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trunks, stared at me, and then flung itself up the nearest tree in two great bounds.
    No one, I thought in relief. No one’s following me . My head spun and I nearly tripped over my own feet as I tried to keep walking. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and drew in deep, cooling breaths. I must have been ill longer than I’d thought.
    At first the breeze caressed my face and refreshed me, but soon it crept through my nightgown. The sweat coating my body made me shiver, so I threw the cloak back on. My legs were numb and even my back and arms ached. I ran my tongue along my dry lips and longed for even one sip of cool, fresh water, but I had no hope of finding any soon. There was a hole in my stomach from hunger, and the further I walked the more it stretched until it felt like I had a gaping chasm growing deep inside me. When was the last time I had eaten? It must have been days ago, when I’d forced down a few bites at dinner with my parents. My heart aching with pain and anger at the memory, I pushed the thought away.
    The trees towered high and drenched me in shadows while clouds gathered in the sky and enveloped the moon. Unseen animals darted from tree to tree, scurrying through the leaves on the ground and climbing among the branches over my head. Every time something moved nearby, my pulse quickened and I froze, as if standing still would make a hungry animal blind to my presence. I vaguely remembered whispers of terrors, intelligent creatures that lurked in Evren Forest and preyed upon humans, and nervous glances between adults whenever anyone mentioned the topic of traveling through these woods, but I reminded myself that the guards’ fear had been misplaced. The tales are myths. Only stories to scare children , I reassured myself.
    Still, I hated the thought of staying in these dark woods alone, but I was lost and too exhausted to move another step. Sinking to the earth and huddling close to the trunk of an old maple tree, I shut out the night and the sounds by burrowing into the oversized cloak.
    Somehow I dozed, my sleep interrupted by nightmares of creaking branches and royal guards chasing me through dark wilderness. At last, sunlight peeked through the treetops, waking me to a frosty morning.
    Shivering, I stretched and found that my back and neck ached from my uncomfortable sleeping position. My head throbbed, my legs were sore, and my whole body was weak, but I didn’t have time to rest longer. Hunger pangs had set in and I knew if I didn’t push my way through this wood soon, I would freeze or starve.
    As the day wore on, the sunlight slowly warmed the earth and melted the frost from the remaining leaves on the trees. I decided to follow the sunlight and hope that I could keep a westerly path. Though I knew nothing of traveling through wilderness, I had a fairly clear picture in my head of the world maps I’d been forced to memorize. Evren Forest lay to the west of Misroth City, with a few scattered towns along its opposite borders. If I could just make it through this forest, I could find a haven where someone might help me.
    Even in the daylight, I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling the forest gave me. Shadows hid beneath the trees and strange noises followed me everywhere. Birds lighted on perches high above me, but their mild presence couldn’t chase away the nightmarish thoughts collecting in my mind. What if the creatures are real? The longer I traveled through the woods alone, my real fears of becoming lost forever and starving were matched by my irrational fears.
    Despite my concerns, the day passed without incident. As another night fell, my hunger making my stomach feel like a great abyss, I collapsed on a soft bed of moss to rest. Sleep. You’ll make it out of this place soon, somehow… Forget the stories about monsters. Forget that you might be lost. You need the rest. I shut my eyes against the night and tried to block out every sound.
    My efforts didn’t work.
    Overhead, the boughs