Daphni found that she was lost in the woods. She had only meant to take a small walk, but she had lost track of time. She could hear Theodore’s voice echoing in the back of her mind: “A mission like this is no place for a child…” and “Whatever you do, don’t leave the group, and don’t get lost. We don’t have enough time to babysit you.” Daphni sighed. Maybe Theodore was right. Either way, Daphni would rather deal with Annabelle or Lucas. They were much nicer than Theodore. Annabelle would be upset, but she’d be more worried…she wouldn’t make any comment beyond a simple “You shouldn’t have! We were so worried!” Lucas would have been almost indifferent. He probably wouldn’t even notice that Daphni was gone. Either way, Daphni was stuck now. She’d have to wait until someone came for her. That’s what she should have done, but she didn’t. Instead, she kept walking. If she was lucky, she might even find one of the others. Daphni enjoyed the fresh, crisp woodland scents and she carried on. The forest was more beautiful than all of the exquisite mansions she had seen—even more beautiful than her most expensive gown! The flowers growing in the half-light were stunning, and Daphni loved to watch all of the woodland creatures as they went about their days. Life was wonderful. Maybe it was true, that this was just a fantasy for her…a simple distraction, but right now, that didn't matter. All that mattered was the grass beneath her feet, and the trees around her. Darkness fell, and Daphni started to grow uneasy. She hadn’t found anyone, and if she wasn’t lost before, she was now. An owl hooted eerily in the night, causing Daphni to flinch. She sank down against a tree trunk, feeling like she could cry. Slowly, she could hear a sweet voice singing in an ancient tongue—Daphni couldn’t understand it, which made her wish that she had paid more attention to her language classes—coming towards her. It stopped as suddenly as it started, and Daphni could feel that someone was watching her. Slowly, out of the shadows, a tall figure appeared. It had to be the woman that the voice belonged to. There was no other logical explanation. Hood drawn, the woman approached Daphni, and held out her hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Daphni took it, and let the strange woman lead her forward. The two walked along beneath the moonlight, and slowly, Daphni started to recognize where she was. The woman was taking her back to the campsite! She wouldn’t be lost! When the campsite came into view, the woman nudged her forward. Daphni took a step towards the camp, but then she turned around to thank the woman. When she turned, she found that the woman had disappeared. “Wait!” Daphni called out. “I wanted to thank you—I didn’t even get your name!” There was no response. Daphni thought she saw the slight movement of the woman in the undergrowth, but she couldn’t be sure. Daphni gazed at the spot for a few moments before she turned and headed for the camp, thankful for the stranger’s help.
weekly prompt for VWC. 503 words. :)
