[Mizeria]

Asui sat there a moment to catch her breathe and clear her thoughts. There was only one reason to go to the meeting place now, but should she? It could be compromised... Why had this happened to her family? They had done nothing wrong. She opened the bag her mother had given her and looked through it. Food and some water, a blanket, some medical supplies and something she didn't know would be there. A book. It was what had made the bag so much heavier.
She couldn't deal with that now. Closing the bag she stood up and looked around.

"Time to make a choice..." She whispered to herself. Her eyes scanned the forest in front of her to the right was a way out of the forest and towards a town and to the left she would go deeper into the forest... Most anyone would get lost in there. It would be safer, and it would take her to more supplies... She sighed to herself and went to the left. She started out slowly be careful not to leave any trail that she had gone that way.
Twenty minutes later she appeared in the doorway of a well hidden shack. She pulled her necklace off and inserted the key into the lock. She would spend the night here and then in the morning move to another location and get a horse. There was a farmhouse... miles away. It was placed between where she was and the nearest town. The owners didn't know her... but that didn't matter. She would buy a horse off them, or if she felt she couldn't risk them knowing her she would steal it. Things were harder to decide when you didn't know who your enemy was.
She sat in the corner and lit a small oil lamp her parents had bought for this little hide out, and pulled out the book. There were no windows in the tiny shack. So there was no way the light would shine in the darkness of the forest and attract unneeded attention. She opened the book to the first page and read it.

"Dear Asui,

If you are reading this my dear then I fear we are all dead. Long ago we figured this day would come and have taught you to survive the worst if we were no longer there to protect you. Your father and I, well we are not your real parents. We have loved you like our own and feel you are a daughter to us, please never believe otherwise. Yet, the truth is you are our princess. You're real parents left us in charge of taking care of you because they feared the worst for their Kingdom. A great seer came to tell of a prophecy. She was never wrong. She told of the downfall of our people, and of your parents to the dark queen. You may not know of her because we have never spoken of where we came from. Your Kingdom is the country far to the East, and it is now under the rule of Keeshe. Remember her name, but never say it. Do not bring unneeded attention to yourself. Live as we have taught you. Stay to the shadows and make your way home. Friends will help you along the way. We have set up save houses for years. Everything you need should be found somewhere in this book. Codes, names, places, and the like. You are our only hope. Take back what is yours and remember we will always love you."

Tears fell from her eyes again for the second time today. She had never known such a sadness as she had this day and things kept getting worse. How was she suppose to beat a "dark queen" when her real parents couldn't? How would she know who to trust? Things could have changed. It had been years since her parents had talked to anyone outside of the family... that she knew of anyway. She flipped through a few more pages. It was a lot to take in. She found a page with a picture of the royal symbol on it. Asui studied the picture. Anyone with this symbol was her enemy. Tears fell down her face when she flipped a few more pages ahead. There was a hand sketch of her family. Her mother holding her new born sister and her father holding her. She didn't remember posing for it, but she knew someone else had drawn it. There was a name at the bottom, and a date. She had been so young when they had it drawn. She missed them already. They were the only family she had ever known. It wasn't in the book. The page had been set there for safe keeping, and behind it was the royal family. Her real mother and father. Drawn by her fathers hand. Such detail. She could tell how much they had meant to him. Beautiful and calm with a child in her real mothers arms. Could it be her?
Lost in her thoughts she almost didn't hear it. The twig snap not to far from her. She had some control over the earth. She had been trying to get better over the years, but her family never had the skill. She was odd like that. She could do things they couldn't. She didn't even look like them. She finally knew why. She felt out with her senses. There was only one person, but she didn't get the sense she had from when she was in the valley. It was someone different. Someone that was lost maybe? She couldn't take the chance. She closed the book and put it away and turned out the light. She curled into the corner and got ready for whatever happened next. She knew the place was well hidden but someone that is lost can find things they are not supposed to very easily.....