The crisp leaves, summer green grass, and a varying amount of twigs and other flora shifted and crunched beneath Ellie as her small frame moved on the dewy ground. The sun shone through the canopy tops of the trees that gave life to pale pink and orange leaves and the rays fell on her pale complexion and brought light to the dim forest.  Ellie’s Caribbean Sea eyes opened and her eyes squinted at the sun’s bright and unwelcome greeting. She pushed herself up right and looked all around her. The forest was bursting with color. The grass was a plush green while blue, purple, and red flowers blossomed around her, and the trees’ bright leaves and fruits reflected an angelic light over the clearing. Her teenage eyes had never seen anything like it. Ellie found her way to her feet and brushed off her legs, trying to recall just how on earth she’d gotten herself here. She couldn’t even remember where she’d been before just now. It was as if she hadn’t even live the last year or so. Stumped, she looked around, thinking maybe she’d find a clue of some sort.  Ellie walked in the direction of the sound of running water to her left, finding that there was no path or direction in where else to go.  Lost in her own thoughts, Ellie barely even noticed the sharp shifts in light that were occurring all around her. She thought maybe at first it was just the clouds moving over up ahead, but when she stopped to actually look, she could clearly see the outline of something. Or maybe someone? The shadow of someone small like a grade school kid fell from behind the tree but had an outline of something on it’s back, as if they were wearing a backpack. The figure would stand still for a second, and then suddenly it would be gone and Ellie would turn around to find it behind a tree behind her. 
       
       “Hello?” She called out in the direction of the shadow in hopes of some type of answer. She’d never saw anything move in such a way. She could easily just be going crazy, she figured, and this whole world was just something in her imagination. Her call was answered at first only by a faint but high pitched buzzing sound, but then the buzzing turned into almost a whisper and Ellie jumped backwards. Out of the shadows stepped a girl, a good seven years younger than her. She was tanned and had white freckle-like spots like fawn.  Her hair was dark brown, straight, and only reached just past her shoulders. On her back she dawned not a backpack, but a pair of wings that were a creamy white and they shimmered when touched by the sun.

            “Ellie!” The sweet voice charmed and the figure zipped to her side, ”We’ve been waiting for you. Mom said they’d find you one day. Come on, come on,” The girl urged, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the sounds of water.

        “I don’t understand,” Ellie spoke up, ”I’ve never been here before. I don’t know you or this place.”

       The girl with the wings did not respond but instead pulled Ellie farther through the vibrant forest until they arrived at the source of the water sounds. In front of them lay a large lake with clear water and fishes at the bottom. Looking farther on, Ellie could see that the lake was being supplied of water from a waterfall that cascaded the smooth, foamy looking water over a few tall silver rocks. The girl continued to pull Ellie farther towards the water and let go of Ellie’s hand only when it looked like she was about to jump into the water. Ellie went to protest, knowing that walking around in wet clothes would be uncomfortable all day, but the girl’s splash was saved by a rock that appeared out from under the water, as if it had sense her and risen up. The path continued on and lead the girl, and eventually Ellie too, to the opposite side of the lake.  The girl stepped into a clearing and it was silent for a moment but then the buzzing sound returned again and right before Ellie’s eyes it seemed as though more of the girl’s kind manifested from the air.  Ellie looked up when she heard the creaking of wood and saw that above them was a city almost of tree houses in the canopy’s all connected to each other with rope and wood bridges.

         “Ellie!” A voice echoed, ”Thank goodness you’re here.  Come, come. We haven’t got any time to talk now, dear. The time as come.”

Ellie was taken by the hand of older women, who quickly introduced herself as Iris and was probably of kin to the young girl because they had the same coloring, and was led up to the wood-made city and taken to a house that seemed to be the largest. She was dawned in a dress of pink and teal silk and her blonde hair was brushed free of any flora, braided, and then decorated with flowers. Her pale, freckled face was wiped of dirt and a small amount of makeup was applied. Anytime Ellie tried to speak up and ask what was happening, she was hushed. At this point, she was convinced all of this was a dream and she’d tried several times to close her eyes and wake herself up by pinching herself or even just thinking about waking up. Nothing worked.  Ellie was stood in front of a mirror when the few that were working on her finished and in the reflection of the mirror stood a girl that resembled a goddess of some type that didn’t even look like Ellie herself.
           “You’re ready then,” Iris said to Ellie with a pretty smile sitting on her lips. Ellie turned to look at Iris with a baffled look.
            “But ready for what? I haven’t the slightest idea of how I even got here!  And I’ve most definitely never seen or heard of such a place,” Ellie interjected, ”There must be some mistake of some sort.”
           Iris laughed light heartedly and shook her head, “Oh child, there is no mistake. We’ve been waiting for you. Your mother told us on your 17^th you’d be more than ready for this.”
           “That’s impossible,” Ellie assured Iris. At that moment, Ellie knew that it was a mistake because she’d been told that her mother had been dead since Ellie was only two, due to a car accident that caused her untimely death.  Iris stepped off to the side and from the vanity grabbed a black velvet box and returned back in front of Ellie. Ellie took the box and inside among other items, she found a picture of her mom, sitting at the vanity that was the one just in front of her, smiling and looking over joyed. She wore a headpiece and necklace of crystal and in her arms was Ellie. There was a short note addressed to Ellie that read as followed:

“Ellie,
                      The nickname ‘princess’ wasn’t much of a nickname.

                                                                                    With all the love in my heart,                                                                                                                 Queen Clarissa’           

           Ellie looked up in awe and confusion and saw Iris standing in idle, her hands busy with the same crystal pieces.