Giselle didn’t know what to say. This girl was the one who’d saved her last night, twice, and she couldn’t help but trust her – but she looked so incredibly different from anyone Giselle had seen before, all gold and ivory, like a creature from another world.
A sudden thought made her gasp and she looked back. The children were now clearly visible in the morning light. And thankfully, they looked like almost every other child Giselle had ever seen. She smiled at the boy closest to her and he smiled back. The girl behind him raised her hand in a small wave.
“Zellie? Where are we?”
“I don’t know, Robert,” she answered. And she didn’t. Everything around them was completely unfamiliar. She’d never been here before. There weren’t any houses or roads or any other signs of civilization. Bushes and trees, hills and canyons, stretched away in every direction. Mountains reached to the sky to either side of them.
Angelica must have heard Robert’s question as well, for she walked back to Domi with a graceful step. Her fingers lingered across the pony’s forehead as she spoke. “We are going someplace to rest,” she said to Robert. Then she directed her gaze to the children standing behind. “We will be safe there, for a few hours at least,” she added.
Giselle looked back. The children were staring, shocked, into Angelica’s golden eyes. They weren’t frightened that her hair was so bright – after all, they’d seen blonde people before – but they couldn’t justify the girl’s strange amber eyes. One of the youngest children, a scrawny girl that looked barely older than Robert, stumbled backward to slip her hand into that of a slightly taller girl. Giselle noticed that both girls were painfully thin. In fact, all the children were.
The poor things, thought Giselle. They need someone to take care of them – and Angelica’s probably the only one who’s ever tried. They need her. “Don’t worry,” she said, making her voice as reassuring as possible. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’re here to help you. Both of us.”
“Yes,” Angelica added, glancing at Giselle gratefully. “We are here to help. There is a building ahead, a deserted shack. We can rest there for a few hours, and then we must decide what we will do.”
Giselle’s lips tightened. The same question kept coming back. What were they going to do? And now the answer would be even more elusive. There were eight children to worry about, not just one. But at least she and Angelica had overcome their first hurdle – the children were relaxing. They seemed to accept the strange girl, at least for now.
And maybe after we get to the building, after I get some sleep, I’ll be able to think of something, Giselle reasoned with renewed hope. Or Angelica will have some ideas.
The golden girl moved away and Domi started after her. “Just a minute,” said Giselle, stopping them. She slipped from the pony’s back and held her hand out to the smallest girl of all, walking at the end of the line. The child looked exhausted. “If you want, you can ride the pony,” Giselle offered. She waited for the girl to come forward, then knelt in front of her. “What’s your name?”
The girl kept her eyes on the ground and her voice was almost inaudible. “Amelie.”
“I’m Giselle, and this is Domi. Would you like to ride him, Amelie?”
The little girl nodded, then looked up with hopeful eyes. A tentative smile touched her lips. Giselle lifted her behind her brother. “Hold on to Robert,” she instructed. “And Robert, you grab Domi’s mane. It’s your job to keep as still as you can, so Amelie doesn’t slip.” The little boy nodded firmly and clutched a handful of mane. He was taking his new job seriously. “Thanks, buddy,” Giselle whispered to the pony.
As they set out, she walked beside Angelica, leaving Domi and the children to follow. She hoped her actions would show there was nothing to fear from Angelica’s strangeness – and it wasn’t long before she felt a small hand in hers. She looked down to see a girl with scarred legs smiling up at her. She seemed to be around eight years old. “I’m Kristine,” she said as she squeezed Giselle’s hand. “I’m the one you talked to in the shed.”
“I’m Giselle. Thanks for taking such good care of Robert,” Giselle said and smiled back.
“I’m Mark,” said a ten-year-old boy, coming up on Kristine’s other side.
“The boy with the knife,” said Giselle, and Mark nodded.
“I’m Paul,” came a voice from behind Giselle.
