[T e c h n i c o l o r]

The morning light shone down a still slumbering form lying next to an ancient fallen oak. Tethered to one of the old tree's branches stood a tall black stallion. The sleeping girl held tight to an ash-colored bow, cuddling up to it as if it were a stuffed animal. A quiver full of red fletched arrows was leaning against the oak's mossy trunk. An errant ray of sunlight broke through the cloak Tess had covered her head with, causing her to squint unbecomingly, and sit up, untangling herself from her long forest green cloak.

Getting up, she stretched and walked over to her horse, getting a bit of food out from one of the saddlebags. As she munched, she started re-saddling the destrier and covering her marks from the night before. After she was satisfied that she had left as little a trace as possible, she shouldered her quiver and bow and mounted the stallion. "Alright Xanthos, just a few more days and we should be out of this place for good!" Tess gave her mount directions to move into a quick walk. She didn't think she'd been sighted, so she wasn't worried about rushing. Better to leave fewer telltale tracks than to go careening through the forest, breaking branches and leaving deep hoofprints.


Tess let her mind wander back to the events of the past week. If not for her father's insistence that she be trained in horsemanship, archery, and survival skills along with her brothers, she probably wouldn't have survived her trek through the wilds of the White Kingdom. She still couldn't quite wrap her mind around the treachery of the neighboring duke. Fingering her now shoulder length locks, she scowled. If that stupid fairy hadn't gone and put such a weird spell on me, I wouldn't be in this mess, she thought. Suddenly the trees started to clear out, giving Tess a view of a town. She stopped Xanthos, trying to decide if she was close enough to the border to walk around in a crowded place without being recognized. Her supplies were running low, and she wanted to hear news of the kingdom. Deciding that she could outrun the local guard on Xanthos if need be, she directed the horse to move in the direction of the gates, pulling her hood over her head while looking about her for any signs that she was being followed.