yet another untitled story- Chapter One

Okay... so the whole thing about finishing what I write, it hasn't really worked out for me, lol. I keep writing some things on here, and I never get around to finishing them. I think I get a good idea, but then I just can't get into the swing of writing it. So here is yet another story beginning. If you read any of my stories and want me to finish them I'll try... but I don't guarantee anything. :-D

Chapter One

Snow blanketed the ground in thick layers, and dark clouds hid the sun. A small, thin girl shivered violently in the cold, cowering underneath the brush. She pulled her cape tighter around her shoulders, trying to block out the chill, biting wind. Her fingers were numb with cold, and they refused to lock around the small piece of bread she had left for her dinner. Fumbling it clumsily, she finally got her hands around it, and ate it slowly, doing her best to chew the almost frozen food.
A small chipmunk scampered up to her, shaking as well. She offered it a bread crumb, and then ate the rest for herself.
No more food. That was all she had. How could she survive now? Tears pricked behind her eyelids, but she stubbornly forced them back. She didn't cry. She wasn't the crying sort. Never, in four years had she let her tears fall. She wouldn't do so now. No.
Her eyes grew heavy with exhaustion, but she fought off the urge to sleep. If she did so she would surely freeze to death.
Never had she had to survive a winter this horrible. She had lived through lots on her own, but never one as serious as this. Ice clung to the branches of all the trees and bushes, and snow was heavier than it had ever been. The wind whipped through the small circle of trees, and knowing that staying where she was would not help her at all, she rose to her feet and staggered out of the small forest.
She needed money. She could afford to stay inside, and pay for food if she only had money. But pulling her small coin purse from her sash, and finding it empty except for one small bronze coin, she knew that she wouldn’t even be able to afford an apple. She would have to beg.
She snuck into the ally between to two small houses, and looked around for someone. An older man trudged through the snow, heading for his home. Moving as quickly as her freezing body would allow, she tried to catch up with the man.
“Help me,” she mumbled, but the words came out in a slur. Clearing her dry throat, she repeated the words, this time louder. “Help me! Please, food… I need food, and a… place to stay…”
The man didn’t even acknowledge her, just continued, a little more quickly along.
“Please sir, I really need your help.” She reached out and grabbed the man’s arm.
“Fine,” the man grumbled, and tossed her a silver coin. She let go of his arm and fell to her knees.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you…” She mumbled over and over again. The man rolled his eyes and hurried away.
The girl stared after him, and then slipped the coin in her small purse. This would buy her at least a meal, but not any place to stay. Trudging up to a small inn, she snuck inside. A fire burned in a corner, and the girl hurried over to it. It warmed her slowly, but it did the trick.
After a moment, she realized she was being watched. Slowly, she turned around. An innkeeper stared at her in curiosity, pity and sympathy.
“I’m sorry, I was just so cold…”
“It’s alright,” the man said simply, and brought her a blanket. “You may stay here tonight, if you wish.”
The girl looked at him with thankfulness and joy in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said meaningfully. “I don’t have a home, and it’s so cold.”
“Don’t worry. You are welcome here. There aren’t many travelers along the road when the weather’s this bad, so I have plenty of empty rooms. I don’t have much food to give away, but at least you’ll be warm.”
“Thank you,” she repeated, finding it was all she could say. Never before had she met a man so generous to an orphan.
“What’s your name, girl?”
“I don’t know.”