Queen of Rosewood Forest (On Hold)

Chapter 3

From outside I hear a worker drop a stone slab and the crash makes me jump, dropping the book. When I go to pick it back up, I notice a loose piece of paper has fallen out. Finally, the puzzle of my newfound powers and my father's stories all seems to fit in place as I turn the paper over and realize it's a map leading from our village to what seems like a castle in the woods. The path looks to start right behind the shop and leads pretty deep into the woods. I know that I've never made a trek into the woods before, and it can be dangerous, but it seems like my only hope right now. I grab an old bag from the office and start to go through the stock of things I have. I grab what few flowers I know would be helpful with wounds and repelling bugs, and I grab a spool of ribbon and stuff everything in my bag.

I decide to wait until the sun goes down to sneak out the back window in the office. I grab my raincoat before leaving and the book with the map inside. Sneaking around the back of the shops in the square, I stop behind the pub to catch my breath and to listen for if anyone has noticed that I escaped. Peering around the corner, I spot John with a girl from the cafe. He's obviously drunk and she's swooning all over him. I knew that he doesn't love me and that our marriage was pretty much for show, but I did care for him, and it hurt to see him show so much affection for someone other than me. At least now I know my house should be empty, all I have to do is get there and back to my shop without being spotted. Pushing the pain down for the moment, I look around then slip into the darkness so I can reach the house. I wait for John and the girl to walk back into the pub and then I make a run for it. There's a patch of bushes that stretches from behind the hospital to the intersection of this street and the one my house is on and if I can make it across I can make it to my house easily. I cross the street with no problem and continue crouching under the bushes until I get behind the house on the corner. I start running towards my house and pull myself through the kitchen window on the side of the house.

It's incredibly dark but I can't risk lighting a candle and setting off my neighbors to my escape. I go into my wardrobe and grab some of my work dresses and stuff them in my bag and I switch into my boots. I go back into the kitchen and head for the window but as I get out through it I hear John's voice at the front of the house. He's talking to that girl soI wait until I hear him open the front door and close it and then I make my way back to the bushes. When I make my way back to the square, there are more people out than when I came through earlier. I somehow manage to get across the street and back to the shop.

A tear slips down my face as I walk away from everything that I have ever known, my friends, my family, my everything. The forest loomed in front of me as I tried to gather the courage to enter it. Coldness seeped into my bones as I took my first step into the trees and yet, surprisingly, the fear in me slipped away into the night sky and comfort filled the void in me. I wasn't as scared as I knew I should be and that bothered me more than actually being afraid. What was going on with me? Pushing the thoughts aside, I took another deep breath and walked amongst the trees. I just walked and walked while my head filled with all sorts of thoughts, and I no longer paid attention to where I was going. Before I knew it, I was so immersed in the trees that I had no idea where I was.

I turned and turned trying to figure out something, some sort of direction to go but I was so lost that the fear started coming back to me. I dropped to my knees and tears slipped down my face. Everything finally hit me and the tears came pouring out as I clutched the leaves in my fingers and the rocks pressed into my knees. A twig snapped in the close distance and I gasped, trying to regain my emotions. My breath shook as I unclasped my fingers and wiped my face on my sleeve. Once my lungs quit burning, I slowly stood and sniffled while looking around trying to find the source of the twig breaking, praying it was just an animal causing the sound.