Ellestar, Arietes Orbis 
Year: 4995

Adrastea lay awake in bed, staring at the canopy above her. The events of the day were replaying themselves in her head and the young Princess could not put herself to sleep.

     "A strange child she is," Adrastea remembered Lady Hannel whispering. "A forest fire would seem an ember when compared."

     "Irrational, she is," another lady agreed.

      Adrastea clung tighter to her glass of wine and stared intensely at the red liquid, trying not to listen to the conversation going on behind her. Over all the talking and music that was going on at the ball it was a wonder she could even hear what they were saying, which is why they even dared to say such things about the Royal Princess of Arietes.

     "Someday great pain she will cause," Lady Hannel muttered, sipping her wine.

      Adrastea pressed her lips tightly together and spun around, balling her fist. Unable to bare it anymore she made a move towards them, slamming her glass of wine down on the table and pushing past a couple of knights. Deep down inside of her Adrastea knew this was a bad idea, but the overflowing urge to tell them what she really thought was too powerful to ignore. She kept walking through the large crowds of elegantly clad Cievens and continued to listen to the two woman, her anger growing with every word they spoke.

     "I hear she has some sort of mental disease," the other lady said.

     "It would surprise me not," Lady Hannel replied.

      Adrastea was so close behind them she could even make out the detailed embroidery on their dress collars. Suddenly she felt a tight grip on her wrist and she was yanked to the side wall, out of the bustling crowds and right behind a tree pillar, face to face with her bodyguard.

     "What do you think you're doing?" the young scout asked.

     "Nothing," Adrastea frowned, yanking her wrist out of his grasp.

     "Right. One minute I'm gone is one minute disaster for you."

     The Princess looked down at her flowing green gown and rubbed her wrist, avoiding the guard's gaze. She had calmed down somewhat and was already regretting her actions, as usual. 

     "You cannot act upon every impulse that seizes you."

     "Evert," Adrastea started, looking over at the two court ladies. "Do you believe me to be irrational?" 

      Evert glanced over at the two woman, now discussing a new topic, and knew what was bothering the Princess. It was the only thing people talked about those days.

     "I would not know, Princess," he replied apathetically. 

      Adrastea snapped her green eyes at him angrily and turned on her heel, walking back to the table and gulping the last remains of her wine. 

                     "He does know," she muttered. "Just say you agree, you...you-"

      A small choking sob escaped her throat and the Princess stared harder at the canopy with a new intensity, trying to distract herself from the tear that trickled out of the corner of her eye. Her mind was flooded with all the mistakes she had made and all the wrong things she had said in an attempt to say something right. Everything was so confusing and unnecessarily complicated that it was tearing up her brain like a wolf to prey. It was her thirteenth birthday and Adrastea dreaded every day that was coming. The Princess was now of age and would spend every minute learning how to be a beneficial sister to the Crown Prince, but how could she think of helping her brother when she could not even trust herself to say or do the right thing?

     Panic striking her mind like a steel blade, Adrastea sat up clutching her head with both eyes closed tight. 

     "Think not! Think not!" she cried.

     There was a soft wrap on the door and Adrastea looked up at the heavy oak door, realizing how loud she had actually been. Falling back on her pillow she covered her face with both hands and groaned, heaving a sigh to sum up the courage to reply.

     "Yes?" she mumbled through her hands.

     Surprisingly enough the guard at the door heard and coughed slightly in what Adrastea thought to be a rather embarrassed manner.

      "Are you alright, your Highness?" he asked.

      "Yes."

      "Very good, your Highness."

      Groaning once more Adrastea got out of bed and put on her robe, walking over to the tall window that looked out of the palace at forest floor below. The streets were deserted, as is usual for 2 a.m. in Ellestar, and all the houses up in the trees had blown out their torches. Everything was still and peaceful...Perfect for a midnight ride.

     Adrastea ran over to her wardrobe and grabbed a pair of riding trousers, a wool shirt, leather jerkin, her favorite soft leather boots, and a forest green wool cloak. The night was not wet, but it was cold, and a staying warm was her utmost concern. Quickly changing out of the cozy nightgown, Adrastea ran over to her desk trying to find the new ivory handled dagger she had received as a gift from Wren, the head scout and her official bodyguard. She opened all the drawers and dug through all the odds and ends, but to no avail.

     "Where could it have gone?" she muttered, glancing around the room.

