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But I know it’d do no good.
It’s the same circle of thoughts I’ve had since I was kidnapped. I’d hoped by now I’d have some clarity, but I don’t. Not on anything. But I can’t seem to process that I’m engaged to four princes, or that if I ever get home I have an awkward situation to figure out. All I know for certain is that I have to keep going. That I have to survive. My family needs me. And I don’t want to be dead before I can even decide what to do about the princes who haunt my dreams.
I pause, thinking I heard something.Is someone following me?I whirl around wildly, but no one’s there. It’s just the sounds of the forest. The woods grow quieter in the morning after all the nocturnal animals go back in. Some birds call out, and a few woodland animals scurry about, but for the most part, I'm alone.
Which, for some reason, is even more unsettling.
“Keep moving,” I whisper to myself as I turn around and begin walking once more.
I won’t let this break me. I won’t let them win. No matter what it takes.
Rubbing my arms, I try to ignore my chattering teeth. “You got this. You can do this.”
I can't let myself get distracted. I have to stay focused on surviving. When the sun is higher, I can rest. Then do it again and again, until I reach the Summer Court. No matter how far away that is.
Time passes. I ignore a dead squirrel spread out on the top of a bush. I walk around the body of a rabbit that lies across my path. These things are strange. Bad omens, but nothing beyond that.
At least, I try to tell myself that, even though the words ring hollow.
The sun rises slowly through the trees, and with the brightening of the world, anxiety courses through me. My plan was to move until I couldn’t move anymore, but I forgot that the daylight, even now, brings trouble. I’m going to be spotted, and I’m too tired to run. I have to find somewhere safe to hide for the day. Preferably somewhere with a banquet of elaborate cakes and a soft bed.
If I wasn’t so tired, I’d laugh at the thought. Instead, I force myself to keep going. Right now, basic food, and water are the only luxuries I desperately need.
Seriously, I could even eat bugs. Anything to calm the gnawing in my belly and the dryness of my throat. I’ve kept walking downstream, with the river to my right as I’ve moved, and I’ve stopped to drink often, but it’s just not enough. I don’t know why.
I just need to find a bush. A hollowed tree. A safe space where neither man nor creature can reach me. My eyes keep scanning, but I see nothing. No place to stop. Nothing obvious to eat. No berries. No nuts. No slow bugs. There’s just trees in all directions.
Then, I freeze. The forest has gone quieter. Something has changed. My heart races, and I look around me. It looks like… there’s the edge of the forest ahead of me.
I stumble, barely keeping upright as I drag myself forward.Fuck.I see buildings. I think I’ve come to a town. A town that has to have people. People in the Summer Court… because we didn’t travel long enough to leave his lands, and those people would be loyal to Prince Sulien.
Relief flows through me like a wave lapping at the shore. I calm down and find energy simultaneously. The knots in my muscles loosen, and my heart beats steadily, not frantic and chaotic like it’s been all night. My body is lighter, no longer carrying the weight of my fear at being in the forest or being caught again.
In a town, the people will get me back to the princes and far away from this waking nightmare.
My pace quickens. I walk into the town and search for anyone who might be awake at this hour. The few houses I walk past are dark and quiet. I could knock. Iwillknock if there’s no one else, but I head past them.
What am I doing?No one should be up at this hour. I sure wish I wasn’t. I’d much rather be in that ridiculously enormous bed in the castle. I’d even take my old bed at the house I grew up in. Anything is better than this.
I’m about to turn around and just start knocking on doors when I see a trail of smoke in the sky. Limping forward, I turn a corner and head down another street. When I reach the end of it, I freeze. It’s coming from a bakery.
Of course, the local baker is up! I smile so hard my face starts to hurt. I almost break out into a run, but I don’t have the energy. When I knock, a tiny baker opens the door immediately, her smile bright. She’s easily in her sixties with a plump frame, gray hair in a bun at her neck, and a smile that doesn’t waiver.
“Oh my, sweetheart, are you okay?” she asks, her gaze running over me.
She’ll get me home.
I shake my head, swallowing around a lump in my throat.No, I’m not okay, but I will be.
“You look like you’ve been through hell. Come on in and let’s get you resting.” She puts her arm around me and guides me into the warm bakery, as if her tiny frame could keep me from falling.
My stomach growls loud enough for us both to hear, but I try not to be embarrassed. I’m hungry. I probably look like hell. Fuck, I probably smell like hell. There’s nothing I can do to change that fact.
Wordlessly, she sits me down and offers me some bread. I take it greedily and tear into it. It must be yesterday’s bread because it’s not soft or warm, but I don’t care.
After I finish the whole roll, I look up and feel some of my desperation easing as I itch my wrists beside the iron cuffs. “Thank you so much. I don’t even know where I am. I’m from the Summer Court, and I was kidnapped by a group of people. I escaped and spent the night in the woods.” I pause to drink the water she places in front of me.
“Oh, my, what an ordeal! You’re so brave!” Her brown eyes are wide, and she wipes her hands on her apron as if wiping away my story.
