A Duet of Wolves and Sparrows

Chapter Two

Hazel woke in the morning to the sound of her phone alarm. It was set to play one of her favourite songs, a pop instrumental by an unknown artist she had randomly come across while browsing music on a streaming site. She had set her alarm for an hour earlier than she usually got up for work, so that she would have the time to double check her emails, to make sure that she hadn't dreamed up the things she had read the night before.

She grabbed her laptop from where it had been charging on her night stand and opened up her emails again. It was still there; she hadn't dreamed it. She had her escape, she could really move away from her parents and finally make her own way.

Hazel had missed out on so many things that she felt that she should have been able to experience and she was tired of it. Maybe this opportunity could be what allowed her to catch up. She could live on her own, she wouldn't be forced to rely on anyone but herself, she would be free to chase her own passions.

Hazel put her laptop to the side and slid happily out of bed and into her shower. As she washed her hair with her favourite lavender shampoo, her heart felt so much lighter, she was able to look forward to something again. It had been so long since the last time that she had felt any hope for herself, so long since she had really believed that she could be happy.

Once she was done with her shower and dressed for work, she put on some basic makeup (a thin line of winged eyeliner, mascara and some nude lip gloss) and pulled her hair back into a stylish inverted twist ponytail. She was wearing a fashionable suit that consisted of a fitted, beige satin camisole tucked into a pair of flowy, black, high-waist trousers and a matching black, cropped blazer. To complete the ensemble, she wore a pair of sleek, beige heels.

Hazel dressed exactly the way that her parents expected of her and as she looked at herself in the floor-length mirror on her wardrobe door, she thought to herself that she would be immensely happy to be rid of the heels when she moved out. 

In the rest of the time she had before she needed to leave for work, she decided to start writing up an action plan for her assistant, Derek, so that he wouldn't be left with nothing when she left. She wanted to make sure that he knew what to do in her place until her parents could find someone new to take over her position at the company. Derek was a good guy, he worked hard and it was clear how desperately he wanted to prove himself. Hazel felt a little bad leaving him to shoulder all of her responsibilities for a while, so she felt that writing up a plan for him was the least that she could do.

She planned to schedule the email with the plan and all of her instructions to him for the day after she intended to leave for her grandmother's home in Bleydh Forest. 

Hazel looked at the time and quickly saved her text document, shut down her laptop and grabbed her briefcase and purse. She headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to find that the cook had already prepared her her preferred breakfast of two slices of avocado toast. She felt a wave of gratitude wash through her and picked up the toast to eat on the way to work. Before heading out she grabbed a post-it from her bag and wrote a quick note.

"Thank you for the toast :)"

Hazel knew that neither of her parents usually bothered to thank their household staff. They thought themselves to be above pretty much anyone who didn't make the same amount as them, or who didn't match up to their social standing. It was frustrating to watch them go about their business with such little consideration or empathy.

Hazel got to the front of their home and found her personal driver already waiting. She smiled and thanked him as she climbed into the back seat and fastened her seatbelt, switching her toast to her other hand so as not to get crumbs on the car seats. 

Soon enough they were pulling up outside the office building and Hazel was walking across the pavement to the front entrance.

The building was always quiet at that time in the morning, the main people hovering around being the entrance and security staff, along with a few employees on their way to the elevators. 

Hazel checked in with her staff ID and headed straight up to her department. There were a few people already hurrying about with fabrics watches and filing in and out of the printing room to use the scanner and photocopier. She walked past them and over to Derek , who was already at his desk, typing away at his computer.

"Good morning, Derek. What's on the agenda for today?" She asked jovially.

"You're in a g-good mood today, Hazel." He started. smiling and looking just a tad less nervous than the previous evening. "Just your lunch meeting with Mr Garcia and a two o'clock phone call with one of our new freelance copywriters." He looked up from his screen, looking a little unsure of what kind of answer to expect.

"Thank you, Derek. Please send me a reminder to my office five minutes before my phone appointment." Hazel requested.

"Of course, no problem at all." Derek assured.

"Thank you! You know Derek, I think you're starting to really fit in around here. With a little more time to get used to the environment, I think you'll really thrive here." She said and disappeared into her office without waiting for him to reply.

When she sat down at her desk, she sighed heavily. She really did feel bad about leaving her team, but she hoped that her detailed action plan would be enough to help them cover their bases. She knew that Derek had it in him to take on more responsibility, he just needed to find his confidence and become a little more self-assured.

Hazel spent the majority of the morning blasting through all of her writing assignments and managerial tasks. Whenever she had a moment to spare, she was adding to her drafted email for Derek and planning her escape routes.

