The Liar and the Thief

➳

It was like any other morning when she opened her eyes.

The sun was shining brightly through her tiny, round bedroom window, even though it was supposed to be autumn. It wasn't supposed to be such a bright day.
How dare the weather be so bright when there was absolutely nothing bright about her life?

But.
Today was the day Saga would do something about it.

Taking care to be extra quiet, she grabbed the bag she'd already packed last night and sneaked out of her house.

➳

The villagers, the whole lot of them, were up and about on this sunny autumn morning.

Saga performed her best hide-and-duck maneuvers, yet she barely avoided the extremely nosy baker who always inquired after her health.
Always.
He did it so he could secretly boast about all the delicacies he was selling, knowing that Saga couldn't buy a single thing.

Bastard.

➳

And then,
she was back in the forest.
Thank heavens.

It wasn't a hard road she was supposed to follow, though she guessed that if you didn't know the way,
it was.

Maybe that's how it always was.

After a few minutes of walking, Saga entered the thicker part of the forest, where birdsong was quieter, more subdued
until it eventually
stopped.

Clutching her bag in one hand, she felt for the strap of her bow with the other.

Though she wasn't a sharpshooter by any means, Saga knew how to kill a rabbit or two.

And maybe a nosy baker.

Or those royal tw-

Suddenly,

it seemed like a blanket had been placed over the forest, killing not only the birdsong, but sound altogether.

The quiet felt cold, and eerie,

and Saga wished she'd brought a coat with her.

But a coat wouldn't help her with what she was going to do, so she continued walking until she finally spotted the entrance of the cave.

She didn't give herself any time to stop walking or reconsider her idea.
She just didn't have any other options anymore.

So Saga entered the one cave all the other villagers, and even her grandmother, had told her not to go into.

➳

Since it was a forest cave, it wasn't as damp as the one near the harbour.
Which was great.