As the snow thickened Flora's trek grew more tiring. She knew the house couldn't be that far but yet with each step she took it felt as if there were ten added on to the journey.
Things hadn't gone well on her return home yesterday, they never do, but this time things had escalated much faster than usual. As a result of the events of yesterday she was sporting a bruised cheek - concealed by makeup of course - and a few ore hidden gashes and bruises. If it hadn't been for the fact that today's meeting with her friends had already been arranged she would never have attempted to walk in such violent weather.
Her body trembled under the strength of the wind, the rag of a coat draped over her small frame doing nothing to block the cold. Her brown hair was speckled with the white of snow and skin tainted a frozen blue.
It was almost as if the snow was thickening with every step. She could see the cars as she entered Nabu's driveway; it was evident that all of her friends had tackled the journey in car, Nabu's parents being as wealthy as they were had the land to accommodate all of them along with their vehicles.
She sighed, muttering softly about how long it would take to walk the entirety of the driveway - how one family could have such a large drive way was beyond her. She only made it about half way to the house before tripping and falling into the snow.
The fire flicked in every hue of amber and gold, the mantle draped in festive decor as the teens gathered round for heat. The eleven friends had been waiting for the final member of their group and with the snow storm they were beginning to fear the worse.
"That's it! I'm going out there to find her now." Helia stands up, prepared the make his way into the snow storm. He barely hears his friends' protests, his eyes fixated on the blurred figure he watches fall to the ground.
Without a second thought he takes off down the driveway, only vaguely recognising the sound of footsteps following behind him to meet the fallen girl half way.
"S...sorry I'm late." Teeth chattering, body shaking and frozen to the touch and still apologising. Typical of Flora.
"Flora you should have told us if you needed a ride," Bloom exclaims looking down at the girl in front of them. Wordlessly Helia lifts the brunette off the ground, taking her into his arms and attempting the shield her from the cold. Her eyes slowly shut, the fatigue of the journey finally settling in.
A fact discovered by Flora today: waking up with two paramedics over you is not a fun experience. She awoke in front of the fire, her jacket gone and replaced by a thick blanket and her body curled up in Helia's arms. The two of them had been friends for years and her fainting episode had hit him hard. He had sat cradling her waiting for the paramedics to arrive, scared a single wrong moved could hurt her.
"Make sure she stays warm, I think it;s best you keep her here for tonight," a paramedic instructs Nabu as they finally give Flora the all clear.
"Flora you're staying here tonight, maybe tomorrow depending on the weather." Nabu's voice was firm after seeing the paramedics out, he wasn't going to watch his friend get herself hurt because she was too proud to ask for help, too worried it would inconvenience her friends. "And no, it's non-negotiable."
"Next time maybe ask for a ride, you almost matched Musa's hair!" Stella spared a glance in Musa's direction as she teased Flora as if to prove her point about the vibrant blue of the musician's hair.
A frown etched on Helia's face as he pulled Flora ever so slightly closer to him. Yes, he was relieved that she was okay but he also knew what he saw when the paramedics were checking her and worse, he knew those bruises weren't meant to be there.
A/N Hey guys, next chapter up today!
I know the chapters of 'Those who wonder' are quite short so I thought I'd let you know that I intend for this to be a short story with a chapter every day until Christmas - kind of like an advent thing. Hopefully this will help me get into the habit of logging on, writing and posting more so that I can finish my other stories and start writing up my new ideas but I also thought it would be rather fun to do something vaguely festive for you all.
Thank you so much for all your reviews and I would love for you guys to leave some more reviews, they are my favourite thing about this site. I love hearing from you and since I intend to be on every day for this month make sure to leave any comments in review or PM me :)
Love you all and I can't wait to continue!
- Mae xxx
