Destiny's Mistake

DC, Attempt Six, Ch. 1

I couldn't breathe. My eyes shot open as I began gasping for air, the sun blinding me but I didn't notice. I sat up in a panic, trying to untie my corset, but I was unable to get the ties loosened from how it was tied. I slowly stood up, bracing myself against a tree, relieving my pain only slightly. As I tried to catch my breath, I took the time to take in my surroundings. Looking around, I realized I wasn't in the same place I was last night.

I knew I was still in a forest, that much I was sure of, but the trees looked vastly different than the last place I remembered being. Where was I?

I tried to think of the last thing that I remembered, but the only thing I could derive was that I had gone into the forest behind the house to retrieve stray arrows from archery practice, and hadn't come back out. Had I just gone too far in?

As I looked around, nothing seemed familiar at all. The trees seemed to grow in winding, ornate swirls, unfamiliar to anything I had ever seen before. Their leaves were huge, colored a vibrant green that almost seemed tinted purple. I looked around in confusion, as all of the foliage seemed to have a similar coloring.

This was impossible. I spun around in a slow circle, trying to make sense of my surroundings. My breathing quickened, still not back to normal, causing me to start coughing. I tried to cover my eyes as I wheezed, the humidity and heat of my gown not helping the matters any.

I sank back to my knees, trying once again to untie anything, still getting nowhere. Giving up, I glanced back at the sky, instantly regretting it. There were two brilliant white orbs where the sun was supposed to be. I slowly stood up, trying to process everything, and started going deeper into the forest. I needed to find some answers. Where was I? How did I get here?