Chapter Six – Trust in Another

Clara’s mind was awash with memories at the edge of her vision, it was as if she were watching a trailer of her own life, only bits and pieces were available to her, everything so close, yet so far away. A voice called her name in the distance. It was soft and sweet. Then another, this one deeper. They both called for her, begging her to run, she turned to the voice but met nothing but darkness, they called again behind her. She spun but still nothing, the voices now coming from everywhere.
A great force pushed her to her knees as two shadows formed in front of her, reaching out and becoming clearer as they approached. Clara reached out as a scream broke the silence and sent her hurtling towards a bright light in the distance.

Clara’s eyes flew open as she sat upright, coughing water from her lungs. She choked and coughed slowly beginning to breathe normally again. A touch on her shoulder caused her to jolt back violently as a soft voice sang beside her.
“You’re okay, you’re okay, everything’s ok, just keep breathing normally”. A beautiful woman around the same age as Clara spoke calmly to her.
She was dressed in a long silk gown decorated with moss, vines, thorns and other forest plants. Her bare feet allowed the grass to caress her ankles and legs, her slim body was well toned with black markings enveloping her arms and legs. Her eyes were a deep ocean blue and a mane of long wavey black hair fell down her back to her waist.

Clara coughed up more water before she managed to slow her breathing to a reasonable enough level to talk. “What…Happened?” She wheezed.
The girl took Clara’s hand and placed two fingers upon her wrist to check her pulse. “I heard a commotion in the water as I was passing, by the time I got here I saw you lying on the bank, are you alone?”
Clara looked stunned. “Alone? Yes…Wait, no, there was someone else. Jacob. Where’s Jacob?”
The girl looked around briefly. “I’m sorry, you’re the only one I saw when I got here, was he in the water with you?”

Clara looked around, the water’s edge was smooth, she was sitting on a mossy bank, the waters no longer separated by the stone edging. She turned to look directly behind her, the water had expanded and lengthened to an entire lake. It went for at least a mile in all directions, the forests edge much thicker than she remembered. The tables and furniture were gone, there was nothing but grass and woodland.

