Hey guys! I wanted to put one of my stories I'm working on here.
Also, please feel welcome to talk about it, or give feedback on it, on my profile. But please restrain from using this, to keep the story organized.

And with that being said… signing off! >^.^<

Kara looked over at her play things. She was at a garage sale, her garage sale. Her mother had called and told her it was time to get rid of the past. That she wasn’t a child anymore. So she had gathered all of her childhood belongings and stuffed them into brown, cardboard boxes. But getting them on the four white tables had made her exhausted. After a long cat nap Kara went back outside and set up her prices.
“Well, I suppose it’s time to “sell my past”. As Mother puts it,” she sighed quietly, finally pushing the stake of the sign that read “Garage Sale! Get it while it’s here!” into the soft dirt of her freshly dug hole. Wiping away some sweat from her forehead, she felt a burning touch. Ow! She quickly ran inside, and grabbed a plastic water bottle from the freezer. So much for save the turtles… she thought ruefully. Kara chugged the cold water down her throat, coughing afterwards. When all felt better, she went back outside. There was a line of people now, who hopefully hadn’t taken anything while the tables were left unattended.
“Don’t worry folks! The shopkeeper has arrived,” she said, quietly chuckling to herself. When she walked up to the first table, there was a small girl with blond hair that was tied with pink bows neatly into braids. The girl's skin was pale, and she appeared underfed.
“Hello there. Could I interest you in this small unicorn plush? It’s completely free,” Kara asked kindly, smiling warmly at the girl as she held up the small white unicorn with the pink horn, mane, and tail. One eye had slightly lost its color, but the toy was still intact. The girl was right next to what must be her mother, but who knew. For the girl looked at her feet, taking no comfort in the tall lady standing with a stolid expression on her face. Kara looked at the lady for an explanation.
“She is an orphan. Most likely she won’t ever have a home. Her father died on the roads before she was born, and her mother died of heart disease. She’s been in my care ever since she was five,” the lady said, showing no pity for the girl. Kara took a deep breath, then looked over at the girl. She knew a bit of what the girl must be feeling. Her father had died his second day of treatment. She and her mother had begged him to take more precautions, but by the time he finally got help, it was too late. She had been fifteen then, and it had been a large toll on her mental health. Her mother had gotten her help, taking her to Psychiatrists every week. And eventually it got better, though she sometimes still had to get treatment. She had been very close to her father, much more than her mother. So much that she still called out to him in the night, her face wet with tears.
“What’s your name? Mine is Kara.” she asked the girl warmly, who was wiping her hands on her face, presumably crying.
“My… my name’s Winsel.” she replied shyly, still trying to hide her face. Kara could hear sniffles coming from Winsel, and she frowned. But then she smiled warmly at her again, getting an idea.
“That’s a beautiful name. And I'm sure this unicorn agrees,” she said, holding out the plush unicorn to the girl. Winsel looked up, with tears streaking her face, and held out her hand. She had three dollar bills wrapped tightly in the palm of her hand.
“I already told you. It’s free, no money required,” Kara repeated, placing the small plush into Winsel’s hand. The small girl mouthed “thank you” as she was pushed along by the social worker, who still had that stolid expression on her face. Kara frowned, feeling bad for the small child. But she pushed it away as they withered from her view. Sighing, she walked over to the next table. It was all of her old figurines. Some mystical, like elves and fairies. There were even some goblins and wolves. Wolves? Those were never there before!
“I wouldn’t sell those if I were you,” came a voice above her. Kara looked up and gasped. An elf! She had dark blue narrowed eyes, with a slight ring around them. On her right cheek laid a small scar. Her white hair with icy blue highlights stood out the most to Kara, put in a thick, loose braid at her side. And the most surprising thing of all, her skin was blue! It was a columbia blue color, a tad dirty.
