Forest of Dreams

Chapter three

I was woken by Ayol gently shaking my shoulder, I shrugged him off, closing my eyes to go back to sleep. I was still so tired.

'Odella,' he was saying softly, 'you need to get up.' As I roused groggily I remembered where I was, not in my bed but on a forest floor. I sat upright with a sudden start, feeling very vulnerable.

'Sorry,' he said, smiling sympathetically.

He'd brought me something to eat. 'Breakfast in bed,' he said with a grin. As I woke fully I remembered what Thaniel had told me last night. I needed to be on guard today. I needed to find an opportunity to get away on Sivia. I needed them to stop watching me so closely, to keep aware of my surroundings and to stay close to Sivia.

I looked round to see the others were already up and almost ready to leave. 'Sorry. I was so tired.' I said between yawns. I still felt half asleep. I'd slept intermittently throughout the night, only settling into a deep sleep in the early hours of the morning.

'Didn't you sleep well?' he asked. He was still crouching in front of me, looking irritatingly refreshed.

'No,' I replied tetchily, 'I was too uncomfortable.'

'Sorry, I left you as long as I could. You looked so peaceful.'

'You're not sorry though are you? If you were you wouldn't treat me like this.'

He looked at me strangely, like he was disappointed, a stricken expression on his face. He set the food down beside me. 'Eat. We need to leave,' he said brusquely.

It took me a while to rouse myself fully, I felt so sluggish. I could feel the men getting impatient so I forced myself along before I was ready to leave. I felt depleted, and my whole body felt sore.

The day unfolded like the previous one - except that it rained. An hour into the day's walk the downpours started and it rained heavily on and off all day. I put on my hooded cloak but I still got drenched. By the time we stopped to eat I was soaked to the bone and miserable. My boots were covered in sludge which had somehow made its way up to my knees where I had traipsed through the mud. We ate standing, huddled under the thick coverage of ancient trees. The trunks of them were enormous and they seemed infinitely tall. I fell like a little bug, standing at the foot of them, small and insignificant next to these giants. I looked up at them, at the small spaces between the leaves at the top where the light peeked through like a cracks in a wall. When I looked back down Garrett was re-tying Thaniel's wrists and Ayol had his back to me, looking out into the forest, alert. I slinked quietly over to Sivia who wasn't far away from me on my left. When I reached her I stood on the far side of her, using her to shield me from the others. I stroked her nose and neck to quieten her. I don't know if it was the close contact with her that did it, or if it was my nerves, but a sudden jolt of sadness hit me in the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes tight and buried my face in the soft hair on her neck, and cried into it. Then I heard footsteps. I'd missed my chance. My heart sank. I was so stupid - stupid and weak. I hated myself in that moment.

'What are you doing?' It was Ayol speaking, standing to the right of me. His voice was hard and cold, like a weapon.

'Nothing.' I said feebly, keeping my face against Sivia. I didn't want him to see me crying.

'Look at me when I'm speaking to you.' I could hear the anger in his voice, but I didn't move.

He put a firm hand on my shoulder and span me round, bringing me square onto him. His face softened immediately on seeing mine as I stood there, eyes full of tears, whimpering as I fought to stop crying.

'I just wanted to make sure she was ok. She doesn't like the rain,' I lied, my voice cracking as I spoke. I kept my gaze down, embarrassed to be seen sobbing like this.