Little Queen

40

Idalia's POV

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The night of my breakdown Draven had Gio bring my dinner to his room while he was dealing with whatever work emergency was happening in "the pit".  That name still makes me giggle a few days later. All I can imagine is a bunch of made men in a ball pit struggling to stand and swimming through the bright plastic balls to get to the edge. The things that fill the pit change every time I picture it, sometimes it's bright plastic balls, sometimes it's big foam squares that they sink into, and every once in a while it's even a pit of stuffed animals that the men throw at each other. 

It's been a few days since then and Draven and I had picked a different psychologist from the list he had prepared. After the two bad experiences with women, I chose a man named Jeffery. Draven triple-checked that I didn't want to go with one of the "more qualified" doctors on the list but I liked Jeffery's picture the most. He had long curly hair and a beard long enough that babies probably grabbed it all the time.  Even from his headshot, I could tell that he would give off an accepting aura that makes everyone around him feel at peace. 

I won't see him until next week though, just to give myself a little more time to gather myself after everything. 

With a groan I roll over onto my back, squinting at the sunlight. The water droplets on my skin had finally dried up a while ago and now I'm sweltering hot and bored. Swimming is only fun for so long when you're all alone. 

I hop up and toss my coverup over my head taking off away from the house. I know how busy Draven is with work and even though he doesn't say it, I also know he's probably way behind on a lot of his work because of how often I've pulled him away. Not to mention how much time he's voluntarily spent keeping me company. 

In an effort to not bother him so often, I decide to explore the estate grounds more.  Gio has Antonio with him again leaving me with just Sunny for the day. I'm all the way past Gio's gym when I realize I probably should have waited for Sunny to get back from the bathroom before leaving but shrug it off. He knows the grounds way better than I do so he'll probably find me as soon as he comes out. 

The buildings are edged with a large ring of grassy field that meets a forest line maybe fifty meters out. I dig my toes into the grass, biting into the damp dirt a little with each step. A grin spreads onto my face as I let it drop back to soak in the sunshine. My brain empties out as I walk blindly across the field, spinning every once in a while. The forest isn't dense with tall skinny trees scattered every few feet. Sunlight makes it to the ground easily, making it not so scary to venture into. 

The closer I get to the forest the more I'm able to see the streaks of sunlight that illuminate bushes and wildflowers along the ground. The lighting makes the forest look like a home to little garden fairies and I happily walk into the trees, glancing at my feet every once in a while to be sure I don't step on sharp sticks or rocks. 

Squirrels scamper across the forest floor and up trees as I walk by making me smile. I walk aimlessly turning towards a pretty bushel of flowers or a twisted tree trunk to run my fingers across the bark. I briefly think that it feels like it's been oddly long for Sunny to have not found me yet but I brush the thought away, having no way to actually see how long it's been. 

A bunny up ahead freezes at the sight of me. I crouch down to my heels, hugging my knees. 

"It's okay little bunny, I won't hurt you," I whisper. It keeps a frightened eye on me, still frozen in its place. 

"I know, life's scary for us. You're doing a good job though little guy."

I stand back to my full height frightening him enough to take off, disappearing behind a bush.