The Secrets of Whitelea

|Chapter Three|

Chapter Three

It felt good to be out here – away from all the people who might happen to see her. She couldn't face that just yet. She was content to stay here among the tall statues, waving a greeting and beckoning her forwards as the breeze drifted its way through their branches. The leaves called a rustling greeting. Birds sang their chorus and the sweet sound dripped into her ears like honey, each note sticking in her eardrums and leaving a nice taste in her brain. She sighed in time with the wind, listening to the creak of barely used arms swaying back and forth and the crack of their fallen comrades as they snapped as she trod them into the ground. It was a moment of almost pure bliss.

It was as she sank into the ground for what felt like the thousandth time, Bella realised that wearing heeled boots was not a good idea when one wanted to go for a walk in the woods. She should have changed shoes. She should have changed out of her funeral clothes (not that they could really be considered funeral clothes – she had intended on offending people). She should have done a lot of things but it was too late to change them now.

Bella wasn't entirely sure how she was meant to feel. She felt sad, of course she did, she had lost her mother after all. She felt angry, why hadn't she been invited to the funeral? Why hadn't there been a letter or a message or something to let her know what had happened. Then came the blame. If she had just come back sooner, maybe it wouldn't have turned out like this. Maybe it would all have been different. Maybe her mother would still have been alive and maybe Elizabeth might not hate her. Maybe...maybe...

Her legs shaking were the first signs that maybe she wasn't okay. Next, it was her heart trying to smash its way out of her chest and fly free to who knew where. Then came the lack of breath – or rather the lack of ability to breathe. Bella flung out a hand and grasped the bark of the nearest tree, hoping that it would steady her. Of course, hope was pretty pointless. Her breathing was harsh, each one feeling like a chore. Her chest hurt with every dispel of carbon dioxide and intake of oxygen. She felt dizzy, faint. Her fingers dug into the tree bark, causing splinters to wedge themselves deep into her skin. Her legs began to buckle and she slid down the tree, hand being dragged along with the rest of her body, causing long slashes to appear along her hand and the bit of wrist that was exposed. She tried with all her might to slow her breathing, to make it even but it was hard enough to find the brain capacity to send the message to her lungs. Dizziness swept over her and she let out a small groan. She did not want to faint out here in the middle of nowhere. Surprisingly, her eyes were dry of tears. She gasped as she fought for more air and ended up choking.

"Hey," a voice shouted in the distant. Or it sounded distant – at least to her. "Hey!" It was closer now. "Are you okay? Hey!" Then she felt the hand on her shoulder. Part of her wanted to squirm away, yell at whoever it was to leave her alone, that she'd be fine, but all she managed to do was gasp again, shutting her eyes tight, hoping her heart would slow and she would be able to breathe again. "It's okay, it's okay," the voice was saying soothingly in her ear. The hand was making her turn around so she had her back leaning against the tree. A second hand joined the first and it moved her legs so they were two straight lines in front of her. Then they cupped her face as the person made it so that she couldn't look away. "Hey, hey, come on, it's okay, it's okay, just breathe," they said. "look at me, look at me, okay?" She forced her eyes open and found a face very close to hers. Brown eyes exuded concern as she stared into them. "Take a deep breath, okay?" the man said. "Ready, breathe in," he inhaled. Bella forced herself to copy him. "breathe out," they exhaled. "breathe in," they inhaled. "breathe out," Bella ended up choking on air and felt herself gasping for air again. "No, no, it's okay, it's okay, just breathe, okay? Breathe." The man took his hands away from her face and placed them on her shoulder. "Breathe in," He said. And they did. "breathe out," They did. After a few more rounds of this, Bella felt her breathing return to normal and her heart quiet to its normal beating. She still felt shaky and lightheaded. "You feeling better now?" The man asked. Bella nodded, unable to speak. "It's not every day that I have to save a girl all alone in the woods from a panic attack."