Hello There! Sorry for not posting anything in a long time. For a while I lost the laptop that I use to write my stuff. I found it! Yeah! And another reason it takes a long time to post things is because I have the main plot in my head but it's the little details that are hard to figure out. But here's yet another chapter. And also, could you let me know in the comments if it's too confusing when I write each chapter from a different perspective. And if anybody has any tips or advice for a beginner writer, I'm all ears. I assure you; you won't hurt my feelings.

Hope you enjoy!

-Joyful Wild :)

-Chapter 11: LAYLAH

Sara woke up in a tree feeling the warmth of the sun on her. She slowly opened her eyes as they adjusted to the sunlight and looked at her surroundings. She saw everyone sitting around the campfire from last night eating some cooked meat. Sara sat up and her eyes. "Good morning." she said as she yawned.

Artham chuckled, "Morning sleepyhead." he said.

Sara smiled as she carefully climbed down the tree and sat on the ground next to Leeli who was eating her breakfast. "How did you sleep last night, Sara?" Leeli asked.

"I slept alright." Sara said as she scratched her head and finding a small twig in her knotted hair.

"Did you dream about anything?" Podo asked with a smirk.

"I don't remember any dream. Why?" Sara asked looking confused.

"You were talking in your sleep miss Sara." Oskar said.

"I did?!" Sara asked.

Artham chuckled again as he gave Sara a piece of meat. "Yes, you did."

Sara bit into her meat and wondered what it was. "Two things, one what type of meat is this and two what did I say?"

"It's Quilldiggle meat." Podo said.

"Wait you can eat a Quilldiggle?" Sara asked.

"Yep." Leeli said. "And as for your second question I think you were dreaming about Janner."

Sara froze midbite. Then she finally remembered what she was dreaming about. She looked at everyone who smiled a little bit. But deep down they felt a small pain remembering what happened to Janner. Sara did her best not blush, but she failed and asked, " What makes you say that?"

"Well, you said things like 'Oh Janner you're so handsome' 'Janner you're so sweet' "Leeli said. Sara blushed even more while everyone held in their giggles. But thankfully Podo changed the subject, "So to Castle Throg then?" Everyone agreed. After they finished their breakfast, they set out on their journey to the castle. Sara was quiet for a few minutes thinking about her dream that she had. She didn't want to admit that her and Janner were grown up in her dream and that Janner had given her a light kiss on cheek right before she woke up. She blushed again thinking about it.

Leeli smiled when she saw Sara blush, "You know Janner probably wouldn't want me to tell you but, he would talk about you in his sleep."

"He did?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, he would say things like 'Sara your eyes are so beautiful' 'I'll come back for you Sara' " Leeli giggled again. Then Sara realized something. "He wanted to go back to Skree?"

"Yes, he wanted to rescue you from the Fork! Factory!"

Sara blushed again. Maker, please let Janner come back. Sara prayed silently, I know You have a plan and a reason for everything. But it would be nice to have him back because...Sara smiled a bit. She knew that the Maker knew of her feelings for Janner, but it felt a bit strange to say it to the Maker. I love him. Alot. She hoped that the Maker heard her prayer. Sara looked up to sky that peeked through the trees above her. It "How long do you think it takes to get from here to Throg?" she asked.

And just as Artham was about to answer a voice came out of nowhere and answered the question for him. "Well in general it should take only a couple of days maybe." It sounded like a girl. Artham pulled out his sword, Podo tightened his grip on the leg bone and Sara pulled out her dagger. They all put their backs to each other and looked around to see who it was. "Who's there?!" Artham called out.

The voice responded. "Now is that how you introduce yourselves?" Then something dropped from a tree branch and landed on its feet a few feet away from Artham. Everyone turned to face the... whatever she was.

She looked like a teenager girl, but her skin was gray with black stripes on her arms and face and her hair was black with blue highlights and her nails were black. She had wolf ears on the top of her head, and she had two different colored eyes. One brown and one bright blue. She wore a sleeveless shirt with a few patches on it, brown pants that also had patches in it, and a black cloak rested on her shoulders and fell to her feet that had claws on them. The strange girl creature crossed her arms and tilted her head, "I'd say if you introduce yourselves like that to people, they will think you're trying to kill them."

Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They didn't expect a cloven to respond that way. Artham asked again, this time a little more gently, "Who are you?"

"Well, that's a bit better." She said quietly as she walked forward. Everyone tensed up a bit "My name is Laylah." She said with a little playful smirk. Sara was still trying to decide if she could be trusted. "Now" Laylah said as she pinched her chin between her thumb and her finger studying them, "What brings you people out here in the middle of the Blackwood when a storm is heading this way?"

"There's a storm coming?" Oskar asked.

"Yeah, you can see a lot when you're up in the trees." Laylah said.

Sara looked up at Artham and asked, "What are we going to do when the storm hits?"

"We'll worry about that later." Artham said.

"Actually, you won't have to worry about that at all." Laylah said.

"How's that?" Podo asked.

