Trust Again
Ellen knew that she had to escape now, but she was unsure of how she would do it, since her parents always kept such a close eye on her, not to mention the household staff would always make sure she would stay in her room, and would report to her parents if they caught her.
She lived in a gigantic house in the middle of the woods – they had no neighbors, and the only people who ever visited were people in business suits who attended to her parents stupidly large parties that they held, and they would always show her off like their little trophy, and use her to gain sympathy, since she was the little sick girl who needed help. She hated it all so much… She was eleven years old, and she had never even set foot outside of the house except for a few very rare occasions, like when she got her pet cat for instance, or when she was really little. Those were the times before she felt this sick, when her mother would take her out to some places, but those times were long gone, and the woman was just under the thrall of her father… Her horrible, despicable father.
She sneaked out of her room one night and went over to listen at the door to her parent's room, and she heard her parents arguing, and she learned something that she wished weren't true, but it explained so much! She learned that her parents had been poisoning her since a young age, and they only wanted her to be sick so they could garner sympathy! Why would her parents do something so horrible? The only positive she could think of was that at least she wasn't actually terminally ill, so if she didn't take her pills, she could escape!
With that thought in mind, the girl went back to her room and relaxed in her bed, holding her cat close to her body as her father came in with her pills and a glass of water. As per usual, the man barely even looked at her. She didn't react to him at all, and simply reached over and grabbed the pills out of his hand and the glass of water, and pretended to swallow the pills, but she actually hid them under her tongue, and then she took a drink of the water afterwards. Satisfied, her father left without a single word, not even sparing a glance back at her - it was clear he was disgusted with her, and as far as she was concerned, the feeling was mutual!
She quickly leaned over the bed and spat the pills out of her mouth, and she made sure to spit out the excess saliva as well, afraid that it might contain whatever poison she was being fed. After that was done, she made sure to sit back against her pillow, and she hugged her cat to herself, awaiting the day when she could escape. "It'll be soon…" She promised her cat, "Soon we can get out of here and find a real dad to love us like in all those movies and books we read!" Her cat mewled at her. She nodded, "Yeah, I can't wait to get out either!"
Feeling better already, she covered herself up with her blanket, and fell asleep, dreaming of a time when she could get out and live like a normal girl.
XxXxXxX
Ellen held her cat tightly to herself as she ran through the woods in the darkness, and she tripped on a few vines here and there, nearly falling to the ground, but she would quickly recover and keep on running, not wanting to be caught. She could hear the yells of the household staff calling out to her to come back, claiming that what she was doing was foolish. Honestly, the only foolish thing she could do at this point would be to stay at that house any longer.
"Come on, we can get out of here!" She told her pet cat, who was thankfully being very still as she ran. Her cat was silent, but that was ok with her, since she had to concentrate on running as fast as she could through the tightly packed trees and shrubbery, and she would occasionally gasp out in pain as she ran into a thorn bush, cutting up her legs, leaving light gashes that would bleed. She had to ignore them however, since every time she stopped to rest, she would hear the distant sound of voices calling out to her.
After about two hours of running, her feet were throbbing in pain, and she slowed down to a crawl, falling onto the grass of a small opening in the woods. She let go of her cat, and gasped out short breaths of air, her body was too sore to keep going, and she was very tired and thirsty. "G – Go on without me…" She muttered to her cat. Her cat instead looked to her and curled up into her side, purring as it did so. Ellen couldn't help but giggle at her pet's defiance, and she closed her eyes, her last thoughts before losing consciousness was wondering how dirty her hair and clothes must have become.
She didn't know how long she was out, but it sure didn't feel like a very long time, and she groaned as she felt something poking her in the shoulder. She reached a hand up and tried to push... whatever it was that was poking her away, and it felt like... a finger? Was there a person there?
"Daddy! She's awake!" Ellen heard the voice of a girl calling out, confirming that she did in fact feel another person.
"Who is it…?" Ellen muttered, opening her eyes then quickly shutting them as the bright sunlight shined into them. She blinked a few times, allowing her vision to adjust, and she looked around. She had apparently run into a small clearing, where the sun beat down on her body, and she could actually hear the birds chirping! She remembered hearing them at her house occasionally, but most of the time her parents forced her to keep her window closed. She brought her attention back to the two people who suddenly filled her view.
