A/N: This is the first time I've written anything in quite a while, so bear with me! It's the first draft of an introduction to a bigger story, that I haven't written yet as I'm still fiddling with some of the finer details. Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated!
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The snow was cold beneath me. Very cold. It soaked through my thin summer dress and seeped through my body, chilling my bones and numbing my limbs. It was so cold that it slowly began to awaken me from my unconsciousness, of which the cause was unknown.
I didn't know how long I'd been curled up in the snow. It was dark when I opened my eyes, a vast expanse of inky black sky stretched up above me, illuminated by only a sparse scattering of stars. I could see no moon.
Slowly, my senses started to return and my brain began to function properly. As properly as it could given the circumstances I'd found myself in. I sat up violently as I registered the bitingly cold snow, my breath came in gasps and my hair was soaking wet. My whole body shivered as I stood up, but I wasn't too worried. You see, as I stood up, I noticed the strangest thing. The air was warm. There was a thick blanket of snow on the ground, and little flakes of it danced down from the sky every now and again, but the air was warm. There was no wind like you'd expect for winter, just a warm summer temperature that warmed me. It really was strange, the floor and snow was icy like it should be, but the temperature was like stepping into a busy house with a roaring fire. Strange.
Looking around, I soon realised that I was far from home. I couldn't remember where I'd come from, how I'd gotten to wherever 'here' was, but I might as well try to find out. I found myself in the middle of the peak of a hill, accompanied only by a solitary oak tree, standing sentinel to my left. The horizon was astounding. So foreign and confusing, but something inside of me felt different when I looked around. It was a strange feeling, like a mixture of yearning for adventure, the feeling of coming home, and the homesick ache of being somewhere you didn't want to be.
Directly in front of me was a vast city. The snow tumbled off the hill and led on to a cobbled road, which led to a wooden archway with writing across it, too far away in the darkness for me to read. Beyond this archway, small houses lined the streets which formed an intricate network of passages and pathways all illuminated by glowing lanterns. There was something obviously different about this city. There were no cars, no skyscrapers, no bright lights like you'd see in London or New York, no. This was like a city from the past. I began to wonder just where - and when - I was. The most imposing component of this intriguing new place, however, lay along the far edges of the city, the furthest I could see. A daunting white castle lined the horizon. Long battlements stretched out across the horizon at each side, each ended by a small mountain, visibly topped with snow. The castle seemed to glow with a soft sheen that seemed to resonate from within the walls. It was a mesmerizing sight, but foreboding. A castle meant there was somebody in charge, somebody powerful, and there was something not quite natural about it.
To my left, and to my right, enclosing the city was a forest. It seemed to stretch for miles, all behind the snowy hill as far as my eyes could see. It was a terrifying forest. White snow radiated bright light, unnatural bright light, whilst the trees were jet black and solemn. They had no leaves, only dark branches forming thick patterns over the snow.
Everything about this strange place was new. I didn't recognise anything, and yet I had the strangest feeling that I'd been here before.
I hadn't realised until then that my feet were bare and turning a worrying shade of blue. I had no option but to venture towards the city, and try to find help. Maybe a stranger turning up in the night with no recollection of how they got there or where they were from was normal for them, I guessed I'd have to find out somehow. I decided to try and see if I could tentatively walk down the front of the treacherous hill. Slowly, with tiny steps, I began the descent. The snow hardened under my weight and became slippery, and with nothing to hold on to, I soon lost my footing. The ground seemed to rush up towards me and my face hit the cold slope. My body twisted and tumbled down the hill, snagging on small stones and disorientating me until I sprawled on to flat, uneven ground. I lay there for a minute, letting my heartbeat find its way back to normal. It was a few more minutes than I'd planned before I rose to my feet and surveyed my scarily close surroundings. The snow was thinner on this cobbled pathway, though still untouched, as if nobody has passed this way since it had fallen. It was eerie, the night was dark and I was alone, with no option but to make my way to the wooden archway.
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