Little Sliver Horseshoe

(PumpkinQueen23) The Brooch.

Her name was Beth and she was running. She was running faster then she had in her entire life. As she dodged around trees, her sister Eleanor desperately tried to keep up with her, while being repeatedly whipped in the face by branches. They were trying to put as much ground as possible between them and the distant sounds of people shouting and dogs barking. It was raining now and the ground was becoming slippery, but the two women kept running.

Finally the two slowed as they came to the bank of a river. They couldn't hear the crowd any more but Beth doubted they were far off. 

"Beth," panted Eleanor, "how are we going to get across the river?" 

Beth, whose heart was beating so fast she was surprised it hadn't broken through her rib cage, gazed at her sister in astonishment. "Seriously," she said, "why can't you just fly across?" 

Eleanor glared, "I can't fly." She was still gasping for breath. "I could levitate us both across if I wasn't so exhausted." 

Beth sighed. "Okay. We'll try and find a dry place for you to rest but we have got to make it to Bogford by morning. You know how important the broach is." 

Eleanor nodded, and the two continued along the river looking for a spot to rest. In time they came to a collection of  rocks under a large tree that looked about as dry as could be expected during a downpour. They sat. Beth put her hand to the broach on her chest. It was scarcely bigger than a thimble and shaped like a horseshoe. Beth had often wondered why people made such a fuss over something so tiny. Even now she knew what it was she would never understand how it had lead them to be stranded in Malcon forest at dusk on the most miserable day of the year running away from an angry mob.

"Ready?" Beth said to her sister after a long moment had passed. 

Eleanor nodded, and smiled for the first time in almost six months. "Right," Beth said as she got up attempting to mentally prepare herself. She shut her eyes. She wasn't sure whether this would make the following seconds better or worse. She had to fight down the urge to scream as she felt her feet leave the ground and felt more than a little nauseous by the time they landed safe on the other side of the river. At the very least they were a little safer now. It was highly unlikely the mob would find a way to cross the river. But Beth knew deep down the idea of their enemies not sending someone ahead to intercept them was even more unlikely.