What should have been a two hour trip took the group until the morning. Frequently, they had to stop to allow Roland some rest, before returning to their mission. Their water and food supply was running short, and emotions were high and tense. Nobody dared to speak.

Noelle and Lolita took turns carrying the bags, switching every hour.

Though Noelle had to admit that out of the terrible predicament they were in, there was a single positive factor: Lolita and Roland had completely stopped arguing. Since last night, neither of them had said a rude word to one another, instead Lolita caring for Roland and him graciously accepting it. It was an odd revelation, and a great surprise to see her two friends acting civil towards one another. Zuzanna always said to look for the silver lining after all.

"How... How much longer, Lolita?" Noelle wheezed, holding her chest.

"Um, I'm going to assume another half an hour?" Lolita suggested, before looking up at the sky. "We've been walking long enough that it is getting light, so we must be close."

Noelle hoped she was right.

. . .

"Help! My friend is wounded!"

As soon as they arrived at the village, Noelle shouted to the first person she saw. It happened to be a well-dressed middle-aged woman, and she looked surprised when Noelle spoke to her. She pointed to Roland, who was being supported by Lolita.

"Do you know anywhere I can get a doctor?" Noelle urgently asked the woman, and she nodded in return.

"Yes, Dr Dyson's hospital is down the street. You won't miss it," the woman answered. Noelle thanked her repeatedly and ran down the street to find the man. Lolita and Roland walked slower in the back.

She rapidly knocked on the door before entering, and quickly called for the doctor. The hospital was small, with only about five rooms, which worried Noelle as she thought there might be queues. They did not have time for that!

"Dr Dyson?" Noelle called, and her call was answered by a short, elderly man with a bushy grey beard and a navy blue coat. On his wrinkled face sat a neatly trimmed moustache, and he sported a dark top hat on his bald head.

"Who's asking?" Dyson asked, peering at the young girl before him.

"My friend needs your help! We were attacked by wolves last night and he was almost killed by one of them," Noelle quickly explained, showing the doctor where she left Roland and Lolita as he followed.

"Is the wound deep?" He asked, twirling his proud moustache around his finger.

"I-I don't really know... it was bleeding a lot so we bandaged it up quickly," Noelle said, suddenly feeling really foolish that she barely knew anything about the injury. Everything had happened so fast, she had not even had time to comprehend everything. In her stress and panic, she had not spared a glance at the wound, instead covering it up as fast as she could.

Roland and Lolita were close to the hospital, so they met halfway. Dyson helped lift Roland and carry him faster, while the girls watched with tense faces.

Roland was taken to the third room, so Noelle and Lolita waited on the comfortable sofas as the doctor examined their friend. The waiting room they were in was pleasantly decorated, with cheerful posters on the walls and bright curtains. Noelle could tell that the eccentric doctor had been going for a carefree vibe, yet it did little to mask their fear.

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Lolita whispered, and Noelle wrapped an arm around the younger girl in comfort.

"I'm sure he will, Roland is strong. He'll probably be back on his feet tomorrow and rolling his eyes," Noelle said, trying to lift their mood. Lolita chuckled at her words.

Suddenly, they heard advancing footsteps, before Dyson came into view. He walked to the girls, and they quickly stood up ready to hear what he had to say.

"Your friend is in stable condition. Luckily, he did not lose a lot of blood and while the wound was large, it was shallow so I was able to easily stitch it up. I have put him on bed rest and medication to prevent infection, but within a few weeks he will make a full recovery."

Noelle could have cried in relief. Hearing his words, a great pressure off of her chest had been lifted, and she felt like she could finally breathe. Next to her, Lolita had a similar reaction.

"When can we see him?" Lolita asked.

"You may now, however he is on pain medication and could be incoherent," Dyson replied, showing Noelle and Lolita to the room Roland was staying in.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Noelle gently asked, sitting herself down on the foot of his bed as Lolita stood at his side.

"Awful," Roland groaned. "I can barely think."

"You really worried us!" Lolita cried, wrapping her arms around Roland's neck. His eyes widened in surprise, and he shot Noelle an awkward look as if to say what happened? He patted the younger girl's back until she released him from her grip.

"How long will he have to stay here?" Noelle asked the doctor, who was standing in the doorway, watching the exchange.

"I recommend at least a week, but with plenty of rest, and if all goes well, I could discharge him a couple of days earlier," Dyson answered as he scribbled something on his clipboard. "We will serve food in a little under an hour, and during then visiting times are closed."

. . .

Since Lolita promised to stay at the hospital to keep Roland company, Noelle decided to use the time she had by herself to go shopping for food for herself and Lolita, as they were not included in the hospital services. She'd borrowed a spare dress from what Lolita had packed to change out of her bloody clothes, unwilling to draw more attention to herself. 

Noelle looked around the village gaily, admiring the pretty cobble houses and their colourful windows. All of the shops had wide curtains, in all colours of the rainbow, with attractive golden writing spelling out what they sold.

She went to a small shop and took only the cheapest necessary things, such as bread, butter, ham, eggs, and plenty of water. As she was leaving, Noelle saw a billboard that caught her eye for all of the bad reasons.

For the biggest poster, plastered right in the middle of the board, contained her face.

MISSING BRIDE OF ADRON

NOELLE PARK

15

IF SPOTTED, CALL

XXX XXX XXX

Noelle froze when she saw the poster, and her blood ran cold. Quickly, her eyes darted around to see if anyone was watching, before she ripped the poster off of the board and stuffed it in the pocket of her dress. A red-headed woman passing by gave her a funny look, before her eyes suddenly widened. Awkwardly she waved, and then Noelle quickly began to rush back to the hospital, ducking her face in fear of being recognised.

