THE FOREST GIRL - 3

Finch was beyond shocked to see the two councilmen laying on the ground. She inched away from Newton's unconscious body and went to Mosley's side.

"What happened to them?" Asked Finch.

"Sleeping for a few hours. They were too noisy." Mosley sighed. "Now go back to your oasis. Stay inside and don't answer to anyone no matter what happens. Even if you hear my voice calling you, don't open the door."

Finch opened her mouth and was about to protest, but a glare from Mosley silenced her.

"You better follow my word carefully now, Finch. I won't be able to help you if something like this happens again. So stay inside."

"But won't you come back?" Finch asked. Her eyes started to get wet as tears were bursting out.

"No."

Finch looked down. As if she did not feel lonely enough recently with Mosley who was barely home, now the woman declared that she would not come with her.

"But I need you." She sobbed.

"Don't whine. It's for your own good." Said Mosley. "Now go, I have to take care of these two people before they start waking up. Understood?"

Finch nodded her head slowly. She looked up one more time at Mosley. Then she turned around and walked away from there.

"Don't forget to wear the red scarf I gave you." Was the last thing that Finch heard from Mosley before she disappear from the woman's sight.

After Finch had gone, Mosley quickly tied the two men with a rope that she acquired instantly from enchanting some spells. After tying them both, she dragged them out of the forest effortlessly, as if they weighted nothing.

When they came down to the river, Mosley's bare foot stepped onto something. She bent down to pick the object up. Her eyes studied the object which was a cufflink made out of gold, with an eagle crafted in the middle of it. She chuckled lowly. She put the cufflink inside the pocket of her dress and turned around to put each of her hand on each of the man.

In one second the three of them disappeared from the spot, only to reappear across the river. She then continued to dragged them around until she reached a big tree which was close to the civilisation in the village. She leaned the two councilmen against the tree carefully. As much as she would love to leave a few scratches on their face, she had to hold herself back and left them there. But before she left, she pulled out the cufflink she found before and dropped it onto the ground, right next to the tied up councilmen.

In a blink of an eye, she disappeared from there but her laugh echoed.

Back in the forest, Finch stayed inside her oasis. This time, she listened to what Mosley had said. The red scarf was wrapped around her neck. Her ears listened carefully to every sound outside as she laid down on the bed at the corner of the room. She had not eaten anything since she came back. Even though there were different kind of foods on the small table near the fireplace, she did not know if she could eat while her mind felt sick from the danger that lurked around her.

She sighed.

Why do they want me? She wondered. She did not know who those two men were, but seeing Mosley did not harm them that bad, Finch thought they might not be the bad ones.

One question after another was occupying her mind. She tried to find the answers of all the questions she had but she could not seem to put everything together. The most disturbing one was, was Mosley really a witch?

The woman had mentioned earlier that she would not come, that Finch was not even allowed to answer anyone even if she heard Mosley's outside. Did that mean the woman would leave her alone there? How could she get through everything by herself?

"Mosley…" She whispered. Her eyes were wet again from thinking of not seeing the woman again. She cried and cried until her eyelids became heavy and she fell into a deep sleep, only to wake up in a land of her dream.

"Papa! Papa!" A little girl exclaimed cheerfully, running towards her father who laid down casually in the middle of a meadow.

The sun was shining bright. The grass was all tall and green, swayed gently by the wind that blew from the east. It was a strange yet the most beautiful place that Finch had visited. She did not know why she dreamt about this unknown place but she was glad to come here.

When the girl was approaching close to her father, she stumbled upon something that caused her to fall on the ground, laying flat on her front.

She cried.

The man quickly got up and came towards the girl, lifting her up. "Why were you running so quick? You should have been careful."

The girl kept crying. Her hands curled around her father's neck.

"Where did you get hurt, dear?" Asked her father, one of his hand rubbed the girl's back gently.

"My toes." The girl replied between her sob.

Her father quickly examined her toes after taking her boots off. He then looked at the girl who was still crying. "They're all fine, dear. You don't need to cry."

His daughter stopped crying immediately but she pouted her lips like a petulant child she was.

"What is it, dear?" He asked her. "Tell me why you're so sad."

"I saw a butterfly, Papa. It was red." She said as she played with her fingers. Her grey eyes then looked up at her father who was frowning. "But it kept running away from me. It didn't want to play with me, Papa."

Her father chuckled. "Maybe you scared the butterfly away."

"No, Papa." The girl shook her head vigorously.

"Alright. Where is this butterfly that you want to play with?"

"It went into the forest, Papa. There." Her little finger pointed towards the thick forest ahead of them.

"Shall we catch the butterfly, Mosley?" Asked her father.

The girl beamed in excitement. "Yes, Papa!"