The Raven Girl

Eleanor, a brave young woman, just lost her young brother and she decides to look for him in the forest nearby and something she never thought could happen with her, happens.

"Elder" she whispered, but there was nothing she could see but the fog covering the forest.

"Caveat emptor" warned her brother’s voice coming from the fog.

Eleanor woke up and walked silently from her room to the old wooden front door. She wore a long blue dress as blue as a deep sea.

Her long and pale fingers turned the door’s knob carefully, and she walked completely alone through the dark and cold night, covered by stars with a dull and ominous shine, toward the forest.

She was tormented because of Elder's death. She felt he wasn't indeed dead... something did happened to him, and it wasn’t death.

The forest was forthcoming. Eleanor saw the opaque fog and the snow covering the top of the trees, she looked around and saw two onyx ravens flying in a pas de deux towards the forest.

She hesitated, her grey eyes became cloudy and she cringed. "Ravens are death" (metaphor) she thought "They're going to the forest to take the soul of someone who died”. And her brother’s young face came to her mind.

She ran as fast as she could trough the forest covered by darkness and sinister growls. Her long and dark wavy hair whipped her back like an angry sea crashing against rocks (simile).

Eleanor was gasping and her bare feet were bleeding when she finally stopped running, but she didn't feel the pain. The fear made her stop and hide behind a large tree trunk.

She could see from where she was the shadow of the three people that make her startled, and also hear what they were saying.

"We need to have a tête-a-tête" said a grave and male voice.

"And we will, sooner or later" replied a sharp female voice.

"Can't you feel this, my brothers?" asked a soft female voice.

Eleanor heard a loud and deep breathing.

"Come out of where you are." said the female soft voice.

Eleanor came out of behind the tree trunk. They were outwardly normal people, but she felt the powerful feelings they invoked.

"Who...who are you?" she stammered.

The woman with the soft voice was an old lady wearing a long white dress, and hidden in her long white hair was a blue bird perched on her shoulder.

"I'm Happiness" she said.

The man, who wore a silver armor and hold a sword, had a very blond hair and pale green eyes.

"I'm Guilt" he said, and an enormous wolf appeared from behind him.

The other woman faced Eleanor, and she shuddered. The woman's eyes were completely pitch black, and her skin were so white Eleanor thought she was dead. The woman had a very dark hair and Eleanor almost couldn't see the onyx raven perched on her left shoulder.

"I'm Death" she said.

"What are you doing here?" asked Happiness, and Death faced her with wrath.

"THIS IS MY TERRITORY" yelled Death "AND I HAVE CARTE BLACHE TO DO WHATEVER I WANT HERE!"

Guilt sighed.

"So, Bon Appétit" and he turned his back and went away with the grey wolf behind him.

Happiness looked at Eleanor with pity and spoke her mind:

"I can't do anything. I wish I could." and went away.

Eleanor and Death were alone.

"What do you want from me?" asked Eleanor.

Death walked around her, with the raven growling on her shoulder.

"I know you're looking for your brother" she said "and I tell you he's not dead...yet"

"Please" asked Eleanor "tell me where he is, I'll do whatever you want-”