The Girl with the Paper Crane

Chapter 4: A new room

Silence gave me time to think. Time to spin more lies and half-truths. Maybe I'd be able to get home for school on Monday.

We drove till it was dark and I recognized nothing. I've never been this far in a car, or on foot, or on any form of land-based travel. I got nervous the farther from the rest stop we got. Going deeper and deeper into the rural country. If I wasn't so nervous I might have admired the scenery under the moonlight. The world was painted in its icy light and... I calmed down. It was too beautiful to ignore. I could imagine Fae running through the woods chasing each other. Or fairies growing roots to trip unsuspecting hikers. Heck, it could have even been a night for a pack hunt; following the scent of big game.

"Tired?" I jumped when he broke the silence. It's completely random when he does it. Maybe he could read minds? No that's ridiculous. Impossible. Answer.

"Long car ride," I sighed. "Do you know when I might get home?"

"A week, maybe, depends. If you cooperate it'll be over a lot faster." Oh yes, cooperate and it'll be over quickly. When haven't I heard that line?

"How much longer are we going to be in this car," I asked. I pressed my hands to my eyes to relieve some of the sleepy pressure.

"You're allowed to sleep, Elin." Well, no dip I was allowed to. There was no way I was going to wake up in some strange place though.

"I'd prefer not to." Keeping my eyes open was getting really hard though. Car rides always made me like this.

"I've gotta ask," he said, then turned to look out his own window. "What's it like seeing the world with the wonder of a child." I almost spit that I wasn't a child but then really understood what he was playing at.

"I wouldn't know, agent." My lack of sleep started to make me irritable. I kept yawning trying to keep myself awake, but its effectiveness was fading. He sighed a bit, defeated I suppose, for now.

"Elin I'm going to be real with you right now. It doesn't matter how good you've been at lying in the past, and I don't care if you're lying to me right now, but the truth will eventually come out. You will break, make a mistake, unravel a lie, and they will catch you, and when they do you're going to be sorry you lied."

"I have nothing to hide from the council."

"I hope that's true. We're pulling up now. Try anything and you'll eat the dirt." I just rolled my eyes. Eating the dirt was the least of my worries right now. What's the worst they would do though, make her an architect? The car pulled into a long gravel drive, it wasn't hard to see the house as they pulled in. Small and old the house had an air about it she couldn't place. This was considered a testing facility, I wish I could live here. As we pulled further along I noticed a newer addition to the house, gray siding clashes against pale yellow stone. It looked like a parasite leeching off the natural beauty of the old home. She supposed it would look less cynical in the morning light, but in the white light of the moon it seemed ghastly. There was a large weeping willow next to a barn structure that swayed with the wind as we drove by soon pulling up to the front step. The front patio went from brick to tile that was covered by a short roof that the agent had to duck under to open the door. The night air chased us in and sent goosebumps up my arms before the agent closed the door. The tile followed us into the front entrance but quickly turned to wood as we turned right into a family-style room with large comfy couches and a flat screen. A fireplace took up the left wall. I'd never seen one before, they only had them in really old or really expensive houses, and mine was neither. The agent, I'm now calling him Will, led me up a tight staircase onto the second floor. We were in the old part of the house based on the thin hallway and stone walls. There was a small ladder to my... I crashed into Will's back, falling from an invincible ledge. I tried to regain my balance but only managed to fall on my butt, bringing a quiet chuckle from him as he pulled me up.

"Thanks for the warning," she seethed, as he led me into the pale yellow room at the end of the hall. It was sparse only a bed and a small dresser wooden dresser with a large mirror on top. The head and footboard were a rusted-looking iron with bunnies put into its spiraling design. There was no ceiling light, but a small rabbit lamp perched on a yellow nightstand I hadn't noticed before.

"This is your room, mine is the one on the left when you walk out, If you need anything just knock," Will explained before closing the door and leaving me. I moved to the window sill to see the moon behind the sparse branches at the top of a tree. I could sit in this! The sill was at least two feet deep. The thick stone walls made it possible, but she'd never seen a window sill like this built into a house. I was about to pull back the comforter when a slight knock came from my door. Will stood sheepishly in the frame with a pair of white cotton shorts and a white long-sleeved  V-neck made of similar material.

"Forgot to give these to you, if you want I can get you pants in the morning, or a short sleeve, whatever you're more comfortable in."

"Thanks." He nodded and closed the door as I laid the small stack on the bed and stripped my clothes. The shirt was comfortable and loose when I went for the shorts I realized there was a white sports bra and underwear sitting there and smiled. He didn't want to be seen with women's undergarments. So I slipped them on and hopped under the white comforter. What was with these people and white? The thought didn't linger long as sleep overtook me and I prayed that I'd be home soon.