The Forest

-33-

Sydney shivered, pulling her hood over her head. Her breath made a little puff of steam in front of her.

The sky was grey and dappled in cloud, kissed by the last light of the day. Damp and dark were seeping into the fringes of her vision, and yet she wasn't wary of the night here like she might be at home. She could walk alone and not worry about looking over her shoulder. The only danger was ankle-breaker roots. 

Her woollen gloves were the impractical sort that got stuck on prickly surfaces and gathered ice in their weaves, but this evening she didn't mind. She held her phone in one hand, glancing at the compass, and cradled the bundle to her chest with the other. Layers upon layers of cotton and fabric formed a mound where somewhere inside, the tiny girl slept. She was yet to wake. Sydney hoped the impractical gloves were keeping her warm.

She was heading to the other side of the lake, to where she had first been introduced to the small people by her brother.
The echo of Fleur's tears still lingered. Her story of how she had ended up in that cage told that Daniel had brought across the forest without her having any idea of where they were going. Sydney couldn't expect her to know her way home from the Facility. The best she could do was try to bring her as close as possible to where she had been snatched from— where other people like her might dwell.

The woman quickened her pace. Others. Fleur's family must be worried sick about her.

The bundle shifted as if it had heard Sydney's thoughts. The girl suddenly sat bolt upright, very much awake. The quick footsteps must have woken her up. She panicked at the fabric bunched around her, started to scream when she saw how high she was.
"Hey, hey, easy..." Sydney soothed, "It's only me."
The little one jerked to her. She had to arch her head up to be able to look at her face, so ridiculous was their size difference. Fleur blanched when they found each other. It was odd how the shimmer in her innocent eyes made Sydney feel bad about herself. How suddenly she wished she wasn't so tall, her hands softer, her voice delicate enough not to hurt littler ears.

Fleur gathered the blankets she had thrashed away only a minute ago, and now drew them tightly around her.
"Where are you taking me?" She whispered. Her voice was a breeze.
"Home, honey. I know the way for now and you can help me a bit later."
The girl tried to puzzle together this information. She was going home, she was safe.
Her shiny eyes searched the woman's face. Again, she shrunk into the blankets, "Are you lying?"
She couldn't blame the girl for withholding her trust. "No, I'm not lying."
"You're not going to..." tears dewed in her eyes, "Take me away."
She said it as if it was such a natural response. It was what she expected.
"No, Fleur no. Why would I do that?" Because others have done. A chill ran down her back. "I want to get you home to your family." Sydney couldn't stand to see that fear in her precious face, "I have a family too, I know they would be worried about me if I went missing."
"Thank you." Fleur bowed her head. She might have been weeping. "Thank you so much..."
Sydney smiled gently, "You have nothing to thank me for. Are you nice and warm?"
She bobbed her head, still snuffling. Sydney took up some loose material and delicately folded it around the little body.
"That's good." She whispered, "Rest a little more. I'll wake you up when I need your help."
The poor thing was still so overtired. Emotional. She wordlessly leant her head against the woman's chest and shut her dewy eyes. Sydney held the gentle creature to her heart, stroked her head with the tip of her finger until she was lulled back to sleep.

Fleur's tiny form was a weight on her heart. She couldn't fathom how Daniel could be capable of doing this to someone. The hurt he had caused...
This wasn't the boy she knew. Whether this ruthlessness purely stemmed from him, or whether Cain was the one guiding it, she hoped, truly, that he would realise what he was doing was wrong before it was too late.