Starlight And Mist

The Forest

It was a perfect summer day. The sunlight poured lazily across a large field of wild grass peppered with puffs of dandelions and colorful wildflowers. Birds were singing, bugs were chirping and humming, and she heard the cheerful gurgle of a brook tripping over its rocky bed in the distance. The world was quiet, in order, and at peace.
The whole world is as it should be, except for a singular girl making her way determinedly across the picturesque field.
Her skin was too warm under her ill-fitting, long-sleeved tunic, and her heavy leather hunting boots slowed her down as she trudged across the large open field. Occasionally, she'd trip over loose earth and curse under her breath, becoming more frustrated with everything as the day wore on.

The small silver dagger hanging from her belt thunked against her thigh with every step, adding to her mounting irritation.
The trill of insects and the slight breeze against her sweat-slicked skin were welcome distractions as her last conversation with her father repeatedly replayed in her head, although she tried to ignore it.
Her father had been upset with her, which was nothing new. She felt she was constantly slipping up, not meeting his expectations or assimilating how he expected her to. And frequently, it blew over by the next day, and they continued their awkward attempts at pretending to be a family for the benefit of others. But this time, she felt trapped, a lone rabbit caught in the snare of a ruthless hunter with no way out but to chew off her leg. She wished such a drastic measure would help her out of this plight.

She stopped by a scraggly bush, thankful for a break in her monotonous journey. Her feet had started aching, and she was even more grateful to shift her weight off them for a few minutes as she scanned her surroundings.
The field sprawled wide in every direction, with a tree line visible to the west. Although not visible, she knew that a three-day ride through this field to the east would bring her to the Valorician mountains, a mountain range that surrounded them on three sides, nestling the small Valorian kingdom between its peaks and the Celestial Sea.
On the other side of the mountains were many civilizations she had only read about and caught snippets of whispers about in her father's court. She had read about a few in her history books but knew little about them.

She was exceedingly good at waiting patiently, blending in, and listening to learn the secrets and wisdom of others. She relished this skill as her one good quality. It was this skill that had made her an excellent hunter and gatherer. She beamed inwardly at the thought.

She was making her way towards the woods in the west. As a child, she'd frequently heard fairytales of wolves that were half-man, tricky fae that was known for being word smiths and stealing small children in the middle of the night, the ethereal witches and mages that would lure men to their deaths through acts of love, all inhabiting the Starfall woods.
She found it hard to imagine her forest full of such mythical monsters. To her, it was the only home she had ever loved, her anchor and safe place when she felt utterly alone. She smiled at the thought of the familiar trees, the mossy hills, and the small trails made by the forest's animals: foxes, raccoons, deer, and wild hares.

Another hour passed relatively uneventfully, except for a flock of wild birds startling her as they rose out of the thigh-length grass and into the sky. She reached an outcropping of tall trees that looked like they were dipping their topmost branches into the cool blue pool of sky, stirring the sparse clouds and sending invisible ripples across the great blue expanse.
The familiar smell of pine needles and warm earth filled her nose as she stopped to check the horizon behind her. Prey must always be alert, lest the predator catch them unaware. Satisfied she had not been tracked and followed, she traveled further into the thick trees.

She looked around at the familiar white bark of the birch trees, the loamy ground thick with ferns and dropped limbs, dried leaves shivering in the slight breeze under her feet.
The limbs of lurch trees, pines, and oak trees intertwined above her, creating a canopy of green and brown needles and leaves over her head. Dappled sunlight made little patterns of golden light on her clothes and arms. She was going to miss this.
As her eyes adjusted to the shady area, she could make out the thickets where the deer would sleep, the displaced leaves underfoot betraying to the trained eye where they wandered.
She noticed some fox tracks and smiled at the memory of tracking the majestic beasts, with their dull red coats and black socks, with her father as a young girl.
She released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding as the trees began to thin, and a small cottage appeared. It was a sad sight to behold. It was a rounded stone structure, its dilapidated stones covered in moss and climbing ivy. Her father had sealed the roof with a pitch to keep it from leaking when it rained. The roof was riddled with tiny holes now where animals had dug through it to get shelter during the cold or rainy months. Dappled sunlight flicked through the holes, magically dancing across the stones.
The heavy front door was hand-carved wood. It had a small stained glass window in the center and a large smooth stick for a handle.
Once upon a time, her mother had hand-painted a collection of leaves, vines, and flowers onto the door, but the paints, made with ingredients she had found in the woods, had all but washed away with time.
She smiled sadly, rubbing her thumb over the familiar carved handle. This home was a love letter from her father to her mother. It broke her heart to see it left to the bugs and the elements, with only occasional visits from herself. Her father had wholly forgotten it.