Against Their Wishes

Chapter 17

In the back of Olivia’s mind, she realized that she had moved in the opposite direction of the house, and now she had no idea where she was at. By the location of the sun, Olivia surmised that it was well after dinner. She had never planned to be gone this long, but after the way Gregory had acted, she only wanted to get away. Her tears had dried on her face during her ride, and as she slowed Sugarplum to a standstill, she was fearfully aware that she did not recognize the area she was in.

Olivia had ridden into the thickening woods without a thought towards where she would end up. She had only wished to get away from Gregory, but now she was alone with a darkening sky. The large trees towered above her, and the air was quickly cooling with the vanishing sun. She climbed off Sugarplum and looked around, trying in vain to gather her bearings. Deep shadows were cast all around her, making it nearly impossible.

Deciding that backtracking would be her best option, Olivia turned around and began to lead Sugarplum from whence they’d come. Olivia followed this direction as long as possible, but the problem was that she did not take notice of her surroundings earlier. She had been riding forward blindly, and now she could only take her best guess as to which direction would get her home.

She wasn’t walking long before any light that was in the sky was lost behind the towering trees. Olivia suddenly felt like a fool. Being upset was not reason enough to go wondering off into a strange place and at night nonetheless. Olivia jumped as she heard a twig snap behind her. She quickly cast her eyes around her but she saw nothing but tree trunks disappearing into the darkness.

Olivia was beginning to get very scared. She had never meant to put herself in such a situation, and the thought of having to spend the night in the cold and dark of the forest chilled her to her bones. She did not have a wrap or anything similar to keep her warm because she had only expected to be gone a few hours. She did not anticipate that she might have to spend the night lost in the woods.

Before Olivia could take another step, a cold, harsh laugh whistled through the trees. Olivia jumped before fearfully turning in all directions. Again, she saw nothing. She didn’t bother to call out, hoping that whoever was there would move past and leave her be. Her hands gripped tightly to Sugarplum’s lead, and just as she decided it would be a good idea to climb back onto Sugarplum’s back, she heard a footstep fall behind her. She whipped around to see a man slowly approaching her.

The man had a sneer on his face as his eyes raked over her frame. His face and hands were filthy with dirt, and his clothes did not fare much better. They were torn in places, and any color that may have been in the cloth had faded with time and dirt. His hair was a disgusting mess on his head, reaching down to his shoulders. He was missing some teeth, and the ones he had looked as if they were ready to rot out of his mouth. Olivia could already smell the foul odor radiating off of him.

Olivia took a step back into Sugarplum’s side as the man continued to approach her. He was no more than ten paces in front of her, and he was looking at her in a way that made Olivia’s skin crawl. His voice sounded as bad as his appearance looked.

“The woods ain’t no place for a lady,” he rumbled from deep in his throat. Olivia grimaced, wanting to only get away from the strange man. “What’s a pretty thing like you doin’ out here?” Olivia did not wish to answer but figured she should play along with whatever he was getting at.

“I am just passing through,” Olivia lied.

“Passing through, eh? Funny place to just pass through.”

“Yes, well I need to be going,” Olivia told him bravely, wanting to get as far away from the filthy man in front of her that was humanly possible.