"Because I got a cave that you can stay at for a while until the storm passes." Laylah said. "We leave now we should be able to get there around sunset."

Artham and Podo looked at each other, uncertain of what to do. "Is it close to Throg?" Artham asked. He never thought he would say that.

"Well, of course. It's on the way for your convenience." Laylah said. Everyone looked at each other trying to decide if they should trust her. But they knew there was no possible way to make to Throg without getting poured on by the rain that was said to come. Until Artham said, "Alright we'll follow you. But no playing games. Got it?"

"Alright, no games." She said holding her hands up and turned to walk the direction they were going. "Don't lose your feathers, robin."

"It's Artham." He said as he followed her.

So far everything went smoothly. Laylah didn't seem to take them a different direction and she didn't talk much. Artham and Podo were behind Laylah so that they could keep their eyes on her so that she wouldn't surprise them with an attack. They had walked for hours and rested a few times to catch their breath. And the storm seemed to grow stronger and stronger. The wind was starting to push things around, and loud claps of thunder could be heard from behind them. It was close to sunset when they reached a small trail that led to a big hole in the mountain. When they entered the cave, they were amazed at how it looked.

It was obvious Laylah had lived here for a while. At the top of the mouth of the cave was a tube made of sticks tied together and coated with tar to keep it from leaking or falling apart. It started at the mouth of the cave, the opening was facing the sky, and it trailed down the right wall and flowed to the bottom where it met a trough that had some water in it. The trough had a smaller tube around with the top open as it led down back out to the entrance. On the left side of the cave there were parts of the wall that stuck out like a shelf. They were covered in branches, grass, and leaves. On the back wall was nothing but vines hanging down from the ceiling. And hanging from the ceiling looked like an obstacle course that could be very dangerous if you're not doing it right. One slip and you just might fall and break a bone.

Then rain started to fall outside, and a strange sound came from the tubes. They all listened carefully and saw water start to fill up the trough at the bottom. It was a water pipe. The trough quickly filled up and poured over the edge, but the smaller tube that was open at the top caught the water and sent out of the entrance and down the mountain. Leeli was the first one to speak, "Laylah, did you make all of this?"

"Uh, yeah...I did." Laylah said as she watched their expressions.

Oskar walked up to the water contraption and pulled out his notebook to describe what he saw. "In the words of Fredward Backswallow, 'This is very clever!' "

"Uh...thank you...I guess. I mean like it's just a water saver. As I like to call it." said Laylah

"When did you make this?" Podo asked.

"I was eight years old." Laylah said. Everybody turned froze and looked at Laylah. "What?"

"You were eight?!" Sara asked.

"Yeah. I just came up with the idea and I found the stuff I need to make it and, well, there it is." Laylah explained.

Artham started to look confused, "Wait, how old are you?"

"I'm fifteen. Why?" Laylah asked.

"Have you been living here for seven years?" Leeli asked.

"No. I was seven when I started to live here and then a year later I decided to make my water trough." Laylah said.

Artham stared at her for few seconds, carefully choosing which words to say. He didn't' want to send her into madness if she remembered the wrong thing. But just as Artham opened his mouth to speak, Laylah quickly asked, "Is anybody hungry? I got some food. It's mainly just meat really."

"Well, meat it is." Podo nodding his approval. Laylah rushed over to a corner in the floor and lifted a piece of stone from the floor and reached inside. She pulled out a small bundle of fur and some sticks and stones. She quickly started a small campfire and opened up the bundle to reveal strips of meat that were ready to be cooked. Once everything was cooked and divided, they thanked Laylah for her hospitality. Laylah was quickly caught off guard but then said, "Uh...you're... welcome. And also if you need a bed you could get those leaves and branches off from those rocks." She pointed at the rock shelves on the wall. Then she took her piece of meat and ran off into the vines.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. "She's quite...different." Oskar said.

"But also very smart." Artham pointed out. "It seems she thought of everything. Her water and food and a good place to practice some skills." He looked up at the course hanging from the ceiling again.

"But does anybody wonder how she got here?" Sara asked. "She said she's been here since she was seven. How did she get here?"

Everybody was silent, thinking of any possible way she could've ended up here. "What if it was the Black Carriage?" Leeli said in sad voice. "What if she lived in Skree but then got taken away and was left here to turn into a cloven." Everybody thought about this.

"That is definitely a possibility." Artham said looking into the small fire. After a few minutes they all decided to go to bed. Artham was able to get the branches and leaves and grass from the rock shelves. Once they all found a good place to sleep, they put out the fire and went to bed. Except for Artham. He kept on staring at the wall of vines wondering what was behind those vines. But there was something else on his mind. Laylah. There was just something about that name and the way the girl smiled that Artham couldn't explain. He felt like those few seconds opened up a doorway to nostalgia. Artham couldn't figure out why, but it did, and it bothered him. He tried to put the thought away, but it kept coming back. But eventually he went to sleep dreaming of something that seemed to be from memory but couldn't make out what it was.