“Um… What… do you mean?” Kara managed to stammer out.
“Close your mouth, you don’t want people to think you’re a fool,” the she-elf said, looking annoyed.
“How would people think I’m a fool?! They must see this as well!” Kara said, a bit too loud. People were now staring at her. And like bulls in a race, they were gone like that.
“Only you can see and hear me. Now people will doubt more than just your mental stability,” the elf said, acting as if she was all-knowing, which she might very well be.
“How… how do you know about? I’ve never met you before. In fact, you’re probably just a figment of my imagination. I have to be dreaming,” she realized, or so she thought. The elf grabbed her arm and pulled her down into a lawn chair.
“This isn’t a dream. Stop fooling around and listen…” she started, staring intensely at Kara. “Everyone knows about you. What happened on that cold December night. It’s been… What? Seven years now. It left a mark on you. People don’t trust you. They only came here for the junk. So… what are you going to do about it? How are you going to react?” she continued, but making it clear that she wasn’t done talking. Kara leaned back in the chair, eyes wide in horror. The elf sighed and let go of Kara’s arm.
“Look, this isn’t a joke. I was sent here to retrieve the girl who lives here, and I’m not leaving without you…. My name is Synthen. I’m an elf as you’ve realized. This is not a dream. It’s real, and you can’t escape it like last time,” she growled, seeming as if she would claw off anything that upset her. The she-elf looked away for a moment, then she disappeared. Kara gasped in fear, then realized the logical explanation. Don’t worry Kara. It’s obviously a dream, just like you said earlier. All you need to do is wake yourself up, she told herself, even though she had the knowing sensation it wasn’t a dream at all, that it was truly real. Realer than anything she had been telling herself the past couple of years. But how? How could someone know so much about me? And an elf! I truly must be dreaming! Elves aren’t real! How could they be? she thought to herself, feeling sick. Then out of nowhere Kara saw what she thought was the elf in the corner of her eyes.
“What are you?! Trying to play a joke in me?!” she screamed, but the elf didn’t even answer. Kara huffed. The nerve. She stomped up to what she presumed was the elf, but it wasn’t at all. It was the social worker that had been with Winsel at the garage sale. The lady grabbed her by the ear and started to drag her towards a black Coupé. Pushing Kara into the back, she tied her to the seat with a rough tan rope that looked like it had been used on prisoners of war. The lady, whose face was still the stolid expression, that now just seemed horrific.
“So, now what? You're going to take me to your leader?” Kara asked sarcastically, even though she was scared out of her mind right now. But the tall woman just walked over to the front of the car, got in the passenger side, and said something to the driver, a short, pale man with a black scraggly beard, and two dark green murky pools that looked ready to swallow her up at any moment for his eyes. Kara felt a shiver go down her spine, and she agreed with her body; she had to get out of here. Just as the car started to slowly move forward, a shadow drifted across it, looking like a person. It made sense that a person was jaywalking, it wasn’t uncommon these days. But no, it wasn’t a person. It was an elf! Kara pictured the shadow in her mind, recalling the pointy ears that had raised her suspicion. The car skidded to a halt, making Kara bounce forward in her seat, despite the rope. What’s going on now? she thought fearfully, but somehow had the feeling help was on the way. And in fact, she was correct. Synthen was on top of the car, with a dagger in her hand. In a moment she was inside the car, both the driver and supposed social worker knocked out. She started to untie Kara. But then the car began to inch forward, making her jump. Kara wouldn’t have any part in this. “Who’s driving the car?! Are you planning on saving me just to kill me in an accident instead?!” she yelled, her eyes glaring at the elf. She stomped her feet on the ground, fuming.

