Shades of Scarlet

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Darien is lying on my shoulder, his heavy body propped on mine. He sleeps silently. He appeared so depressed last night, but when he is sleeping he looks so at peace and beautiful, not like the dark person he is when awake.

I knead my eyes and turn around to look at the window. It is morning. The birds are chirping a lovely tune and the sun glows warmly outside. Darien and I are hidden in the cold shadows, and so are the three people who are still sleeping in front of me. I recognize the woman from last night. The two males must be Andrew and Cedric.

I thought that Darien ordered them to be on guard.

My first instinct is to wait for them to wake up, but it quickly dawns on me that doing such a thing would be foolish. Here are the four people who are supposed to be keeping watch of me, sleeping like logs.

I’m here to keep you safe, I remember Darien saying.

But as much as the foolish side of my mind urges me to stay, I cannot wholeheartedly put my faith into this man. Anyone in the right frame of mind will think that he acts suspiciously.

I should run.

Carefully, I remove Darien’s arm, which was propped over my shoulder. The wooden floor creaks when I stand up. My heart leaps. I look over my shoulder to glance at them. They haven’t moved an inch.

I reel in my confidence and softly make my way out, cringing as I attempted to open the door without making any sound. I step outside. They’re still sleeping. It is still safe.

The sun is bright, almost blinding. I have to squint until my eyes adjust to its brightness. When I’m halfway down the path to the gates, I spin my head around to take another look at the mansion. It’s not as ominous and haunting as last night, now that the rays of the sun is exposing its every detail.

I consider my options. There aren’t many, but going back to my kidnappers is my least favorite one. The forest looks thick; it is the wall between civilization and me, although the leafless branches of the trees look brittle and weak. I’ll find my way to safety. There are mountains nearby—if I walk far enough I might be able to find a river that flows from the mountains. Rivers always lead to civilization, or at least that’s what I listened from a documentary when helping Carmen prepare dinner.

The plan is barely fool-proofed. In fact, it sounds likely to fail, but there aren’t many choices for someone stuck alone in a forest.

The further I walk, the more the brittle branches start to look like piercing thorns. Hours pass by with nothing meaningful in sight. The bushes rustle sometimes; the sound makes my pulse quicken, but I never see anything come out of them. The sound probably came from some critter too shy to show its face. That’s right, nothing to be afraid of, but the dry barks all look the same--I might be walking in circles without even knowing it.

I’m officially lost. I don’t know where Darien has taken me, or even the name of the place. It is more probable that I die of thirst than ever finding a river.

I should rest. I can feel my feet ache from the long fruitless journey. A shaded bare spot next to a tree looks just as good a spot as any other in my vicinity. My back slides down the bark and I ungracefully land on the forest litter.

The sky is turning orange. Winter days are shorter than others. The time on my watch hasn’t passed four yet and the sun is already setting. I should make a fire—it is cold and my fingers are about to freeze off. Then I remember that I never learnt how to make one. I pick up a few rocks and dry leaves and experiment with them, first rubbing the rocks together, then rubbing a leaf between them. If an experienced scout looks at me now they’d probably laugh and how stupid my actions are. My attempts end up useless, as expected.