What was intended to be a pleasant journey quickly turned sour whenever Lolita and Roland's conversation began. More often than not, it resulted with an argument and then them refusing to speak to each other. It was childish.

Noelle sought out the older of the two: Roland. Maybe she could talk some sense into him?

"Roland, can we talk?" She whispered, and pulled him aside so they were out of view behind the rocks.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Can you maybe... God how to say this? Change your behaviour towards Lolita?" Noelle asked as nicely as she could. From Roland's reaction, she could tell it was not something he was keen to do.

"I would, if she stopped annoying me," he answered, folding his arms.

"But you're older than her, so you can be the bigger person!" Noelle reasoned, but to no avail.

"Look, I never say anything first. I join in when she starts," Roland said, and Noelle gave up trying to persuade him.

"Well that's a blatant lie," shot Noelle, before turning away. "Anyway, I'm going to go help Lolita pack up the camp, you should join too."

She did not check to see if Roland was following her. While he was a great friend, Noelle found that in the time she knew him he was stubborn as a mule. There was no convincing him of anything!

Noelle decided to try and reason with Lolita, and when she saw her returning from her daily mushroom picking, she decided that was the perfect opportunity.

"Good morning Noelle!" Lolita cheerily greeted, placing her basket on a makeshift rock table. "How are you?"

"Good, thank you. You?"

"I'm great, thanks for asking."

"There's something I want to briefly talk to you about," Noelle began, and she looked around to see if Roland was anywhere to be seen. "So this is between you and me, but what do you think of Roland?"

Lolita's face held a grimace when she heard the name.

"He's really annoying. Why is he here with you again?" She whispered, rolling her eyes.

"Well, he saved me from the castle," Noelle explained, surprised at her response.

"He keeps getting angry over every little thing! I don't know why he does not like me, but it's really clear! Did I do something, Noelle?" Lolita vented, growing in volume until Noelle had to motion for her to quieten down.

"He said he doesn't trust you," Noelle recalled her and Roland's past conversation. When she heard her words, Lolita's face quickly changed.

"He doesn't trust me? Why?! Do you trust me, Noelle?" She asked, her eyes pleading.

"Of course I trust you, but I don't know why Roland doesn't. You're going to have to ask him," Noelle replied, and Lolita groaned loudly.

"Oh but I don't want to talk to him!" Lolita complained, and Noelle rolled her eyes at her childishness. Really, was she the only mature one in the group?

She gave up on trying to persuade either of them. If Noelle wanted Lolita and Roland to get along, she would have to find another way.

. . .

"Noelle! Can you get me these shoes?" Valerie pleaded, nagging at Noelle's sleeve. "Please...?"

Noelle looked at the shoes that were on display at the shopping centre and almost laughed.

"Valerie you can't have those, they're high heels," Noelle explained, pulling her sister away from the pretty pink heels.

"Why not!" Valerie argued, and as soon as the heels were gone from her sight she focused her attention on a pair of black heels with studs a few inches taller than the ones before.

"You're only ten, and that is way too young to be wearing shoes like that," Noelle reasoned, before she thought of an equilibrium. "How about you stop fussing and we can leave, and in return, I'll buy you some nice shoes that don't have five-inch heels, hm?"

Valerie was pleased with the agreement and quickly ran to the sports section of the shoe shop, where she set her eyes on a pair of sleek, white Nike trainers.

"I want those!" Valerie decided, pointing at the shoes.

"Check the price first," Noelle said, and Valerie showed her the label.

£123.99

"Valerie, no way I'm going to buy you these. Maybe for Christmas, or your birthday?"

"Noelle!" Valerie whined. She looked like she was ready to plead with her sister in the middle of the aisle. "All my friends have these cool trainers for PE, and they make fun of me because I'm still wearing those ugly pumps daddy made me wear!"

More than anyone, Noelle understood wanting to fit into a group. She considered her sister's predicament, before deciding on her answer.

"Tell you what. I can buy these for you, but you won't be getting any Christmas presents from me. Deal?" She said, holding out her hand for Valerie to shake.

"Deal!" Valerie and Noelle shook hands, and the younger sister happily took the box of shoes as the older made her way to the till.

Despite the great loss Noelle's purse suffered, it was a joy to see Valerie so happy the next day at school as she proudly displayed her new shoes to anyone who would watch.

. . .

Abe Abara was the one who first dropped the "L" bomb in their relationship.

About two months along, while on a date.

It certainly was not their first date, no. Yet to Noelle, she had felt as excited as a child just discovering the wonders of the world. She spent an hour in the bathroom, putting on Aurora's makeup. Carefully, she applied mascara, lip gloss, eye shadow, and even a little blush to her face.

She left the house a little bit early in her excitement, so she texted Abe while he was on the bus. He arrived, and their date ran smoothly. Until the conversation came up.

Abe put his arm around her, drawing her closer to him.

"Noelle, you're really important to me," he said. "You're an awesome person to be around with... and - I guess what I'm trying to say is... I love you."

Noelle's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. She turned to look at Abe, blushing at the close proximity of their faces.

