A warning for a curious girl...
I got lost off the lane
where the woodlands get dark ...
Priscilla Hernandez - Off the Lane
In the pale light of morning, she opened her eyes and looked around, listening to the sounds of birds as they awoke to the new day. After her long trip, she'd made camp in a small copse of trees, scarcely paying any mind to the rocky ground or the chilled air as she rolled up in her threadbare bedroll - only the relief of closing her eyes had mattered at the time.
Now, with a quick stretch and a grimace, Desiare sat up and looked at her surroundings for the first time. "Where in Theodan King am I?" she muttered, startling a nearby squirrel who froze and stared at the unexpected sound before scurrying off into the surrounding woods. "Follow the path, she'd said. What path? The old woman was obviously daft, and I listened to her."
Nearby, her steed, Starlight, whinnied and storted at her, pawing the ground to get her mistresses' attention. "Alright, I'm coming," Desiare replied, making her way to the golden coated horse and stroking her mane before digging through the saddlebags for an apple, Starlight's preferred treat.
After tending Starlight, Desiare studied the tall, thick trees that had buffeted her against the winds before turning her attention to the grounds beneath her feet and outward. She examined it, turning slowly as she searched for any sign of a path; though, if there had been one, it'd long since been wiped away by time and buried beneath a carpet of dead leaves and viney weeds. She didn't even see any signs of where she had entered the night before. It was at that moment the thought occurred to her ...
... she was lost.
