by Amber Jaeger
Katiyana trembled as he fit the leather bag over her shoulder and tied the cloak around her neck. “I cannot run forever,” she mumbled as tears threatened.
“Not forever. If you go as I say, you will come to the part of the woods where there is a band of small men—”
“You want me to seek shelter with strange men?” she cried. The insanity of the situation was beginning to pick at her mind and poise. Only a few days ago she had been warm and safe and so close to being happy. Her father had been alive and her stepmother just an unhappy ghost of a woman.
Harmen was watching her face closely and cupped her slumped shoulders with his warm hands. “I promise, make your way to them and you will be safe.”
“How would I even find them?” she asked.
“Look to the moss on the trees and the sun in the sky. When you get close enough they will find you.” He looked up at the sky. “I need to get back to the castle. You must get as far away from here as you can, in case she suspects the ruse.”
Katiyana nodded numbly and he wrapped her in a tight hug. “I really cannot say how sorry I am,” he told her. “I cannot even imagine what came over me.”
Before she was ready, he released her and turned her to the right direction. “Stop when it is too dark to walk safely and refill your water bottle and drink every chance you get.”
“Harmen, I cannot,” she whispered. “I am just a girl.”
“You are not just a girl,” he said firmly. “You are smart and you are strong. You are King Kenan’s daughter and every bit as clever and wise as he was. And right now, you must run for your life.”
She nodded again, took in the darkening woods and a deep breath. Mustering all her courage, she took the first step, and then the next and next. She did not dare look back to see if Harmen was watching— she was afraid she would not be able to continue. The woods had surrounded her home her entire life and had never once seemed frightening or fearsome. But on that night, in the dark, every shadow and every noise seemed threatening.
The grief of the last few days wore down her spirit and when she finally could take no more, she collapsed in pile of dry leaves at the base of a tree and fell into a fitful sleep.
CHAPTER THREE
The sun and tweeting of birds woke her in the morning. Groggy and sore, she sat up, peering at her peculiar surroundings. After a blissfully blank moment, the events of the previous days filtered back in and she remembered how she had come to be sleeping out in the woods, far from her home. Grief and helplessness threatened to take over and she slid her eyes closed against reality.
“What am I going to do?” she whispered to herself.
As she sat in desperate prayer, the wind brought her the scent of pine and cedar, and memories of her kind, strong father flooded her mind. Slowly, she opened her eyes and focused on her new resolve. “Right. I am going to do what my father would have done.”
She stood and brushed the crumpled leaves from her dress and cloak before sitting back down on a bare patch of ground. Her stomach grumbled as she unwrapped pieces of the bread and cheese and she ate them slowly, unsure of how long she would need the food to last. The water jerkin was nearly full but she drank sparingly.
An inspection of the moss on the side of the tree she had slept against and a glance at the sun through the barren trees set her course. The woods came alive as the sun continued to rise and for the first time in so many days, a small smile raised her lips. As she walked, she watched the birds and wildlife as they hunted and played in the trees and thought about the changes in her life. She did not allow herself to worry about the future too much, just stayed focused on finding safety. A snort escaped her and startled birds off a nearby branch. “Right, just find the little band of men to shelter with and everything else will fall into place.”
She passed a stream after several hours and drank the clear water deeply before filling her jerkin. Silvery fish darted about just below the surface of the water and as she watched, her stomach growled. Though she had hard bread and cheese in her pack, she also had a line and hook. Katiyana smiled again as she dug about for a worm to use as bait. Soon enough she was sitting barefoot on the stream bank with her line cast. The fish were trusting and she quickly had enough to make a good meal.
The fire was a little more difficult. She carefully piled the twigs into the shape she thought she remembered Harmen showing her and tucked a little whisp of the cotton in. But the gentle wind kept trying to take it and she had to anchor it with a small stone. Coaxing sparks from the two stones was easy enough, but again, the wind made directing them at the cotton difficult. Finally she was rewarded with a thin stream of smoke and watched with delight as fire took over the little twigs. Bit by bit, she fed the little flame until it was big enough to cook her meal over.
Katiyana hummed to herself as she cleaned the fish and pierced the soft flesh with branches to hold them over the fire. She was not happy, far from it, but for the moment she felt safe and capable. Fears about the future threatened to intrude but she pushed them away as she feasted on her plain meal.
That night she slept in the crook of a tree again and thought about her father as she slipped off to sleep.
The next day progressed much as the one before had but without the good fortune of coming across a stream. Refusing to worry too much, she drank sparingly and ate only enough of her dwindling food supply to keep the edge off her hunger.
When she woke the day after that, her head ached and her mouth was as dry as sand. With no other choice, she drank the last of her water and ate the last small bit of bread. “Surely I will find something today,” she said quietly as she stretched her aching muscles.
But she did not. Her resolve did not weaken as she walked, but her muscles did. Refusing to give up, she found a suitable branch for a walking stick and it eased some of her burden.
