Elegantly Rogue

C H A P T E R 9

Blair

I was walking with Gigi along a path that had been made from over use. My father had always warned me against creating pathways like this. He had believed them to create more trouble than they’re worth. 

My ears picked up on the faint sound of crying in the distance. I allowed my eyes to wonder around us and try and locate the direction of the crying, but it seemed to be echoing all around me. 

     “Can you hear that?” 

My footsteps halted for a moment after I spoke and Gigi stopped too, looking at me with an expression of confusion. Her eyebrows were furrowed,  and her head was tilted slightly, but it was clear as day that she had no idea what I was talking about. 

     “It sounds like a child... Maybe a baby. Can’t you hear it? At all?” 

All my explaining was in vain. She shook her head and continued walking along the pathway. I sighed and turned around once, listening again to the crying. It was odd. Something within me was calling towards the crying. 

I continued along the path behind Gigi, listening, trying to pinpoint the direction of the crying. It still had the echoing effect to it, making it difficult for me to pinpoint the exact direction, but I figured out that it was coming from in front of us. 

I started walking closely behind Gigi trying to get her to walk faster. For a while it helped, but it didn’t take long before I found myself walking ahead of her. She wasn’t trying to keep up with me anymore and I wasn’t trying to hang back for her. 

I was being drawn towards the crying. The feeling was similar to what I had felt when I had heard the girl screaming the night all of this started. 

My steps faltered and I found myself standing still for a moment before I turned around and looked at Gigi. She was watching me, but with something like curiosity and not caution. It was a refreshing change. 

I sent her a smile that I hoped was apologetic. I had no doubt in my mind that she would alert the others of what would appear to be an attempt at an escape. I turned back towards the path and pushed my body into a sprint.  

Pain spread through my body in an instant. It was kind of like a tingling numbness urging me to stop, but I wasn’t going to. If the urge that I was feeling was indeed the same one that I had felt when the girl had been kidnapped then maybe it meant that she was in trouble again. 

What I didn’t understand was why I was getting these urges. I had never so much as seen this child more than once and yet I felt as if I needed to protect her with my life. 

A sharp pain shot through my head and I slowed down, reaching up to cradle my head in my hands. I sunk down onto my knees, trying to force out the memory that was worming it’s way into my conscious mind, refusing not to be acknowledged. 

I focused on the crying and forced my body upright as I moved forward again. My steps felt unsteady as I walked forward, but I stumbled and found myself on my knees again, the memory triumphing over my efforts. 

~•°•~

     “Remember Blair, the more you listen, the more it’s going to hurt.” 

I felt myself looking up at my father and I felt myself shiver, goosebumps breaking out on my arms. My heart seemed to be beating a mile a minute, the thud almost as strong as a punch. I was trying to conjure up a meaning to my fathers words, but my mind continued to come up blank. 

     “How do I not listen? It’s impossible to ignore.” 

My voice sounded shaky, even to my own ears and I watched with tired eyes as he raised his hand to his mouth, the string on the whistle dangling loosely between his fingers. 

     “That, my dear, is up to you to figure out.” 

~•°•~

I forced my body upright once more and walked forward on unsteady feet as a million questions assaulted my mind, almost bringing me to my knees again. 

I registered the crying once more, and I realized it sounded a lot closer than it had been, which meant that I was indeed going in the right direction. I forced my eyes to focus on my surroundings, taking in what seemed to be endless miles of field and trees. 

I almost overlooked the figures in the distance, but my eyes snapped back to them, focusing and trying to see who it was. I realized that the figures were the source of the crying and I starting walking towards them with rushed footsteps. 

My confident stride faltered slightly as I recognized the Alpha with the girl I had saved, along with another dark haired child. I wasn’t sure if any of them had seen me yet, or if it was wrong of me to have come to them. 

Both the children looked up at me and the insistent crying seemed to die down. I watched as the girl struggled to get out of the Alphas hold and he put her down, allowing her to come running towards me. 

I continued walking towards them, trying to make the distance that she needed to cover less and soon she was crashing into my legs, enfolding them in a bear hug. I sent the Alpha a questioning glance and laid my hand on his daughters head. He was too busy staring at her to notice my confusion. 

She let go of me and stepped back, wiping at her cheeks with her hands and I felt my heart swell at the sight of her. She looked at me, her glassy eyes at staring into mine. 

     “Thank you for saving me.” 

I smiled, thinking to myself that she seemed very adult for a child. I bent down and picked her up, balancing her on my hip in the same manner that the Alpha was now carrying the other girl. I looked at him and realized he was still watching the girl.

     “I couldn’t let a princess be taken by a dragon, now could I? It would have been silly.” 

I made light of the situation as I walked towards the Alpha. He was a lot closer as he had been, but I knew if he really wanted to then he would have closed the distance between us already. 

I looked down at the girl and again and felt slightly relieved that her crying was now under control. Her lips were even curved upwards slightly. 

     “My name is Blair. What’s yours?” 

I smiled at her and she lifted her hand, playing with some of the strands of hair that had escaped my braids. 

     “I know. My name is Ana.” 

     “And this is Ivy.” 

My eyes snapped towards the Alpha and saw that he was gesturing to the girl in his arms. She was openly staring at me, a frown etched deep between her brows. 

     “You look like me.” 

I felt my eyes widen at Ivys’ statement and I looked at the Alpha for a moment before looking at the child again. 

     “Don’t say things like that, Ivy.” 

She looked at her father before returning her attention to me again, but this time, her eyes darted to Ana and it almost seemed as if they were somehow communicating. 

Ana was still playing with the strands of my hair, and it was an oddly comforting thing. I turned my attention to the Alpha and found that he was staring at me intently. He didn’t even bother looking away when I caught him and I felt my cheeks warm up in discomfort. 

     “Your names are really pretty. It suits you.” 

I became aware of footsteps and I realized that Gigi was probably still on route and heading in this direction. There was a part of me that was hoping she would get here sooner rather than later, since there was a silence settling between us that didn’t seem all that comfortable.

     “Ana? You said you needed to speak to Blair about something. So, come on. Get on with it.” 

I frowned once I registered what the Alpha had said and I turned to look at Ana once more. She was staring at her father with a frown—I wouldn’t have been surprised if she reacted in a way that would classify as angry for a child. 

     “Don’t you think it would be better for them to talk in private?” 

I turned around, watching Gigi close the distance between us, clearly not allowing her age to slow her down. I felt Ana turn around to look at her father. It resulted in her feeling awkward in my arms, so I turned with her so that it was easier for her to see him. 

     “I will wait until we are home.”