I have rewritten the prologue to my Willow story, I thought I'd paste it here...
Prologue (2nd version)
Her thoughts were haunted by a strange forest. She was wandering, naked and alone. There was no sound here, no birds, no insects, just the sound of her feet trampling the floor of rotting leaves and moss. Now and then a breeze rustled the trees that towered up to extraordinary heights, unearthly yet familiar. Yet, always there seemed to be a presence beside her, a protector, an adviser, a friend, she could almost make out their face, but not. When she turned her head to look, there was no other person with her, just a distant memory.
“It’s OK, you’re fine,” a voice boomed from above. She opened her eyes to see a mans face hovering above her. “You’ve been in an accident.”
Sounds suddenly blasted her ears making her wince, her eyes darted left and right and the man started telling her all was alright and she shouldn’t panic. Looking left she saw a very distressed man telling another, “No, she didn’t step out in front of the car, she just appeared
out of nowhere!! As naked as a Michelangelo painting!”
When she glanced to the right, there was a huge metal beast closed by with steam gushing from the front.
“You took quite a hit, young lady,” the man above her was saying. “What’s your name?”
She closed her eyes as she tried to remember. A voice beside her whispered “Wil’low,” so she repeated it.
“Willow eh? Nice name.”
She glanced to where the voice had come from, but of course, there was no one there. Then the same voice filled her mind, “You must stay out of sight. Blend in, disappear….” it warned. “Don’t let them know you’re not like them!”
She then remembered, she was not human, like these people.
“We’re going to get you on a gurney then get you to the hospital for a check up, just as a precaution.”
No, no, no she tried to tell them shaking her head, but already she was been tilted to one side, the gurney was under her in but a moment. Then she was been lifted and carried through the air like she was floating. Her feet, filthy with rotten leaves and moss, protruded from the blanket at the end.
“Wow, she is really heavy,” one of the paramedics moaned.
She saw a clawed hand made of what appeared to be wood and thorns, scratch over the surface of a tree trunk, leaving jagged furrows behind it. A huge green eye, and the voice again… “Toadstool is watching you….” before the drugs that had been given to her, closed her eyes one final time and she fell into a deep troubled sleep.
In the crowds, a tall gaunt looking man watched on, most of his long white hair hidden under a large hoody. He looked concerned, his eyes watching the girl, then at the people that were gathering around the scene. The car that had hit her had significant damage to the front end, water dripped from it, steam had been spilling from the radiator but was now subsiding. Police were everywhere, traffic was backed up and the ambulance with it’s flashing blue lights sped away from the scene down the far carriageway as the police held up the traffic for it.
The man briefly spoke into a mobile in a thick foreign accent, and then left the scene.
* * *
It was the day after and the doctor was inspecting some notes before him. Willow looked up at him from deep within the bed, only her head showing above the blankets. Her eyes flickered from him to the beeping machines connected to her, to the window which could be the best way to escape, to the open door of the room behind the doctor.
“Well!” stated the older man, adjusting his spectacles. “Hit by a car. No broken bones, but you’ll have some bruises to boast about!”
He hummed a little tune as he ticked boxes, then paused as he read something a little more concerning.
“Hmmm, some of your readings are a little off, we’ll have to do those tests again.” He leaned forward and observed the side of her head. “You seem to have some strange ears, if they are cosmetic, they are very well done….” He scribbled down some more notes.
Willow put a hand over her ear defensively, feeling the pointed end against her fingers. She was pleased there didn’t seem to be much else visibly different about her than most humans.
The voice in her head had warned not to let them find out she was different. She had to find a way to escape, into a land she knew nothing about, alone. She swallowed, she didn’t think she had been alone before, not that she could remember. Then, she couldn’t really remember anything. Not her parents, not her home, no faces at all that she might have known. Even this environment was not familiar, the hospital, the street, the noise of the city. Even the human language sounded strange to her, like she hadn’t heard or used it in many years.
“Ok, I think we can send you home tomorrow, we’ll just keep you around for another night and to redo those tests in the morning.”
As he said this there was a click as the door closed behind him. The doctor turned round to see the man with the gaunt face stood in front of it, his hoody still in place.He pulled out a long wooden wand and waved it in a circle in front of the doctor, together with a little chant. The doctor froze in place, just as he was about to say something.
Willow immediately sat up in the bed, her face full of worry. She could feel the magic prickling her spider senses, the sense of danger,
“You will forget this patient and everything about her,” the stranger commanded in a deep voice, still thick with the strange foreign accent.
He took the board from the doctors hands as the doctor came round, straightened his white coat, and then left the room without even a glance back in their direction.
With a wave of his wand the notes and information in the papers all faded away. He then hung the board back onto the end of Willows bed. He looked down on Willow, who was looking very young with her wide eyes and shocked expression. He pulled back his hoody revealing his long flowing hair. It was totally white, like snow. His long pointy ears proudly protruded through the locks, all the way to the back of his head.
“This is not how you stay hidden Wil’low,” he said softly. “I have a place set up for you to… blend in.”
With that he started chanting, and taking her hand and waving his wand, they disappeared from the room with a soft pop, and the faintest breeze.
