Hello to everyone out there. I'm shocklance and this is my first fanfic. (Well the first one i've ever dared to post.) First the customary disclaimer, I don't own w.i.t.c.h., I have nothing to do with it in any way, shape, or form. Warning, there will be shoujo-ai in later chapters. That being said, on with the show.

Chapter 1: Cold Snap

It was the coldest winter on record in Heatherfield. Snow had been falling for days, the streets covered in ice. Temperatures had been dropping below zero for several nights. The city had all but shut down, only the most basic of services still in operation. Most people were content to stay indoors, to hunker down in front of a warm fire with their loved ones. The city's children were taking advantage of the schools being closed, enjoying the weather to the fullest. In all most people just looked it as a little extra vacation.

For one girl however it meant something else entirely, it meant her death. She had no warm place to retreat to, no home to call her own. Even if she did she wasn't sure she would make use of it at this point. The girl staggered through the cold, snow covered alleyways, knowing she wouldn't last much longer. She was only fourteen, but death didn't frighten her, not really. She had known for a long time that she wasn't meant to live a full and rewarding life. No, dying early was always in the cards. It was just a question of how and when.

And now she had the answer to that question. She figured it wasn't such a bad way to go, given some of the alternatives she had always imagined. She would just fall asleep and not wake up. No muss, on fuss. In a couple of days when the storm broke someone would stumble across her body. She didn't think they would be able to identify her, there wasn't much of her in the system for them to do it, her parents had seen to that. She would be buried in an unmarked grave and that would be the end of it.

Yet however resigned to her fate she was she was determined to go on as long as she could. She was going to struggle to hold on to every last second of life she had left. Even if was only a few short minutes. Despite her predicament she managed a slight smile. Soon the pain and misery she had felt everyday would soon be over. A life that had never meant anything to anyone, that served absolutely no purpose would be extinguished. That's the way it should be she thought.

She took a moment to reflect on her past, not that she had much of one. Where she had been born she had never known. It didn't matter now she supposed, it really didn't make a difference in the end. She always guessed the first few years of her life were happy, being a baby did have it's advantages, such as being blissfully unaware of the horrors she would one day endure. When she was roughly six was when it all began. At first she couldn't comprehend what was happening to her, or why her mom and dad were doing such mean things to her. She did her best to tolerate the things her parents put her through. They had never sent her to public school for obvious reasons. For whatever reason they had home schooled her, and even that was a awful experience, full of it's own tortures. They moved around a lot, never staying in one place for more then a couple of years. Two years ago they had come to Heatherfield. As she had gotten older things gotten progressively worse. Finally a few days ago after a particularly nasty episode she made her escape. She did her best to keep hidden and survive, and now she was about to lose the battle.

It was beginning she realized with a start. It was becoming harder to move, her muscles felt like they were clogged with glue, her breathing becoming more labored by the second. She was getting numb all over. She was struggling to take every step. Her vision blurring at the edges and it was getting harder to think. She dropped to her knees and began to crawl forward. The snow seeped into her clothes but she didn't notice, her body was beyond being able to feel it, and in her heart she knew it didn't matter. She reached out and touched something soft. After a moment her fading mind figured out she had found a car seat. It was probably just another piece of garbage tossed aside. Her thinking had become unstable, instinctively she climbed onto the seat, believing it would be a good place to rest. She curled up into a huddled ball of misery. Her eyes slowly slid shut and the world went black.

The snow crunched loudly as a woman with short red hair dashed through the snow. Her breath formed miniature clouds as she made an effort to get to her car as quickly as possible. She knew she shouldn't of been out in this weather, especially with the roads in such bad shape. But those documents had to be in at work, even if it was closed due to the weather. The building wasn't very far from home, and she considered herself a decent driver so she had decided to risk it.

The car was parked in an ally, the streets had been packed. She mentally berated herself, she had left the door to the backseat hanging wide open. She had been in such a hurry she had totally spaced and forgotten to close it. She trudged over to close it, as she got closer she froze in place. There was a strange person laying on the seat. At first she thought it might be an old friend of hers from the ragged clothes, but whoever it was, was too big and the lack of a god awful stench told her it wasn't him. She backed up a couple of steps, she reached behind and clenched for a pair of weapons that weren't there. She swore under her breath and quickly came up with a plan b.

"Alright, whoever you are, get the hell out of my car! And don't try anything funny!" The woman stood there waiting for a reply but the prone figure in her car didn't even stir. "C'mon already, incase you haven't noticed it's really cold out and I don't feel like freezing my butt off!" The person still did not move or make a sound. The woman had enough, she slinked forward, ready to pound the snot out of whoever it was. She balled up her fist as she got closer. She grabbed the person's shoulder and rolled them over. Her jaw dropped when she saw it was a young teenaged girl.

"Oh my God." She said in disbelief. "Hey, kid you alright?" She shook the girl gently but she didn't open her eyes. The woman touched the girls face, her skin was ice cold. The woman went to the trunk and grabbed a blanket which she threw over the girl. She checked her pulse which was still there. She slammed the door shut and hopped into the drivers seat. As soon as she started the engine warm air flowed from the vents. The girl needed help, but the hospital was too far away and the roads to treacherous. She grabbed her cell phone and hit the speed dial for one of her friends.

"Hello?" Came a voice from the other end of the line.

"Taranee, it's Will. I need you to meet me at my apartment! I've got a girl in my car who's out cold! I think she's suffering from hypothermia! You're closer then the hospital!"

"I'm on my way! Keep her as warm as possible! If she gets any worse call an ambulance, but let's hope it doesn't come to that , it'll take the medics way to long to get to your place in this weather!"

"Thanks T! I'll see you soon, I'm about ten minutes out!"

"Don't take any crazy risks on these roads Will!" Taranee said in a warning tone. "It's not like the old days anymore!"

"I know that, but this is one of those times that I wish it still was." Will hung up and gave the engine a little more gas. She looked back at the girl who's life she was trying to save. "Hold on kiddo, don't you dare die on me." After admonishing the girl to live Will turned her focus back to the road, hoping to get home in time.

Well, there it is. The first chapter of my story, I'm sure it could be better. Reviews are welcome. I'll hopefully have the next chapter ready in a couple of days.