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Eventhoughthesunwas warm and bright, and the gentle breeze tangled comfortingly in her hair, Scarlett began to feel uneasy. The light had started to sink down below the tree line, and she realized the day was turning toward evening.
And she had no idea where she was.
She had thought by staying on castle grounds meant she wouldn’t get lost, but she’d severely underestimated how far out they went. She had wanted to get away from the palace itself, but now, she could barely see the tall spires.
She hadn’t necessarily been trying to run away. She just wanted some actual freedom. It felt nice to walk wherever she wanted at whatever pace she wanted without Nyla breathing down her neck.
Except now, she couldn’t figure out how to get back. She was growing tired and hungry, and she was merely guessing at the path back to the palace. She had started out striding through neatly cut paths between massive trees that bloomed with fruit blossoms and had ended up in a wild, overgrown meadow.
Am I even on castle grounds now?
Scarlett cursed herself for not paying attention. Surely, she must have passed a gateway or fence that sectioned the palace off from the native forest unless all of it was castle grounds. That did very little to help her because there were no landmarks to guide her back to the pristinely kept gardens.
She’d been so involved in her thoughts that she’d simply stopped looking around her, and now it seemed as if she’d blundered into a dense forest, and she had no idea how far behind her the palace was located.
I’ll simply retrace my steps.
Scarlett turned around and marched determinedly along the forest trail. The long grass between the trees was lower right in the center, and she assumed it must be some kind of path. She had only been walking a short way when she realized that the afternoon light was now angling sideways, not from right behind her.
She stopped, turning toward the horizon. The sun on Lorr was mostly the same color as Earth’s, but it shimmered with points of light, dancing hints of glitter that twirled in the air like a haze of prisms. Instead of being beautiful, it hurt her eyes.
Which way was the sun when I first started walking?
Scarlett knew the sun angling from behind her had alerted her to the fact it was sinking toward the horizon, so she had turned toward it. She felt her anxiety rising as she realized that when she had set out earlier, the sun had been right overhead.
She turned slowly to her left, watching the sun through a break in the trees. Scarlett stood very still as if a large predator was tracking her. Her fear rose as she watched the sun sink. In seconds, it would be behind the trees, hard to see, and the light would begin to fade from the path.
I have no idea where I am or which way to go!
Any skills she had from living on Earth were useless here. It was a completely different sky, with unfamiliar stars, not that she knew much about navigation. The forest itself was unlike anything she had ever seen.
She wouldn’t have the faintest clue about where to find shelter or how to forage for food, and she had no idea how to predict or prepare for bad weather. For all she knew, Lorr unleashed mighty storms without warning. Scarlett wrapped one hand around her belly, trying to keep herself calm.
I’m so sorry I got you into this!
She was so tired now that her joints ached, and her muscles were beginning to scream with exhaustion. Tears threatened her, but she held them at bay. With a shuddering breath, she headed toward the slowly sinking sun, hoping to at least get an idea of where she was.
I don’t even know if this direction is west. Where does the Lorr sun set and rise?
As she reached the break in the trees, she looked around, but all she could see was more forest. Her anxiety grew. The palace was huge, and if she couldn’t see it, she had to be very far away from its location.
Scarlett watched as the sun set and the shimmering gold began to fade from the purple hills. The sky was a beautiful, deep, dark blue, and stars flickered through it like chips of diamonds catching alight in candle flame. Tears pricked at her eyes again.
I can’t even enjoy how beautiful it is because I’m stuck out here! Why did I do something so insanely stupid?
Her stomach rumbled, and Scarlett pulled herself together, sitting down among the high roots of a massive tree. It seemed to curve comfortingly around her as she settled in with her back against the trunk and the giant roots rising by her sides like solid walls.
Scarlett only had a little water left. Since she had to keep her fluids up, she carried water with her at all times. She took small sips, not just to conserve her resources but to center herself. Above all, she wanted to keep herself calm.
Her resolve didn’t last long. As the light finally bled from the sky, she heard noises in the forest. Ground cover rustled, and branches in the trees sighed and rattled. Strange cries rang through the night, animal noises like nothing she had ever heard.
Even though the tree’s roots seemed to cradle her against the trunk, she still felt exposed and vulnerable. Scarlett was certain that Lorr must have apex predators, just like Earth, and that she wouldn’t be safe in her tree-shelter forever.
As the night deepened, the air became very cold. Scarlett curled up miserably, trying to control her fear. She knew that too much stress was bad for the baby, and she made every effort to stay calm.
How the hell do I stay calm in this situation?
Even through her rising fear, she was terribly tired from her long walk. Scarlett slipped in and out of a fitful doze, waking to every new sound that echoed through the forest.
