Caught in the crossfire

1

Taking one last look to see no one was around, the little girl slipped quietly through the small hole in the old stone wall surrounding the orphanage. It was well hidden by shrubbery and a thick curtain of ivy and was just big enough for her six year old frame to fit through. No doubt this was why no one else had discovered it. She had only managed to come across it by accident herself a year or so back but had been putting it to good use ever since. She was quite the little escape artist and excellent at hiding. Believing that there was no possible way for her to leave the grounds, the caregivers had long since given up on worrying or trying to find her when she disappeared as she always turned up in time for supper. This too worked to the young girl's advantage as she darted off into the woods behind the children's home.

Soon a familiar delicate, chime like sound greeted her ears putting a smile on her face. She joined in with a laugh of her own as soft wings brushed past her face then the race was on. As she ran a strong wind picked up around her, pushing her forward and speeding her along her way as she dodged trees and jumped over obstacles on her path. The chime like sound grew and took on an almost musical quality as more tiny voices joined in the playful laughter. Soon she reached her destination. A tiny clearing (if you could even call it that, it was more of a thin patch in the trees really) with a small pristine stream gurgling through with a series of miniature waterfalls like little stair steps along a gently winding path. Here she danced and played among the fairies until her little legs gave out and she stopped to rest beside a doe and her fawn. She was used to all manner of creatures gathering around her in these woods, she wasn't scared. The Fay were her friends and the animals were theirs so no matter what it was she knew they would not harm her here. She closed her eyes to rest them for but a moment and listen to the comforting sounds around her but soon slipped off into a peaceful slumber.

She woke with a start, it was quiet, too quiet. Her friends were nowhere in sight. That could only mean one thing... she was not alone. As a general rule, the Fay, fairies in particular, can only be seen by innocents or by those to whom they choose to reveal themselves. Never the less, for fear of discovery, the girl knew they liked to hide when others were near by and this put her a little on edge. What would she do if it was someone bad? She couldn't use her fairy gifts, she had been instructed never to reveal them. Surely her friends wouldn't abandon her though. They would help her if she was in danger. Right? As these thoughts swirled around her mind the snap of a twig broke through the silence like a gunshot! Turning her head in the direction of the noise, her eyes as big as saucers, she stared ahead as a massive grey wolf came to stand across the little stream. The little girl heaved a sigh of relief. "It's only a wolf", she thought as the creature cocked its head, it's bright blue eyes studying her with mild curiosity. To the she-wolf's surprise the little girl then stood up and began to make her way towards her. Stopping at her side of the stream, the little girl flashed her the most adorable little smile and said "Hi there. You're a pretty thing aren't you? I'm Kay Marie. Did you come to play too?" Again the wolf cocked her head in curiosity. Then, giving a snort and a shake of her head, turned around and went off in the direction she had come from, glancing back to see the strange little girl still standing calmly by the stream.

The next day the fairies were nowhere in sight as Kay slipped off into the woods. This was no surprise though. They were as flighty and inconsistent as could be. Some days they would come out to play, others they would not. So as the wind picked up around her, she sped off towards her favorite spot by the happy little stream. To her surprise, there awaiting her arrival was the same beautiful grey wolf she had seen the day before. And laying on the ground beside her was an even larger liver and tan male. "Wow." Kay breathed in awe, "You're so big..." closing the gap between her and the two magnificent creatures the little girl reached out her hand to run it through their plush coats. "Your sooo soft!" She cooed as a delighted smile lit up her face before she buried it in the fur of the giant wolf and threw her harms around him in a warm embrace. Blue eyes meeting brown, the two wolves shared a shocked expression as a silent conversation passed between them unbeknownst to the girl cuddled in between them.

The next few days passed much the same with her meeting her two new friends by the stream. She told them all about herself and the orphanage and how she was waiting for her family to come and get her. Of course she had no delusions about her birth family coming for her, but she was so convinced that there was a family out there who would one day come and take her home that in her mind it was as good as done. No matter how much she preferred being out of that place, that was the one thing that always made her go back. That, and after a day of playing in the woods she would be awfully hungry come supper time.

Then came a day when Kay didn't sneak out to play in the woods. The matron had announced the night before that a nice couple would be coming to visit and Kay wouldn't have missed it for the world. They arrived mid morning and Kay just knew that they were here for her as her eyes fell upon two somehow familiar sets staring straight back... one brown, one blue. Little did she know that that chance meeting with wolves just days before was about to change her life forever.

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Hey! Thanks again for taking the time to read this! :D What do you think? What are these "fairy gifts" of hers? How might the wolves affect her future? Feel free to leave comments throughout the story as we go :)