"I... I love you too," she replied, and she thought she meant it.

That was before she knew.

. . .

Noelle watched the starry night sky with a sign. Sometimes, she wished she could just be like a star, shining brightly and impossible to put out, yet she knew there were negatives too; always being in the spotlight in the dark.

She sat alone on the top of the largest rock, leaning back and just observing the stars. Wistfully, she remembered only a few days ago how she had been under the stars with Zuzanna, and back then she had felt like she owned the world. Like she was unstoppable.

But Noelle was just a teenager with a dream too big.

Once, Rupert had told her not to ever think about negative things past 9 pm, because one's emotions were more delicate and prone to corruption. Back then, she had jokingly called him full of baloney, but as she engaged with her own thoughts she found herself more prompted to agree.

The songs of the crickets that Noelle heard in the field were calming to her, like they were grounding her to reality. Until a new sound joined in. A long, low howl, and Noelle did not need to be an animal expert to know it was a wolf.

She reacted immediately, jumping up from the rock and rushing to wake up Roland and Lolita. She shook the pair awake desperately, alerting them of the danger.

They knew that there was no way to outrun the wolves, as their excellent sense of smell and powerful legs were no match for them. Roland came up instead with the idea of not letting the wolves get to them, by digging deeper under the rock for shelter.

They got to work quickly, using their bare hands to scoop away the soil. This time, even Lolita did not complain, which Noelle greatly appreciated.

Roland quickly shushed them when he heard noises outside, and the slow tapping of paws on the rocky terrain. He shoved Noelle and Lolita in front of him and into the hole, so they were sheltered from the predators.

Noelle did not know how many of them there were, but no matter the amount she knew the consequences may be devastating.

Suddenly, Roland was dragged out of the hole by his leg as he screamed, and though Lolita and Noelle tried to grab his hands they were ripped away.

"Roland!" Lolita shrieked, jumping out of the hole after him. "Come on Noelle!"

There were two wolves circling Roland, as he lay helplessly on the ground. His left leg held a brutal wound that was spraying blood on the surroundings.

Lolita grabbed a sharp rock laying on the ground near them, and Noelle marvelled at how she was able to lift it up. She threw it at the wolves, momentarily distracting them. This gave Noelle a window to charge to Roland.

She grabbed his hand dragging him up as Lolita tried to fend off the wolves. Noelle got Roland to safety as she watched the girl grab a carving knife from her bag. The wolf that she had thrown the stone at was motionless on the ground, and Noelle was not sure if it was still alive.

"Lolita, leave it! Just run!" Noelle shouted, and Lolita ran to join them with the knife in hand. Despite knowing that the wolf could catch up to them in seconds, the trio ran, yet inevitably it was pointless. The wolf was gaining on them, snarling as saliva dripped from its mouth. It did not help that Noelle was dragging along a wounded Roland.

Lolita stopped and raised her hands with the knife in them. As the wolf lunged, she stabbed the blade into its neck and blood squirted everywhere, dousing her in red. Noelle's ears rang from her and her friends' screams as she watched Lolita pull out the knife only to stab the creature again.

"I-Is it dead?" Roland asked. He sounded hysterical and tears spilled from his eyes as he clutched his leg, despite trying to stay strong.

"Yeah..." Lolita answered, her voice wobbling as she shakily stood up. "Oh my God..."

Noelle looked down at herself, her bloody face paling as she saw the scarlet on her body. She looked like a murder victim, despite the fact that none of the blood was her own.

"Is everyone okay?" Noelle urgently asked, and Lolita shook her head no. She looked positively traumatised, and Noelle did not blame her.

"As okay as I can be," Roland winced, motioning to his leg.

It looked bad, and though it had stopped bleeding there was still a risk of infection.

"We have to get you to a doctor. That has to be sewn up," Lolita concluded, staring at the wound.

"Those beasts are dead, right? We can get our supplies back and get to that village as soon as we can," Noelle said, and they began walking back towards the rocks to pick up their things. "We should get there before morning."

"I don't know if he has until morning," Lolita whispered, picking up the med kit as she bandaged Roland's leg. "I just hope it doesn't get infected."

"Can we not talk about me dying when I'm right here?" Roland asked, rolling his eyes. Though Noelle could see right through his façade. She knew he was scared and just trying to keep strong. In reality, she was also afraid; the idea that the wound could inflame and that Roland may not survive until morning shook her to her core.

"Sorry," Lolita apologised, and she finished wrapping Roland's leg. Noelle helped Roland up, letting him lean on her body as Lolita grabbed their bags.

"Want me to take one?" Noelle offered, but Lolita shook her head.

"It's fine, you help Roland," she said.

It was difficult walking, and their journey was slow. Noelle saw that Lolita still had her knife in hand, and her clothes were still covered in blood. She had told her to change, but Lolita refused, saying she did not want to waste any precious time.

With each step, she knew Roland was getting weaker. Noelle could feel it as his steps became sluggish and he stopped responding to questions at times. She and Lolita tried to engage him in a conversation as much as they could, even if it was about the most random things.

Noelle just hoped that he would hold out at least until they arrived at the village.