The Kelpie's Cries (Completed)

In the Morning

Morning came in a flash. Sunlight made its way in the small wooden cabin through the clean windows. It shined on the little girl's face, caressing the young's rosy cheeks like a mother would her child a little before she'd wake it up. Needless to say she didn't enjoy the sun's gesture as she didn't have school that morning so, she turned the other way to fall back asleep. She squinted her eyes at the wall as she didn't recognize the colour nor the texture. A plain wall made of wood planks. Panic set in as she sat up and looked around the room and cried for her parents... but no one responded. Then it all came back; what she thought was just a dream was her reality. She quickly jumped off the bed and opened the door to peek her head out in the hallway. No one was there; neither person nor noise.

Sighing, the girl turned and walked towards the window. The light that was coming through was strange in a way. It was a beautiful orange-yellow color so different from the forest's typical blue theme, so mesmerizing; she felt like she could look at it for hours on end. It was so warm that she had to pull herself away from it.

The sunlight is so strange yet so beautiful, she thought to herself. So that was how dawn looked like in the forest. She wondered how that beautiful light would turn blue later in the day.

Suddenly, the smell of tasty pancake batter hit her nose, making her snap out of her daze. The smell was coming from outside the hallway. It was too sweet  to ignore and so she let herself be lured like a cartoon character that would float to the tasty treat. In the kitchen, she spotted Mrs. Elizabeth at the kitchenette. Slowly, she made her way over to the table and sat on a stool, oblivious to the boy following her. Big hands wrapped around her sides and started tickling the girl, making her let out a weird mixture of a screech and a laugh. The woman's head immediately snapped to her direction and the smile that rose on her lips told her that everything was okay.

"Gotcha!", she heard a familiar voice say from behind her. The boy had paused for a second (to let the girl catch her breath) before resuming his tickling until the girl's stomach hurt.The woman shook her head at her son's antics before setting down two plates of pancakes for them.

"Good morning, little one!", she greeted the small girl, shooing Christian away with her hands, "How did you sleep?" she asked.

"I slept well", the girl answered after she calmed down and afterwards looked up to meet the blonde's eyes, "Where's Mr. Henry?" she asked in an innocent voice.

"Father's out hunting", Christian replied to her question, ruffling her hair a bit before occupying a stool himself.

The girl nodded and as she took a bite of pancake, she remembered that her mother would make pancakes every Saturday morning to celebrate the weekend. She couldn't help but feel a little homesick.

"I want to go back home", she stated in a pleading tone, doing her best puppy eyes at Elizabeth. Sadly, it was not effective.

"It's dangerous to wander outside, something could harm you on the way; the forest is full of monsters", Elizabeth said, pouring more batter in the pan.

That's a lie.

"Then why is Mr. Henry outside?", she tilted her head.
"Henry is a grown man, he can protect himself", the woman replied to her question with a curt nod, almost like she was trying to convince herself that her husband would be alright.
"Then why don't you come with me? You're an adult", the girl pouted.

The woman sighed, setting the last of the pancakes down on a plate on the counter. She didn't know what to do; give in to her pleas or let her motherly instinct guide her. The girl had a home but if something bad were to happen it would be her fault for agreeing, however, her parents must've been worried sick by now. Returning her to her biological parents would be the right thing to do.

"Alright, Christian will go with you but you should finish your breakfast first", the woman sighed, washing the dirty pan. The girl's eyes sparkled with happiness and thanked the woman for all she'd done for her.

After the pancake breakfast, the two set off into the forest. Both were admiring the beauty of nature as they walked; the blue tint on every alive and dead tree, the grass, the dirt road, everything! The sun had returned to its usual blue as well and it was no longer warm but chilly; the wind was warmer than the sunlight. There trip was silent, the only thing audible were the fallen leaves and pebbles crunching under their feet. The girl's big eyes were looking all over the high trees, hoping to spot a woodland animal but there were none. Though, she did spot some weird looking birds and salamanders which made up for the lack of squirrels. Something felt weird in the atmosphere, however, it was strange. It was as if eyes were on them, watching their every movement and inhale of fresh air. Christian felt it the most as the other was too busy looking at the weird colourations of birds and shades of the grass.

Then, out of the blue, a deer buck jumped out of the thick foliage and across the road, almost hitting them. It was white with antlers so big it was a wonder how it kept its head up yet it was the most mystical thing they'd seen up till now. The boy pulled her close to him and kept a good grip on her hand; not strong enough to hurt her but strong enough to pull her in case there were more where that one came from. It seemed like the girl hadn't been phased by the small event as she didn't understand the danger of it and so it was confusing why he was doing this.

"I didn't know there were such animals in Blue Peace", Christian admitted quietly but loud enough for the girl to hear.
"I didn't know either" she responded.

They continued down the path and it was as normal as it could get with the occasional ball of light passing by. Nothing seemed too much out of place and the girl did recognize the path they'd taken now. Everything was calm until they heard a roar louder than a dragon's coming from an unknown direction. Birds flew by, some croaked at each other to warn them of the danger and some hid in the cavities of trees or rocks. Some deer like the one they saw ran away as well and the two joined them as Christian started running, pulling her along. This time the girl was afraid for her life. Something was chasing them; she knew it! It was big with big feet and probably equipped with the sharpest teeth and claws and that mean look that would scare anyone to death.