“You won’t find her,” the little girl’s voice was sure and steady. She sounded bored. Knox stopped; he hadn’t even seen the girl leaning against a tree to his left. It was almost supper time and he and his men had made little progress. Out of frustration, Knox had started to plow forward.

After the strange dinner at Diblin’s house, Knox had made the group walk another few miles before allowing the group to settle for the night. He hadn’t wanted to be anywhere near Diblin. Now, one of the ‘silver eyes’ stood before him.

“Excuse me?”

“You won’t find her,” she stated.

Bernard shoved his way to the front, his eyes wide.

“You speak our language? But why didn’t you speak the other night? What’s your name? Have you lived here all your life?”

Knox shoved him back, glaring. He might not have trusted or believed every word Diblin had said, but he wasn’t about to go ignoring the man’s advice either.

“Find who, your mother? We’re not looking for her, but you should be. It’s dangerous for a little girl to be out here by herself. It’s dangerous for both of you.” Knox looked around. “Or perhaps you live nearby?” He wanted to keep it friendly, but keep his distance as much as possible.

The little girl gave the impression that she was rolling her eyes and snorted.

“Stop calling her my mother. We aren’t related. And anyway, you are looking for her, every single one of you has her on your minds.”

“I think you have it a little wrong here, we’re trying to make a path across the forest. This has nothing to do with your- companion,” Knox paused. If the woman wasn’t her mother, then Diblin could be right about the woman needing help.

“I know your purpose, but that isn’t truly what you want. I can see it clear as day in all your faces.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Knox peered at the girl, who looked as if she hadn’t a care in the world. Knox tried to ignore Bernard’s frantic scribbling next to him. The girl simply shrugged and turned away, plunging into the thicket. Knox didn’t hesitate to motion his men to veer in the other direction.

They hadn’t gone far when she appeared in front of them again.

“You do realize that you went in the complete opposite direction, right?” she crossed her arms.

“Opposite direction of what?” Knox asked innocently.

“I’m just trying to help, why’d you go the other way?”

“Help with what? I don’t recall asking for help. Perhaps you should just run along home now.”

“You want to get out of here or not? I don’t have all the time in the world, but I can at least get you a little way in the right direction.”

“And why would you want to help us? And how do we know we can trust you?” Knox folded his arms.

“Who do you think has been leaving food at your campsites so you don’t starve? I risked my own neck just to do that much.”

“And how do I know it was you and not your companion?”

“Her? Leave food out for humans? She’s already pissed at me that you guys saw us. If she found out I was helping you guys get food, I’d be dead meat right now. I realize that’s not much to go on, but please, I’m just trying to help.”

“Alright, but if we see any sort of funny business from you, I’ll kill you myself, got it?” Knox readjusted his pack and motioned her forward.

Jackson stopped him before he could follow after, but Bernard brushed past. “What are you doing? Just leave it.” Knox didn’t stop them, but they slowed when it became obvious that Knox and Jackson had stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? What do you mean what’s wrong? That ‘little girl’ has silver eyes. She’s clearly not human. She could lead us anywhere! Plus, you heard what that old man said last night.”

“We can’t just let her go now. She’s a little girl out here on her own,” Bernard hissed in Knox’s ear. He had come back to join the two, frustrated that they hadn’t followed.

“Again, what is it with you and stating the obvious?” Knox fired back.

“But she got away on her own before, so what’s going to stop her from running off now?” Jackson stepped between the two. “Say we follow her and then slips away again? Leaving us who knows where?”

“It’s not like we know where we are now, so it wouldn’t make that much of a difference,” Knox offered.

“It would if she’s as dangerous as Diblin said. What about all those creatures we’ve heard tales about?”

“Well maybe because her mother- or whoever- isn’t here, she won’t go anywhere,” Bernard offered.

“Ok, but she came to us without a problem. I don’t think she relies on her companion as much as we originally thought. She showed up by herself and is clearly ready to lead us away herself,” Knox leaned more towards Jackson.

“And technically, that first night we spent with them, didn’t the little girl lead the way? The woman stayed between us,” Jackson noted.

“I suppose we can’t just tie her up or anything,” Knox mumbled.

“You’re going to punish me because I abandoned by my companion? You wouldn’t hurt a little girl, would you?” The little girl gave the impression of gazing up at the three men with what Knox assumed was supposed to be innocent eyes. Knox hadn’t expected her to approach them. She had come back when all the men had stopped following her. “For a moment I thought I had lost you all already,” she smiled, “Or decided to turn around again.” It was hard to tell her intended expression when her eyes seemed so devoid of emotion. It unsettled Knox how at ease the girl seemed. There was no way this girl was as innocent as a normal ten-year-old.

“Already?” Knox ventured.

“Of course, we aren’t going to harm you, or tie you up!” Bernard shot Knox a disgusted look as he turned to the girl. “We’re just worried about your safety and where you came from, as well as you mother.”

“Well you seem dense enough to get lost easily, so I figured I would have to double back a few times for you, but not so quickly.” The girl ignored Bernard.

“And how do you figure that?” Jackson crossed his arms, towering over her.

“Because you were stupid enough to come into this forest in the first place,” she shrugged and turned away. “Come on, I know a place you can set up camp. And don’t worry,” she turned and flashed another smile, “I’m the least of your worries out here. I won’t harm you.”