"The name's Mike." An older man spoke up as he appeared in her vision. The man was at least in his mid-forties, and he had blonde hair that crept out under a goofy camouflage hat he was wearing. He was also wearing a camouflage coat and pants, and wore big black boots. His blue eyes were focused on her the entire time, and he actually looked… concerned? Ellen didn't have much experience with that emotion, especially with it being directed at her, so she just awkwardly look at him, unsure of what to do or say.
"And I'm Viola!" The girl beside the man spoke up, looking very curious. She was also wearing a goofy camouflage hat that covered her blonde hair, and her blue eyes stared at her curiously. Like her father, she wore a camouflage jacket and pants, and boots, but they were all much smaller to fit her size. Ellen then noticed that the man had a rifle settled on a nearby tree stump. She quickly reached the conclusion that the two who woke her up were hunters.
"It's nice to meet you two," She replied, looking down at her own clothes and she grimaced in disgust. Her dress was completely ruined – there were holes and rips all over it, and she could see that her purple hair was caked in dirt, and her skin felt like it had a grimy mixture of dirt and sweat. She decided to ignore her bad state for now, and her gold eyes studied in the two in front of her. She noticed that the girl - Viola, she remembered - was looking at her much the same way, but the girl had a... a smile on her face? What was she planning? Ellen tensed at the look, ready for whatever foul plan the girl might have in store.
"What's your name?" Mike asked kindly, leaning forward and handing the girl a canteen. He noticed that she was eyeing it oddly, and he chuckled, "It's just water, I swear."
She hesitantly took the canteen, and then spoke, "My name is Ellen, and my cat is Mr. Whiskers." She nodded to the cat that was sitting beside her foot. She then shook the canteen, and opened the top, looking inside. She wasn't sure if she should try to drink it, so she set it in her lap for now, despite the fact that water sounded absolutely amazing right away now.
"It's nice to meet you Ellen!" Viola exclaimed excitedly. Her eyes shining in excitement, and Ellen again wasn't sure what to make of the girl. She still felt guarded, but... perhaps the girl wasn't a threat. Her father on the other hand... She shook her head, and returned her gaze back to Viola.
"It's good to meet you too," Ellen mumbled, looking at Viola curiously. It had been so rare for her to see another girl her age, so the sight of Viola – a girl her age – being beside her AND wearing the camouflage was quite a novel experience.
"Why were you out here in the woods?" Mike asked, getting straight to the point. He knelt down across from her, perhaps trying to make her feel at ease, but Ellen knew better. She was ready to bolt the minute these two made a move. Her fingers gripped the canteen in her hand tightly, and she narrowed her gaze at the two of them.
"Well, I was…" She blushed when her stomach suddenly rumbled, and she placed her hand over it, "Um…" She hated the fact that she showed any weakness to these two, but she had been avoiding meals for several days prior to this, for fear that her parents might be poisoning that as well. She honestly felt very weak, and it was a miracle, as far as she was concerned, that she even made it this far.
"Daddy, we have some food back at camp! Let's take her with us!" Viola turned to her father, clapping her hands together, "Pretty please?"
Mike hesitantly nodded, "Ok, yeah, I guess we can feed you. Are you good enough to walk?"
Her limbs still felt incredibly sore, and they stung when she moved them around too much, but compared to being sick all day, this was nothing. She nodded her head, "I'm fine." She got to her feet to prove her point, but she stumbled a bit, feeling light headed. She couldn't help but grit her teeth in fury. Why was her body so weak! She couldn't show weakness to anyone!
"Alright then," Mike turned to Viola after Ellen's display of stumbling around, "Dear, would you mind assisting her if she needs it?"
"Ok!" Viola excited went over to Ellen's side, and Ellen in a moment of weakness, actually allowed her to stand next to her. Ellen felt disgusted with herself for not bolting, but they promised food, and she was quite hungry... She couldn't deny that her stomach simply hurt when she thought about food, and she wouldn't mind resting for a bit somewhere. So trio plus one cat started to walk towards the campsite that Viola and her dad set up, Ellen eyeing them warily the entire time.
"Why are you so cut up?" Viola asked on their hike back, turning to look up and down Ellen's body. Ellen felt a bit self conscious, and tried to cover the cuts on her abdomen.
Ellen then eyed Mike, wondering if the man was listening in, so she decided to be very vague about it on purpose, "I was running in the woods." She didn't know if she could trust these people, so she didn't want to give anything away.
