Well, I'm back on the story again. School is chaotic along with the other after school activities so I haven't had time to write. Recently I just read Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray and it's SO sad that the trilogy is over. I think I'm going to die!! Ok, well anyway. I'll get on with the reason I posted this on here in the first place. A new chapter!! Enjoy and please R&R!!!
I've not heard anyone for a long while as I sit patiently in the tent. It is darker now, as I have been thinking for a while about how to deal with this situation. I've an injury and regardless of it, I know I must leave tonight.
Attempting to stand, I find, seems to be a difficult task in itself. I groan a bit as a sharp pain tells my leg to sit back down. I move my weight to my good leg as to let my other breathe, if only for a moment. I groan again, but this time it's not because of the pain, it's because I've hardly taken one step towards the mouth of the tent and I'm already losing confidence.
After a few more, ever painful, movements, I resort to sitting on the floor. Using my arms, I half crawl, half drag myself towards the exit of the tent. Once there, I urged myself to stand up.
'Come on Raina' I think to myself. 'Almost there,' trying to convince myself to keep going even though I'm entirely sure I'm not 'almost there' at all.
Taking a deep breath, listening for any movement outside, I stand for a moment, slightly grimacing in pain. I open the tent flaps.
And there's no one there. Why isn't there anyone there?
Looking around in the dark proves rather difficult, but from what I can see, only the slight movement of a branch is noticed. With this, I start limping out of the camp. My leg, officially numb at this point, only slightly lessens the pain. It's rather turning into a tingle, starting at my toes.
'There, see Raina?' I think, 'It's getting better,' as I force myself to ignore it and try to walk more and more normally. After all, ignorance can be the key to everything. When something isn't wanted it can be more or less ignored and generally it is taken away. The same goes with someone. If someone is ignored, eventually it succumbs to the understanding that it is not wanted. What is not noticed, however, is that its sorrow remains loyal to the abandoned, always yearning for what is once was or what it once had….
I'm walking past the tents and I saw that there was a larger gap between the two of them. As I approach it there appears to be a clearing of some sort on the other side, though I cannot be sure in the dark. Although it wasn't completely vivid, I decided to give it a try, knowing that I haven't many other possibilities to compare with.
Heading down between the tenst proved to be rather difficult. It was a tight squeeze, even as I inched in sideways. At this moment, I was utterly thankful that I had chosen to wear more functional clothes, merely grimacing at the thought of having to go through this in a corset.
Almost there.
In daylight, this distance would appear to be very short but as I maneuver in the darkness, I felt I was getting no farther even with every step. My chest seemed to be holding in air, only letting out trembling long breaths and breathing in short, quaky ones.
I'm not sure why I was felt so nervous to get away. They seemed fairly nice, the gypsies, from what I could tell. I almost felt like I'd known them before, as if they were old friends from a different time. From a different life. Maybe that was it then. Maybe that's why I feared them so much and felt every need of distrusting them. Maybe we had met before…
Finally, after I put my thoughts back to what I'd been doing, I reached the end of the tent. I squeezed out carefully and took a long, silent sigh, but before I could take one step, two hands slid over my waist and mouth, pulling me back before I had the chance to react at all.
Oh great. Now I can't breathe again.
"Raina," a deep voice growled, tickeling my ear.
I froze. That voice. It sounds so much like…
"The window?" he chuckled, finishing my thoughts.
I gasped. Did I just say that out loud?
"Never mind that Raina. Now you must listen to me." It growled. "I am one that thinks anything can be necessary under certain circumstances."
At this, I was confused. "Well, you certainly didn't have to resort to hiding behind a curtain in my home!" I said, but I was still curious, and still slightly out of breath. I turned my head trying to catch a glimpse of my holder. "Wait, what circumstances? How could you possibly have anything to do with me?"
He whispered in my ear, and I felt him swallow nervously before he said, "The painting. Why did you…create something like that?"
"The painting? I don't know what…"
"The painting! How did it come to you?"
"I don't know…" I said angrily, "Possibly because there was someone watching me from the shadows at some point in time before that," I hissed.
"You did not do that because of me, I assure you." Before I even began to think forming a question I was, yet again, interrupted. "Nonetheless," he said "whether you know or not," then he gritted his teeth, "It has begun."
Suddenly I was free of his hold and he was gone. I turned around, looking into the woods, but there was no one. I found myself shivering even more than I had been before. I knew very well it wasn't from the cold. My mind, seemed to be filled with tension and what scared me that most, was it was not invaded by my fear alone.
Go back to the tent. I needed to go back. The night didn't feel as empty as before and I slipped through the darkness. How many eyes could be watching me at this moment? Don't think about it Raina. Not a this present moment.
So I slid back to the tent without worry. Surely I wasn't going to get caught a second time tonight.
Fortunately, I was right.