Synthen’s P.O.V

Synthen looked over at the girl, who was obviously furious. But she couldn’t think about that right now; if she didn’t get them out of here now, then the car would crash into the lake, drowning them both.
“Listen to me… Do you want to die? Let me untie you, and I might let you go afterwards. Ok?” she growled, grabbing a knife out of her belt. She faced it towards Kara, who screeched in turn, “Help me! Help me! Someone is trying to harm me!”
Synthen looked around. There were now police cars chasing the runaway vehicle. “Great, now look what you’ve done. Every squad car in the city will be looking for us. And I was only going to use the knife to untie you,” she murmured furiously, but loud enough for the annoying girl to hear.
“Good, now they can lock you in a cell,” Kara smirked, now free of the ropes.
“Only you can see me, remember?” Synthen reminded her. But all of a sudden cops came swarming over to the car, guns pointed. Two of them pried the back door open and forcefully grabbed Synthen by the arms. She gasped in surprise.
“Didn’t think you’d get caught, did ya?” one of them said in a smug way.
“In a way,” she whispered, still visibly shocked.
“Yeah, that’s what they always say. You criminals think we cops are stupid. But you’re the stupid ones, thinking you can harm people just cause you got weapons,” the cop continued, nodding to the heap of weapons they had just collected off of her. Then they pushed her into the back of a large white police van. Chained up, Synthen could see them directing Kara over to a small police cruiser, presumably to take her to the station for questioning, like anyone would believe her. Synthen though, she would be transported to a highly guarded penitentiary. She heard multiple crashes, then rapid gunshots. The officer that was driving the van swerved off the road, cursing all the while. The van fell into a deep ditch, making Synthen drop, her chains stopping her from going any farther, but her right leg was caught in the backdoors. The doors had opened, then jammed shut, and her leg had gotten caught in one of the doors while it was all happening. She screeched in frustration but stopped when she realized no one was coming to her aid anytime soon. She could still hear gunshots and yelling, and tears were streaming down her face, falling onto her tunic, as she was unable to wipe them away. Then all of a sudden the noises stopped, and all she could hear was the sound of the cars bustling by a little ways off. The backdoors were jammed open, and paramedics ran over to her. Synthen dared to look at her leg, which was deeply cut, and bleeding heavily. She groaned when one of them shifted her leg into a different position. “Don’t worry, everything will be alright. Just stay still, we’ll help you.” another one said, he was sitting right next to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder. Synthen didn’t understand why they were caring for her. Don’t they see that I’m an elf?! And that I literally have blue skin?! They think that I’m a criminal! She wondered, her face screwed up in pain. The man sitting next to her looked at her with a fiercely compassionate expression. “Look, you’re going to need to tell me what happened.” he said in a soft voice, trying to calm her down. “Aren’t you smart enough to figure it out!” she yelled through clenched teeth. Two of the paramedics grabbed her and moved her into a lying position, putting her on a mat. “Okay, okay. It’s alright… Everything’s going to be alright…” the man said, still trying to calm her down. A paramedic grabbed a needle and jabbed it into Synthen’s arm, piercing her skin. The last thing she saw was the sight of the man, softly speaking to her, then all was black.

Synthen woke up with a jolt of pain, gasping in air. “Hey, hey, hey. It’s ok, it’s ok… Just take deep breaths.” a man said, quickly coming over to her. She dared to open her eyes, then she saw him. Him! It was the man from before! She tried to slow her breathing, but it just kept coming faster and faster. He grabbed her chest and started to gently press on it, which caused her to calm down. “See? Everything's going to be alright…” he stated calmly, then noticed the hostile expression on her face. “My name is Peter, and I have been assigned to take care of you until you’re healed… Now, can I check your leg?” he told her, slowly picking up a syringe and placing it on a tray with other various tools. She grabbed for what she thought looked the most like a knife and faced it at him. “If you think that you can hold me in this prison you are sadly mistaken!” “Whoa! Hey, it’s alright! I just need to check on your leg. I’m not going to hurt you. Okay? Just… put the scalpel down, please?” he reassured her, putting his hands out in surrender. She hesitated for a moment, then finally put what he had called a scalpel back on the tray. The man sighed in relief, then slowly inched toward her, putting the tray on a small cart and pushing it to the side of the bed. He sat down next to her, and told her to stay still in a lying position. She followed his orders, but was ready to strike the moment she needed to. Peter was very gentle, softly reassuring her the whole time. “This may hurt a bit.” he explained, grabbing the knife and firmly facing it towards her leg. She tensed, slowly trying to get up. But he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Just relax your muscles and hold onto me… Okay? It will all be over soon.” he said, looking over at her. Then he looked back at her leg, and grasped the knife tighter. He had only planned on using it to cut open the cast, but it slipped and ended up going straight for her. Synthen groaned in protest when the scalpel dug into her stomach. “Just a bit?! What was that for?! Did they send you here to kill me?!” she screeched, tears now starting to stream down her face. “No! No, no, no, no, no. It was just an accident. No harm done, just let me slowly remove the scalpel, and it will all be over.” Peter quickly explained, setting the knife onto the tray. He slowly grabbed the syringe and moved his hand over to her arm. She pulled away from his grasp and slowly started inch out of the bed, unsure of what he was about to do. “Wait! I won’t use the syringe! Okay?” he said, dropping the syringe back onto the tray. “I’m trying to help you. Just, stay still… I need you to trust me.” he continued softly. She slithered back into a lying position on the bed. “Now, I’ll stitch you back up. Then you need to rest.” he ordered, wiping his forehead with a cloth. Then he picked up a needle and thread. She stared at him through narrowed eyes. Why does everything have to involve pain?! She thought furiously, while also ridiculing herself for being so weak. As if reading her thoughts, Peter looked up at her and smiled warmly. “Don’t worry, this will all be over soon. In a few weeks your leg might be healed enough for you to go… home." pausing on the last word, there was some tension between them. There, all done.” he comforted, finishing stitching her up. He cleaned everything up, then pulled out the syringe again. “I’m sorry, but now I really do have to do this. Doctor’s orders…” She groaned, closing her eyes as he gently pushed it into her skin, releasing whatever was in it into her body. A few seconds later she passed out again, lying limply in the hospital bed.