"Why?" Viola asked, her curious blue eyes looking at her, and her kind smile trying to lower her guard. Ellen didn't fall for it though, and just replied like she would to anyone else.
"Because I wanted to go somewhere." Ellen replied evasively. She wasn't going to give away any information to these people.
"Where to?" Viola asked yet again. Ellen felt a headache coming, and she shook her head.
"You're full of questions, aren't you?" Ellen snapped at the girl, giving her a cold glare.
"Viola, dear," Mike spoke up, "Try not to agitate her, will you?"
Viola sheepishly giggled, and turned to look at Ellen, smiling apologetically, "I'm sorry." She seem to notice the glare, and she did at least back off. For that, Ellen was very grateful.
"It's all right." Ellen replied, feeling a little merciful. As they continued their hike, Ellen tripped on a root, and nearly fell to the ground, but Viola was quick and caught her before she hit the ground, and gently helped her back to her feet.
"Watch your step," Viola told her as she helped her up. Ellen felt humiliated – she didn't want to accept help from anyone! She had to do things on her own! Everyone else was an enemy and couldn't be trusted! If her father did one thing right when she was growing up, it was teaching her that essential lesson. Instead of thanking Viola, she looked away, feel a flush cross her face, and feeling stupid for tripping in the first place.
"All right, we're here." Mike spoke up as they entered a somewhat clear section of the woods, where there was one semi-large tent set up that could hold at least four people comfortably. In front of the tent was shallow hole that was dug out with rocks surrounding it, and in the middle were a few logs that were still charred. Circled around the fire pit were two chairs, and a cooler, which Mike went over to and opened, bringing out a water bottle, which he handed to Ellen. Ellen handed him back the canteen she never took a sip out of, and accepted the water bottle, and examined it.
The seal was still on, so either he was very well prepared and had this drugged and somehow made the seal look convincing, or it was safe. Given how badly she wanted water, she went with the latter option, and opened the water bottle, downing the entire thing within ten seconds, gasping for air as she finished. She hadn't realized how dehydrated she was, and she didn't realize that it would feel so refreshing to drink water. She didn't even know it could taste so good.
"You were really thirsty!" Viola giggled beside her, "We have some food too, though we'll have to cook it." She went to sit down in one of the two chairs by the extinguished fire.
Mike looked up to her as he sat down by the fire, leaving both chairs open for the girls, "While I'm setting this up, why don't you give her some of the beef jerky. I'm sure we have a little bit left over."
Viola nodded, "Ok, I'll do that." She got up from her chair and went to the tent and opened the door, she reached in and then brought out a bag that she reached into and pulled out a yet another smaller bag that had what Ellen presumed to be the 'jerky' inside. Viola closed put the bag back in the tent, closed the door, and then walked over to her, and handed her the bag, "try it, it's really good!"
"I don't know…" Ellen mumbled. She didn't know if she could trust these two! What if the food was poison or something? She accepted the bag regardless, looking down at it with uncertain eyes.
Viola frowned, "Come on, it's good, see?" Viola took a small piece out and chewed on it, "It's very chewy, but very good too! I know you'll like it!" Viola closed her eyes as she ate it, and it was clear she enjoyed it. Letting out a sigh, Ellen complied, and reached in to grab a piece of the so-called jerky as well, and bit into it. Her eyes lit up – Viola was right, this stuff was actually very good. She quickly took another and stuffed it into her mouth, and then another, and started to chew them. The flavor was something she hadn't ever tasted before, and she felt like she could cry it was so good. Viola wasn't lying at all when she was saying how good it was! Viola giggled at Ellen's reaction, and allowed the girl to just have the bag, and she walked over to her dad while Ellen was distracted, "Do you want me to go help her clean up?"
Mike nodded, "That might be smart. Do you think your clothes will fit her?" He had a match in his hand, which he quickly lit on fire and stuck in the pit where he had stuffed a bunch of smaller sticks in, as well as a few fire starters. He let out a sigh when the match went out before he put it down though.
Viola tapped her chin, "Yeah, she looks my size, don't you think so?" She looked over to Ellen, who was still eating the jerky, and she smiled as she watched the girl offer some to her pet cat.
"If you say so, I'll believe you," Mike answered instead, "The drive to the nearest rest stop is at least a half hour away, so instead of that, just take her to the river nearby to clean up."
