Mira

Escape

Mira ran, flat out, as fast as her legs would go. Faster than ever before. She knew her shorter legs could not run as fast as those from whom she fled, but she had to try. She ran until her throat burned and she was gasping. And she ran on, not daring to look behind her. Certainly they would be chasing her.

She had never been so happy she wore pants and boots. In a skirt she could not have run through the woods like this. If not for all those hours and days spent wandering through forest, she could not have moved so easily through the thick trees.

Later she could not remember how she had gotten out of her restraints, only realizing she was free. She waited until the guards had been nodding off at their posts, then crept slowly away

When someone yelled an alarm, rousing the others, she had run like a panicked horse. Then, for a long time, she couldn't hear anything except her pounding heart and the ringing in her ears.

She was dodging trees, jumping over roots and rocks, avoiding all the little hazards that would impede most people. For once she thanked the gods she was short and lithe.

When the light failed completely, and she had fallen for the 4th or 5th time, she slowed. She was suddenly aware of her raw throat and the stitch in her side. She slowed more. 

She had no idea how long or how far she had run. She stopped, listened for the sounds of being chased. Nothing. She looked around her. Nothing familiar. She looked up. Through the trees she could see only clouds, no stars to help her.

She didn't know where she was. She had no food, no water.

She shivered, the sweat from running making her icy cold. She pulled her light cloak tight around her and leaned against a tree, out of the little breeze. She needed water. She needed food. Anything, or she may not make it through the night. But she had to rest. Just a few moments. She slid down the trunk, to the ground. Just a little rest, then she would search for water. She closed her eyes and was asleep in moments.

Mira woke freezing cold, shivering uncontrollably. She tried to stand, but couldn't. Her muscles and joints had stiffened during her impromptu nap. She had to get warm, had to get shelter, or she was as good as dead. No way she was going to die now. Not after everything she had been through. Not after managing to escape.

She rubbed her hands together. When she could feel them again, she rubbed her arms, then her feet. She continued to her calves, and so on. She shifted to her knees and pulled herself up with help of the lowest branches. When she was upright, she looked around again.

Mira had spent many days in the woods with her father and brother. Even more with Pir and Wills. But not nights. She could navigate well during the day. Right now she couldn't see 5 feet in front of her. Panic started to rise again.

Then she heard a familiar sound... running water. She closed her eyes, turning, pinpointed the direction. Still wary of being followed and recaptured, she moved as silently as possible.

What she had heard was a small stream, narrow and shallow. She was tempted to drop to her knees and gulp down handfuls of water, but she was already wet and freezing cold. She pulled her cloak up to keep it dry, then washed her hands in the water. Leaning forward, she brought water to her lips, careful not to spill on herself. It was cold, but sweet and clean. It was refreshing, and helped clear her mind.

The stream would save her.

She knew approximately where she had been when she stumbled upon the strangers, or rather they upon her. They had taken her farther North after capturing her. This stream ran down hill, to the South. All the streams ran into the river West of her home. Following the stream would take her in the right direction.

She'd been forced to leave her bag with food and tools behind, but she wasn't helpless. She had found water. She knew every edible plant in this forest. She couldn't chance making a fire, but if she kept moving she should be able to make it until morning when the sun would warm her.

No sense dawdling. She set off down stream, scanning for edible plants as she went.