The Cunningham Saga: The Fate of Yesterday

Chapter 8- A Day's Journey

Elizabeth

Although I had memorized the map I was still quite confused about how I would transition from this hot climate into a frozen forest given I was close to my destination. I began to feel lonely wishing someone familiar could be here to comfort me in this time of disarray. Alas, I pursued independently because I had no choice. I began to enter a green forest filled with enormous trees towering over me. I looked up in an attempt to take it all in but that was impossible, I could have stared at their beauty for hours but I had to keep going. I hear the sounds of the birds chirping and the wind whirring away and for a moment everything is calm. For the first time in days I feel at peace. Before I can get comfortable though, my horse freaks out and starts running.

"WOAH!" I yell trying not to fall off.

My horse begins to sniff around as if he is looking for something he needs to tend too. He begins to sniff around some more and I allow it because I have become curious. He starts to slow down and then that's when I see a man laying on the ground. I tie my horse to a nearby tree as he continues to scavenge. I slowly begin to approach the man who seems to be passed out. As I inched closer to the beaten man his face became more and more familiar. All of a sudden I realize that familiar face is no other than the prince himself. I almost don't believe it.

"They told me he died," I thought to myself

There was no time to analyze the situation, I needed to help him. There was a huge gash along his entire arm as if he fell on a tree branch. I tear a piece of cloth off the end of my dress and grab his arm to begin wrapping his wound. After the wound is wrapped I begin to put pressure on it by compressing his arm. As he is lying there almost lifeless, I begin to tear up. He needs more help than just a bandage so I'll have to find someone who has the proper equipment. After a few minutes of struggling I'm able to prop him up onto the horse. I untie the horse and walk beside it as we begin to seek help.

After about an hour of my horse carrying the prince, he seemed exhausted. Coincidently, we were right at the border of the snow forest. But there was no snow and only a large brick bridge that seemed it had been there since the beginning of time. I tie my stolen horse to a tree as I try to come to a conclusion.

"Possibly the snow melted away and the map was outdated," I say to myself

I begin to walk towards the bridge with caution of course. I check under the bridge to make sure there are no trolls. I giggle to myself trying to cope with the idea of having to "check for trolls" in this crazy dimension. I slowly begin to tiptoe into the bridge with one step at a time. I get to the middle of the bridge and feel one of my feet become uneven as it pushes a brick farther into the bridge. I get startled at first but then remember the fact that this bridge is old as dirt so I brush it off and continue. I'm about to step off the other side of the bridge then all of a sudden I'm in the frozen forest. I stand there absolutely dumbfounded for a while. I begin to walk back on the bridge and all of a sudden I'm back in the heat of the forest. I do a few double takes going back and forth between these to places. It's as if the frozen forest is in another dimension.

"No way, no way, no way," I think to myself

After a few more minutes of trying to figure out what's going on. I finally stop trying to understand, grab my horse with the seemingly lifeless prince, and enter into the frozen forest. I don't know how long the prince was laying there but he still had a pulse. I immediately begin to shiver as I drudge through the thick snow. I'm still in the clothing I had found in the castle which isn't anywhere near as warm as I wish it was. The snow was noticeably more difficult to travel through and the horse was growing colder by the minute. