1 PROLOGUE

Small feet pattered on stone grounds. With the push of a tiny hand, the curtain of vines was pushed aside. A small delighted gasp left the mouth of a little girl, and her eyes grew bigger as she took in the sight before her.

Perfect blue skies with fluffy clouds, emerald trees, soft grass, and in the distance, atop a tall hill, sat a gorgeous blue castle. It stood in all its glory, watching over the land, it's towers glimmering and glowing in the warm sun.

Suddenly, the little girl was pushed over, she tumbled down and landed in a pile on branches at the bottom of the small hill she stood atop. Her eyes moved to a spot on her arm that hurt, there was the shape of a hand that glowed a sickly green.

She groaned as cuts over her body bled from the sharp branches. "Mama!" She called helplessly. She screamed her mother's name and a tree near her blew up. She jumped and began crying, causing little shrubs to wilt. Her eyes went to her hands and they were glowing a deep bluish-purple.

"Help." She cried out, and blacked out.

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Small amethyst eyes flickered and slowly opened to see white. All white. White walls, white ceiling, tables, chairs. Looking down, more white, white bed, sheets... and weird transparent tubes.

Tubes... coming out of her arm..? There were tubes coming out of her arm!

The girl panicked and sat up quickly, her heartrate spiking and the monitor beside her bed began beeping loudly, and alarms shrieked causing her to grow more panicked and scared. She wailed and glass beakers on a table exploded.

Doctors rushed into the room and she grew more frightened at the sight of strange people, her heartrate increased even more.

"LEAVE!" Came a stern voice. The girl closed her eyes until the sound of footsteps and chatter faded away. She felt someone sit on the bed and take her hand softly. This caused her to open her eyes cautiously.

She saw a beautiful woman dressed in a royal blue gown embroidered with golden flowers and studded with diamonds.

"Hi sweetheart." Her voice was soft, kind, caring. And her presence calmed the young girl.

"Hi."

"What's your name?"

"I'm Phoenix. What's yours?" She tilted her head to the side curiously.

"I'm Sandra. It's very nice to meet you Phoenix, you have a very lovely name." Sandra smiled down at Phoenix.

"Thank you. Why do you have a crown?" Phoenix pointed to the crown on Sandra's head. It was gold and encrusted with sapphires and diamonds, and many more jewels.

"Because I'm the Queen."

"You're a Queen?" Phoenix gasped, and her eyes grew wide. "Wow. My mommy used to say she was a Queen and that I was her little Princess Nix."

"Where's your mommy?"

"She went to play with the angels. I was sad, but then I remembered that she told me not to be sad and that she was going somewhere better."

"Do you want to go back home?" Sandra asked, feeling sympathy for the child, and understanding her pain, as she too had lost someone close to her.

"No. I don't like it there. Daddy is always at work, and his friend is mean. She hits me." Phoenix frowned, then lifted her dress to show purple bruises on her thigh.

"She hits you?" Sandra was furious. How could someone hit a child like that? "Darling, I have an idea. Why don't you come here whenever you want, you will always be welcome here and no one here will ever hurt you."

"Really?" Phoenix's eyes grew wide and she brightened up. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"It's my pleasure sweetheart."