Kara's P.O.V

Kara was pulled into a small room for questioning. It had a metal table and single chair, which they instructed her to sit down in. The officers had put cuffs on her, despite the fact that she was the victim. She laid her cuffed hands on the table, as tears ran down her cheeks. An officer looked at her with stern eyes. “Alright, now… I need you to tell me who that lady holding you captive was.” he said gruffly, with a deep southern accent. “Oh, come on. Give the girl a break, she’s been through a lot.” Another officer said, putting her belt down on the table. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever…. She’s still gotta answer the question.” he replied back, as rude to the officer as he was to Kara. “I’ve never met her before. But she acted as if she knew everything about me. She even grabbed me and pushed me into a lawn chair because she got upset. The worst thing about it, was that she was an elf! And she had blue skin, with white hair tucked into a braid!” Kara screeched, sobbing even more. The woman officer tried to calm her down, while the rest of them just laughed. The one who had questioned her laughed the hardest, his guffaws echoing around the room. Finally they stopped, and Kara was escorted to a counter, where she would be admitted into a small cell, for no apparent reason at all. They hadn’t even asked about the man and lady in the front of the car. Which would most definitely help her case. She followed a few officers into the small room that she would be living in for at least a night. “There’s your bed. I still don’t understand why they’re putting you in the slinger. But whatever, i’m not the boss. I just work to get paid.” One of them said, pulling his cap off and gesturing to a small metal bed with a pillow and a thin white sheet. She walked over to it and sat down. Everyone else left, locking the door behind them. Luckily they had taken off the cuffs, but her wrists were still sore from having them on. She rubbed them for a while, then laid down, thinking about her unfortunate state. Because of psycho paths she was locked up in jail, with no one to get her out. Maybe she could snag a phone call to her mother, but would she listen to her? Probably not… she pondered, giving up. Kara closed her eyes, soon drifting off to sleep.