As the sky was growing dark again, she heard the faint, far off trickle of water. Hope surged in her chest and she scrambled off course and over fallen trees. Prickly bushes grabbed at her face and hair but she pushed through anyway, desperate to have some relief from her thirst. Finally she burst out onto the bank of the stream and fell to her knees over the narrow band of running water.
Clear, cold, refreshing water ran down her throat and chin and she drank until her stomach began to protest. Her thirst satisfied, she rolled over to stretch out on the bank, unmindful of the dampness. Through a patch of trees overhead she could see the stars beginning to shine and sighed unhappily as she realized fishing would have to wait until the morning.
But when morning came there were no fish. The stream was so tiny nothing swam by as she watched with hope. Finally she accepted that the water held no meal for her and filled her jerkin again before climbing to her feet. They protested mightily and she winced as she settled her weight on them. The slippers felt as though they had worn through completely and she flexed her toes in the unsatisfactory footwear before setting off again.
The day was not nearly as bright or as warm as the ones before had been, and Katiyana shuffled through the unending trees. Things began to look the same no matter which way she turned. She had to stop often to look at the bark of the trees to be sure she was still going the right way. It was impossible to tell when the sun truly set, as the clouds had blocked it out. Once again she found a suitable tree to huddle against, wrapped the cloak tight and let sleep over take her.
The birds were quiet the next morning and Katiyana knew rain would soon be on the way. She sighed and took the last sip from her jerkin. “At least I will not have to worry about water,” she tried to tell herself.
It almost took more strength than she had to push up out of the leaves she had nestled in and her muscles ached fiercely in their dehydrated state. Her stomach had long since quit complaining about the lack of food so at least that did not pain her. Her walk that day was dark. The sky was dark, her heart was dark, her mind was dark.
She did not pass another stream as she stumbled along, nor
did she see anything she recognized as edible. The only sound was made by her battered feet shuffling through the brittle, fallen leaves.
Thunder rumbled far above her and she gave a faint smile, only for the fact that it would wet her parched lips. And then the sky opened up and dropped buckets of freezing rain that the bare trees did not protect her from. Even with her hood up and huddled against a tree, she was soaked in minutes. The sky darkened even further and lighting flashed ominously.
Freezing and exhausted, Katiyana sank to the ground and let her head fall back against the rough bark. “I think I will see you much sooner than I thought, Daddy.” If she cried, she could not tell for all the wetness already on her face. Sleep did not take over but rather pure physical and emotional exhaustion.
Her father was dead, her stepmother was a monster, she could never go home and for the first time in all the long days, she felt as though she would never find a safe place to rest her head.
Finally she felt the warmth of her tears intermingled with the freezing rain as her lids slid closed.
Katiyana nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand brushed her cheek. A short figure, heavily wrapped in oiled skin, was squatting next to her with a deep cowl hiding the face. “What are you doing so far out in these woods, girl?” a gruff voice asked.
“I am… lost?” she asked, not sure if she was awake or dreaming.
“Mayhaps. What are you doing out here?”
Katiyana struggled to sit up straighter and the figure offered no assistance. “I was looking for help. Harmen and Maribel said to travel this way and I would find it.” She shook her head to clear her muddled mind. “I am sorry. I have not eaten or had anything to drink.” The figure said nothing so she continued brokenly. “My father died and my stepmother… she did something I never thought she would be capable of.” The girl gave a dark, throaty laugh. “I am sorry. I thought I would get my happily ever after. I did not think I would just die out in the woods.”
“You are not dying, girl.” He stood and offered his hand. “But you do have a ways to go if you are going to have your happily ever after.”
Katiyana deliriously took the hand offered to her. “I am not dying?”
The figure snorted. “Hungry and thirsty? Yes. Dying? No. But what in the world ever made you venture out into these woods with such stupid shoes?”
Katiyana snorted. “It is a long story.”
“Well, I have the time for it. And I suspect you may as well.”
The little man was much more unusual than Katiyana could have imagined. He had tossed her a jerkin of water, waited impatiently for her to drink and then began rushing her through the forest. She stumbled and shuffled behind him but he offered no aid. Her breaths came harder and she felt the pierce of every jagged stone and branch underfoot.
“Can you slow down?” she gasped.
The small man turned, the cloak still effectively shadowing his face. “Just a bit more.”
When they entered a small clearing, Katiyana nearly shouted with joy. “Are we here? Is this it? Am I safe?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. First I must make sure you are telling the truth.”
It took a moment for that statement to get through her addled head. “Telling the truth? About what?”
“About why you were looking for us.”
Katiyana brushed the wet hair off her forehead. “Maribel told me and Harmen as well. They said to run west and slightly south and find you. Well, not you, just a band of little men. Or a little band of men? I do not know, I did not believe them, not really, but I thought eventually I would find someone who could help me.”
The man waved an arm and a thin, pale hand showed out of the sleeve for just an instant before it was jerked back inside. “You say Maribel sent you? And that your father is dead? How do I know you are telling me the truth, or all of the truth?”
Exhaustion waved over the girl again. “You think I wandered out here with not enough food, not enough water, in these ‘stupid shoes’, just so I could see if you were real or imaginary?”
