Chapter 10 – Lost and Found

We walked from dawn until dusk for four days, never seeing any trees with white bark. I was beginning to think that Milos had lied. Ilana and Duncan were both fed up with walking.

"You just have to admit it, Izzy," Ilana said finally one afternoon, a week after we had left home. We had stopped to eat lunch, and would be starting up again. "You were wrong. That creature lied to us to play a joke on us. We are lost."

"No," I said, not yet willing to give up. I was sure that Milos had been telling the truth.

"You see too much good in people, Isabella," Duncan said. "You have to realize that some people mean you harm, whether you like it or not. Not everyone can like you."

I turned to him. "So just because you're a pessimist means that I have to be one, too?" I demanded, suddenly angry. Something told me that we needed to trust Milos's words. I suddenly wondered whether or not he was laughing at us. But then something else occurred to me. "Besides, what's the point in playing a practical joke if you're not there to watch its results? We'd be able to spot him in a second because of his laugh."

"That's true," Ilana said hesitantly. She turned to Duncan for support. It seemed to me that she wanted to help, but she didn't want to help. She was torn in two with her desire to help me, and with her desire to go home and be safe.

"Ilana," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "you didn't need to come with us. You could have stayed home. Why did you come?"

She looked at me, at first blankly, then with surprise and blatancy. "Because I had to," she said simply. "I have to do this. I don't want to go home. Of course I don't want to meet up with the monster, but I have no choice in the matter."

"You did," I said.

"Yes," she said. "But I made my choice, and this was it. I don't regret it for a second."

I searched her face, trying to find something in her eyes that said she was tired of walking and tired of searching for the monster that, for all we knew, was terrorizing our village at that very moment. I wanted to find the lie, but it wasn't there. She was telling the truth.

I nodded, and we finished eating in silence. Then we continued our trek, not knowing what else to do.

As we walked, I began to feel more and more sleepy. I knew we were all tired, but I was sure that I was the most tired, because I could barely keep my eyes open. After about twenty minutes of walking, I collapsed. I couldn't take any more of it. I was too tired. I stayed awake long enough to see Duncan fall to his knees, and to see Ilana give a little sigh as she fell quietly to the ground. As I slept, I heard a musical voice whisper in my ear, "Sleep…"

-

My eyes were drooping, and I yawned. I must have dozed off. Where were Duncan and Ilana. I sat up, and immediately fell back down on the bed, my head pounding. Wait a minute – the bed? I was on a bed!

I sat up again, my head swimming. I looked around me. I was in an elegantly furnished room, sitting up in a huge canopied bed. A door was directly across from the foot of the bed, and in the left hand corner beside the door, there was a slanted writing desk supplied with a quill and ink. Beside that was a dressing table, above which a mirror stood. On the right side of the door, there was a closet, with the door closed, and a mirror on the door. A screen stood on the right side of the bed, only a few feet away. On the left side there was a little bedside table, with a candle on it, and a letter, unopened, with writing scribbled on the front of it. Beside the closet were two huge glass double doors that led to a balcony. Silken curtains billowed out around them, blown in by the wind. I watched their dance for a moment. Sunlight streamed into the room, falling across the plush carpet in front of the bed.

I threw back the blankets, mesmerized by the beauty of the room. The walls were a pale yellow, and there were paintings of little yellow roses in the corners of the walls that met the ceiling.

I was wearing a silken nightgown, falling down to my feet. I stepped onto the carpet, my feet sinking into it. It was so soft, and felt good on my tired feet. I went over to the closet mirror and looked closely at myself. I didn't look any different – my curly red hair framed my face and fell down to the small of my back. My emerald green eyes were the same, although a little tired. And the sprinkling of freckles across my nose was still there, the only feature on my face that I didn't like because it made me feel childish. Only young children should have had freckles, in my mind.

The door opened, and a young woman came in. She was inhumanly beautiful, with long golden hair and clear blue eyes. Her skin was perfect, without blemishes. She looked at the bed, and then stopped. She turned and saw me at the door to the closet. She smiled, showing perfect teeth. What kind of place was this that people were so beautiful?

She held a pitcher of water, and she set it down on the dressing table. Curling her hair behind her ears, she poured the water into a bowl that was already on the table. As she curled her hair behind her ears, I caught sight of them, and gasped. They were pointed – she was either a faerie, or an elf. Either way, I was not in good hands.

I cautiously went up to her and washed my face with the water, which was what it was for. She held out a towel for me to dry my face with. I did so, watching her suspiciously.

Finally, I plucked up the courage to ask a question. "Where are my companions?" I demanded. It didn't occur that she couldn't understand me.

She smiled at me, but said nothing. Then she went to the closet and held out a dress. It was a bright emerald green, the same color as my eyes. The bodice was tight, with ribbon weaving through it to create a criss-cross pattern. The sleeves were long and were meant to drape over the fingers. The skirt was long, and pleated. It was an elegant dress, and the V-shaped neckline was just the right length.

Cautiously I put it on, not sure what the purpose was of the dress. I wouldn't be able to keep it clean if I wore it when I left. It would be soiled and dirty by the time I had walked ten feet.

It didn't occur to me that I wasn't leaving.

AN: There's chapter 10! I know it's a little short, but I want to save what comes next for the next chapter. Review, please, and let me know what you think! No flames, please!