Crown of glass

Chapter 1 - Florest

Samanta does not consider herself the ideal lady, the one that men and women looked at and thought “wow, she is a real lady”.  But she has to agree, five dresses torn by wild animals and tree branches, that in a single month, is a lot even for her.

Of course, luck isn't one of her best friends, and it doesn't always go with her.  So injuries and accidents with your clothes are common.  What could she do?  It is absolutely difficult for her to wear the pants she loves so much.  Whenever she manages to date them, her stepmother soon finds out, and she feels as if Evangeline is going to rip out her precious liver.  It's so much to listen to, she gets to keep her voice not sweet for days in her head.

“I know it's not easy to ride, hunt, or do anything you normally do wearing a dress.  But try to be less clumsy, Sam.  - Mel said, concentrated, with the line in one hand and a dress in the other.  - Do not misunderstand me.  I don't think it's bad to pack your clothes, we help each other.  But I'm afraid one day you'll show up without your dress.  – She Said she while laughing at the image of her friend.

Really, Mel is right.  She's more careless these days.  Lucky she has a friend with blessed hands who can fix everything, and make it look like a new piece.

- Do not laugh at me.  I will be more careful.  - She said while trying to hold back a laugh.

Mel is a sister to Sam.  The young woman has no blood brothers, but considers those who grew up with her as her brothers.  Mel, for example, is his older sister.  The one who tugs at your ear for being clumsy, but always fixes her clothes, and makes new ones for her.

– Where is Lena?

“She went into town to try to sell two rabbits.  They are very good pets, one of the children's favorites.  - Mel replied without looking up too much from the piece of cloth in her hands.

Rabbits... city... that reminds me of something.  Of course, how could she forget?  Simple, she was busy planting wheat for a couple of weeks.  She hasn't been able to hunt almost anything in a while.  Little, but enough to leave her with almost no money.

She got up from the bench she was sitting on as if she'd been shocked, it was a mental shock to be honest.  The action made Mel look confused in her direction.

- Sorry friend, but I have to go.  It will be dark in a few hours, so I have to take advantage of the time I have to see if I can get anything, even strawberries, or whatever can be sold.  - She said laughing while looking for something in her pocket.  One of the things she liked about her outfit, pockets.  – Here, these are cookies with pieces of strawberries.  – She said while handing a bag with some cookies to her friend in front of her.

Mel was used to Sam's ways by now.  The young woman was always more agitated than most people.  Then, as if nothing had happened, she grabbed the cookies and saw her friend's back moving away as she ran to a nearby horse.  Just going back to sewing the piece that was in her hands.

Sam had always been really agitated.  When she was little, she ran all over the garden of her house, and her father barely caught up with her.  A little girl in a puffy dress, climbing trees and running like the wind around, imagines what a disaster it would be for any parent.  But not hers, he always encouraged her to go further in her adventures in the family garden.

Sam's horse is not far from the house where she was.  After walking for about two minutes, she was already beside the horse.  A black and white horse, a beautiful Shire she got from her father for her two-year-old birthday.

The best place to hunt, without a doubt, was the forest.  Most people in the village are afraid of the forest, either because it harbors wild animals or fear of beings from another world.  But Sam doesn't consider the forest a dangerous place, when you basically grow up in one place, there's not much to fear about it.  And this is the reality of the young woman, whether animals or fruits, most of them she gets in these forests or mountains that surround the village.

Oliver, Sam's horse, is very fast, so before long he reaches the forest.  The sun is still shining in the sky, which makes Sam think it's not even four o'clock yet.  Which is great, because the last time Sam came home in the dark, it took him about two hours to get down the mountain.  Even knowing the region like the back of her hand, she still can't see in the dark.

Sam started walking into the woods with Oliver, not going too fast or too slow.  Just enough so that it doesn't take longer than necessary, but you can easily notice whichever animal it is.

After almost 1h in search of an animal, or some fruit, she can see only poisonous fruits, and making poison is not her strong point, so don't even think about it.  Giving up isn't Samantha's strong point, so she decides it's necessary to go deeper into the forest, anyway, it's not like she never went.

Deeper in the woods, Sam finally found something she could use, raspberries, but not ordinary raspberries, bigger and brighter ones, the last time she sold it, she made good money out of it.  They are great for making jam or selling separately.

After harvesting as much as she could, two baskets that were strapped to Oliver's back and a basket on his back.  She decided it was past time to go home.  Surely her stepmother will be mad at her, and if she doesn't come down now, she might not be able to come down until dawn.

Before she could get very far from where she was, she heard a cry for help and the neighing of a horse, which Oliver responded by wanting to go see what it was.  Let's be honest, in a forest, it was past 7pm, the sun was already gone.  No one other than wild animals should frequent this part of the forest.  If Oliver didn't demonstrate that he heard another animal neigh, Sam would easily start thinking she was hearing things, and by the gods, that she was hearing things.

But anyway, she thought it best to go see what it is, not least because Oliver seems to really want to see what it is.  At worst, he's a hunter.  Oh, how she hates these people.  Despite hunting, she doesn't have one of her habits to kill.  She only takes a few fish with her when she manages to catch any.  But most of the time, all she gets are fruits and some grains and nuts, which are worth a lot, as the townspeople don't bother to get such food.

After riding for a few minutes, Sam smells a strange smell, she senses that she has smelled it before, but this time, the smell seems to enter her nostrils and go to her brain.  This makes her, even if unconsciously, decide to go faster, passing through the trees like lightning.

The image in front of her eyes changes drastically, it's not the best.  The sun is long gone, replaced only by a not-so-bright moon, so it's no exaggeration to say that you can't see much ahead of it, in fact, from either side.

What little Sam can see, she's already able to freeze her blood.