Adele's Stories

I raced barefoot through the trees, my heart pounding out of my chest. Were they still following me? I risked a look back. The answer was yes. I hiked up my skirts and ran faster. They hadn’t even given me time to grab my shoes. My only hope was that I knew these woods better than they did.

The trees closed in around me, but I wasn’t afraid. If anything I was grateful. Hopefully the trees would disguise me, keep me hidden.

I prayed fervently to the heavens for protection. May the angels surround me with drawn swords.

My feet carried me through the foliage without tiring. I’m sure I was growing quite tired, but I didn’t let myself stop long enough to notice.

I stumbled over a tree root, and couldn’t help the squeal as I pitched onto my face. Before I could think I dragged myself into the bushes. I stopped to listen, praying my hiding place was good enough.

I could hear yelling and footsteps in the distance. Thankfully they weren’t as close as I feared. But, to my great joy, what I could hear close by was running water. As quietly as I could, I extricated myself from the bushes. But not without fresh tears on my dress.

When I reached the stream, I lifted my skirts. and gently placed a toe in the water. It wasn’t near as freezing as I’d feared, and I crossed quickly. I climbed up the opposite bank, and walked a ways into the trees before backtracking carefully.

I reentered the stream, and followed the flow of water downstream until I felt I’d gone a considerable distance. I finally exited the stream on the same side I entered, and escaped into the trees.

I could no longer hear them behind me, but that didn’t mean I was safe.

As the sun began to set I could feel my body begin to slow down. Weariness set in, and I began to stumble. I knew I needed to find a safe place to shelter for the night.

I looked around in near panic until I found a large tree with lots of branches and leaves. The climb was awful. I ripped many new tears into dress, not to mention the scrapes on my arms and legs, and the splinters in my hands and feet.

Once I reached a satisfying height, I settled onto a thick branch, and leaned back against the trunk. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but it was good enough for now. I sent another prayer heavenward that the angels would surround me while I slept, guarding me from my enemies and any wild beast that might wander by.

As I finished my prayer I felt this warmth surround me, and I fell into a deep sleep. I woke in the early morning, just as the sun began to reach the trees. I stretched out on the branch, feeling well rested and refreshed. I took a moment to fully wake up before making my decent.

The sun warmed my face and I sighed with contentment. And then I remembered where I was and what I was doing there. I checked my surroundings and listened very carefully before beginning the climb down.

I knew where I needed to go. And I knew now that the sun was up it wouldn’t be long until they were after me again. So I needed a head start.

I didn’t need a map to tell me where I was. I knew this forest like the back of my hand. Advantages of having been raised inside of it.

My progress was slow at first, as I tried to conserve energy. But I knew I would have no energy at all if I didn’t find something to eat soon.

Lord, if your angels are surrounding me, let them lead me to something edible.

I played in this forest as a child, but I’d never had a need to forage in it. I walked slowly on, my eyes peeled for anything that looked remotely like food.

Suddenly a doe crossed my path. She stopped and stared at me before continuing on. After walking a few paces, she stopped to look back at me. It was like she was asking me to follow her. So I did. I walked quietly behind her, hoping she wouldn’t spook, but she hardly seemed to notice I was there.

Finally she came to a stop. She turned to look at me before burying her nose into the bush in front of her. I leaned around her to see the bush better. I gasped. Berries. Edible, non poisonous berries.

I fell to my knees, reached out, and filled my mouth with berries. I ate nearly the whole bush before forcing myself to stop. I pocketed some berries for later, and looked up. The doe was gone. I sent up a quick prayer of thanks, and continued on my way.

The trees swayed in the breeze, dipping their branches low to greet me. It took me longer than it should have to realize the rustling behind me wasn’t coming from the breeze winding through the bushes.

I stopped to listen. The rustling stopped too. When I moved again the noise followed me. My heart dropped into my stomach as I picked up my pace. I kept going faster, and faster until I found myself running. But the noise continued to match my pace. I had a sinking feeling that whatever this was could outrun me.

The rustling noise grew closer to me until I knew it would show itself soon. The bracken parted and to my utter astonishment I found myself running with a pack of wolves.

I came to an abrupt stop, and they stopped with me. The wolves surrounded me slowly, but they didn’t seem to be actually watching me. Their focus was on the trees around me. When I started moving again they continued with me. The pack was following me, but they weren’t hunting me. Could they be protecting me?

And then I heard it. The pounding of horses hooves behind me. I began to run, my wolf friends still by my side.

As soldiers began to appear between the trees, wolves started breaking away. They leapt at the soldiers, snapping their jaws, scarring them away with one growl. I let the wolves focus on my protection while I focused on where I was going. The trees grew more and more familiar as I began to reach my destination.

Almost there. I was almost there.

I broke through the trees and into the clearing where my father’s cottage stood, surrounded by purple wildflowers

When I entered the clearing the wolves turned, and left me. And I soon realized why.

A large, imposing knight stood guarding the cottage. I didn’t recognize this knight. He wasn’t one of the ones chasing me and he wasn’t one of my fathers men either.

His kind blue eyes peered out of his visor and met mine across the meadow. They seemed to welcome me. So I bravely walked forward, and passed him into the cottage. He stayed where he was.

I watched from the window as soldiers entered the clearing. I watched as the knight drew his sword and single handedly slew every mounted man.

The knight stayed, and guarded my door for nearly two days until my father finally came for me. But when I turned get one last look at him, the knight was gone.