“Where are we? I was in a tavern, it was a huge room like a forest, but it wasn’t like this, where’s the stairs? Where’s Jacob? What happened to the mist? How do I..?” A wave of dizziness overwhelmed her and caused her head to spin.
The girl quickly caught her before she fell back and supported her as she regained her balance.
“Careful, you just nearly drowned, don’t overexcite yourself. I’ll answer all your questions the best I can, but I need to ask you a few first”.
Clara put her hand on her head and nodded weakly. She propped her arms behind her as the other woman sat down.
The woman smiled at her. “Well firstly, I’m Willow, Willow Ashleaf. You are?
“I’m Clara, Clara Sage but what is..?”
Willow put a finger to Clara’s lips. “Please, allow me first, I promise I will tell you everything I know once I’m done”. Clara nodded slowly. Willow continued. “Good, now do you recall how exactly you got here?”.
Clara shook her head. “I remember I was with Jacob and he took me to this weird old building. He’d been recommended it as a restaurant but when we went inside it was…Well it was strange, like nothing I’ve ever seen”. Clara paused for a moment, thinking back to what she’d seen. “Well, when we went inside it looked like someone had made it to look like a pirate tavern or something”. Clara noticed Willows eyes grow wide, just for a moment. “We couldn’t find anyone, so we went upstairs to search, but things just got even stranger as we went higher, the next floor was a literal forest, sort of like this”. Clara gestured around her at the forest. “I checked everything. I thought it must be artificial, but the grass, plants, even the trees rooted into the ground were all real, it didn’t seem possible, it was like a dream”. Willow’s breathing grew slightly erratic. As hard as she tried, her tranquil calmness was faltering. Clara continued. “We still didn’t see anyone so we went up again…”
A bead of sweat formed upon Willow’s brow, her nerves were on edge, her breathing fast and loud.
Clara slowly continued. “As we climbed the stairs it grew cold, like an icy storm and the stairs seemed to go on forever. When we reached the top there was a stone wall, but Jacob seemed so determined to go through, he became completely distant and then his mood changed and he became aggressive, told me to run, to get out. He dragged me all the way back down to the forest floor. That’s when he hit me. After that, a strange mist fell over me, I tried running, but I fell into the pond, then I…”
Willow grabbed Clara’s shoulders. “What do you mean a pond, you didn’t mention that before?”
Clara was taken aback by the sudden outburst. “I’m sorry, it was…”
Willow interrupted her again. “Please Clara, this is very important, what can you tell me about the water? Do you remember what happened when you fell in? Was this Jacob in the water with you?”
Clara slowly moved away from Willow, her hands slipping from her shoulders. Willow shook her head to compose herself. “I’m sorry, that was so unlike me, please continue, what can you tell me about the water?”
Clara looked her up and down. “It was in the center of the room, surrounded by stones, large trees, benches and tables”.
Willow nodded. “So how did you end up in the water?”
Clara grew restless. “Well, Jacob got aggressive so I tried to get away from him, as soon as I got free I started running, the mist began breaking away as I ran but it stayed thick behind me, then I ran into a tree and fell into the pond. That’s all I can remember”.
Willow listened eagerly. “Do you know if Jacob came in after you?”
Clara thought for a moment. “No, at least I don’t think he did, when I went under everything went dark and I couldn’t see anything. I remember feeling something grab my wrists, but it might have been my imagination, and a scream. It was muffled but it didn’t sound like him”.
Willow shot a glance across the water. “So you never saw him enter the water?”
Clara turned her view to where Willow was looking then back at her. “No, why do you keep focusing back to that? Is he important somehow?”
Willow’s gaze continued over the waters. “No, just a precaution in case he’s out there still…” Her voice trailed off, she turned to look at Clara again. “So, as you were kind enough to answer my questions, allow me to answer yours in return, where would you like to begin?”
Clara looked puzzled. “Are you not more curious about the tavern, or how I got here or anything?”
Willow laughed softly. “Ah, well that is something I already know, my curiosity is based around how you managed to discover it and gain access in the first place, but I would like to be fair and answer your questions first to put your mind at ease”.
Clara’s puzzlement turned to frustration. “So, was that building something to do with you? Are you the reason I’m here?”
Willow’s smile dropped, as worry took over. “Oh no. It’s…complicated…” Willow covered her face with her hands. “Would you mind if we went back to my home, it will be much more comfortable to talk there and I can explain better”.
Clara pulled back from her. “No offence, but the last time I trusted a stranger to take me somewhere, I ended up here”.
Willow eyed her suspiciously. “What do you mean a stranger, you didn’t know Jacob before now?”
Clara sighed. “No, I literally met him a few hours ago, he asked me out and took me to that building which brought me here”.
Willow grew anxious, she got to her feet and gestured for Clara to follow. “Can you describe him to me? Any specific markings, tattoo’s? Anything that would make him stand out?”
Clara got to her feet. “I thought you said it wasn’t important?”
Willow shook her head. “It wasn’t, however, it could be now. So please, anything that would be helpful?”
Clara sighed. “Tall, dark and handsome, I don’t know, just the generic good-looking guy”.
Willow pleaded with her. “Anything unusual or different, his clothing, eye colour, hair colour, tall, short, anything at all?”
Clara sighed even deeper. “He wore dark jeans and leathers, had blue eyes, black hair, quite long, sort of shoulder length, maybe five foot nine”.
Willow’s eyes darkened. “Did you notice any tattoo’s or markings specifically on his arms or chest?”
Clara thought back to when he gave her his jacket, the image clear in her mind of the hyena and the motto, trust in the pack. “YES”. She exclaimed excitedly. “Sorry, yes he did, he had a tribal hyena with writing under it in a different language, he said it meant…”
“Trust in the Pack”. Willow whispered, her face draining of blood, her top lip quivering.
Clara furrowed her brow. “Yes. How did you know?”
Willow didn’t answer her, she just stood looking into the distance, her mouth moving but not speaking. Clara took a step closer to Willow and placed a hand on her arm. Willow snapped back, her colour returning.
“What, oh sorry Clara, it’s just…” She paused again and looked down at her feet before looking back into Clara’s eyes. “I need you to trust me, I know you don’t know me but for your own safety you need to come with me”.
Clara stared into Willow’s eyes, as much as she had no idea who this girl was, for some reason she felt a close connection to her that she couldn’t dismiss.
Clara sighed deeply. “Ok, I’ll go with you, but you have to promise me you’ll explain everything. It’s obvious there’s more going on here than you’re telling me”.
Willow took Clara’s hand in her own. “I promise I’ll tell you everything once I know we’re safe. Please, follow me”.
Willow led the way as they moved deeper into the forest. Clara noticed Willows demeanor had grown much calmer and more relaxed compared to when they were at the embankment. Clara herself felt as if a great weight had been lifted as they made their way deeper and the trees towered over them. They walked for a while before Clara spoke again.
“Where are we going? You said somewhere safe, but what do you mean by that?”
Willow looked over her shoulder at Clara. “We’re going back to my place and then I need to make some calls…so to speak”.
“What makes your place so safe? Surely if there’s a problem we should call the police, I have my phone here somew…” Clara patted herself. “Shit! I must’ve dropped my bag when I fell in the water, why don’t dresses have pockets”.
Willow laughed. “Unfortunately, you wouldn’t get service out here anyway, if you need to contact anyone, you’re welcome to use the phone when we get home”.
Clara sighed. “Yes please, that would be great, thank you, is your home much further?”
Willow peered over her shoulder again. “Not far from here now, we’ll be able to see it shortly”.

They continued to walk briskly as the trees began to thin. A huge building stood towering high into the sky; it was well aged but solid. Its stone walls stood almost as tall as the trees, at least 2 full floors high with a tower near the back adding a further two floors. It made her think of a small castle, like the ones she used to make in games online. The roofed areas were thatched with straw that looked slightly dulled with patches of moss and vines. The windows were large, taking almost a whole floor each with large solid oak shutters. Moss grew along the edges of the walls and under the sills yet caused no damage to the structure itself. It looked natural, as if it were another layer of protection. The front archway contained 2 large oak doors carved with markings she recognised but could not place. Above the doors, atop the first floor, there appeared to be a balcony covered with pots and plants edging out over the banisters. Amongst more mysterious plants, Clara recognised the familiar healing plants that she raised at home, including some of her own favorites, aloe, lavender, and chamomile.