Knox and Jackson glanced at each other before Knox followed after the girl. There wasn’t any point in continuing to stand around talking. So far, she was their only lead. He might as well see where it took them.

The girl led them into a thicket where their packs caught on everything. At one point, they stooped so low, they were practically crawling on all fours, but the girl didn’t seem bothered. She kept on moving forward. About an hour later she stood, one arm folded across her chest and a finger tapping her lips in concentration.

“I know it’s around here somewhere,” she muttered.

“Have you lost your way?” Bernard had kept close to Knox to be able to observe the girl as much as possible. “Maybe we should have waited for your mother.”

The girl scoffed and stalked off. Knox followed her, watching her peer around different trees as if she was looking for something she had dropped.

“Aha!” she cried out. “I found it! I knew this place was around here somewhere. Sorry it isn’t as nice as the other one with the stream going through it, but it’s got some nice open space and the ground is dry and fairly even.” The girl glowed with pride. Knox approached her and looked over her shoulder. She was right, it was a nice clearing. The setting sun shone through the opening in the trees, making the lush grass warm.

“Thank you, um,” Knox trailed off. He still didn’t know her name. She just waved him off and led the group into the clearing where they began to set up their camp.

“Did your mother show you this place?” Bernard followed her.

“I’ve literally said multiple times that she isn’t my mother. Are you stupid? Or does mother mean something else where you’re from?” The girl wrinkled her nose.

“Is she your older sister then?”

“No.”

“So, who is she to you?”

“I really don’t feel that that is any of your business. She’s not here, and she won’t be here for a while. I came to try and help you before she does come back.”

“Why would you help us?” Knox questioned.

“I’m not sure I want to help you anymore, so I guess it doesn’t matter,” the girl turned away and stomped into the trees.

“Wait!” Bernard rushed after her, grabbing her arm. “I can’t just let you wander off like that, it’s dangerous out here. Why don’t you join us for supper for now?”

The girl glanced down at Bernard’s massive fist, which completely encircled her arm.

“Don’t ever touch me again, mmk?” she said in a high-pitched sneer as she delicately removed his hand.

“I do apologize, I wasn’t thinking,” Bernard apologized.

“Do you ever think?” she quipped.

Knox could see Bernard’s distaste in the little girl growing. He was not one who allowed a woman, or a child, and especially not a young female child, to talk back, not to mention when the girl in question doubted his intelligence.

“You have quite the mouth young lady. Do you always speak so boldly?” Bernard tried to maintain his composure.

“I speak my mind, yes,” the girl picked her way back to the camp. Knox immediately offered her a seat around the firepit a few soldiers had created. She nodded her thanks as she sat.

“So,” Knox already didn’t know what to say as he sat on the log next to her, not wanting her to feel too crowded by a bunch of strange men. “What’s your name?” he finished awkwardly.

“I don’t think I’ll tell you.”

“Um, can I ask why?”

“You just did, and I don’t trust you.”

“You don’t trust me, and I’m assuming by extension my party, but you’re the one who made yourself known to us and went out of your way to convince us to trust you,” Knox shifted, watching to see what she would do.

“Correct.”

“Would you please elaborate on that?”

The rest of the group had gathered to listen and had started to cook dinner. It wasn’t long before bowls were being filled and passed out to the group. The girl had declined to eat.

“I came to see if you were worth helping, and so far, I haven’t been impressed.”

“I am honestly sorry to hear that. Will your mother be stopping by to make any such assessment?”

“Nope,” the girl watched them eat, her arms folded across her chest. She sat with her back straight, like Knox would expect from a well-bred, but rather spoiled, lady.

“Ok, well you’re very talkative this evening, is there a reason you or your mother wouldn’t talk to us last time?” Bernard had calmed down and had pulled out his notebook again.

“We didn’t want to. There was nothing to say.”

“Not even a response to a greeting? You speak our language, so I would assume you know our culture as well, which implies you would know that a proper return greeting was in order.”

“I may know your culture,” the girl turned her attention to Bernard, “but that doesn’t mean I have to acknowledge it, especially when it is irrelevant outside of your own home country. Is it not also improper in your culture to speak to a lady you haven’t been introduced to? Therefore, I, nor my companion, had any obligation to speak to you.”

“She’s got you there,” Jackson chuckled. “If you’d done some shit like that in the city, you would’ve been shunned at the very least.”

Bernard glared at Jackson before making a few notes.

“Why are you out and about instead of your companion?” Isaiah joined the conversation. Up until this point the rest of the group had simply just listened to the others talk, but now Isaiah shifted uncomfortably, worried that he had spoken out of turn, but Knox nodded his approval.

“I have my life, she has hers. What’s the big deal?”

“I would expect that you have some sort of chaperone,” Bernard responded, his nose still buried in his notebook.

“I thought we had already established that I don’t have to follow your cultural rules. My people know how to be respectful and decent, so we don’t need to worry about having to have a constant companion for our women. And you called us savages,” the girl turned away from Bernard, closing into herself in disgust.

Bernard’s head snapped up, his mouth gaping open like a fish as he searched for some sort of defense. “Well, what about all the dangers you could run into out here?”