her eyelids pressed together, letting the pain fly free from her. 

When it was all gone, she was amazed. No headache, no bright spots. She felt fine, other than the horror from what she'd just experienced. Slowly, she opened her eyes. And then shut them again. Before her had stood a woman, in a hollowed out tree. Ally peeked them open again, lifting her head enough to see the young maiden. 

It was her.

Though she was years older than Ally, she looked almost exactly like her. She wore a silky, crimson dress, and a white hooded cloak was draped over her head a shoulders, clasped with a beautiful golden crest that was embedded with jewels. Blond, wavy hair curled out the white hood, bordering a soft, pale face. All of her natural colors looked almost bleached, adding an unearthly aura to the woman. Her eyes were a soft purple, filled with sadness and wisdom. 

"Get up," she said to Ally. Her powerful, beautiful voice echoed off the wooden walls, which Ally thought was weird. But Ally stayed still on the floor, not even blinking. "Get up," she repeated. Ally pressed her hand to the floor in an effort to rise. She pushed off the wood, her shaky legs trembling. 

"Where am I?" She asked the woman. 

"In a tree," the maiden smiled. 

"No, seriously, where am I?" Ally begged, her eyes wide.

"In a tree, right there," Older Ally replied. "But you must leave your spot. You must go."

"Why?" She queried. 

"Because you must. Because things will never happen if you don't."

"What things?"

"Such silly questions," the woman muttered. "This world needs you to leave that spot. This world needs you to not trust what they say about who is good or bad."

"This world? Where am I?" Ally wondered again, more urgently this time.

"Where you're standing. Now move!" She ordered, thrust out her hand, pushing Ally without even touching her. She was shoved into the wall, which started breaking from the force. It creaked and splintered, giving up. She made a hole in the wood, looking like a crater on the moon. Ally twisted her head toward the ground, realizing how far it was. The tree must have been three or four stories tall. She screamed, her limbs flailing.  She hit the ground with a loud thud. She was amazed she didn't break anything, well, anything she knew about. But it still hurt, a lot. Ally groaned, tired from all the pain. Her back screamed at her to stop being so wreckless, her mind screaming back that it wasn't her fault. She pushed up, whimpering as her feet stood flat on the grass. 

Ally looked around, her neck straining from the small effort. When she looked up, her eyes grew into saucers. 

A dark, dark streak weaved through the clouds like a Chinese dragon. Clamping jaws ended one side, below bright blue eyes. They actually more of a blue-green, and it would be pretty if it didn't look like the creature held the probability of killing her. For a second their eyes met. She saw no evil in them, but that didn't stop her from being afraid. Ally screeched and ran, not caring what else might await her. She pushed all of her small emount of energy into her legs, thrusting her through the oddly, sparkly forest. Red mushrooms spotted with white covered the shimmery grass by the trees. The scenery was gorgeous, and extremely picturesque. She wished she had a camera, and wasn't running for her life. Speaking of running, it was hard. Something was preventing her legs from stretching to their full potential. Ally looked down, her eyes greeted by a light blue skirt that went up to her ribs and down to her feet. She groaned, and lifted it up. Looking forward, she quickly dodged a patch of leafy trees and shrubs. Ally peered behind her, nothing. Up, nothing but pretty trees. Which were starting to spread apart, and farther on she could see open land filled with puddles, fog, and giant, colorful mushrooms. 

When she reached the edge of the forest, she stopped, quietly gasping for air. She peered up at the sky, and sighed with relief as she only saw a lovely blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds. Ally began to walk into the marsh, looking down at the sparkling puddles and rainbow shrooms. They looked so soft and inviting, but with what she'd already experienced, she felt compelled to stay away. 

She found a puddle that looked a bit cleaner--even though the others were also crystal clear--and kneeled down, careful not to get her skirt dirty. She stared at her reflection, which suddenly looked very interesting. Tucked into the light blue skirt was a white, airy shirt. The short sleeves were very poofy, and ended in a white strip of fabric, with white ruffles pouring out to her elbow. Ally's wavy blond hair was parted in the middle, and looked more shimmery and had more volume. And it definitely was longer, because it was down to her waist. She kind of felt like a Disney princess. Her deep blue eyes had turned a lovely shade of purple, and her skin was flawless. She could look for freckles for days and never find anything. She wore a small brown satchel across her shoulders , but she didn't feel like looking in it right now.

Right now, she needed to find out where she was, how she got there, and what she was meant to do here.