Part 1: ---- Alison looks back at the castle she used to call home for only a moment, unshed tears threatening to spill from her drowsy eyelids. Her hair billows in the wind, the crisp autumn air causing a shiver to run down her spine as she fixes her gaze upon the large stone towers of the castle. The towers she and the rest of the royal family once called home. Now the castle is nothing more than a forgotten and dilapidated structure. The flag that once stood tall and proud is torn and discolored and the windows Alison used to gaze out, lost in a some daydream are now shattered and grimy. The castle has been abandoned for quite some time, but Alison can still recognize the garden, now overgrown with weeds, she and her siblings used to play in. Shaking her head, Alison pushes these memories to the back of her mind and with a heavy heart tears her gaze away from her childhood home and takes a step towards her future. (171 words) Ten years later and not much has changed. The area is still ghostly provate, with the exception of an occasional fox or raccoon looking for food or shelter, neither easily found. The ruins of what used to be tall and well-structured buildings are now no more than piles of rubble and worn down stone. The wind has caused further wear and tear to the area and vines have begun to creep further up any remaing buildings. The art that stood as evidence of a once flourishing civilization has been washed away to faint marks over years of heavy rainfall and ferocious winds. Any signs that this place was once the home of a bustling and hard-working community has long since been lost to the hands of time. There isn't anyone left to tell the story of this lost settlement, and it will be a great many years until someone stumbles upon this site and decides to create a new one... (160 words)
