Little Red's Riding

Where Is Our Mother?

Everything hurt.

There was no light when Dahlia forced her eyes open. She tried to move her limbs, but they felt as if they were made of lead. A wave of nausea slammed through her body, and as she tried to roll over to find a less agonizing position, a sharp pain slashed through her brain.

"Shhh, shhhh, shhhh." A small whisper from somewhere nearby warned her to be silent and let her know that she wasn't alone.

"Am I-" Dahlia was surprised by her voice. It was only a whisper. After all, she had just been hushed. But the sound that emerged from her throat was hoarse and feeble. "Am I dead?"

There was a long silence and Dahlia strained her ears to listen for any sort of response. She realized that the space around her wasn't as quiet as she had originally thought. After a few moments she felt a small, warm hand touch her face and a moment later a tiny body curled itself against her side. Dahlia gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. Even the lightest touch was excruciating.

"Tucker Lee, get back over here before I tan your hide. If they come in here and catch you in her cell they'll cut off your head just like they promised to do when they dragged us in here."

"Tucker?" Dahlia's voice was choked with tears. She recognized the voice in the darkness that was calling the boy back to what she assumed was the other side of the room. "Willa? Is anyone else here? Do you know who took us?"

There was another long silence.

"Tucker, Sweetie. Go back to your sister. You need to listen to her and stay safe. Be a big strong boy for me and go sit next to her." A tear trickled down her cheek as she felt the small body move from her side, listening nervously to the soft sound of his feet padding across the floor.

"He's the only one small enough to fit through the bars between our cells. Since this wasn't built for little kids originally I guess." That was Willa's voice again coming across the distance as a tiny whisper. "Callie Jo is here too. But she hasn't woken up yet."

Dahlia's heart sank at this news and she said a silent prayer to every deity that she had ever heard of, as well as those she hadn't, that the little girl really was just asleep, and that she wasn't badly hurt.

"Is she breathing, Willa?"

"Yes. And we're staying close together so that we stay warm."

"Good girl. Do you know how long it's been since we were taken?" Dahlia was wracking her mind trying to remember the last thing that had happened before she had lost consciousness. She remembered the class trip to the Fey Circle clearly.

That Elf had appeared. What was her name?

Skye. Skye had crossed over from the land of the Fey and she wanted to warn them about something that was coming. They had all started back towards the village.

It was from that point that things became more jumbled.

She closed her eyes, as if it made any difference. The prison was entirely devoid of light.

An image of an arrow and blood flashed through her mind. She'd been crawling and then her memory was blank until the moment she woke up inside the cell without even the smallest glimmer of light.

"Half a day? A day? It's night now." Willa's voice answered her question as best she could. "When the sun rises we'll be able to see a little. Although that doesn't make it much better. It's-" for a moment the child seemed to be at a loss for words- "unpleasant down here."

"Somehow I'm not surprised to learn that." Dahlia tried to sound brave and calm, but was afraid that she failed.

As she became more and more aware and in control of her body Dahlia realized two things. The first was that the back of her head hurt more than just about any other part of her body. And the second was that she had shackles clasped at her wrists and ankles that hadn't immediately been apparent when she was first regaining her senses.