SWNOVELS Chapter 11: Crow's Eyes
“I can’t be with him,” protested Penelope.
“You’re not with him,” said Mako. “You’re with me.”
Penelope started shaking her hands wildly and began inspecting the empty halls like they had eyes everywhere. “You’re different though,” she mumbled.
Mako’s hasty feet halted. “Do you know how it feels to be alone, all the time?” she asked rhetorically. “You helped me, now help him.”
Penelope’s green eyes with the golden flecks in them sparkled. “Alright, but if I get into trouble-” she warned grimly.
“You won’t,” said Mako as they ran past the grand hall and lost Aiden to the very large courtyard. The massive yard rolled down with a steep rocky path that resembled a poorly constructed staircase, and at the end was a wooden cabin made with the large trucks from trees.
“Is that Bard?” Mako asked as she spotted the distant white bandages.
Penelope followed Mako’s gaze, “I think so,” she observed. “There he is!” She pointed quickly at the dark figure.
Mako spotted Aiden walking along the path at the edge of the vast forest. “Aiden!” She shouted, and surprisingly he heard, his brows were furrowed and he just continued to walk away, but they stubbornly followed.
They both held their knees and tried to control their laboured breaths in front of Aiden who just stood broodingly.
“I thought you weren’t allowed to talk to me?” His remark made both of them groan inwardly.
Mako opened her bag and pulled out a brown bag, “Here, lunch,” she said. “We saw you walk away, so we thought we’d bring you some.”
Penelope took a deep breath before shoving a bottle in his direction. “Some orange juice,” she said. “And don’t waste any, it’s my favourite.”
Aiden blinked a few times before asking, “I thought you weren’t allowed to talk to me?”
Penelope swallowed the great lump in her throat as her cheeks brightened a brilliant rose. “Er- forget it,” when suddenly, the leaves next to them rustled with a great chill, but that didn’t strike them as strange, as much as the crows nearby did. The black-feathered birds began to caw loudly, they all stared at the looming mighty forest that was beginning to grow a little spookier.
“What was that?” Mako asked.
Penelope shrugged. “It’s just some crows,” she said. “This one time my great-aunt Lucy, adopted a family of crows, it was weird.”
Mako chuckled. “That is weird,” Mako said after giving it some thought, imaging an old woman playing with crows.
Penelope nodded along, “Right.”
He shrugged. “You guys are weird,” said Aiden, surprising both of them.
“Shhh,” said Penelope. “Did you hear that?”
The three of them stood in front of the pine trees that slightly arched at the top, the mighty trees created this arched gate like it was the entrance.
The crows cawed again and this time it was even louder, twigs cracked and trees swished in the wind, the strong stench of pine and wet mud surrounded the kids, but it didn’t provide any comfort only a great shiver down their spines.