"Ok." Viola replied, getting ready to move, but Mike reached over and took a hold of her sleeve. She looked over with her head tilted, "what is it, daddy?"
"No fooling around, ok? Just clean up and come right back." He warned her, giving her a very concerned look.
"I'll be fine." Viola rolled her eyes, "You trust me, right?"
He sighed, "Yeah, I do. I'm just worried." He let go of her sleeve and went back to starting the fir, lighting another match.
Sometimes having such an overprotective father could be bothersome, but Viola nodded, "It's ok, there are two of us, so nothing bad can happen, right?"
He chuckled, "I hope so. Have fun sweetheart." He cursed under his breath as his match again went out. She chuckled at her dad's luck as she went back to the tent, taking off her boots and going inside, where she found her bag full of clothes. Opening it up, she pulled out a complete change of clothes – a long sleeve shirt, a pair of pants, and of course some under garments. All of the clothes were long sleeve to protect against mosquitoes and other bugs. She also grabbed some shampoo, soap and some towels, and then came out shortly after, walking over to Ellen.
"Hey, Ellen," She spoke up, "Daddy wants me to help you get cleaned up, are you done eating for now?" She placed her free hand on her hip, smiling as she watched Ellen look up at her, blinking in surprise.
Ellen looked over to Viola and noticed that the girl had a plastic bag with what looked like some clothes and some bottles containing soap and other things. She set aside the bag of jerky on the chair that wasn't occupied, and she frowned, "Why are you helping me?"
"Well, we found you lost in the woods, and you're really dirty, so we decided to help you!" Viola explained, putting on a kind smile, trying to put Ellen at ease. She had no idea why the girl seemed to be so tense and on guard.
"Is that it though?" Ellen asked, "Do you always just help random strangers you run into?"
"Well, to be honest, you're the first 'random stranger' that we've run into when we've gone hunting." Viola admitted, "And I guess we'd help anyone who really looked like they needed it." She shrugged, "I think I would help anyone though, even if it was someone daddy's age. It's the right thing to do."
Ellen shook her head, unable to comprehend the fact that someone so willing to help others could actually exist. She then asked, "How can you be so trusting? What if I meant you ill will?"
"Ill will?" Viola giggled, "I don't know, I guess I wouldn't be very happy about that. Do you intend to hurt us?"
"I have no intention of that, no." Ellen admitted.
"Then I'll take your word for it! Now come on, let's go!" Ellen shook her head, amazed that the girl and her father would just trust some random stranger they know absolutely nothing about. Making sure her cat stayed behind, she finally decided to just follow Viola through the woods, down a long sloping path, and then they emerged at the edge of a river – the water was pretty calm, and the current didn't look too bad, so the two walked onto a small sand bank.
Ellen stared at the water, unsure of what to feel. These two people were making a complete mockery out of the lessons she got from her father. Never trust another - well these two sure broke it! They seemed to trust her immediately, Viola even seemed to like her! How could that be? They didn't treat her like an enemy, they showed her compassion, they even gave her water and some food, and now they were even going to give her some clothes after they let her wash up using their own shampoo and soap! She could barely comprehend it. They merely helped her, as Viola said, because it's the right thing to do. Doing something like that could get them killed someday! They could be taken advantage of! How could they be so stupid?! However... She felt compelled to trust them, and she hated that fact! She wanted to be with them and protect them... Was she really some stupid little girl who would open her heart up to the first sign of kindness she received?! No! She wasn't like that! She couldn't be like that! Thinking like that only led to heartbreak later on!
"It's in the middle of July," Viola mumbled, putting her hand in the water, "but I'll warn you that it's still really cold." She had no clue what inner turmoil Ellen was going through, as she turned her to head to her, "Are you ready?"
"Hm…" Ellen mumbled, shaking her thoughts away for now and she walked forward beside Viola and put her hand in the water, retracting it immediately, "That's very cold! Do you expect me to go in there?"
"Only for a few minutes, and then you can come out and dry off!" Viola exclaimed, setting down the plastic bag beside her, "Come on, I'll join you. I'm really dirty too!"
"Wait, do you expect me to get naked? What if someone sees us?!" Ellen couldn't help but blush bright red, and instinctively cover herself, even though she was still fully clothed. The thought of getting undress with someone else was embarrassing, even if it was a girl the same age as her!
