Realm of Stories

Aria:

The bell rang, signalling the stampede of students. Aria ran to her locker, and grabbed her books. She really needed to see Zane. She hurried onto the bus and ran home. She knew they were fighting the instant she was on the porch. She could hear them screaming and yelling. They were laming each other and getting louder as the seconds passed. She didn't dare go outside. Instead she ran to the park. She didn't care if it was 20 degrees outside, it was better than getting in the middle of their fights again. Her parents were always fighting. They barely even spoke! There was no point in even trying to stop them. She'd just be called rude and get punished. She climbed a tree, getting high up and sat there, thinking. She thought about how easily her and Zane could escape this world, and run away from all their problems. How easily they could live happily ever after. A soft rustling sound brought her back from her thoughts. She instantly became alert. Her face was wet, she'd started crying. She wiped her tears and looked around. Seeing nothing, she relaxed again, her tears continued streaming down her cheeks. She didn't even notice Stefan climb onto the tree until he was right underneath her.

"Aria? A-are you okay?" Stefan asked, quietly.

"Stefan? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Aria replied, wiping her tears away.

"No you're not, you're crying. And freezing out here in the cold alone. What's wrong?"

"Its nothing really, its just, my parents, they were fighting." she mumbled.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Stefan replied in a hushed tone.

"I don't know, I usually never care, but its just getting old now, thats all they ever do, and I can't stop them. They're so annoying. I can rarely ever sleep and there's just so much going around. I can never focus. I-I just don't know what to do anymore." Aria said, starting to cry even more.

Stefan put his arm around in a comforting way.

"Shhh. Its okay. It's not your fault. Don't worry. It'll all be better."

"Thats just it, it never will. They're never gonna stop, they're just gonna keep going. I don't know how much longer I can live like this. What am I gonna do?!" Aria replied, sobbing.

"You can't do much except be patient. Just wait. It's okay, stop crying. I can't see you like this. Its not right. Come on, smile." Stefan said, brushing Aria's hair out of her eyes and wiping away her tears.

Aria smiled lightly. "Thank you," Aria wiped away her tears, "what are you doing here? I thought you lived on the other side of town."

"Oh, no, I live a couple blocks away, I usually go to my friend's though. I always come here to think." Stefan replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I should go now, I think I've caused enough trouble for today. Thanks. Really." Aria said as she looked at Stefan.

"No problem." Stefan replied, smiling.

He watched her leave as she disappeared behind the houses. Aria was in no hurry to get home anymore. She climbed in through her bedroom window when she did get home. She grabbed a comforting book with a nice setting, mostly a warm setting. She thought about the warm waters and the warmth of the sun on her face. The world spun around once again, putting her in a meadow, filled with flowers and a beautiful azure sky. She smiled. She laid down on the ground, watching the clouds form shapes and then break apart, she closed her eyes, sucking in the moment. Her clothes had changed into shorts and a tank top, letting her suck in the whole of the warmth. She was about to nod off when she heard a twig snapped. She jerked up looking all around her. She was about to lie back down when she saw a shadow. She got up and walked towards the trees. Someone hit her, hard, and she fell back, the person was on her in an instant.

"Who are you? How did you get here? You're not a character of this book." said the female voice.

"I can ask you the same thing. One thing's for sure. I'm not a character in this story. And I know you aren't either. You wouldn't have seen me if you were. You're a story changer, aren't you?" Aria replied, her voice strong and firm.

The girl slowly let her go. Aria got a good look of her. The girl looked around her age. She had shoulder length brown hair that fell in perfect curls. She had knee-length cut offs and a tank top on. Her eyes were a warm green and her skin looked a light tan-peachy color. She looked familiar. She'd seen her somewhere. Cam would've thought she was adorable.

"Thats what you are, well, I guess thats one thing we have in common. I'm Ainslinn. Let me guess, you're Aria aren't you. Wow. You look nothing like I'd imagined. They all talk about you like your some warrior goddess." Ainslinn replied, circling Aria like she was her prey.

"Yes, I'm Aria. And what do you mean by 'they'?" Aria asked, confused.

"The demons and such. They're scared of you, the weaker ones at least." Aislinn said.

"Wow. Uh.....okay? So what kind of story changer are you exactly? Faerie? Angel? Elf? Or shape-shifter? I'm part Angel. I'm guessing your part Faerie. You seem to shine in the sunlight, and you look stronger close to nature." Aria said, questioningly.

"Wrong, hun. Elf. Which explains why I could pin you down. What are you doing here anyways?" asked Aislinn in a rude tone.

"Oh, gettign away from home. Wait, how'd you get in here?! You'd have to be in the same city as me in order to get in the same version of the book as me. Oh my gosh! I know you! You go to my school! My friend thought you were cute." Aria exclaimed.

"You mean Cam? He hits on anything wearing a skirt," Aislinn chuckled, "let's start over."

Ainslinn stuck her hand out, "I'm Ainslinn."

Aria took her hand, "Nice to meetcha. I'm Aria."

Aria saw her watch from the corner of her eye. It'd been 3 hours. 2 more and she'd be stuck in there forever.

"We should really get outta here." Aria said as she started to think about her home again.

"Cya in school." replied Ainslinn.

Zane:

Zane had been searching all day for the demon. He'd been on his trail for a couple hours now. He saw him leave the bar. He instantly followed him. He changed into a n alley cat and followed the demon.

"You can't hide from me you know. I know you've been following me. Who do you think I am shape-shifter!" the demon replied angrily.

Zane moved out of the shadows and changed back. "And you are nothing but a piece of filth to me. Preying on innocent souls and keeping them prisoner in their own bodies. Tell me, did you not feel anything when you made the man you're wearing, kill the young girl. Or were the screams deafened by your ego." Zane replied.

"So that's it then. You're going to kill me now, aren't you? And what makes you so sure you'll survive this fight. I'm not one of the weaker demons, Shadowhunter. I think before reacting. It won't be that easy." the demon replied.

"You're no different than the others. Smarter maybe, but still just as evil and just as dark. You deserve to die." Zan said angrily.

"So be it."

The demon lunged with his knife, it seemed to come out of nowhere. Zane didn't expect it and the demon slashed his arm.Zane's ice blue eyes shone in the light of the blade as he clutched his arm. He knocked the blade out of the demon's hand, causing it to fly across the alley. Zane caught the demon by surprise as he slashed him with his knife, catching him in the side. The demon tried to block Zane's attack but he caught onto his arm, pushing him against the wall and stabbing him in the spine. The black smoke blew out and quickly dispersed into dust. Zane thought his way back home to Aria and stood in front of her in shreds.