She turned around to see a boy with a bruised face. He seemed to be only a year or so younger than she was. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
“I’m Paris, and this is my little sister, Tyla.” The two skinny girls looked almost identical, with one being only slighter taller than the other. “You said your names are Giselle and Angelica?”
“Yes,” answered Angelica.
Giselle nodded as she cast her gaze around. Hadn’t there been another child? Yes, there he was: a boy around seven years old, standing behind Domi. “What’s your name?” she asked the boy.
“He never talks,” volunteered Mark. “We don’t know his name.”
Angelica knelt and held her hand out to the child. “You’re safe now, little one. You may tell us your name if you wish. Come forward.”
Domi turned and gently pushed the boy toward Angelica with his muzzle. The boy went obediently, his eyes cast down. He stood and stared at the ground for a full minute, then uncertainly brushed his fingertips against her hand. Angelica didn’t move and, a moment later, he placed his hand in hers.
“When do we get there?” Kristine asked as they started to walk again.
All eyes turned to Angelica. “Soon,” she replied.
Then Mark began to sing. After a moment, the other children joined in.
“Toc-toc, qui est-ce qui
Frappe a ma porte?
C’est moi, enfant.
C’est moi, cherie…”
Bird noises woke him suddenly, and moments later he was on his feet. The sun was already well above the horizon. They’d overslept!
The man kicked Claude’s leg. “Get up!” he commanded.
Claude groaned, rolled onto his back and blinked a few times, then sat up. Slowly, he climbed to his feet.
The man stalked off, his eyes roaming the ground. The trail would be much easier to follow in the daylight. They’d make good time, as long as the guard kept up.
Claude didn’t follow him immediately. First he stretched and then he inhaled deeply, his head tipped back and eyes closed. Then he yawned and rubbed his eyes, stretched again, and finally followed his boss into the undergrowth.
They arrived at their destination, a tiny mud hut, an hour later. Giselle had never been so happy to stop. She’d had no sleep the night before, and that, combined with tremendous stress and exertion, made her absolutely exhausted. She could hardly imagine how the smaller children felt. Even though some had probably slept a bit before she’d arrived to help them escape, they weren’t as tough as she was. They’d be close to collapse by now.
While Angelica made sure the mud hut was still safe, Giselle lifted Robert and Amelie from Domi’s back. Then she led them inside the shelter. They let go of her hand to collapse onto a pile of straw next to the wall and cuddle up beside Kristine. Instantly their eyes shut. Giselle was about to lie down beside them when she heard her name. Paul was standing in the doorway, motioning to her to come. With a sigh, Giselle left the younger children to sleep.
Outside the shelter, Angelica looked up from massaging Domi’s back as he grazed. “You both should rest,” she said to Giselle and Paul. “We will have to move on in a couple hours.”
“I’d rather know what we’re going to do first,” said Paul.
Though all she wanted to do was sleep, Giselle nodded in agreement.
The three sat in a circle on the dry ground. “What are the choices before us?” asked Angelica.
“We could go to the city,” suggested Paul.
“Or stay here in the mountains,” added Giselle. “But really neither are good choices. I’ve gone ov
er it and over it.”
Paul shook his head. “I don’t want to stay here. There’s no food, except what we can scrounge from the land.”
“But the city isn’t good for the little ones,” Giselle said. “And it’ll be hard for us to support them there too.”
Paul didn’t argue.
“Are there no other possibilities?” asked Angelica, her voice filled with concern.
“None I can think of,” said Giselle.
“Me either,” said Paul. He looked down at his hands and despair slumped his shoulders.
There was a rustling noise behind them and Giselle tensed. She twisted around to see the little boy who was too shy to tell his name standing in the doorway of the hut.
“Come join us,” invited Angelica and held a pale hand toward the child. He came timidly forward, stopping between Angelica and Paul, his eyes locked on the golden girl in awe. “Do you have something you wish to say?” Angelica prompted.
