Above All Else

Chapter 14

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"The caterpillar I helped into the tree is being born into a butterfly today!" She radiated joy at the thought.

The man chuckled at the little girl still cradled in his arms. "You mean formed Little One."

The little girl's forehead wrinkled and her nose crinkled in confusion. "Born, formed, it's kind of almost the same thing."

The man chuckled again placing her on the rock once more and poked her with his finger on her nose. "Yes, they are similar Little One." Looking in her shining blue eyes he explained, "Sometimes though they can mean two very different things."

She looked at the man strangely, for such a young child she did not like it when she did not understand things. Cocking her head to the side sweetly she asked, "What do you mean?"

The man ran his hand gentle over her shining blonde hair, "I'll tell you when you are older Little One." To distract her, he pointed to the emerging butterfly. "You wouldn't want to miss your friend's debut now would you?"

The little girl spun around, her blonde locks flying out around her, as she sucked in a breath in awe.

The man leaned against the rock beside her, "Is that not beautiful? All of her pretty colors?"

Without looking away from the butterfly, she placed her tiny hand on the man's arm. "Shh. You'll ruin it." She whispered.

The man whispered back to her amused, "Ruin what?"

The little girl whispered back knowingly, "The magic of her rebirth. She needs time to adjust." They watched together in utter silence as the butterfly began to spread its wings and took flight for the first time through the blossoms of the tree before gliding slowly down to the little girls hand as she put it in the air.

Slowly the girl brought the butterfly in close to her face. The man watched on as the two seemed to connect.

"You are welcome. Thank you for allowing me to see you form and your new birth." She softly said to the butterfly before raising her hand it rested on in the air. The two watched as the newly turned butterfly fluttered away.

Spinning on her toes the little girl threw out her arms yelling out, "Catch me!" as she leapt from the rock.

The man caught her and pulled her in close, "Always my Little One. Always."

A twig snapped in the distance making the man turn around. "Are you sure about that?" A woman's voice said as she entered the glade.

The man placed the little girl on the ground and kept her behind him. "What is it you want?" He asked harshly.

The little girl held tightly to the man's pant legs, her tiny fists turning white from the strain once she heard the interloping woman laugh.

"You need to pay for the wrongs you have done." The woman said pointing towards the man and the child. "And I'll be the one to oversee it done."

The man let out a sarcastic laugh, "You think you can over take me? You do not stand a chance wench." The man felt the little girl hold tighter to his pants and let out a whimper. He carefully placed his hand on her head behind him not taking his eyes off the woman in front of him.

The little girl whimpered as she glanced around the glade and noticed a small mob coming out from behind the trees surrounding them. She never should have begged to come here today, she thought shaking with fear. She knew something bad was going to happen but she ignored it so she could check on the butterfly.

The woman let out a mocking laugh, "You think I came alone this time? I rarely make the same mistake twice."

The man took notice to their surroundings and cursed himself a fool for only focusing his attention on the woman. He counted eleven others surrounding them before he heard the faint desperate whispers of the little girl behind him.