Flowers and plants glimmered in the twinkling starlight as the half-moon was covered by a cloud. It passed quickly and the moonlight soon joined with the stars in lighting the great garden. The stone pathways glowed as the barely blooming flower buds of the rosebush sparkled. To one side of the large rosebush sat a wooden bench.

On that bench sat a girl, her silvery hair glowing almost as bright as the stars themselves, her pale skin like the moon. If one didn't know better, they would almost think her a ghost or a wraith, wrapped as she was in her white nightgown. Her thin fingers grasped a board made of slate as her light eyes watched the stars above her. A small smile played on her lips as she watched them twinkle gently.

The garden around her was silent but for the soft breeze that blew by on occasion, rustling through the leaves and wafting her long hair to one side. A nightingale sang softly in a small tree nearby, and the corners of the girl's lips curved upwards as her eyes fluttered closed, listening to the bird's song.

    Without warning, a coarse bag slipped over her head and her eyes flew open. Rough hands attacked her, and her mouth opened in a silent scream as she was lifted up and swung over a shoulder, the bag firmly in place over her head. The slate she had been holding slipped from her fingers and landed with a soft thump in the grass beside the bench.

    Frantically, she kicked at her attacker to no avail. Wraith or ghost she may not have been, but she was as impotent as one in that moment. Heavy footsteps on either side of her alerted her to the fact that there was more than one person, and her hopes immediately sank.

    Crickets chirped, calm and cheery despite her predicament. She tried again to kick her way out of the man's arms, but one of the other men gripped her leg tightly until she gave up again. With her head covered and no light to see by, the march seemed to take forever; knowing how large the garden was, however, she doubted her sense of time was off by much.

    The chill night air disappeared as she was carried into the palace and through the halls. She had stopped struggling before, but now she began to squirm once more in the hopes that she could make enough noise to draw a servant's attention. She had no idea who had assaulted her or how they had gotten in, but she could only hope that someone was around to help her.

    Punches from her small hands rained down on her kidnapper's back, but he merely grunted and shifted her around. Inside her bag, she huffed a sigh and ceased her pounding. She wasn't nearly strong enough to cause the large man to emit enough noise to draw attention.

    She felt her center of gravity shift as the man carrying her turned down a side hall. On instinct, her hand whipped out to grip the corner of the wall as they turned, and her fingers scrabbled on the uneven stone for a moment before finding purchase. Immediately, her fingers tightened around the stone, and the man jerked to a stop with another grunt. She could barely make out a low mutter through the thick fabric of the bag, when her fingers were gripped tightly and torn from the rock. Another silent cry escaped her mouth as she felt the man begin to move forward again, at a slightly faster pace this time. Her slight frame was jolted up and down as the man half ran, half jogged down the hall.

    After another moment, the man stopped. She shifted her weight in an attempt to escape, but the arm holding her in place tightened and she decided against it. Her ears strained to hear what was happening, why they had stopped, when she heard a soft click and a creak. Her eyes widened in realization.

    In a blink, her body was plunged once more into the cool air of the night, and a slight shiver ran down her frame. The man carrying her jogged down a slope, the footsteps of the others sounding soft around her on the grass.

    The men stopped again, and she could hear the sound of horses nickering softly in the still air. Their hooves pawed at the ground anxiously. Her body stiffened as she was lifted and tossed onto a hard wood floor. Her brow creased, wondering where she was until her searching hands discovered the straw beside her; she was in the back of a wagon.

    The wagon wobbled a bit as the men who had abducted her climbed aboard. One jolt. Two. Three. The jolting stopped; three men. Her hopes sank further as she heard yet another man's harsh whisper sound from behind her in the driver's seat.

    "You got the princess?"

    One of the men who had climbed aboard after her whispered back, voice aggravated. "Of course we got her, now drive!"

    There was a displeased grunt from the driver and then the sound of a whip before the wagon lurched forward. Her body jerked with the wagon and the horses set off at a steady trot. The whip cracked again and the horses sped up, the wood beneath her body rocking back and forth as the wheels spun across the rocky ground.