Synthen's P.O.V

It had been two days since Synthen was admitted into the hospital. Things were basically the same every day. Peter constantly watched and took care of her, only leaving the room when he was needed elsewhere, he didn’t even sleep at his own house, making her even more annoyed with this man keeping her most likely the one keeping her captive. Her sleeping was restless, waking up and looking around, then falling back into a deep sleep. The most she had been awake for was about an hour. Peter came in, smiling at the fact that she was awake. “Good morning, how’s your leg?” he greeted her warmly, walking over to her bed. She just stared at him, as if analyzing his next moves. She hadn’t talked to him much after the first night. The most she came to speaking words to him was the agonizing screams in the middle of the night. He just nodded and removed the “cast” as he called it, to check her leg for infection. He looked around for a moment, then put the cast back on. “Alright, it’s healing great. You might be able to get out sooner than I thought, at this pace.” he exclaimed, sitting down on a chair by the bed. She looked at her hands, tears sliding down on her face. She tried to conceal them, but Peter slowly walked over to her and kneeled down by the edge of the bed, so he must have noticed. “Hey, you ok?” he asked sincerely, looking at her with worry. She willed for her tears to go away, slowly looking up at him. He frowned with concern. “Look at this, you’re healing quickly. There’s nothing to be worried about… Why don’t you get some rest?” he told her, smiling warmly at her. Then all of a sudden police were swarming into the room, with a nurse frantically following behind. Peter looked around, confusion in his expression. Synthen was just as confused, if even more. Two of them stood at the doorway, and the last one stomped over to her. Peter started to walk towards the man. “Now listen up, you crook. I don’t care if ye injured. Ye gonna tell me who ye are, without question. So… get started.” the officer said rudely, narrowing his eyes at her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. She has a mild concussion, a fractured leg, and many other minor injuries. She still needs time to recover. And she really needs to rest right now.” Peter protested, coming up to them. “Listen boy… I don’t really care. Now why don’t ya get on out of here while I ask this criminal some questions.” the officer said gruffly, raising his voice and treating Peter as if he was a child. Synthen was taken aback. The cop shoved Peter out of the way, then he looked back at her, with cold, black eyes. “Now ye going to answer me.” he repeated, shifting closer to her. Synthen shuttered, normally she wasn't afraid of the cops in this world, but this man was different. “Why don't ya boys get outta here. Lemme be alone with this woman.” The cop said, obviously on a short fuse. “I don't think that's wise.” Peter protested again, trying to defend her. But the other cops grabbed him and shoved him out of the room. It was as if they were the horrible cop's personal lackey's. Now she was completely alone with him. "The name's Stilkem.” he said, laughing in contempt. Synthen gasped as he transformed into his normal appearance as the shadow creature king. “Not so tough now, are we, Synthen?” he continued, a malevolent glint in his dark, beady eyes. “How-” Synthen stuttered, utterly speechless. “So, you like your new body, huh? Well the shop owner is on a revoke!” he replied, transforming Synthen into her shadow creature version. She looked at herself through a mirror and gasped at the empty reflection. “What have you done?!” she screeched at Stilkem, swinging a shadow bat at him. “You wouldn’t harm your own mate, would you?” Stilkem threatened her, smirking. “You’re not my mate!” Synthen yelled, swinging the bat once more. But it just went through him. “You’ve forgotten your roots, Synthen.” he growled, raising a hand and sharpening his claws. She groaned inwardly, knowing he was too strong to defeat. Just then, Peter rushed in with a frantic expression. Synthen went wide eyed, worried how he would react to her appearance. He looked at her and gasped. “Great.” she muttered, thinking this was the end to her stay on Earth. But he was looking at her with warmth, and was that… love? “You ok?” he asked, walking up to her. “Y-yeah…” she lied, fighting back the urge to cry in his arms. Peter sighed, then put his hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go back to the bed, I don’t want you getting more hurt.” he advised, leading her back to the small hospital bed. She groaned inwardly, just wanting to be back in her own room, throwing spears, and practising her archery skills. But she was a long way away from the Palace of Magic. Synthen sat down, and looked in the mirror. She sighed in relief, seeing the reflection of her elven body. “Now… tell me. What did that man ask you?” He questioned, all serious now. Synthen looked at him and opened her mouth, but no words came out. What was she supposed to tell him? If she told him the truth, he would probably place her in an asylum. But she couldn’t just sit there and act dumb. “It’s alright, you can tell me later. But we will continue this discussion.” She looked at him, grateful for understanding. “So, how are you feeling?” He changed the subject, looking down at her injured leg. “I’m fine…” she replied, glad to be on a better topic. Then she remembered about Stilkem. “What happened to Sti- the officer” she asked, glancing around the room. “Um… I actually don’t know. I guess he kind of just disappeared. But he probably just walked away unnoticed.” Peter puzzled, unsure himself. But he didn’t dwell too much on that fact, just glad she was okay. “Why don’t you rest? You’ve had an interesting past hour.” He said, getting up and leaving them room, looking back once at her in the doorway, before disappearing from sight.

Kara’s P.O.V

Kara awoke with a tingling pain in the back of her head. It made her pause for a second, until she realized that it must be from the rough bed she had slept on all night. For some reason she was still locked up in the tiny cell, not even allowed one phone call. Most of the officers had taken pity on her, and sneaked her a nice little treat whenever possible. But some of them still despised her down to the core. She didn’t know why, but for some unknown reason they hated her. It didn’t bother her too much, for they never really came near her cell, but occasionally they would pass by her, and sneer in contempt. She would just hide her face in her hands, and wait for them to go away. It apparently didn’t matter that she was the only one found with shackles in the accident, because no one understood that she was the victim. The two kidnappers were now both in a coma, thanks to the elf. Synthen, was it? Kara had no idea where she was, and she hoped to keep it that way. The farther away she was from that strange person, the better.