Crawling under cover away from the hidden door seemed to take forever, but she was to scared to walk. They were still out there. Whoever 'they' were... The forest had an uneasy feel to it. To much blood had been spilt.... To much of her family gone...
When she looked back behind her there was nothing but darkness. The fading blue sky in patches past the trees. And smoke coming from where home once was. Her mind filled with questions as the sun set and the time past. Hooves beat the earth not to far from her. She could feel the vibrations in the ground, and sense them in her bones. It was a part of her. As few would ever know. She kept it secret from outsiders because of her parents, but the truth was quite odd.
Terra gave her something more then food, and land. It was part of her soul.
The hooves sped up and went down the path she knew was there, but never once had laid eyes on. Yet one man strayed. No horse. No armor, for he did not weigh enough to be in anything more then leather at best. No one to watch his back. He wandered into the woods a ways, and lowered his bags, as well as his pants, and relieved himself.
Rage filled her. Over something so simple. So benign. She reached out with her senses, mostly her sixth one, and made the plants move to her command. He never saw it coming.
Quickly.
Quietly.
Vines and roots started to grow towards his feet. By the time he realized that they hadn't been there before it was to late. they encased the man completely. soft muffles were the only sound left even though he was screaming. the vines slowly started to twist and squeeze. Killing slowly. Painfully. Silently.
The ground opened up and swallowed the whole mess. Not a drop of blood lay in his place. The forest was at an eerie state of calm.
The hooves were far away now, but not gone. No one turned back for him. Not then anyways. Now it was time to make a choice.
Logically there was no reason to go to that secret place and wait for an answer she was already sure of in her heart. No one was alive. There were supplies there... but was it worth the risk? 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.
"To hopeless sadness, or on a road to which there is no where to really go?" she whispered. 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...
Asui sighed to herself.
She 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.
~Our Deepest Love,
Mom and Dad "
Tears fell from her eyes. 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?
There was a small noise outside. 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 as she closed the book and put it away turning 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.
Blood fell from a person outside. Not close enough yet to cause real alarm, but not far enough away to make her feel at ease.
Whispers came to her ears. Cries of pain or loss. A voice that was all to clearly that of her mother. Yet she should be dead. Three bodies fell and bled out on the valley floor by her home. The three bodies of the only family she had ever known. Now here is this voice. It belonged to her mother. She was sure of it.
"Asui... Please... Help..." The words filled with so much pain. Agony that couldn't be described even by the best writers. Tears fell from Asui's eyes again and without thought or reason in her mind she got up and walked to the door. She opened it and peered out into the darkness. Night had fallen. She could only see by the light of the moon and the stars, and it was a very dark night. Clouds roamed freely covering the sky and hiding its beauty. Even still she stretched out with her senses and found her mother. Dying.
It was a slim miracle that she made it this far, but now her mind was screaming trap. Asui froze. Her mother had not yet noticed her and was still calling out for her. As the minutes past she noticed why she did not move. She knew why she could not find her way to the hidden place. And it scared her. Her mother was dead. Her ghost locked in her body and a witch was controlling her. Her senses had picked up seven others, scattered about, within five miles of her current position. One was in a tree, not far from her mothers body.
The only thing saving her life right now was her mothers will. The control over her thoughts and her refusal to do what she was told. Knowing little of magic, and how it works. Asui only assumed all of this of course, but she was sure of it. Something was screaming at her to run. Her mother couldn't last forever. She needed to hide. Being surrounded was not a fun feeling, and if she moved to much or to quickly she would be seen.
Asui stepped back softly and took what little cover she had from the witch. Knowing full well she could move part of the floor and take herself and her supplies underground away from all of this, but not knowing if she could use her powers without the witch noticing. Her mothers voice called out again. A loud sharp cry, pain filled and closer. Her resolve was weakening. Soon Asui would be found. So she took a chance and quickly went to action. Vines grabbed the floor boards and sucked them underground. All of them, all at once. Then following the same suit, she and all of the important things got sucked down there sitting on the floor boards in darkness. There were a few small holes here and there tunneled up to the surface. None of which were near the shack or any of the people around it. That was the only way she would be getting air until she was sure it was safe. Screams and shrieks came from the surface. Asui's body shook with rage, pain, and sorrow. Now knowing her mother was over come and just a puppet.
Her family. Gone forever. Her mother taken twice from her. What could there honestly be left to live for? She grabbed a blanket and wrapped herself up. The screams would not stop throughout the night. The only thing the witch ever said would be burned into her mind forever.
"I just love it when they break. All the fighting and the struggling. All of it for nothing, and then the hopelessness that they feel. Its the best feeling in the world when you can control someone into killing there family. That little girl had such a killer in her. Poor mommy and daddy didn't know what to do. Hurt their child, or die by her hands. Its a thrill really." the witch let out a satisfied sigh and then a little laugh. Her voice elegant and seductive.
She would kill her. Asui would kill her if it was the last thing she did before her death came. And she would have no regret..