    Eventually, despite her earlier inability to sleep, she found that the rocking, though far from gentle, was lulling her to sleep. At first she resisted the urge to let her eyes drift shut, but soon it became impossible to deny her body sleep for any longer. She maneuvered her body into a mildly more comfortable position, and let her eyes slide slowly shut.

    Sometime later, her eyes opened again to the unwelcoming sight of the harsh bag still wrapped around her head. Unsure what time it was or why she had awoken, she continued to lie still in the hopes that either she would slip back into the comfort of sleep or that at the very least her abductors wouldn't notice that she was awake.

    Nearby, she could hear the sound of rushing water growing louder as the horses galloped closer to the source of the sound. Her mind flitted to the storm the night before and the reports of minor flooding her father had received. They were headed for the river, she realized. The river, due to the recent rain, would be near overflowing, and she sincerely hoped that they were on the road that led to the bridge.

    The sound grew louder to the point that it sounded as if she were surrounded by the water, being tossed about by the crashing waves. Without her sight, she could almost believe her body was about to be dashed against the rocks that lay hidden beneath the surface of the overflowing river.

    She was torn from her mind's wanderings as the wagon - no, cart, she decided; it was too simple to be classified as a wagon - bounced over a large bump in the road. The sound of the horses hooves changed to the clacking sound of hoof on stone. They had reached the bridge.

    For a long moment all she could hear was the clacking of hooves and the loud rush of the river. Then, with another bump and a splash, they had left the bridge behind. Slowly the sound of the water faded into the distance until it was just another background noise in the night.

    Soon all that could be heard was once again the galloping of hooves and the wind rushing by. Occasionally she could hear a cricket chirping and would close her eyes and pretend she was back in her garden with the stars above her and her rosebush blooming beside her instead of in the back of a shoddy cart being kidnapped and dragged off to who knew where.

    After one such daydream, she felt the cart begin to slow, and her eyes fluttered open. The horses came to a stop and she could hear them panting. The driver had been merciless; they'd doubtless been galloping at top speed for hours now.

    The cart jolted as the driver climbed down from his lofty seat. Her ears followed the sound of his footsteps as he came around to the back of the cart, an audible yawn escaping his mouth.

    The driver shook the man sleeping beside her. She hadn't noticed his snoring until now, and she counted herself lucky. With a loud snort, the man sat up, jolting the cart again. An indecipherable mumble came from his direction.

    "It's your turn to drive," came a whispering voice, presumedly the driver. "If I go any longer, I swear I'll end up driving off the road."

    A second voice spoke up, thick with sleep. "All right, all right." The cart was jostled some more as the man clambered out of the cart. "Where are we?"

    "Just passed the river a few miles back. Probably another few 'til we reach the forest."

    "Great," the man yawned. "I'll let you know when we get there."

    The cart lurched as the previous driver climbed into the back of the cart with her. "Whatever. I'll be glad to sleep 'til noon."

    The other man simply grunted in agreement before walking to the front of the cart and climbing into the driver's seat. One of the sleeping men sniffed loudly and rolled over, rocking the cart. The whip cracked and the cart lurched forward again.

    The man who had climbed into the back moved around a bit before settling. In a few moments, she could hear him snoring. Silently, she wished she had that same ability to fall asleep; she'd always had troubles sleeping. If it weren't for that, she wouldn't even have been out in the garden. She always went out there when she couldn't sleep. If she'd just been able to fall asleep, if she had just stayed in bed... perhaps she would still be safe in the palace. Perhaps she'd be home, where she didn't need to fear for her life.

    Lost in her thoughts, and with the sound of crickets echoing in her ears, she found herself falling away into sleep again. Her thoughts slowed as her eyes closed again, and soon she found herself drifting off to dreamland.

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A/N First chapter of my story for NaNoWriMo. Figured since I'm not updating anything else, I can at least give my followers this to read. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!