Fog Bank

Chapter 2

A/N: Short update - something's better than nothing right? 

Updates may be a bit slower because my exams just started - next week I have 3 in a row! I'll try to write as much as possible in my free time, but not making any promises.

Dedicated to: iloveyoubaby for making such an amazing book cover! Thank you so much :)

Enjoy reading and remember to vote/comment :)!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

I blinked slowly, squinting in the sunlight – trying to get my bearings. Rays of sun trickled down into the forest, illuminating my surroundings. Looking around, I saw that I had fallen in a clearing, quite close to the river. On one side, was the dark forest, and on the other the rushing river. 

Feeling the droplets on my face, I realized what had awoken me. Perhaps next time it would be more prudent to set up a tent or some sort of shelter before I fell asleep. I had been exhausted to the bone when I fell asleep, to weary to even lay down a blanket. Now, well rested, I was famished. I had been ignoring my needs for the past couple of days, too depressed to focus on myself; but it was catching up to me. I had been running for two weeks now, hardly ever stopping. Though there were no pursuers, I could not allow myself to let down my guard and felt that I needed to keep looking over my shoulders every so often.

Sitting up, I stretched out my arms, trying to get all the kinks out. The soft drizzle, though unwelcome at first, was actually quite invigorating. Wiping my face clean of the water, I reached over for my bag and pulled out a fresh set of clothes. Though I was reluctant to wear these garments at first, I knew my mother had thought out her plan wisely. There was no possible way for us to run through a forest wearing a gown – it surely would have been in tatters by now.

‘Us’. Without meaning to, I had unintentionally thought of how different it would feel to have mamma here with me. Waking up every day may not have proven to be such a chore, as I felt it to be now. I may even have looked forward to each morning, thinking of it as an adventure. Another adventure with mamma.  How I wished for it, more than anything in the world. Perhaps leaving everything I had ever known behind may even be bearable if mother was here with me. I would have gladly accepted anything fate had in store for me, if only I could face it with mamma. Now that I was so alone, I felt her absence even more strongly. I yearned for her quite words of encouragement and soothing touch, anything to take away the pain.

At first the grief I felt for the loss of mother was almost intolerable, and I had almost conceded to the aguish. But every time I had even thought about it, I remembered how much mother had given up so that I could be free. I could not dishonour her memory by being afraid and destroying everything she fought for. So I had gone on, and slowly the sorrow turned into a throbbing, dull ache. Though, still piercing at times, it had become more manageable and I trudged on.

These past weeks, I not only had to crawl through thick bushes but also climb trees and stumble through thickets. I was only thankful that I had not run into any trackers, I would have hardly known what to do then. I suppose the Voice would have made an entrance at that point. I hadn’t heard from it since I had left my village at the river bank, but I knew it was still there. At first I kept trying to entice it to speak with me so that I could finally understand what was going on. Though mamma had explained to me about magic, she had never mentioned the voice. After repeatedly yelling at nothing in particular, I had finally given up. I realized that the voice would not respond to me simply because I was howling like a spoiled princess. It was as though the voice was dormant and only made an appearance when I was in peril.