Fall Haven

It was in the early days of spring, the snow had just started melting on the streets as the sun began showing itself more and more. I decided to take a walk around my little neighborhood to get a little fresh air. As I was walking, my hands safe from the cold air in my jacket pockets, I came across a snowbank on the side of the street. The snowbank was much higher than what you would expect on a tiny street which piqued my curiosity. As I slowly walked towards the snowbank, I could see some kind of light between the cracks in the snow. Each step I took the light got brighter and brighter. I extended my hand, touching the snowbank lightly. Though my touch was light, the snow fell at my feet revealing some kind of portal. I stepped back but it was too late. I felt myself getting pulled into the portal. I tried to scream but no words came out of my mouth. I felt myself slowly lose consciousness, my body relaxing as it was being taken by the portal's power. My eyes fluttered open, immediately due to the bright sun shining right on my face. I felt around me and immediately realized I wasn't on the sidewalk of my little neighborhood anymore. I could feel grass around me which made me sit up abruptly, my eyes snapping open. "Where am I?" I muttered to myself as I looked at my surroundings. By the looks of it, I was in some kind of forest. The grass lining the ground was bright green and there were multiple trees around me. "What is this place?" I sighed, standing up and dusting myself off " Welcome to Fall Haven, stranger" A voice spoke behind me making me spin in shock to see a guy, who looked just a bit older than me, standing behind me. I took a step back " Who are you? Where am I?" I stuttered, my heart racing in my chest. " Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't quite introduce myself. I'm Roscoe Chamberlain. Prince of Fall Haven" Roscoe replied with a small grin. " Fall Haven? Prince? This is all confusing. How- How did I get here?" I asked, my words getting caught in my throat. " Well, my first guess would be the portal. I told the fairies to take care of that a while ago" He shrugged with an innocent smile " I can help you get back home if you would like" He added, extending his hand towards me. I glanced at his hand then back up at his face " How do I know I can trust you?" I asked, glaring at him. " You don't want my help? That's fine" He said, turning and making his way back into the woods. I hesitated for a second before yelling out "Wait!" I hurried behind him. He looked at me with a confident smile but what could I do? I was in a weird place and it would be useless for me to walk around by myself. We walked for what seemed like forever " How much farther do we have to go?" I whined for the 10th time since we left the woods. "We're here" He replied after a few minutes. I looked up to see the most beautiful castle I had ever seen. "This is where you live?" I asked Roscoe in awe " Yes but it is quite lonely to stay in the castle since I don't have many friends, at least some who don't work for me" He said with a sigh. "What do you mean? You're a prince. Doesn't everyone want to be your friend?" I tilted my head, looking up at him. "You are right but the people who want to befriend me just want to do it because I am royalty" He replied looking down. I looked at him for a while. You would think royalty had no problems in their lives but I guess there's always another story. " Well, that's enough talk about me, yeah? Let's head inside" He said, making his way through the entrance of the castle with me trailing behind him. He led me through multiple hallways and down a long flight of stairs. We walked down a dimly lit hallway until we got to a big wooden door with an old fashioned door knocker on it. He knocked and waited for a few seconds before an older lady opened the door. She was dressed in a pink and purple dress, holding an ancient-looking book in her hand " Your Majesty, what a surprise to see you. Come in" She said with a grin. Her eye locked with mine and she frowned, watching me walk in with the prince. " Mahogany. We need your help. My friend here went through the portal left in the human world and I need you to find a way to get her back" He explained. Mahogany nodded then looked at me " What's your name?" She asked, extending her hand towards me for a handshake " I'm Mahogany Wildbead. The head fairy of Fall Haven" She said with a small smile. I extended my hand and shook hers "Nice to meet you, Mahogany. I'm Chanel Evans" I replied with a grin. " Well enough chitchat lets get this going shall we." She said, opening the book she had in her hand. She recited some lines from the book and light started filling up the room. " Chanel, wake up" A voice called out to me. I groaned and slowly opened my eyes. I looked around at the familiar decorations of my bedroom for a few minutes before getting out of bed " I guess it was all just a dream" I said as I looked outside at the melting snow with a small sigh. I decided to take a walk to clear my head. I slipped on a jacket and headed out, letting the cool breeze hit me as I walked out.