#ryesup

Seconds seemed to tick by as hours, time seeming to have stood still. The sun was beginning to rise, but little light could be seen through the trees. Pearl walked as carefully as she could, but her feet were used to the flat sand of the shoreline, and the forest floor made her stumble in the dawn. She had not left home alone - she had paid a traveler in fish, all she could muster up without taking too much from her people. He was to take her to Belladonna, where he lived in The Shambles. They had gotten close, but when night fell he insisted they stop to rest. He said she was too loud, and would attract all sorts of creatures and fae that would do them harm. 

But she woke before morning, and her guide was nowhere to be found. She assumed the worst, and gave him the benefit of the doubt - something had eaten him, or someone had stolen him away in the darkness. In truth, he had left the moment sleep overcame the girl, shameless in abandoning her. He had been paid up front, and she was close enough to the edge of the city that someone would eventually find her, or she would stumble upon Belladonna herself, if she did not die before then.

After waking, she had searched the area and called out for the traveller for hours, to no avail. She had walked, likely in circles, until the sun began to trade places with the moon, and a morning mist clouded her surroundings. The mist made her travels even harder, and try as she might, she felt as though she was getting nowhere. As she came upon a tree she swore she had passed three times already, she tripped on a thick root. Her knee split open on a rock jutting up from the soil, and she scraped her chin on landing. 

“Ugh!” A defeated cry echoed around her, followed by the scurry of morning critters. She pulled herself over against the trunk of the offending tree, and heaved a shaky breath. She pressed on her knee to ease the bleeding, unconcerned with the small scratch on her chin. She couldn’t help but think of how disappointed her brother would be, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks. They stung her chin, and she winced and wiped them away with the back of her hand. Frustrated, she lashed out at the root she had tripped on with a violent kick. It hurt, but it was something else to think about. 

She curled her legs up to her chest, cradled by the large tree, and watched the sun grow brighter and the mist begin to evaporate. It was a peaceful morning, save for her own bad luck. The only sounds were those she made herself, and the distant chirp of birds from above. She thought desperately of the sea, of her brother and her home, and closed her eyes. She could have sworn she could hear the birds turn to gulls, calling out above waves crashing against the shoreline, and let the sound fill her mind until it lulled her to sleep.