Disclaimer: I own…the plot line, Deirdre, and a dysfunctional copy of "The Phantom of the Opera". I have no life.

A/N: Because I am a fruit and because I read way too much Tolkien I have decided to try to make the times and distances as accurate as possible. Therefore, all of the given measurements should be a fair guess as to how long this would have actually taken. I am buying myself time here people, so don't kill me yet.

…Chapter 3…

I awoke to the gentle rocking of waves against a ship. I smiled to myself, my luck had held out and I hadn't been discovered during the night. I had hid myself cleverly in a rope pile and prayed for at least an hour that I wouldn't be discovered. Apparently, God had been listening. I quietly got up and walked down to the edge of the ship where a rope was tied to the dock. This time there wasn't gangplank so I shimmied down the rope as best as I could. I jumped to the ground and stood up. This new place didn't look too different, there were the same plants, the same animals, the same smells and sights, but it felt different. I walked down to the edge of the beach where the road started and bit my lip. I didn't know the first thing to do now that I was on my own. There was a sign, but I couldn't read it, I couldn't have read it if it was in giant bold letters, I never learned. I gulped and tried to keep from bursting into shaken sobs as I looked up and down the road again. I was just about to panic when a cart came down the path. I was so happy to find a person, I didn't stop to think about the danger I could be putting myself in. I ran up to the cart. It was driven by an older man who had smiling eyes and a warm smile while he whistled. He was adorned in a straw hat and the beast that drove his wagon was a kindly old mare with a gray muzzle. I soon reached the cart and when he saw me he halted the mare. "Whoa, old girl. We're in no hurry," he spoke to the nag who turned and whickered at him, before turning to me. "Well, hello there. What are you doing here alone? Where are your parents?" I couldn't speak for fear of crying, so I pointed at the docks. "They're on the boat?" he asked. I shook my head and pointed farther, toward the other side. "Oh…" the man frowned in recognition. "You run away?" he asked gently. I shook my head again, still unable to speak. "They leave you here?" I shook my head again. "Well then, what happened?" he looked me worriedly. I looked at the ground and hid my face from him. "They forgot me," I mumbled. "What's that?" he bent closer to hear me. I began to cry "Back there, they forgot me. So I left." I blurted out the truth as fast as I could and looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. "Oh, poor child…" he picked me up and set me on his lap. "There now." He said cradling me. "It's okay now. Shhh…" I cried into his chest and he started up the cart. "Here now, we'll go to my house until I can figure out what to do with you." Then he added, more to himself than me, "Though I don't know what the missus is going to say when she sees this." And with that, I started on the journey that would eventually take me to my new home.

Yeah, I know it's short, but the next one will be longer, I think…;)