The whole day went past in somewhat of a haze. It felt like her daily shift was passing far too quickly, yet somehow far too slowly at the same time. She had so much work to do behind the scenes, so that her department wouldn't be left completely helpless when she was gone. 

She felt a lightness appearing in her heart, despite the way that the day was seemingly taking forever to end. The memories of those green eyes followed her the whole time, floating in the back of her mind. She felt so close and she was so eager to get closer, to reach out and feel something.

She used her morning break to book herself a taxi van for the evening of the night of her birthday and started thinking about the logistics. She would need to load her dog crate for Floss first and stack all of her other luggage and boxes around it, since it would be the biggest thing that she was taking and she wanted her dog to be as comfortable as possible. 

She would need to pick up some storage boxes from the hardware store on her way home from work as well as stopping by the local mall to pick up some new walking trainers and some sturdy hiking boots, maybe a new coat and some clothing that was more suited to living in a forest.

Hazel was excited for the clothes shopping. It meant that she could finally buy clothes for herself that she actually liked and wanted to wear rather than things that were appropriate for her job and her image as an heiress. There was no way that her parents would ever allow her to be seen in a plaid shirt, jeans and trainers when their "reputation" was at stake.

She wouldn't pretend to understand the attitude held among the other rich people that she had met. She didn't understand why they chose to fixate on such insignificant details about a person. There were far too many rules and fake personalities for Hazel's liking. Sure, she had met a few other heirs that seemed to be alright people, but she had also met the worst of the double-crossers, back-stabbers and money-grabbers. People who were already swimming in more money than they could ever spend, hunting ruthlessly to accumulate more of it.

This performative lifestyle was one of the reasons why she needed to get away. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting having to pretend to be interested in things that she resented, having to fake nearly all of her emotions in public in order to keep up appearances. All she wanted to was live a life where she could relax and be herself instead of wasting all her energy on pretending to be someone else.

When Hazel finally arrived home again at the end of her long day of work, she was thoroughly worn out. She had bought herself six plastic storage boxes to put all of her décor, knickknacks and accessories in, along with two large suitcases and several bags filled to the brim with new, more woodland-appropriate clothing.

She took everything up to her room with the help of one of the several maids that worked around the house. She didn't tell them of her plans just yet, figuring that it would be better to wait and figure out which of them she could trust more to not inform her family of her plans to leave.

She took her time that night packing her new clothes into the suitcases that she had bought for herself. She thought happily about being able to wear her new outfits as she pressed her new winter raincoat into one of her suitcases and tightened the straps to squash it in place.

She decided to take a few of the pieces that she actually liked from her pre-existing wardrobe too, just in case she ever felt like being fancy or wanted to dress up in the future. She picked out something comfortable that she could wear on the long drive and left out one of her new pairs of shoes, and hid them in her wardrobe.

While she finished packing and taking down some of her wall decorations, Floss watched her patiently from her dog bed, wagging her tail with interest. By the time that Hazel was done, her room was bare but for her bedding, her lamp and her toiletries seeing as she would be needing them right up until the night she would be leaving.

"Well, Floss, It looks like this is all really happening. You'll like it in the forest, there's much more room to have long walks and the air will be a lot fresher. There'll be much more space for you to run around. I think we'll both be a lot happier." Hazel said, crouching down to stroke her hands over the soft fur of Floss' head and ears.

"Woof!" Floss replied affectionately, her tail thumping from side to side and she wriggled herself a little further into Hazel's arms.

"That's right! Lots of green grass and woodland trails. No more stuffy city life, no more smog, no more being stuck inside one room all day." Hazel said, grinning as she ruffled the fur of Floss' sides and back. 

She spent the evening cuddling with Floss on the floor by her bed again, while she worked on completing the rest of her drafted email for her assistant. By the time she felt the need for a late dinner and some sleep, she had completely finished typing up her instructions and scheduled the email. She was impressed with herself at how much she had been able to accomplish in just a day. It made her feel a lot more secure in her plans.

Hazel crept quietly down to the kitchen, already in her pyjamas. The house was big and had far too many rooms, so she knew that it was highly unlikely that either of her parents would wake to the sound of her grabbing herself some instant ramen, but she didn't feel like risking it. She didn't particularly feel in the mood to receive a lecture on what time of night it was. 

She tipped the hot water into the cup, gave it a stir with a fork and tiptoed back up the stairs to her room, quietly closing the door behind her and sitting down on her bed. She put it on the night stand while she climbed fully onto the bed and set up her laptop to play a movie. 

She allowed herself this moment of peace and normalcy, just sitting on her bed in her pyjamas, watching a cheesy supernatural movie on her laptop and eating cup ramen. It was a moment of pure contentment. There wasn't anything particularly special or abnormal about it, but that was what made it so nice. 

