The Woods , the Well, and the White Rose

Part four

"That's it." She whispered. This is the trail of despair. The only way to pass was to think of her happiest memories. She stood, picked up Jack, put him on her back, and thought of the times when their family was happy. She remembered the time her father came home from his job at the mill, he brought her flowers, this was years ago.

"White roses! My favorite." Jill was so excited. "Papa? Where are we going?"

"Just wait, my flower, you'll see."

"Okay Papa." They walked to an expansive field, full of flowers and bursting with color. Butterflies flitted through the sky and bumblebees buzzed a merry tune. Papa came by, butterfly on his finger. It was the most magnificent thing she had seen. Iridescent wings sparkling a rainbow of hues. He passed it to her. The butterfly's wings moved. She giggled and it flew away, but not before landing on her nose.

"It's so pretty here. How did you know about this?" Jill had never been here before, it was unthinkable that she had lived her whole life without the knowledge of its presence. "Papa?"

He was looking off into the distance, his eyes trailing the wings of the butterfly. He heard her voice and looked back down, his eyes full of joy. "My sister and I would always play here. It was a magical world. Then she died of disease, I haven't been here since."

"Don't cry Papa! I love you."

"It's okay Flower, it makes me so happy to be back here with you. You remind me of her sometimes. Just remember, the bond between you and Jack is forever, nothing can break it. When mother and I are gone, you have to promise me you'll protect each other."

"I promise."

Jill found herself at a fork in the road, they were long past the Trail of Despair. Jack was asleep on her back. She felt the tears dried onto her face. Protect Jack. At this point, that was her only goal. Which way should she turn? She found herself wondering again, what it was Evangaline said. Should she down Wanderling Path, or Faerie Grove? Jill didn't know which way to turn and she needed a break, so she resorted to setting Jack down on a nearby patch of grass and sat down. Sitting on the grass, she realized she was quite tired. She was about to doze off when she heard a rustle in the branches. Hastily, she got her bag, held it close to her chest, and stood protectively in front of her brother.

"Hold on there." The voice sounded strangely familiar.

"Don't come any closer!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, Jill. I just saw that you're lost, I want to help." The figure stepped into the light. Jill made out the face, one look into his light blue eyes and she knew exactly who it was.

"Sir Humphrey. I apologize for almost attacking you, I had no idea." It was at this moment that Jack woke from his nap, almost immediately after seeing the knight, his eyes lit up.

"Sir Humphrey! You're back! I'm so happy to see you again!"

Humphrey chuckled and replied, "You too young knight." Jack was practically beaming at this point.

"Why are you here?" While Jill was excited to see the knight who had previously rescued them, there was something suspicious going on.

"White Rabbit notified me when he saw you walking through the woods alone. I came here to accompany you to the well." Jack was the next to speak, bubbly as always.

"Well, it's a good thing he did because I thought I'd never get to meet a real knight again. We also thought we got lost when we followed all of his directions. And there was a really nice lady at the house who gave us food. Then we got to the Trail of Despair, Jill saved us." Jill could have killed Jack for sharing this much information, alas it was inevitable. At least he wasn't sharing this with a complete stranger. She kept telling herself that she could trust Humphrey, but something in her gut told her otherwise. She would keep her cards close, better show that she completely trusts him. For Jack.