Abby and the Mad Prince's Son. The Outpost: Episode One

Chapter Seventeen

'Are you sure we're going in the right direction?' asked Esme as she and Abby passed the same spot where they had been stunned a couple of nights ago.

'I'm sure of it,' Abby replied. 'The elder tree was due north from the greenhouses, from the outpost.'

'And do you really think it'll take an entire day to get there?'

'Sadly, yes. Hopefully, we'll get back in time to save the princess.'

The girls continued on through the clearing, eventually finding their way to the exact tree where Baron Ren had set up the snare. The rabbits had all been taken, not a single strand of fur in sight, but the trap hadn't been set off.

'The chimera?' gasped Esme.

'Let's not think about that, shall we,' responded Abby, but she tightened her grip on the jar of Star Flash in her hand and looked around for any sign of movement in the darkness.

From there, everything was new to them, but they trudged and trudged through the wilds of the First Forest, only slowing down to quench their thirst.

The night flew by, the stars filtering through the trees and shifting across the sky. However, their progress was slow. Many obstacles stopped them in their tracks, including a raging river which took them far in the wrong direction to find a place to cross. The fallen tree spanning the rapids was a marvel to behold.

It was down a passable yet treacherous cliff as tall as the trees when Abby wished they had a winged carriage. Or any flying apparatus for that matter. They'd be there and back long before the sun was to rise, long before Princess Edina's condition could worsen even more.

Plodding in pain onto a wobbly stone, Esme huffed, 'My legs are starting to cramp up. I don't know how much longer I can go. This is the most I've walked in my entire life.'

'My legs are killing me too,' replied Abby from behind, 'but we can't stop. Maybe some food will help.'

Esme shook her head. 'I may vomit if I eat anything.'

'I'm not hungry either. My stomach is doing flips.'

'But I am thirsty again. How much water do we have left?'

Abby was about to check the waterskin in her satchel when something caught her eye, making her stop at the side of a boulder.

'Abby, you back there?' panted Esme. 'Abby?'

'I think I see something.'

Esme whipped around to see Abby pointing past her and towards the ground. 'Is it the chimera?' she said with a quake, dread on her face.

'Just look.'

Esme followed her finger before giving out a startling heave. At the base of the cliff was the dark outline of a tiny structure.

'Is that someone's house?' breathed Esme.

'Could be,' replied Abby. 'Or maybe it's a part of the outpost.'

'All the way out here?'

Abby shrugged. 'An outpost of the outpost.'

'But wouldn't it be up in the trees. Should we take a look?'

'Well, we're headed towards it. We can't really not take a look.'

Careful not to dislodge a stone and make a sound, the girls climbed down the rest of the cliff. And as they stepped off the craggy behemoth, they began to inch forward. Soon, log walls appeared before a roof of hay flashed above their heads.

'That looks exactly like the hut from the cage,' quivered Esme.

She was right, thought Abby. It even had the interlocking semicircles etched on the door.