Sonya pressed her body against the tree, letting the soldiers pass her. They had pursued her for weeks, ever since her father was murdered. If anyone saw her now, she would pass for a commoner. Her brown hair was in a messy braid, and loose strands stuck to her forehead. She had never been without servants, so this feeling of being unclean was new. Her cloths were that of a commoners. She hated the absence of silk, but had promised herself for the past month that it was for the best.

   "Sir, her tracks end." A solder cried out on the other side of the tree.

   "Then she is close, there is no way she could evade us." A superior solder answered. "Not forever." Sonya tensed.

   The soldier responded with a little laugh. "I'm surprised she's kept away from us this far for so long. She's a princess."

   Sonya's blood boiled. Just because she was a princess and didn't know much about the outside world didn't mean she was helpless. But then, how did she survive this long. Sure, her father always told her how to escape, where to go, and who was trustworthy, but after her uncle betrayed them, the whole palace could be corrupt. Maybe the whole kingdom, but maybe she was overreacting. The forest was her only choice, and it wasn't going so well.

   "Don't worry, she is on her last wind. There's no way she can survive for much longer. Not with the summer solstice ending, and resources disappearing."

   She hadn't thought about that. Mainly, she was thinking about how best to torture her uncle once she returned. If she returned. After her father's murder, a maid rushed her to the footsteps of the forest. The only reason she wasn't here, was because she helped her escape the soldiers as they ran into the forest. The maid sacrificed herself, giving Sonya time to escape. And what killed her the most, was the fact that she didn't even know her name.

   "Sir, the men are wary, and rain clouds are coming this way."

   Irritation filled the leaders voice. "Are you afraid of a little rain?"

   "No!" The soldier responded. "Sir."

   "Good. We move on to find water. The princess will be tired, weak, and helpless. She isn't dumb, and will do her best to locate water.

   Sonya swallowed. Before the soldiers had passed by, she was doing just that. Was she really that predictable?

   "Yes sir!" The sound of footfall faded away. Still, Sonya didn't move. After a few minutes, she began to sigh, when she heard movement.

   "Guess I was wrong." Came the voice of the leader. His lone footsteps retreated.

   Sonya pressed a hand to her chest. Too close. She pushed off from the tree. The forest had become dark, like the clouds that hung overhead.

"I have to get out of the forest, to civilization...I need a dress, food, bath--" Thunder rolled through the sky. Sonya froze. Running now would alert the soldiers that she was here, but running later...she couldn't stay. The sky showed no signed of lightning, yet.

Taking another deep breath, she forced her aching feet to move. The soldiers were going to the river, so Sonya decided to go in the opposite direction. She scrapped her mind, trying to remember any of her lessons of the geography of her father's kingdom. Her father's. She had to avenge him. One. Step. At a time.

   She didn't know how much time went by. All she could focus on was her cold feet, dirty fingernails, and sad attire. Then she felt a drop on her arm, then another. She groaned. Cold, wet, exhausted, lost...what else could go wrong.

   Just then, she smelled heaven. Her stomach grumbled. Someone was making something, and that something smelled good. Ignoring the feeling in her gut, she lurched forward. A faint light could be seen through the dense forest. She stopped as she approached it. A silhouette crouched in front of the fire. A second one joined the first. Was it safe?

   "This will attract the princess." The crouched figure said. Soldiers! The smart thing to do was run, but the smell!

   "Sure." The other responded sarcastically.

   "What? If I were the princess, I would be drawn from a mile away!"

   "Yes!" The other sneered. "The princess will be drawn to Ralf's famous on-the-march strew. Known to betray every stomach, and end up a rodents lunch."

   "It isn't that bad." Ralf responded, sounding hurt.

   "Let be guess, the next thing we should do is leave our camp, and let the princess stroll in, unaware our presence, and capture her. Then we'll be known for capturing the princess with stew. Brilliant!"

   "Exactly!" Ralf nodded, then hesitated. "Wait--"

   "Serious Ralf? Serious! Stars help us, that was your plan?"

   Ralf stood, "Its better than getting lost in the woods."

   The other ran a hand down his face. "With all your shouting, she probably ran miles away."

   Immediately, then both grew quiet. Sonya told her feet to move, but her stomach kept her rooted in place. Her stomach began to grumble when Ralf spoke again.

   "You know Buck, if you hadn't of complained about my plan, we would have caught her."

   Buck grunted. "And how would you of known that?"

   Sonya tensed. Run now. Run now. No part of her moved. Run now!

   "Because Giant hasn't found her."

   Yeah, he hadn't. She shivered. It was time to go. This time her feet followed her. She had only gotten out of sight of the camp when someone jumped out from behind a tree.

   "Hey! You there!" A gruff voice called out.

   Sonya went numb. He was huge. Giant. With little choice left, as well as courage, she broke into an all out sprint. Large footfalls echoed behind her. Her lungs burned, threatening to give up on her, and she hadn't even started. She crashed blindly through the foliage surrounding her. All she had to do was run, all she could do was run. She could beat this. Then she would take her uncle down, though she didn't know how.

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Hey again! Thank you so much for reading, you won't be disappointed.

WeirdWonder

P.S. I'd love all the advise I can get!