Ivy and Elise *REWRITING* *SLOW UPDATES*

Chapter Five

Ivy could feel a knot of growing anxiety in the bottom of her stomach. The confidence she felt had been scorched by the sunlight and was almost invisible in the cold night. Almost. She knew that no matter what, there would still be a scrap of something left in her.

"I'm not too sure about your customs but when we talk to Ao we must first curtsey until she is ready to talk. Hopefully we aren't too late for an audience with her." Elise explained.

The two had spent they day circling around the different areas where Elise gathered plants and berries for the tribe healers. They were at the last spot and night had fallen.

During their travels they had learnt a great deal about each other. Like how Elise dreamed about becoming the leader of the tribe and how they both seemed to have a strong disliking for Ivy's father.

Ivy had tried to not think about her father. The story he had told her about Sampson and Charlotte always seemed to resurface in her mind when she thought about him. But Elise was a fairy. She found herself thinking. She seemed nice. Not the sort of person the universe would push me away from.

She could feel Elise behind her. She had her small but strong-looking arms wrapped worriedly around Ivy's waist. That was another thing Ivy had learnt about her new companion, Elise had never ridden a horse before.

It seemed strange when Ivy thought about it. She would never have been in this situation if she hadn't ran away. Was it a bad decision? Right now, in the cold night, the worst decision of her journey seemed to be her clothing. Or a lack of it.

Sure, her blue ruffled sleeves and long, sweeping skirt were fancy enough but they weren't meant to be worn outside. Her clothes were for tea parties and balls not visions and fairies. And so, despite the small amount of warmth that Elise produced, Ivy began to shiver.

"Here." Elise said simply and reached for the cloak she had with her.

Ivy stopped to turn and look at Elise questioningly. The fairy gently pushed Ivy's vibrant red hair out of the way and secured the cloak around her shoulders. She tried to ignore the tingling sensation she felt where Elise's fingertips grazed across her skin.

She stuttered out a thank you and pulled the dark green material around herself more comfortably.

"That colour suits you." Elise said, wrapping her arms back around Ivy's waist.

For a slight moment, Ivy fell silent. She didn't know what life was like outside of the castle but she didn't think that giving away your cloak during a cold night was the norm. She cleared her throat and tried to make sense of the woodland infront of her.

"Where now?" She asked as they approached a fork in the path.

Elise directed her down the left path and past a sign that read 'Lacewing Chief Clearing' and suddenly Ivy was scared again. The small moment of calm vanished and her blood seemed to run cold. She had never met the chief of the Lacewing Tribe, or any chief for that matter. Would she be met with mercy or something more sinister?

What had she gotten herself into?

A/n: Happy Thursday! Right now I'm drowning in schoolwork but still I'm happy to present chapter five to you. Just a heads up, somewhere down the line I might take a small break from uploading and editing to catch up with some stuff but that shouldn't be for too long. I hope you have a lovely day and I'll see you soon :)

- Love from Poppy x