"No one is going to see us," Viola assured the girl, "We're in the middle of the woods, and we'll be in and out so fast that you won't even notice!" Ellen blushed brightly when she noticed that Viola was beginning to take off her camouflage jacket, and then she took off her pants, and then her under garments, and she quickly looked to the side, closing her eyes tightly. "Come on now, we're the same age, right?" Viola asked, smiling at how embarrassed Ellen seemed to be, "It's nothing you haven't seen before, we're both girls!"
She thought about it - she could stay in her grimy clothes for the rest of the day,along with her dirt covered hair, or she could suck it up and go in with Viola. She... She seemed at least a tiny bit trustworthy... Ellen let out a sigh, and finally consented, and took off her torn clothes at Viola's insistence. Feeling very exposed and open, she looked around the river, making sure no one other than Viola was there, and she followed Viola into the water, gasping out at how freezing the water was. She found her teeth involuntarily chattering immediately once she was waist deep in the water, and Viola turned around to her and held out the soap.
"Wow, you have cuts all over your body." Viola muttered as she gently rubbed soap along the girl's body on the cuts, causing Ellen to mewl out in pain every once in a while on the deeper cuts. Viola however didn't laugh the entire time, seeming entirely focused on cleaning Ellen's battered body. Another curious thought entered Ellen's mind - how nice and soft Viola's hands were against her body. She honestly wouldn't mind that feeling a little longer, but eventually Viola was done cleaning off her body and she felt... disappointed. With that done, Viola went to clean herself up with the soap, but Ellen stopped her.
"Wait..." Ellen muttered, feeling a blush cover her face. Why did she say anything at all?! Viola could perhaps still be an enemy! She could... No... That was stupid. She... She liked Viola... She helped her the entire day. The least she could do was repay it, even a little bit, "I - I'll clean you, if that's all right. Since you cleaned me."
Viola smiled widely, and Ellen couldn't help but suddenly feel her heart beat loudly in her ears. She felt like she had done the right thing, and she blushed as she faintly smiled back, feeling... good, for once. "That sounds fair." Viola replied, handing her the soap. Ellen took it, and began to clean Viola, rubbing it against the contours of her body, and Ellen was utterly fascinated. She had of course cleaned her own body, but to see another body, to watch it shiver as she rubbed the soap over it, and to trace out the shape... It was a new experience, and her heart kept thumping against chest as she did it. It ended all too soon, and she again felt disappointed.
With that done however, Viola turned around, giving Ellen a full frontal view of her body, causing the purple haired girl to quickly look away, blushing a brighter red that would put most others to shame. Viola didn't seem to mind or notice, and she told Ellen, "I need you to dunk your head in the water for a bit."
"Ok…" Ellen obeyed the order, disturbed at how fast she was coming to trust this girl, and she dunked her head under the water, allowing Viola to lather it up with shampoo and begin to scrub away all the grim and dirt caked to it. She blushed in embarrassment as she heard Viola talking about how disgustingly dirty it was, though it was true. For some reason, perhaps it was the disappointing tone, she whispered, "I'm sorry..." She couldn't believe she said that! Viola must have been reminding her of her parents by acting so disappointed, and she just unconsciously said something so stupid! She wasn't sorry! She'd never be sorry for anything!
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Viola chuckled, "It's just a shame that your beautiful hair is hidden behind all of this gunk. You're going to look amazing once it's clean!" She giggled as she continued to scrub, unaware of the blush that once again covered Ellen's face.
Did she actually say that her hair was beautiful? She hated it because it was the same color as her pathetic mother. She hated her mom so much for standing back and letting her father do all of those horrible things to her. However, when Viola said it was beautiful, she actually believed her for a second, and she felt her heart again thump against her chest. She shook her head, feeling tears coming to her eyes - NO! Viola was just being nice to try to get on her good side! She couldn't be loyal to her! She'd be taken advantage of! She'd have enough being taken advantage of as a child! She wouldn't let it go on any longer!
"There!" Viola grinned, though her teeth chattered due to the cold river water, "All clean! Do you want to do my hair?"