The little boy nodded his head, but didn’t open his mouth.
“We will not hurt you,” added Angelica. “I promise. You may speak freely here.”
The boy’s voice was so quiet when he spoke that Giselle had to strain to hear him. “Children’s Village,” he said. “On the other side of the Mont des Enfants Perdus.”
“But isn’t that just a story?” asked Giselle. “It’s not real, is it?”
“What’s the Children’s Village?” Paul asked Giselle.
“It’s supposed to be a village where orphans live, near Port-au-Prince, I think. But I always assumed it was only a rumour.” Bitterness saturated her voice. “No one wants to help orphans.”
The little boy shook his head. “Maybe it is more than a rumour,” Angelica suggested.
“Even if it’s true, how could we get there?” asked Paul. “The only way is along the main road. The restavec agents would catch us, easy.”
“We could keep traveling through the mountains,” suggested Giselle, and then quickly amended, “If the village even exists, that is.”
“But…” Paul stopped. He looked sheepishly at Giselle.
“What?” she asked.
“You know. The zombies. They live on the Mont des Enfants Perdus. Everyone says…” He stopped again, obviously afraid of looking like a coward to the others.
“Zombies aren’t real. They don’t exist,” insisted Giselle, hoping the scorn in her voice would mask her own fear. “I mean, how can they? There’s no such thing as dead people who can walk around. That’s ridiculous.”
“So we are decided,” Angelica said suddenly. “We will go over the Mont des Enfants Perdus to the Village of the Children. If the village does not exist, we can then re-evaluate our choices.”
There was a long silence. Giselle fought to keep her eyes open. She had to think. How had they come to such a hasty, unclear decision? Trekking all the way across a wild mountain to find a village they didn’t know existed? It sounded crazy – but she had nothing better to suggest. “Okay,” she finally agreed.
“Okay,” Paul said beside her. He sounded as doubtful as she did.
The little boy lowered himself to Angelica’s lap and rested his head against her shoulder. He twisted a strand of golden hair around a finger and sighed deeply.
“Jon,” he whispered. “My name is Jon.”
After an hour of tedious tracking, the trail suddenly became easier to follow. Many small footprints marked the earth, and the agent’s foul mood improved immensely. In fact, he felt positively jubilant. Somehow the brats had found each other in the dark and were now running in a group. There was no need to go searching all over creation to round them up. He laughed silently. Even stupid Claude could track them now, though not as expertly, to be sure.
His face became hard again. When he had them, the first thing he’d do would be make an example of the girl in front of the others. He’d show them what would happen if they ever ran away again.
After all, they needed to learn submission if they were to make good restavecs, and it was part of his job to deliver them to his patrons already trained.
Giselle fell into a dark, dreamless sleep the second her head touched the straw. It seemed only moments later when she felt something gently touch her shoulder. She was awake instantly and leapt to her feet, her heart pounding like crazy. She relaxed when she saw Angelica standing before her, holding out a half coconut shell.
“I am sorry to wake you so abruptly,” the older girl said. “We must go soon. But first, here is some water.”
Giselle rubbed her eyes and sat up. The water felt wonderful in her parched throat, cold and clear. When she’d drained every drop, she handed the half shell back to Angelica. “ Thanks,” she said. “How long have I been asleep?”
“For less than two hours, I am afraid,” said Angelica.
“It didn’t seem nearly that long.”
“We must wake the others. Our pursuers are only two miles away. I doubled back on our trail and saw them in the distance. They are quickly advancing.”
Giselle and Angelica didn’t waste any time. Within a couple minutes, the children were awake and drinking their fill of the water Angelica had found while they were sleeping.
Giselle lifted Robert and Amelie onto Domi’s back. Angelica whispered to the pony, and then turned to Tyla. “Would you like to ride with the others?” she asked gently.
“It’s too much for him to carry,” Tyla said, although she looked longingly at the pony.
“He wishes to carry you as well.”
