four-
Ellisidy sits at the edge of a wide river on a chilly moonless night, shivering and coated in filth, dressed in a ragged oversized shirt, so stained that no one could guess its original color, and torn brown bloomers, the lace long since gone. Her brown hair is matted with dirt and blood , her eyes dull and animalistic. She clutches her belly with grubby hands.
She had barely escaped with her life. A long hectic night of fighting to exist that began simply enough over dinner. Her mother had called her down to the gardens, a think bramble patch with a stone table at the center. The meal had been nice, smoked fish with a side of greens, some red wine and hard bread. Her mother had been strange, she should have been more leery of her motives.
As she hobbles away from the bramble filled forest,leaving drops of blood in her wake, and into the icy waters a shriek can be heard from the dark sky. Throwing herself into the river her last conscious memory is of the massive flock of crows bursting from the treetops letting forth a single ear piercing cry, they were after her.
#-
The sun is high in the sky warming the rocks along the edge of the great lake. The light dancing through bright green leaves and healthy branches. The thick acrid smell of a campfire filled the air and the sounds of moving feet barely louder than the birds and insects.
" You okay love?" a deep voice purred near her ear. "Been looking for you for days, ya' know. Shouldn't a run away... She's mad you know. Madder den I've ever seen er."
Ellisidy shudders against the leafy earth. Why had she sent him? Her eyes opened slowly, taking a moment to focus on the shiny black orbs staring back at her.
He smirks at her before kissing her forehead. "Needing to be careful of that wound if you move...she got ya good, real good."
"Why are you here Malph?" she struggles to ask.
" Cause I was worried bout you, love. She don't know I came, it's okay." He whispers as he strokes her head.
Ellisidy winces, as much at the pain as at the thought running in her head. No matter how much she wanted to believe the creature before her, he was still in service to her mother. "Malph, " she takes a ragged breath, " Why did she try to kill me?"
"Yer Ma's trying to cast some spell, I guess she thought it was the only way." he sighs. "But I won't let nothin happen to ya."
"You can't stop her...you know that." she mumbles under her breath.
"You might be right...but we can't have you dying off, love, it's just not right." He coos with a smile. "You are the best thing ever came to that place, a shimmerin light in the dark." #-
Ellisidy wakes again in the dark by a dying fire. As she try's to sit up she can hear voices in the distance coming towards her,looking around she discovers she is alone. With a suppressed cry she manages to find her feet beneath her and stumbles into the woods away from the voices.
Panic rises in her chest as she hears the howls of dogs and the crash of feet gaining on her. Fear and a sense of dread driving her to run faster and faster. She had heard tales of how man treated ones like herself, burning at the stake, tortured until they could take no more, stoned in the streets. These were the stories that gave her nightmares when she was smaller.
Shouting can be heard, they'd found the campfire, knew she was close by. The ground slopes beneath her feet and she trips, her body tumbling down until a thick old oak tree stops her. Again she forces herself to her feet, feeling the warmth of blood on her belly, and tries to run. Her pace is slower than before and her vision is cloudy, but she is determined to get away.
A black shape dives down in her path, feathers flying in a great cloud as it transforms. Arms wrap around her and pull her into a hole in an old dead tree. " Close it love. I know you can, concentrate."
She scrunches her eyes closed trying to focus on the task and with a low creak the gap in the tree trunk is covered in thick vines, the sweet scent of jasmine permeates the small space mixing with their own. It almost makes her sick, having never smelled anything like it before.
"Malph?" She whispers.
" Shhh, dear." He pets her head and plants a kiss on her brow. "They be close."
She takes a deep breath resting her head on the warm chest of the crow man. Maybe she would make it, maybe she would be free. Hope rose in her as the sounds of dogs passed the great dead tree.
"Whats with the feathers?" a voice shouted in the forest. "It can't be the witch got away?"
" The dogs still have a scent, just shut your hole and try to keep with them." another voice shouted back.
#-
Hours had passed and the sun had just begun to crest the horizon. The gentle rise and fall of Malph's chest was somehow reassuring yet terrifying at the same time. Her mother would be wondering why he had not returned, she would be looking for him soon.
"Wake up you silly bird!" Ellisidy demands in a raised voice.
Dark eyes blink open, a great big grin on his face as he hugs her tightly. "Yes love? "
"It's morning. Shouldn't you be getting back?" she mutters reluctantly.
He cocks his head slightly and stares at her for a moment. " Nope, I be on a mission." he states proudly. " I was told to search high an low, till the Mistress's only child be found. She don expect me back till the end o the week."
"Oh..." she sighs uncertain. "Then where shall we go till then?"
He laughs softly. "I found a shack not far from here, you should be safe there. Least for a while."
#-
The week had passed in a blur. Ellisidy fought with her instincts, trying to conquer herself. The voices in her head told her that she shouldn't get comfortable here, shouldn't feel safe around the man that stayed ever closer to her. But a small part of her couldn't help but to want him to stay, want him to touch her.
That night he had held her tightly and had told her of the worlds wonder in hushed tones as she fell asleep. Outside a storm was brewing, but inside they were safe and warm. Lost in a false sense of security, a liars bliss. A heavy rain soaked the earth as they slept, clouds thick with strange magic and malice. Though neither stirred, somewhere in their subconscious they both knew an ill omen had shown itself.
As the sun rose Malph pulled his head from the pillow with a soft sigh, he didn't want to leave. He gently lay her head on the pillow, pulling his arm from beneath her. He kissed her cheek and threw his legs over the side of the bed. It was time for him to return.
In a puff of feathers he shrank and contorted until he'd returned to his avian body. He was going to be in trouble when he returned to Maleficent. He could only imagine his punishment for failing. He hops from the bed and onto the single window sill before turning back.
His glossy black feathers ruffled as he looked over the small shack. A bed barely large enough for one person, though they'd managed it, shoved against a curtain on the rotted wall. A small fireplace at one end burning low, a small pot of clean water in the corner near the only door. A thick tree root tearing across the floor that her ragged clothes lay across.
When would he see her again? Would he even? He couldn't help but think these things as she groaned in her sleep, discomfort evident on her face.
With a soft sad cry he turned and flew from the broken window, wings beating furiously in an attempt to hurry his journey.