{ELEMENTISTS OF WILLOW FOREST BOOK V} The Journey Across Water

Third Time Lucky?

13: Third Time Lucky?

Olivia slid back into her seat, then fixated her with one of those annoying looks which she did when her brain cells were whirring backwards and forwards yet you didn't have the faintest idea what she was thinking about.

Sasha waited a minute or so, before Olivia nodded. "Ready."

*

So, as a child, Sasha was a sociopath and had anger management issues.

So what? She was an important piece on the board just the same. Maybe she'd have counselling in a minute anyway.

Hmmm. Cat videos.

Just because Olivia was beginning to discover about Sasha's past, it didn't make her feel any different about her, did she? She was still cunning, blatant, fiery and often good fun. Still the girl Olivia trusted as one of her Councillors, and had risked a heck of a lot to get back to Willow Forest. She had friends here. She had a boyfriend. So, coming up, there must be a point one she stops being the child she is in the story she's telling, and turns into the girl Olivia knew now.

Did Olivia trust her? Even though she was Felix's sister and Aodh's descendant?

She'd saved Rock and Pebble, hadn't she? And Ethan certainly liked her.

Olivia did trust her. Certainly more so than when she'd started sending Cub One/Haider/Alex to watch her.

And Olivia still trusted her now. Because hearing about her past shouldn't change the way Olivia saw her.

So, Olivia said, "Ready."

*

"I arrived at Care Home Number Three. To be honest, I was getting pretty used to arriving at the front of them now, wondering about all the future possibilities, blah blah blah. I didn't exactly have great expectations, because, if I didn't get a shark pit in the other place, I probably wouldn't get one here. Yet, this was going to be my fresh start. I knew it. This would be the place where everyone would accept me like Les serpents Rouges had. No-one would ever try to judge me because of my past, like Auntie Romane did, and I would never have to be part of a family that wasn't really mine, like what nearly happened at the last Care Home. No. This was going to be it. My home.

I strode in through the door. I spotted some kids. I blew raspberries at them on the way to the office. One of them beckoned me aside.

"Who are you?" He asked. He looked maybe younger than me, so about eight. I was nine now. I was a big girl. I was way beyond silly pink princesses and sparkles and wings and all things stupid and pink and STUPID.

"I'm Sasha." I said. "You?"

The boy ignored me. "Are you a good girl or a bad girl?" He asked.

I frowned. "What?"

"Either you're a good girl, or a bad girl. Which are you?"

Stupid idiot. "I'm not really a good girl." I said truthfully. I imagined that this would be the right answer, because I was less likely to make friends if I said I was a goody-goody two shoes, and I quite liked having friends. Friends had been the whole purpose of me forcing the social workers to move me.

The boy widened his eyes. "You're a bad girl? I don't like bad girls!" And he scampered off.

Idiot.

Another one came up to me, holding a toy unicorn. She was about half my age. I was such a big girl. She thrust the unicorn in my face. "Don't be a bad girl! Be happy like Unicorn! Unicorn is making you happy!"