The little girl hesitated for a moment, and then nodded her head. “Just for a little way, then,” she consented, and Giselle lifted her onto Domi’s back to ride behind Amelie.
Angelica turned to Giselle when the troop was ready. “You go ahead,” she said. “I will clear away the signs of our presence here.”
Worry flashed in Giselle’s eyes. She pulled Angelica a short distance away, and then glanced back at the children. They were talking among themselves. “But Angelica, I don’t know which way to go,” she whispered.
“I do not know the path either, but surely there is a way over the mountain. I can help you find it when I am done here.”
Giselle nodded. “Okay, but hurry,” she said. “And be careful. You can’t let them catch you.”
“I will be careful.” Angelica nodded. “I promise.”
Giselle led the children away from the hut. There was no need to remind them to be quiet. They knew what was at stake. The only sound was the rustle of leaves as they passed, the patter of Domi’s hooves, and the whisper of callused soles over the earth. At the top of the first small rise, Giselle turned back for a quick look. Angelica was sweeping the ground in front of the hut with a leafy branch, erasing their tracks. When they reached the top of the second incline, Giselle could see only forest behind.
The irregular terrain and unchecked undergrowth were difficult to walk through, and Giselle was impressed with how well the children were doing. She knew how tired they were – she was too – yet they were making good time. But when she saw the next brushy, rock-strewn slope, she almost groaned aloud. It was so steep!
Paul can lead the way up, and I’ll help the stragglers, she decided. That’s probably the fastest way over.
The ascent was going well until Paul almost reached the top. Only halfway up herself, Giselle saw him breathing heavily as he paused to look down at them. Then, one by one, Mark, Kristine, and Jon reached him and stopped as well. Even Domi stopped beside the exhausted group.
“Come on, guys. We have to keep going,” gasped Giselle when she’d finally pulled Paris up the slope to stand beside them.
“Look, Giselle,” said Paul. He pointed down the hillside. “What do we do?”
Giselle turned. From their vantage point, they could see the hut again. Angelica’s hair gleamed like a golden mane as she continued to sweep away the tracks the children had left. And on the other side of the shack, two dark figures moved quickly toward the unwary girl.
> If we can see the men, they can see us, Giselle realized with a start. All they have to do is look up!
“Into the trees. Quick!” she said, her voice hushed and insistent. The children and Domi scrambled the rest of the way up the incline and dashed into the shadowy forest. Giselle was the last to reach the safety of the trees. She sent Paris on with the others and looked back.
Should she roll a rock down the hill? Angelica might realize the sound was meant as a warning – or it might distract her and allow the men to sneak up on her.
What else can I do? I can’t yell, because then they’ll know where we are. But I can’t just let them sneak up on her either!
The men were almost to the hut now. Giselle’s breath quickened as she watched Angelica lay her sweeping branch on the ground and walk away from the shack in the opposite direction. The girl glanced back at the hut just before disappearing into the heavy undergrowth. Moments later, the men walked around the shack and bent over the girl’s footprints.
She knew they were there all along, Giselle suddenly realized. And she purposefully laid a false trail for them! She smiled. Angelica was smart. She’d not only erased the children’s tracks, but had made some new, fresh ones – tracks that would lead their pursuers in the wrong direction.
Giselle faded back into the forest. “She’s safe,” she said to the children gathered round. “And she’s leaving them an obvious trail to follow – away from us.” There was murmur of relief and admiration. “We’ll go faster if you keep in front, Paul,” added Giselle, looking at the young boy.
Paul stood a little taller and nodded. “Let’s go,” he said and led off. The others quickly fell in behind. Giselle came last in line, but this time not only to help the slower children. If the restavec agents did find their trail again, she wanted to be the first to know.
Someone had been inside the hut. He could see fresh indentations in the straw where they’d rested. It could only have been the kids. If only he hadn’t slept in, they might have caught them.
Slave Child (Horse Guardian) Page 6