Mirabel soon discovered that while she may know much about riding horses, riding a horse without reins or a saddle made things much more difficult. Her thighs soon grew sore, while her hands held a white knuckled grip on the mare’s mane. With her wrists still tied together, it was difficult to hold on very well; with each step the horse took, she could feel herself slide to one side or the other.

    Dmitri, of course, had no such troubles. His hands were free, and he had obviously ridden bareback many times before. Mirabel would have expected Dmitri’s bad leg to get in the way of staying on the horse, but clearly she had been mistaken. She was beginning to wonder if there were any skills that someone in the small group of kidnappers did not possess.

    While she may have been uncomfortable still, she had to admit it was better than being stuck in the cart. At least her body was not being thrown against a hard wooden floor every time they encountered a rock. Also, from on top of the horse, she could see around her much more easily. Although the surroundings had hardly changed, she found the view to be much more enjoyable from her new vantage point.

    The forest was a mixture of mainly pine trees and birches with the occasional maple interspersed amongst them. Mirabel had always been partial to birches, herself. The bark fascinated her with it’s pale color.

    Currently, however, it was the pines that held her attention. There were very few of them back at the palace; supposedly they weren’t the most attractive trees. But she loved the needles in their green bunches. They were so different from the other trees with their leaves of various colors. Although the pines were thin, some of them on the verge of scrawniness, there was something elegant about them.

    A hawk circled lazily overhead. She suspected it was browsing rather than actually hunting. From amongst the trees she could hear the faint sound of birdsong and she smiled, letting her eyes slide closed, listening to the sweet melody as the wind brushed gently across her face.

    A high-pitched scream came from the horse beside hers. Her eyes flew wide with shock. The horse had reared up, eyes wide with fright as Dmitri struggled to stay on. Something had spooked it, badly.

    Quickly, Mirabel realized that if she didn’t do something, then she would soon be in the same position as Dmitri; when one horse spooked, so did the others. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for a moment. Then, without a second thought, she gripped her knees tight and kicked her heels into the horse’s sides.

    Time seemed to speed forward at an unnatural rate as the horse bolted forward, as if the world was trying to make up for the lost time. Behind her, she heard another squeal from the other horse and then the sound of galloping. Risking a glance behind her, she saw the horse bolt, leaving Dmitri on the ground in the dust.

    Her attention returned to her own horse as she felt herself slipping. Digging her fingers tighter into the mane, she concentrated on staying on as the horse raced down the narrow road. She lacked any sort of control over the animal. The reins hung loose, torn from the grasp of the bald man who had been leading the horse before.

    The horse bolted off the road, and Mirabel’s eyes widened, her grip tightening further if that were even possible. It darted between the trees like it was running an obstacle course. Branches snagged her hair and whipped across her face until she ducked her head into the horse’s neck and prayed to be able to survive. When she’d made her split second decision, she hadn’t considered the fact that she might simply be thrown later rather than sooner because of it.

    A branch caught on the hem of her nightgown, and she found herself dragged halfway off the horse before it let go. She struggled to climb back onto the horse as she felt herself sliding further and further off with each stride of the horse’s long legs.

    It didn’t work. Within a moment, she tumbled completely from the horse, hitting the ground rolling. She had happened to fall off just as the horse was passing a ridge, so she found herself rolling down the incline, unable to stop or slow down. Had she been able to scream, she would have.

    After what seemed like hours, she stopped rolling. Scared and trembling, she stayed curled in a ball for a moment before slowly unrolling herself and peeking around. She had no idea where she was, but she was still in the forest it seemed. Trees surrounded her, tall and proud, as well as some fallen trees and limbs scattered throughout the shallow ravine. It was damp where she lay, and she pushed herself to her feet.

    There were rocks here and there, but the ground was mostly covered in a layer of mulching pine needles. It was far more pleasant on her slippered feet than most surfaces. The sun shone down through the treetops, casting a dappled light over the gully.

    As she stood there, it dawned on her that she had escaped. She hadn’t been thinking about it before; when she’d kicked the horse, it had been more out of an instinct not to be bucked off it’s back. But as she looked around the sun dappled ravine, she realized she’d done it. She’d escaped.

    The realization brought with it a lightness of heart despite her circumstances. She may not know where she was, or even which way to go, but she had escaped. The thought made her feel a bit giddy.

    She wondered what the men were doing now. Perhaps they had run after their horse? She thought back to Dmitri, lying on the ground. He hadn’t had a chance of holding on, not with his leg. Not with how quickly it had happened. Despite the fact he’d kidnapped her, she found herself hoping he was okay. She shook the thought away. It wasn’t the sort of thing to be wished upon one’s kidnappers. It was best not to think of them at all, really. They were probably coming after her.

    Choosing to distract herself, she looked around. Picking a direction at random, she began to walk and hoped it would lead her somewhere useful. Perhaps some water, for one thing. Or some food. Or maybe even a place to sleep.

    With these thoughts occupying her mind, she began to pick her way out of the ravine. It was shallow, but the sides were still somewhat steep, and soon she found herself concentrating on not losing her balance. While her slippers had been fine for the majority of her journey, both in the cart and on the horse, they were not the sort of thing that one would wish to be walking around a forest in. But still, they were better than nothing, and she was glad she’d had them on when she’d been taken.

    At that moment, she lost her footing and slipped, tumbling a little ways down the slope. She lied there for a second, exhaling a sigh before rolling over and attempting to regain her feet. Easier said than done when one’s hands were still tied at the wrists.

    After a few attempts, she managed to get up and began walking up the incline again. This time she went slower, being more careful not to fall over. She didn’t want to waste any more time than she absolutely had to. It was already nearing late afternoon.

    She realized then that she may end up spending the night in the forest, and her eyes widened. It had been fine the previous two nights because she’d either been on the move or had others with her, but now she was on her own. On her own with no clue where she was, or where she was going. Suddenly she felt terrified. What was she going to do?

    Swallowing hard, she did her best to push the thought to the back of her mind and continued up the slope. Whatever else happened, she could at least walk. As long as she could do that, she would be okay.

    After she made it out of the ravine, she took a quick glance around. Not for the first time, she wished she’d had more practical classes. Lot of good the knowledge of the kings throughout the history of Lucerne would do her now. She’d prefer the knowledge of how to get home. Or at least a map so she could figure it out.

    Selecting a random direction, she started off. She had no idea if the direction she had chosen would lead her out of the forest or at least to a road, but she felt better about the situation if she just kept moving. It seemed to be a trait she had taken from her mother. Whenever her mother was stressed or worried, she kept moving and found something to keep herself occupied with.

    Mirabel wondered about her mother then. How was she holding up under Mirabel’s disappearance? How was her father doing? What was she missing back at the palace? Was her mother heading straight into wedding planning, or had she put it all on hold?

    As more and more questions filled her mind, she shoved them away. She was making herself depressed thinking about her home. Right now, she needed to concentrate on moving, on getting out of the forest. Who knew what sort of things came out after dark?

    She glanced up at the sun and tried to estimate how much time was left before it would go down. It was past noon, she knew that much, so she knew she had a few hours. How many hours, though, she didn’t know. She could only hope it was enough. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she was still in the forest when the sun went down.

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A/N A little more excitement in this chapter :3 I had fun writing this one. Hope you enjoyed it too :D Comment please! Or at least vote.  I love you guys xx