"I'll do it." Ellen muttered, taking the bottle of shampoo and watching as Viola turned around and dipped her head in the water a few times, letting out a startled gasp as she came up for breath each time. Ellen watched passively... She could so easily kill this girl... Just dip her head under the water and hold on... Viola trusted her so much, she could teach her the consequences of trust - that no one could be trusted. It was a lesson everyone should know. However, she found herself simply squeezing the shampoo into her hand, and then lathering it into Viola's hair, cleaning it for the girl.
The idea of murdering her wasn't even tempting, in fact, it was repulsive. She hated the fact that she was coming to like to this girl more and more as they spent time together! How could she stop this feeling from overcoming her?! She allowed the dilemma to repeat over and over in her head, and not even two minutes later, the two were getting out of the water, feeling even more chilled when the cold air touched their wet skin. Both girls rushed to the bag and Viola pulled out two towels for them, and the girls eagerly wrapped their bodies, trying to get warm.
"It's still c - cold…" Viola mumbled, "Don't worry… O – Once you wear your clothes and go to the fire, you'll feel a lot better." She gave her an encouraging smile.
Ellen simply nodded, unsure of what to say, and she got dressed in the clothes that Viola had provided for her. After making sure that Ellen's dirty clothes were in the plastic bag, the two made their way back up to the campsite, where Mike had pulled out a decently sized log that he was sitting on, allowing both girls to sit on the plastic chairs. fire was really big now, and true to Viola's words, Ellen did feel much better now. Her cat jumped onto her lap, and for the first time in what felt like years, Ellen felt truly relaxed, and she closed her eyes, feeling herself beginning to doze off.
Her dream was odd. She was at the side of a cliff, at the bottom was a burning pit of fire, and she found herself tempted to jump in, to give into the hate, the burning desire to simply do what she wanted without regards for anyone around her. She was about to allow herself to fall, but then she heard a voice.
"Ellen!"
She turned to look over her shoulder, and saw a blonde haired girl dressed in a simple pure white dress, her blue eyes pleading with her. Ellen recognized Viola immediately, and she knew that she now had a choice.
"Don't fall. Ellen, take my hand." Viola held out her hand, and Ellen looked at it. All she saw as she looked at Viola were doubt, fear, and uncertainty. She then looked back to the pit, and she could feel the warmth - the certainty of what would happen, the joy, her revenge... She could give in to her desires... Yes, that sounded perfect. She stopped however, when she noticed that in the fire was a man, standing there and giving her a crooked grin - her father.
Her eyes widened, and she suddenly realized something important - her father, the man she hated... She had inadvertently become like him. In her attempt to escape from him and become her own person, she had become just like him. He never cared for anyone, he didn't love, he never trusted, all of his lessons, she took to heart, but why? What did he ever do for her to make her trust him or his lessons? Why would she follow him, when in return he did nothing for her? He never cared for her, he never loved her, hell, he would be indifferent to her whether she were alive or dead.
She looked back to Viola, and realized now that she could see all the things she had always wanted within her - true unconditional love, compassion, honestly, trust, loyalty, all of the emotions she had always wanted to experience. She couldn't help but feel fear grip her heart - she had been so close to becoming like her father. She didn't even realize that she was going down the same path he was. With one final glance back at the pit of fire, she turned to Viola, and made her way over to her.
She put her hand in Viola's, "I want to be with you." She whispered, "I want to be loved... Please don't betray me..." She was gambling everything she had on Viola now - if she broke her trust, if she betrayed her, she knew she would break, and the damage would become irreversible. She wanted Viola to prove to her that her father's teachings were false, and to show her how a real family truly was. Something she never experienced.
"I'll never betray you..." Viola whispered, and Ellen was surprised when the girl reached up and wiped a tear away from her eyes. Ellen didn't even realize that she had started to cry. She sniffled, wiping her eyes on her own, and looked back up to Viola.
"Thank you."
Viola smiled, and the whole world went white.
"Hey, Ellen…"
Ellen shifted in her sleep and let out a small groan, and turned a little bit.
"I'm sorry, but we have food, are you hungry?" Viola poked her shoulder again, and Ellen opened her eyes at the mention of food, "Ah, you're awake."
"How long was I asleep?" She mumbled, reaching up and rubbing her eyes, looking around, quickly assessing her situation. She was with Viola and Mike – Viola's father – and the two seemed to be trustworthy, since they helped her. She couldn't help but remember her dream, and she frowned... She would trust these two. She wanted to believe that they wouldn't betray her. She'd gamble everything on them.
"About an hour or so." Mike answered, "Food's done, if you want some."
