The Children of When (Complete)

Chapter 15: Fey Village

Belle was determined to push all thoughts of mysterious glowing objects and scary warnings from witches to the back of her mind. She'd never been shopping before, and she had no intention of letting anyone or anything ruin it.

Apparently, Leah had spoken to Dub earlier that morning, and he'd agreed to talk to Madame Persimmons about arranging a meeting for the next day. She wasn't sure exactly when Leah had spoken to Dub. As far as she could remember, they'd been together since they woke up. She shrugged the thought aside.

Who cares? I'm going shopping!

It was a beautiful sunny morning and she was thoroughly enjoying the walk to the village. The forest around them was bathed in warm sunlight, a gentle breeze keeping them cool as they walked. Brightly coloured birds flitted from tree to tree, calling to each other in a cacophony of sound.

The group of seniors walking in front of them were laughing and jostling each other as they walked. Since reading some of the handbooks, she now knew their pointy ears classified them as elves. They were also dressed in various shades of green, another thing common to elves. From the look of the third one's beard, he had to be a dwarf, and the fourth wore garlands of flowers around her head... an earth fairy maybe?

Leah and Raff were engaged in friendly banter beside her. She sighed in relief; life was so much more peaceful when those two remembered they were friends.

They had almost reached a section of the road where the trees closed in above them, when a shiver ran down Belle's spine. As they moved forward, the canopy of trees overhead totally blocked the sun. The sun-starved trees beneath the canopy were almost covered in moss, looking strangled and forlorn.

Belle was struggling to breathe, assailed from all sides by the putrid smell of mould and decay. She could almost taste the malevolence hanging in the air, so strong she was gritting her teeth to control the overwhelming urge to run. And then it was over. They stepped out from under the canopy, and back into the blessed sunlight.

Leah shuddered. "How creepy was that?"

Belle had broken into a cold sweat, her legs suddenly turned to jelly. "Ummm, guys I don't feel so..." She felt someone catch her before she hit the ground, then everything went black.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself cradled in Raff's arms, while Leah held her hand, talking softly.

Leah's startling eyes were full of concern. "Hey, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Belle managed a shaky laugh. "Something about that place just really got under my skin." She tried to sit up, uncomfortable with the thought of Raff's arms still holding her, and embarrassed at the scene she had caused.

"You stay right where you are thank you," Raff said, his voice sounding funny. She'd never heard him sound so shaken.

Leah sat down on the road next to them, still holding her hand. "I'm thinking we should sit here for a while, and enjoy the view."

"But I so wanted to go shopping," Belle whispered, the tears she had been trying to hold back escaping and rolling down her face.

"Hey, we are still going shopping, if I have to piggy-back you all the way." Belle was relieved to hear Raff's voice sounding more normal. "It won't hurt to sit here for ten minutes until you're feeling better. Shopping is an exhausting business. You'll need lots of stamina to last the distance," he chuckled. "Oh, and I think this calls for refreshments."

He reached behind him to pull off his backpack and pass it to Leah. "You'll find all the stuff we need in there," he said with a wink.

Leah opened the backpack and pulled out three bottles of water, three apples and three sandwiches. The look of astonishment on her friend's face made Belle laugh.