Member-only story
Out of the Woods
Someday, we’ll be free again.
I ran through the forest as if the hounds of hell were biting at my heels. Upturned roots tried to trip me, but I leapt over every obstacle because I knew my life depended on it. I had already thrown away the glass shoes because I knew they’d only serve a purpose if they would shatter and I could use the shards as weapons. But things of fairy-tale make were never quite handy when it came to practicality.
I knew I didn’t have much time left. Prince Charmont’s hunters would be on my trail soon enough. Even just one strand of hair I’d left behind in the ballroom would be enough for them to track me with magic. My best bet was to cross a riverbed and hope the water masked my presence to some degree.
Even if I had just a few spare moments, I could warn my stepsisters that they too would need to flee. Everyone in the Cendrillon family would be target number one — and I already feared my stepmother had betrayed us all for her own gain. I knew it was a possibility that Charmont had promised her a castle with her own retinue of servants. Even just the offer of gold — enough to supply her for a few years’ time — would be worth all our lives.
Just as I came to the river — so close, so close — something at the edge of my vision dettached from a nearby tree and swooped down upon me. Black talons curved…