Ellen smelled the air, and she felt her mouth salivating. Whatever it was that he cooked, it smelled absolutely amazing. She nodded, "If you wouldn't mind, I'll have some." He nodded, and he reached behind him where a bag with all sorts of supplies was now. He pulled out a plastic plate, and then with a plastic spoon, he scooped up some of the meat in the pot above the fire and put it on her plate, and he handed it to her along with a fork.
"What is it?" She asked, poking at the meat with her fork. It didn't look like anything she had tried before. Her stomach didn't seem to mind too much, since she was very hungry, so she nibbled it a bit.
"Venison." Viola answered, eating some of her own. She let out a pleased moan as she did, "It tastes wonderful!"
"That's… Deer, right?" Ellen asked, looking over to the two of them.
"Sure is," Mike answered, piling some on his own plate, and then he sat back down on the log he pulled over. He ate some, and similar to Viola, he too seemed very pleased with the taste.
"You hunted this?" Ellen asked, unable to mask her fascination.
"Yep!" Viola stated proudly, "Do you like it? It's one I got myself!"
Ellen nodded, taking a bite, "It's good." She took another bite, and nodded, it was very good. It was probably the best meal she had eaten in... months? Years? she didn't know, but it was the first meal she had where she didn't feel like she would suffocate due to the atmosphere with her dad and mom sitting nearby, and she wasn't sick in bed eating it either.
"I wasn't sure how you liked your meat cooked, so I just made it medium." Mike explained as he watched her continue to eat her meal, "I'm glad you like it." Ellen would occasionally feed some to her cat, and she accepted another water bottle from Viola, and the trio just ate silently for the most part. Again, Ellen felt at peace, she knew now that she could trust these two. It was almost a foreign concept to her, but she was excited to experience it again in her life, especially with these two, since they have treated her so well. As she ate, she knew that Mike was probably going to ask her questions, and she decided then and there that she would be as honest as she could with him.
After eating, the trio sat around the fire place, as the sky turned a dark shade of orange, and Mike set up a few bug repellent devices around the area. After that, he went back and sat down on the log he had pulled over for himself and took a seat. "Ellen…" He spoke up, "I've been holding it off for a little while now, but I need to know why you were out in the woods all cut up like that."
Ellen nodded, and looked over to Viola, who gave her a smile. She felt comforted by that smile, so she let out a sigh and started to talk, "I ran away from home."
Mike didn't look too surprised, but Viola's eyes were wide, "Why would you do that?" She asked in her surprise. Ellen knew that she meant no harm with the question, so she again answered her as honestly as she could.
"I left because I learned that my parents had been poisoning me with pills they claimed would make me feel better." Now Mike looked surprised, and Viola looked even more surprised than before. She felt good inside to see how horror stricken Viola looked, and then she gave her a concerned look, it felt nice to know that others were genuinely concerned for her well being, and not just acting.
"That's a serious accusation." Mike muttered as her rubbed his chin, "Are you positive it's true?"
"I'm very positive." Ellen nodded, "I haven't been taking the medicine that they've been providing me for almost two weeks now, and I feel better now than I have in years! It started when I heard my mom and dad arguing, and I heard my mom saying something about the pills being poison, and then it all made sense to me… That is why I always threw up and got sick – it usually always happened after I took the pills."
"I see…" Mike muttered, shaking his head. She noticed he looked really angry, and again she felt pleased to see how genuine these two were. She couldn't help but think she made the right choice in trusting them.
"I had to get out of there, I really needed to escape." Ellen shook her head, looking angrily at the ground, "I didn't want to play the role of the 'sick girl' so they could get sympathy or whatever else they needed! I just wanted to live a normal life! This is the first time I have ever been outside in the woods! I've never even SEEN a river before, and I have never tried venison before. I want to go and explore the world, see all the things I missed! Please… I trust you two… I like you two since you took care of me without caring about my background - you fed me and helped me clean up. So please, don't betray my trust, please let me go, pretend you've never seen me, don't return me to those monsters!"
"Ellen…" Viola whispered her name, looking at her with so much compassion that Ellen knew it wasn't an act. She almost felt like she wanted to stay behind and protect her... Someone like her would definitely be taken advantage of. She didn't want that to happen to her, but she had to go...
