Safe and Sound

Ring of Fire

"What do you suppose that was all about?" Petra asked Prim once the two girls were out of earshot.

Prim shook her head. "I wonder. . ."

"Miss Willow looked so sad." Petra frowned.

"I saw Heather leave right before I followed you." Primrose piped up. "She gathered a bouquet of flowers and walked into the woods."

Petra shook her head bewildered, "Strange."

Maybe she was visiting Sugar and Maple. Prim thought to herself.

Suddenly, a wild streak of electricity lit up the cloudy-gray sky, followed by a crack of thunder.

"Oh No! You don't think it's another storm streak?" Primrose asked covering her ears and running to her sister.

Petra placed her arms protectively around Prim's shoulders and shook her head, "I. . .", but was interrupted by a scream coming from the forest.

The sisters turned towards the woods following the direction from which the scream came and saw Miss Willow already running into the woods.

"Come on!" Primrose cried and before Petra could stop her, she ran at top speed towards the trees that were already set aflame.

"PRIMROSE!" Petra cried out but her sister just kept on running.

Heather! How's Heather? I hope Heather's all right! Primrose thought as she ran past the Willow Tree that was already radiating waves of heat from within the woods.

"Heather?!" Primrose heard Miss Willow calling and joined her.

"Heather?" Prim called running up to Miss Willow who was frantically ducking behind falling branches. One of the trees in the middle of the woods had caught fire from the streak of lightning and now the fire was spreading.

"Maybe she's visiting Sugar and Maple?!" Primrose suggested as she stared at the wide-eyed Miss Willow who now looked like an enchanted apparition in her white flowing empire dress and her dark hair in disarray.

Miss Willow blinked incomprehensibly back at Prim, trying to register what she had just said. But Primrose merely grabbed the young woman's hand and pulled her along towards the direction of the Sugar-Maple Stump.

"Primrose! You have to get out of here!" Petra who had caught up shrieked at her sister as another streak of lightning lit up the woods.

But Primrose shook her head stubbornly saying, "I have to find Heather!"

A crack of thunder enveloped the woods but Primrose pressed forward-guiding Miss Willow along whose right hand was still held in Prim's tight grip. She numbly followed behind Prim, her white dress tracking dirt as she drifted along the forest floor.

Petra picked her way to where her sister was walking along and took Prim's free hand in hers nodding at Primrose to lead the way.

"Heather?!" Prim called walking the same route she had taken when Heather guided her and Rue to the Maple tree to see her robot dolls.

"Heather?!" Miss Willow echoed behind her.

Primrose stopped in front of the tree stump suddenly and gasped.

Miss Willow peeked out from behind Primrose and let out a piercing shriek. She covered her mouth with her free hand and began to quake uncontrollably.

There lay Heather camouflaged with the green underbrush in her olive dress; she was splayed out across the top of the stump. Brown wavy hair falling in a curtain that covered her entire face so that only the slant of her mouth turned down was visible. Her left arm lay limply at her side as the tips of the fingers on her left hand softly brushed the bouqet of crushed daisies that had fallen upon the forest floor. Her right hand clutched at something cradled to her chest. When Prim leaned in closer to brush back the chestnut-colored hair from her deathly-pale face, she saw that it was Robo the Robot doll that Prim had helped her build and Primrose let out another gasp.

"Oh Heather. . ." she said burying her face in her hands.

"We have to get her out of here!" Petra said bending down to lift Heather up.

Miss Willow seemed to snap out of her spasm suddenly and she swooped in and gently bent down to pick Heather up-cradling the limp girl in her arms-just as Heather cradled Robo.

As Miss Willow turned to face her, Prim sucked in her breath.

Atop the Maple stump she stood, in all her glorious beauty. Miss Willow's dress glowed white against the gleaming gold flames that crackled and popped around her in a ring of scarlet fire. In the darkened woods, her hair-(still adorned in the daisy-crown Heather had made), blazed a fierce auburn halo-framing her face which glowed from the silver beads of perspiration caused by the intense heat.

Primrose stood transfixed in breath-taken awe, watching as Miss Willow shifted her arms which were stretched out above her chest as she adjusting to Heather's weight.

"Primrose come on!" Petra urged, tugging on her sister's arm.

Her sister's voice jolted her into action and the two girls ran down the path leading out of the woods.

Primrose snuck a few glances back to ensure that Miss Willow, carrying Heather was following safely behind them. . .