Who knew how many more posters of her face there were? For all she knew, they could have spread around the whole of Dacnella! If she was recognised by anyone, any slim chance of getting back to London would be completely destroyed.

When she had crossed the street before, she thought no one had paid any attention to her. But the knowledge that her face was plastered on every crook of Dacnella made her hyper-aware of any prying eyes cast her way. Suddenly, everyone was looking at her, eyes wide and glaring as she passed by them.

To get away from them, she ducked into an alleyway. In Noelle's eyes, it was better to be safe than sorry. Any one of them could grab her off of the street and hand her over to Adron.

A wretched hand gripped her wrist, pulling her back before she could scream. Noelle found herself face to face with a short, old woman. She looked like a witch out of a picture book: dark robes, black hair, wrinkly skin, and an ugly wart on her nose. Noelle noted that she had coarse hairs sprouting out of her chin and grimy, dirty nails that pierced her delicate skin as they gripped onto her like a lifeline.

"Noelle Park?" she asked, examining Noelle's face. "You look like her."

"N-No..." Noelle stuttered, trying to pry her wrist from the woman's hand.

"I am Faye. Come," she hissed, pulling the girl along against her will and inside a dark home on the street.

Noelle was taken into a small, black room, with a grim sofa and a tiny wooden table in the middle. Inside there were two other women who looked exactly like Faye. She stumbled as Faye shoved her from behind, before going to join her sisters.

"Is this her?" one of them said.

"She looks like the girl from the posters," said another.

"It must be, Taye," the first woman repeated.

Noelle stared at them, flabbergasted. She wondered if they were witches, living in disguise as innocent old women. They were despicable to look at, and she began backing away, gripping the doorknob and twisting it, but to no avail, as she realised it was locked.

"What do you want from me?" Noelle spoke, trying to sound commanding and confident in her tone. In reality, she felt like a lost, young child alone in the hands of a beast.

"Oh, we won't hurt you... will we, Naye?" The first woman, Faye, laughed, revealing her rotting yellow teeth. Some of them were cracked and falling apart, while others were missing altogether.

"Why... we would not dream of it!" Screeched Naye. Their voices sounded like banshees, deafening anyone unfortunate enough to be in their presence.

"We just want to talk to you... to warn you," Taye revealed, and the three women surrounded Noelle, holding hands as they spun her around.

Noelle felt dizzy as she looked at them circling her, and her panic was growing as the women began to chant.

"A friend or foe... you never know!" Taye howled, cackling with abandon.

"To win or lose... you must choose!" Faye whooped wildly, her unkempt hair flying in the air and whipping Noelle as she tried to back out, only to run into the third woman behind her.

"Who lives, who dies... you decide," finished Naye with glee, and the women erupted into a peal of reckless laughter, torture to Noelle's ears as she desperately tried to cover them to block out the noise.

"Stop!" Noelle cried, slamming her eyes shut as the womens' shrieks and shouts overwhelmed her. Then, her world turned black.

. . .

Noelle awoke alone, on the dirty floor of the room. She lifted her miserable head, groaning as she rubbed her temples. The room was now empty, and the three women had disappeared. As her memories began coming back to her, what the women had said drove into her like a train.

A friend or foe, you never know,

To win or lose, you must choose,

Who lives, who dies... you decide.

But what did it mean? Did the women give her three prophecies, or was it all a sick joke?

Noelle's head ached, and she feared she had a concussion from the impact of hitting the floor. She supported herself on the wall, slowly standing up as her eyes gained focus.

She ran towards the door, and to her relief, it was unlocked. She swung it open and bounded onto the streets, grabbing the basket she was carrying and stumbling out of the alleyways back onto the open road.

What did the women mean that she would decide who died? Was she going to be the cause of a murder? Noelle feared the truth, and the more she thought about the words given to her the sicker she felt.

Finally, Noelle reached the area of the village that she recognised: the street that Dr Dyson's hospital was located on. She ran inside, slamming the door behind her as she ran up the stairs to Roland's room. Lolita jumped when she burst in, out of breath and looking like a mess.

"Oh my God, Noelle!" Lolita cried when she saw her, immediately jumping up and rushing toward her. "What happened to you!"

Noelle quickly made up a believable lie, not wanting to worry her friends about what the witches said. Additional stress may hinder Roland's recovery, and she did not want to put pressure on someone as young as Lolita.

"I tripped over a stray dog in the street," she said, hoping Lolita would buy it. Luckily, the girl did not question her further and went to put the basket away on the table.

A knock sounded on the door, and Dyson entered the room, his notebook clutched in his hands.

"I see your friend has returned," he said, smiling slightly at Noelle. She nodded in response.

"Hello Dr Dyson," Noelle greeted. "I was wondering when is the first day that Roland will be able to leave."

"I have already told you friend over here," Dyson said, motioning to Lolita. "Roland will be able to leave the hospital in approximately four days, of course considering his recovery goes well."

A four-day hold-up is not that long, Noelle thought, and there was not that much of a rush. Of course, she wanted to return to London to her family, but not at the expense of her friend.

Dyson left them alone in the room, and they fell into silence. Noelle stared at Roland as he slept, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. Her eyes wandered to his leg, which was heavily bandaged.

"It's my birthday tomorrow," Lolita sighed, breaking the silence.

"Oh, happy birthday," Noelle perked up, smiling at the girl. "How old will you be?"

"Fifteen. It's going to be my first birthday without my grandma," Lolita answered, looking bittersweet as she said it. Noelle went over to her, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Well, you can spend it with us! When Roland is awake tomorrow, we can go out into the village together and celebrate!" Noelle said, and Lolita smiled at the suggestion.

"I would love that, thank you," she said, wrapping her arms around Noelle's waist in a hug.

"I mean, anything for a friend," Noelle said, and Lolita did not reply.