Mike sighed, "If what you say is true, then I have absolutely no intention of taking you back to your family, with that being said however, I won't let you go." Ellen felt like she had been stabbed, had she trusted these people too willingly? "A little girl like you would get hopelessly lost in these woods, you're lucky we found you. For now, you'll be staying with Viola and me, and then once we're out of here, I'll see if I can be your guardian, assuming what you said is true."
"Wait… You two don't mind if I stay with you?" She asked, her eyes widening.
"Not at all," Mike answered, giving her a smile, "In fact, I insist on it. I think Viola has a liking to you anyway, and she wouldn't talk to me if I didn't offer it anyway." He started chuckling.
"You're really fun to be with!" Viola gave her a very happy smile, "We can have a lot of fun together!"
She hadn't even considered the idea of staying with them. She thought that they would insist on taking her back to her family, and not believe her. However, it seemed that not only did Mike actually believe her, but he was willing to take her in! This was perfect, she'd get her wish to protect Viola, and she wouldn't go back to the monsters that claimed to be her parents. "W – When I'm of age, you'll let me go exploring the world, right?" Maybe she could convince Viola to go with her... That would be a lot of fun.
Mike nodded, "Of course. Until then, I'll just be your guardian."
This could potentially work out for her. Maybe she could actually trust people after all. "That sounds really good, actually." Ellen allowed a very wide smile to grace her face for the first time that day, "Thank you."
"Then we can be friends!" Viola gushed, "It'll be like a sleepover that never ends!" She actually jumped out of her chair and ran around the fire to wrap her arms around her. Ellen was surprised at first, and she felt her face heating up, as well as her heart thumping loudly.
"Friends…?" Ellen mumbled. She had never had one before, and now this girl her own age was willingly claiming that they could be friends. She smiled again, feeling tears stinging her eyes. Yes… This was all right with her; she smiled to Viola, "I'd love to be your friend!" She wrapped her arms around the girl, and happily laughed the entire time. This seemed too good to be true, but... This was real! The resulting smile that Viola gave her let Ellen know that she made the right decision in accepting her as a friend, and she just continued to hug her the entire while.
Mike chuckled at the interaction between them, and then reached into the bag behind him for a box of graham crackers, followed by some chocolate, and some marshmallows, "You two up for smores?" He asked, laughing as Viola's head snapped up.
Viola let out a cheer, "Yeah!"
"What's a smore?" Ellen asked, looking at the assorted supplies that Mike had pulled out, as she and Viola parted and the other girl went back to her own seat. Viola then looked at her in surprise.
"It's only the best thing EVER!" Viola exclaimed, and she started to explain it to Ellen. Ellen smiled and nodded along, her eyes widening at the mention of chocolate and marshmallows - together! She had never even eaten marshmallows before, and she rarely had chocolate, so she really looked forward to the treat!
How many other foods were there that she had never even heard of? What other sights could she see? The possibilities, it seemed, were endless, and Ellen looked forward to seeing them all with her new friend. What would have happened if she never found out about the pills? If she decided that no one was worth trusting in anymore? What would have happened if she never gained a friend? Would she really have turned out like her father as her dream suggested? The thoughts seriously frightened her, and she decided not to worry about it at all. She just wanted to enjoy her time with her new, first, and best friend, and her guardian.
Life couldn't be better.
XxXxXxX
Notes:
This is just a little something I cooked up while I was bored at work for two hours with nothing else to do. This story uses the same exact backstory for Ellen as my other Witch's House story, but the main difference is that Ellen learns about the poisoned pills, and on her escape attempt, she actually manages to get away instead of getting caught (And she also brought her cat this time around).
This was inspired by a line from 'My Discovery', where Viola laments the fact that she didn't meet Ellen before she turned irredeemably evil. In this story, Ellen is right on the edge of becoming the unlikable and horrible person she is in The Witch's House, but thankfully she is guided away from this edge by the timely rescue of Viola and her father.
I might continue this, but for now I'm just listing it as complete.
Thank you for reading!
CHAPTER REVISED: 6/27/2013 - Added in a lot more detail, combined a lot of sentences, made a few new scenes, and added in a bit of one-sided yuri (can be viewed as friendship if you want) subtext. This chapter had 3.2k additional words added to it, almost doubling the size of the chapter!
If I do continue this, there's a high chance of Ellen/Viola yuri, so I'll be sure to put that in the description if it does continue.