Hazel was excited for the next day, planning to go to Old Willow Springs Executers to pick up the jewellery that they had mentioned in their email. It would be nice to have a little more to remember her grandmother by, something that could give her that little connection that she had been missing.

Hazel knew that the time from then until the moment that she could finally leave would feel like it was stretching out beyond belief, but she found that given the reward of her time waiting, it was worth it. It would all be worth it soon enough. She just had to be patient.

The following morning, Hazel made sure to get up early again despite having a half-day at work. She didn't have to worry about turning up at the company until the middle of the afternoon, so she had plenty of time before then to complete her most pressing task for the day. She was going to the Old Willow Springs Executers main office to collect the rest of her inheritance. 

She got dressed in something a bit more casual, washed up and headed straight out of the door. She had the family chauffer drive her there, since she didn't have her own car and didn't know how to drive anyway. She sat in the back and looked out of the window with boredom as they went through the city. 

As soon as they arrived, Hazel felt a strange and intense pull in her chest, it was like it was compelling her. Unable to resist the feeling that was overcoming her, she hopped out of the car and practically ran inside. She went straight up to their front desk, heart pounding, and the receptionist smiled at her politely.

"How may I help you?" She asked.

"I'm Hazel Garcia-Sparrow. I received an email telling me that I could pick up some items from here that my grandmother left me." Hazel explained, trying to contain the immense energy she felt coursing through her.

The receptionist nodded and quickly typed something into her computer, made a few clicks, typed something else and Hazel waited semi-patiently, listening to the rapid tapping of the keyboard.

"Ah ha! Here it is." The lady exclaimed. "Can I just see your ID please, before I retrieve your items?" she requested.

"Ah, of course." Hazel replied, handing the receptionist her provisional licence.

The lady took a moment to look it over and confirm the information with her database before giving her approval and handing back the card. 

As Hazel put the card back into her wallet, the receptionist disappeared into a back room. It was about ten minutes before she reappeared with a medium-sized box in her hands. She beckoned Hazel closer and opened up the box. Inside, was a stunningly pretty diamond ring and the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen.

The ring had a thin, pale gold band and the diamond in the middle was cut into the shape of a flower. Her grandparents really did have impeccable taste. 

But, the necklace... the necklace was something else entirely. 

The long sterling silver chain lead down to the most beautifully intricate pendant she had ever laid her eyes on. It was a big crescent moon, engraved with stunning, swirling patterns that surrounded a leaping wolf. Dangling from the tip of the moon, hanging perfectly between the top and bottom of it, was a perfectly polished moonstone. It must have been about a centimetre in diameter.

She found herself entranced by the dazzling blue and little glimpses of pale orange that shone from within the stone as it was tilted towards the light that was streaming in through the front windows of the office.

Hazel's heart raced and she reached out to carefully and very lightly run her fingers over the pendant. As she did, she felt a shock of familiarity from it. She could feel her hear and soul singing as she held it in her hands. It felt like the pull towards the woods, and she wondered if she would feel this full and complete when she finally got herself to Bleydh Forest.

"There was also an instruction." The receptionist broke Hazel out of her entrancement. "The instruction said that they keys to the property were left for you by the door. There should be a loose brick somewhere in the entryway with a little box hidden underneath it. Mrs Sparrow made it very clear in her will that the keys were not to leave their hiding place, so they're still there." she explained.

"Thank you..." Hazel said, feeling utterly overwhelmed by the slew of new feelings that she had been hit with.

Hazel took the ring, placing it safely inside her handbag, in one of the inner pockets that could be zipped up. She then reached out to take the necklace. She stared at it for a while and decided that rather than put it away, she would wear it.

She got the receptionist to help her to fasten it at the back of her neck and the second it fell lightly against her chest, she never wanted to take it off ever again. She wanted to keep it with her always. She knew in her gut, somewhere deep inside of herself that she was tied to something in this necklace, something about it just felt right, like it was meant to be.

Her spirit felt like it had leapt out of her to wrap itself around the moon wolf and the moonstone and at the same time felt as though it had settled in a way that it had never done before. Hazel knew that she was on the right path and she would continue to walk it no matter what.

She could feel that song again, the one that she sang in her dreams, her duet. It felt stronger with the moonstone resting over her heart. Everything felt closer, more tangible, like she was moving closer to it, like it was still there waiting for her, just out of arm's reach. Just a little further and she could reach out with her fingertips and touch it, hold it close to her.

Something was falling into place, slowly but resolutely. This was right, it was the way her soul was taking her. 

It was fated.