     Shrugging, Adrastea closed all the drawers and braided her long brown hair, not worrying about the knife. She was sure it was somewhere around and it was not likely that one would need it while riding in Ellestar. 

     Satisfied with everything, the Princess walked out of her room, telling the guards that she was just going for a glass of water. It was not exactly a fool proof excuse, considering her riding attire, but the guards new better than to cause problems with the Princess. She was, after all, prone to unexpected behavior.

    Feeling much better Adrastea tiptoed swiftly down the circular staircase, landing lightly on the stone floor of the exiting corridor. She would have to go past her parents' suite that was around the corner and the guards would most likely ask her where she was going, but hopefully the Queen and King were in bed and would not hear the exchange. King Bestol and Queen Fern were extremely strict about her riding alone, especially at night, but what they did not know would not hurt them. 

     Adrastea stopped at the end of the hallway and took a deep breath, putting on her 'tired' act, and slumped her shoulders, turning round the corner. However, much to her surprise, there were no guards to be seen anywhere. There were six or seven doors along the corridor, all private rooms for the King and Queen, but there were only ever guards at the room that they occupied. Now there were no guards at all. Just a long stone hallway dimly lit by torches. 

     The Princess slowly walked down the aisle, eyes and ears alert for anyone that might come out of the doors. If she had not been so concentrated she might not have heard it through the thick walls, but it was certainly there. The sound of arguing voices coming from the end of the corridor. Adrastea stopped and listened more closely. It was coming from the King and Queen's suite and it sounded incredibly heated. Taking even more care not to make any noise, the Princess quietly tiptoed over to the door, the arguing growing more audible with every step. The girl slowly knelt , peeking through the keyhole.

     "How dare you come in here!" the King shouted, his voice deep and strong. "Guards!"

     "That won't do you no good," a man replied. 

     Adrastea could not see him through her limited vision, but the voice was rugged and lazy with the most appalling accent she had ever heard. A Human, she thought. It was easier than anything to spot a human, especially in Arietes. Their disgusting manners and illiterate speech was almost enough to distract one from the fact that their heads were completely devoid of any antlers and, at least from Adrastea's experience, almost always entirely unkempt.

     "They ain't out ther'," the man continued. "Now tell me where it is!"

     Adrastea heard a great smack and a thud and then saw her mother rush across the room and stand with her back to the fireplace. There were more thuds and crashes and Adrastea watched as Queen Fern unobtrusively slid one of the bricks out from under the ledge. The brick looked hallowed and the Queen slid a folded piece of paper into it, placing the stone back in its place and running over to the large oak desk. She began to rummage through the drawers frantically, throwing its contents on the floor. There was a loud hissing of steel and the Queen whipped around, her beautiful face struck with horror, and she screamed, backing up against the desk. Adrsastea sat there in utter shock, completely frozen and helpless. She watched as the Human slowly walked towards the Queen and, in her dumbfounded state, barely recognized the bloody blade of her ivory handled dagger. The Queen was cornered with no way to turn and all Adrastea could do with sit there. She tried and tried to make herself move, tried to think of someway she could help, but her brain had completely shut down. What if I scream? she thought. Surely someone will hear. But even with that being the last resort, the Princess found herself unable to make a sound. Her throat felt dry and swollen and there was a large knot in her stomach, keeping any noise buried deep.

     "Where is it?" the man asked.

     His back was turned to Adrastea and the only thing visible was her mother's face, pale as snow but hard as stone.

     "I shall never tell," the Queen replied.

     Without another word the man thrust the dagger into her and Adrastea let out an involuntary scream, quickly covering her mouth. But it was too late. The Human snapped his head around and looked at the door. His face was square and dirty, with a scruffy blond beard and a long scar across his forehead, nose, and cheek. Adrastea stared with wide eyes at the horrid thing, still covering her mouth. The man leaped for the door and the Princess jumped back as it swung open, running as fast as her legs would carry her back down the hall. 

     "GUARDS!" she screamed hoarsely, dashing up the stairs.

     She could hear the man's footsteps right behind her but did not dare look back.

     "GUARDS!" Adrastea yelled again.

     Reaching the top of the stairs the young Princess halted, looking down the empty hall.

     The guards were gone.

