She looked over to see her two cousins sleeping. They were slumped over on each other.
The two men stirred while she watched out the window. She looked over the rumpled mess of hair each one had.
She laughed. "Have a nice sleep?"
The oldest one yawned and flatened his sandy brown hair down and fixed his glasses. "Aaah. Yes. Except for this crick in my back." He straightened his back and strentched.
"Milo, do you always look this ruffled after you wake up?" Asked the young woman.
"Worse." said the second young man. He stretched and fixed his disheveled clothes. He then pulled his hair back and secured it in a small pony tail. He smiled at the young woman. "Have anything to eat?"
She smiled and pulled a sandwich wrapped in brown paper from the bag next to her. "Here." She said as she handed him the sandwich.
"Thanks Cindy." He said. He unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. He chewed as Milo pulled out a book and began to read it. "Don't you ever get tired of reading?" He asked. Milo looked at him.
"No Jim. I like reading. For me its like.. like.. Like how you like to feel the wind through your hair on the wheely thing of yours." Said Milo going back to his book.
"That wheely thing is my invention. I don't read about things I do them. Create new things. Make things better. I " Jim stopped as he heard Cinderella laughing quietly. "What's so funny?" He asked.
"You two. Who knew two brothers could be so different." She smiled and handed Milo a sandwich and began to eat her own.
Jim looked at her for a minute and then said "Well what do you like to do that's better?" Milo looked up from his book and waited for her answer.
"Better? Nothing. I like to cook, sew, and yes read. I enjoy helping you with your inventions. I.. I.. don't know." Jim smirked and reclined where he sat. Milo looked at him and went back to reading. "I just think its funny how different you are."
All three settled into a cozy routine. Milo read, Jim slept or worked on one of his new inventions he was working on, and Cinderella watched the countryside roll by. She sometimes read one of the books she had with her but mostly she watched out the window, dreaming of where the carriage was taking them. To what lay ahead.
------------------------------------------------
Deep in the forest, where no one dared stray, lay hidden, a secret concealed and masked. Mysterious things happened in the forest. People disappeared. Trees watched you. The land moved under your feet. Rumors of strange creatures and beast were whispered from village to village. Children and women had curfews. The men never went into the forest alone.
The Wood they called it and for the past century it had been a source of mystery, terror, and danger. Many families far and wide lost sons and daughters to this mysterious Wood.
But what they didn't know and few guessed at was that the secret that lay hidden and concealed in the Wood was a garden, The Garden. It amplified the mysterious wood and distorted its mysteries. Some areas of the Wood were still pure and good. But there were not maps of the Wood. It changed and moved within itself. So one could know which areas were safe. But that did not stop many. The few that knew about the garden were smart enough to heed the warnings of the Wood. But some foolishly sought out its beauty, and the garden was a beauty to behold. Every kind of flower one could think of was there. No matter if it should be able to grow there or not. Plants and flowers from across the world adorned different parts of the garden. Each unique and different.
However, the beauty of the garden could not brighten the dark Wood.
Heavy panting. The pounding of feet on the forest floor. No other sounds rang through the trees. No bird songs. No animals playing. Not even the sound of bees buzzing. Only the frantic sounds of running.
"Run faster!" Yelled a brown haired girl in a purple dress. She ran behind her two companions, one with raven black hair down to her waist and the other with white hair. All three ran wild and panicked through the woods.
"We left her. What are we going to do?" Asked the raven haired girl turning once to look behind her.
"Don't turn around. We have to go faster. Once we are out of the forest then we will figure out what to do. Go back for her and the others, something. But right now we have to keep running."
The white haired girl whimpered beside the others. Just as the brunette was going to speak to her a blood curdling screech came not to far behind them. All three girls ran faster. A small ray of light could be seen ahead. Fueling there hope of escape.
"The edge of the wood." whispered the raven haired girl.
"Keep going we are almost there!" yelled the brunette. They were a hundred yards away when a giant shadow passed over them. All three girls skidded to a halt. In front of them was a giant beast. It blocked there escape and their hope of freedom.
"Go!" yelled the brunette as she pushed one girl left and the other right. She charged the beast. Hoping to distract it long enough to let her friends escape. But the beast was too big. With his wings outstretched he flapped once and sent all three girls tumbling backwards. He advanced and all went black.
He advanced and all went black.
The Clayton Family