“The truth, girl. All of it. Or this is where we part ways.”
Katiyana bit her lips together harshly before she could retort that maybe that would be for the best. The flash of pain cooled her temper and she hung her head, trying to decide what to do. Finally, she looked up and stared into the cowl.
“My name is Katiyana Nix. My father was the king until… until he died. And my stepmother wants me dead… I do not really understand why.” She squeezed her burning eyes shut for a moment before continuing. “I cannot go home, I do not have one anymore.”
Even in the shadowy darkness under the hood, she could see one eyebrow arch. “I see. I can understand why the woods keeper sent you to us.”
Katiyana fisted her hands in her silky gown. “Well I do not understand it! He was going to kill me and then he sent me out into the woods to die anyway!”
The dwarfish man rocked back on his feet. “Kill you? That does not sound like Harmen at all.”
Katiyana shook her head glumly. “No, he was always so nice to me. But she was blackmailing him, my stepmother. But I know he felt bad. He had such a sad, dazed look about him and he even got sick all over.”
The figure was silent a long moment. “Curious information indeed. You say he vomited? How did he act after?”
Confused by the question, Katiyana was slow to respond. “Well, he was sad and angry with himself. He apologized and said he could not imagine why he would even consider such a thing.”
“And before?” the man demanded.
“Well, he was sad and crying but seemed ready to… hurt me.”
“And?”
“And what?” Katiyana asked, struggling to keep up with unusual questions.
“How did he look? How was he moving?”
Pain and hunger and thirst were all warring within her and she struggled to think back even just a few days ago. But she knew if she answered unsatisfactorily, she would be alone again. “He seemed dazed, I suppose. His eyes were bleary and he was a bit dull.”
The dark cowl bobbed several times. “I believe you, girl. Come, I will take you in.”
She did not know whether to run or kiss the little man, and truly, she was too tired to do either. So instead she plodded along next to him and accepted his arm when he offered it when she faltered. For such a wide figure, his arm felt rather thin. Katiyana chastised herself for the thought.
The little hut was so cleverly disguised that they were at the door before Katiyana realized they had even approached it. Nestled between two large trees, it rested in the face of a large, eroded hill. What looked to be open spaces between thick tree roots were paned with glass and even the dirty, small door had a little piece as well.
“What is this place?” Katiyana asked slowly.
“Safe.”
She was unceremoniously ushered in and the darkness overwhelmed her. In the long moment that it took her eyes to adjust, the little man had removed his coats and cloaks and hoods and spread them to dry.
The scent of savory meat and vegetables filled the warm, blessedly dry air. “Do I smell stew?” she asked hopefully, turning to him. But instead of shrunken, deformed man there was lovely, if tough looking, woman.
Katiyana watched with round eyes as she let loose her corn silk colored bun, finger combed the strands and deftly wove them back up on the crown of her head. The woman gave a tight smile but her blue eyes were warm.
“I am sorry for the deception,” she said in a voice much softer and kinder than the one she had used in the woods.
“But you… you are a woman!” Katiyana sputtered.
The woman’s smile deepened and became genuine. “That I am. Surely you can see the need for such a ruse.”
Katiyana began to shake her head but was distracted by quiet rustling somewhere in the deep, circular room.
“Come out, ladies. It is quite all right,” she called.
Katiyana shifted closer to the door as
two shadows separated from the wall and made their way towards her.
“Easy,” the woman said, putting a gentle hand on her stiff shoulder. “My name is Cidra and you have nothing to fear from me.”
One of the shadows approached close enough for her to see it was a girl, perhaps only a few years older than her and a few years younger than Cidra. Her golden brown hair and toffee eyes indicated the two were not related. “I am Adora, it is lovely to meet you.” The strange girl gave a curtsey and Katiyana nearly burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
The third figure approached and said nothing. Katiyana found she could say nothing either, as her chin was dropped down to her chest. The girl, perhaps younger than them all, had ethereal white blonde hair that cascaded down her back and over her forehead in thick bangs, nearly obscuring her large, sky blue eyes.
“I hope you like stew,” the girl said in a clear, almost childlike voice.
Katiyana cleared her throat. “That is very kind, thank you…” she trailed off, waiting for the girl to supply her name.
But the girl just shrugged sadly, answering the unasked question. “I do not have a name.”
“Why, that is absurd, everyone has a name,” Katiyana said.
“Not me.” Her wispy bangs floated up as she sighed.
Katiyana looked to the other girls and they nodded in confirmation. “Did you not have parents to name you?”
“If I did, I have never met them.” For such a sad thing to say, the girl did not seem too affected.
“Then why not name yourself?”
The girl shook her head, causing her hair to glow from the firelight. “One day I will meet someone who will know my name and they will tell me what it is.”
Confused, hungry and exhausted, Katiyana just gave what she hoped was a polite smile.
Adora put an arm around the nameless girl’s shoulder and gave a soft squeeze before turning back to Katiyana. “What is your name?” she asked.