     Stealing a glance behind, Adrastea saw the man only a few feet below her, reaching to grab her ankle. The Princess instinctively kicked him in the face and dashed into her room, locking the door. Breathing hard she ran over to her library and pulled the bookshelf away from the wall, revealing a hidden staircase. Adrastea quickly pounded down the stairs, forgetting in her panic to close the door. At the bottom of the steps she took a sharp left turn and ran down a long corridor, climbing down through a hole in the ground and reaching a small barred gate. With shaky hands the Princess pulled the key necklace over her head and unlocked the gate, rushing out into the courtyard. 

     It too was completely deserted. 

     A little more aware of herself, Adrastea locked the gate and slid the key back around her neck, running over to the tall wooden doors that led out of the courtyard. The guards that usually opened the doors were gone and, much to Adrastea's dismay, had locked them.  Suddenly she remembered the rope ladder that Evert had made some years back. He had left it by the opening in the stable. Taking another deep breath Adrastea ran across the stone courtyard and into the stable. Rushing past all the empty stalls she started pushing hay bales out of the way, uncovering a trap door. Looking over her shoulder to see if the man was coming, she pulled on the metal ring and lifted the wood panel. Right below her she could see the forest floor and rolled up neatly and nailed to the side, was Evert's rope ladder. 

     "Bless you, Evert," she said softly.

     Looking back one last time, Adrastea untied the ladder and let it unroll itself to the ground. Rubbing both hands together she slowly lowered herself onto the ladder and climbed down, landing lightly on the dry turf. The forest was dark around her, with tall ominous trees and, for the first time in her life, she grew afraid of them. Trying to calm herself Adrastea looked around, seeing the bridge above her that led down onto the street somewhere. 

     Suddenly, off in the distance, a wolf howled, nearly scaring the Princess to death.

     "What am I to do?" she whispered, trying to fight back the tears that were stinging her eyes. "Wren...I need...I need to find Wren."

     Wiping her eyes Adrastea took a deep breath and ran along underneath the bridge until she saw the houses above her, the spiraling staircases going up the trees. Trying desperately to remember which way the scout bunker was, Adrastea stumbled out of the trees and onto the cobblestone streets. 

     "Oh, which way?" she cried, clasping her head. "Whi-"

     A loud thud cut her off and Adrastea fell back as the Human jumped out of the trees in front of her. An evil grin spread across his face as he brought the bloody dagger up to thrust. Completely panic driven Adrastea threw a rock at his jaw and scrambled to her feet, running into the trees and out of site. As she tumbled through the underbrush the wolf howled again and she could hear the man cursing her.

     Adrastea stumbled through the forest in a shocked daze. She did not know where she was going or what she was going to do. All she knew was that in order to stay alive, she had to keep moving forward. Her legs were sore and numb and there were countless scrapes and cuts all over her hands, face, and neck from battling the tall ferns and various other plants that blocked her way. Pushing forward Adrastea heard the wolf again, only this time it was much, much closer, and there were several answers. 

     Him behind, she thought numbly, and them ahead. What great luck.

     She could hear the heavy and fast footsteps of the man behind her and everything seemed hopeless. There was no way out. Just stop here and die, she thought.

     Suddenly her contrary nature began boil inside of her. It began to say that she did not care anymore. She did not care about the pain in her legs nor the troubles she had been through. All she cared about was life. All Adrastea wanted to do was stay alive. 

     Mustering up the little strength she had left, the Princess picked up her pace and ran through the trees, plunging through thicket after thicket. Trampling plants that got in the way and breaking branches that tried to cage her. Adrastea could hear the footsteps behind her coming closer and closer and the howls ahead shouting to the moon for their next meal. All this was too distracting and the Princess failed to see the steep hill ahead. Her foot got caught on a root and in her rush she toppled over the edge of the hill. With a great crash she tumbled down through the forest, over thorns and ferns and every stone that barred the way. At the bottom of the hill she collided with a fallen log and there was a loud crack. Whether it was from her arm or the log, Adrastea did not know.

     Looking up at the dark trees that were steadily growing fuzzy, the Princess tried hard to breath through her gritted teeth but the pain made it almost impossible and it came out in ragged gasps. Turning her head slowly, Adrastea looked off into the trees and through her blurry vision, she could make out all the glowing eyes around her. She could hear the soft snarls and the snapping jaws, slowly closing in all around her and she knew there was no way out. 

- Hello everyone! Well I've finally started this story which has taken me a lot more time than it usually does. I hope this is satisfactory as a first chapter. I enjoyed writing it so I hope you enjoyed reading it! Thanks for stopping by :D - Anna