Mirror, Mirror {#Wattys2016}

Chapter 15- Luck

Dried tears stiffened the skin under Cassandra's eyes when she awoke. It was late, no trace of the sunrise left in the sky.

Sitting up, blood rushed down to her bare feet, leaving a slight headache. Muscles flexed stiffly underneath her taught skin and her body ached all over.

Tears threatened to spill once more. Never had Cassandra experienced such an all encompassing pain. It tortured her every second, tearing it's way through her body without pause. Just when she thought it would subside, another wave knocked her back down.

Eventually a sweet, tart aroma permeated the air. Looking around, Cassandra saw a pile of red berries laying on a piece of cloth.

"Good morning," Liam said. "I got a few berries from the trees around us. They're a little bitter but hopefully they'll still taste fine."

A flood of appreciation filled Cassandra. She was so grateful that Liam had been able to find something other than rotting apples to eat.

"Thank you, they look amazing." It was true, the berries were a vivid red and oozed a succulent kind of juice. She picked one up between her fingers and placed it into her mouth. Taste exploded the moment it touched her tongue. It was like a perfect cross between a raspberry and a granny smith apple.

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted," Cassandra sighed.

"I'm glad you like them. My sister used to pick them from the bushes behind our house. They were my favourite as a child."

"Sounds like you used to be close with your sister." Cassandra regretted saying the words right after they left her mouth. The expression on Liam's face made it clear that it was a touchy subject.

Liam shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, we were really close until the day I got arrested. She got mad at me for putting myself at risk by stealing food for her. I've never seen her as aggravated as she was then."

"I'm sorry to hear that." It was awful that Liam had gone through the loss of somebody important to him too. Cassandra knew now that that was the worst kind of pain imaginable. No matter how tough you were, losing somebody left it's mark.

"It's not your fault, it's in the past. I can't imagine she'd be pleased if she knew where I am now either, but you can't help some things."

Guilt gnawed at Cassandra's conscience. If it hadn't been for her, Liam wouldn't be stuck out in the forest miles away from Sector E. Maybe he would have found a way to leave without her and he could've gone home to his family. It was starting to seem like a trail of bad luck accompanied Cassandra wherever she went.

By the time Cassandra had filled herself on berries, bright red stains covered the tips of her fingers. A sweet aftertaste still lingered throughout her mouth.

Above them, the sun had almost risen to its highest point in the sky, barely visible through the dark green canopy of leaves. "We should probably get moving," suggested Cassandra.

Liam agreed and the pair set off into the forest once more. The only problem was that in all the previous night's confusion, they had become disoriented. No longer could either of them be sure which way they needed to be travelling, or where Queen Pandora and her servants could be coming from.

"Ouch!" A thorn from the underbrush had nestled itself into Cassandra's foot through a hole in her slipper. When she had left her house so many days ago she hadn't thought to bring sturdier footwear. Her grey slippers had suffered a great deal of wear and tear since then, and at the rate she was going, they'd be unusable by the end of the month.

Cassandra perched herself on top of a log as she tried to extract the thorn. Luckily it hadn't gone in very far so it was easy to pull out.

Distant noise brought Cassandra into full awareness. It almost sounded as if a dozen horses were trotting along, but she couldn't be sure. After all, the Queen's army couldn't have caught up with them already. Or could they?

"Do you hear that?" Liam asked nervously. From the look in his eyes, Cassandra could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

Neither of them said anything before breaking into a sprint, trying to stay silent. It was difficult when dead leaves and twigs littered the ground ready to snap but they tried nonetheless. Occasionally a particularly loud snap! would make them flinch and motivate them to run faster, leaving any threats behind.

It was not until neither of them could hear a trace of hoofbeats that they finally stopped to rest for the night.

We're lucky we were able to avoid capture that time, Cassandra thought. I can only hope that we'll be just as fortunate if there's a next time.