Chained Princess

Chapter 2 - Spindly Things

Anastasia spent the rest of the day packing her things. She hadn't seen hide nor tail of Rowan since their fight. He had probably gone in to town to take care of his usual business, and with both of their emotions at an all-time high, it was for the better. She looked over her meager pack to make sure she had accounted for everything. She had never been to Gamaliel, but she had heard travelers from town often say it was only a three days' journey by foot. Examining her items, she contemplated whether to take all the magic protection wards or pack a few more days' worth of undergarments. On one hand, the trip could go smoothly and she could have the luxury of clean clothes the whole way there. On the other hand, if she was attacked by road bandits, she would need the protection spells. With a heavy heart, she replaced her clean undergarments with the extra protection scrolls. Perhaps it was an ingrained instinct in her to be clean, but she really did despise the idea of not being able to wear laundered clothes, no matter how poor they were.

Anastasia looked out the window to the setting sun. She would need to leave soon. Grabbing a few days' worth of bread and cheese from the kitchen, she wrapped up her precious food items and stowed them in her bag. She turned to look at her small home, the place she had grown up most of her life with her step father and Rowan. Fresh tears pricked her eyes. She furiously wiped them away. She had done enough crying already, but that didn't mean the sadness in her chest was any less. She did not know what her step father meant when he said there were stirrings in the underground, but she would not let Rowan get hurt because of her. They had ruined her life once already and she would not give them the opportunity to do it again.

Anastasia shut the wooden door behind her, her fingers lingering over the grain as she recited a short protection spell. Small white lights from her fingertips emitted pulses that ran along the grain of the door in every direction, engulfing the entire house in a second, and then disappearing as fast as it had come.

The necklace she wore began to warm at the use of her magic. She touched it gingerly and frowned. Even a child could cast a protection spell, but just the slightest use of her magic was dangerous. Use too much and they would find her for sure.

Looking out over the small village from her hilltop home, she let out a long sigh. She did not know if she could ever come back, but she still had hope. Casting one last lingering glance, she made her way to the edge of the woods and finally onto the beaten road.

~~~~~

Day was breaking over the horizon as Anastasia finally came to the end of her first day of travel. She had not anticipated how boring her trip would be. There were trees and trees for miles, but nothing else. No other people, no animals, just her and the spindly things that liked to trip her with their twisted roots. Even the bunnies she had attempted to feed on one of her breaks chose to scurry away just because she accidentally stepped on a stick! She desperately missed Rowan's presence. She had felt lonely with him standing right beside her, but now that she was actually alone, it was as if her chest was caving in. She often had to stop to catch her breath when the panic attacks hit her. She was never one to worry too intensely about anything, that had always been Rowan and her step father's job. Now, though, just the idea of her being captured sent her running as fast as she could toward Gamaliel.

After some searching, Anastasia finally found a small, hollowed out space under some particularly gnarly roots of a giant tree. The area looked like it had once been an animal's home, but had long since been abandoned. The snap of a branch from deeper into the forest had her hair on end as she stared into the darkness. The sun wasn't high enough to see too far in just yet. She let out the breath she was holding when a small animal darted out of the brush. She had never actually camped before, so she was a little on edge. Sleeping under the stars was something she heard her step father talk about often, but nothing she had ever had any interest in actually doing. 'It can rejuvenate you, Asa! Bring you closer with nature and make you stronger!' She remembered him saying as he flexed his muscles at her while she laughed at his display. Anastasia felt herself smiling again just at the memory.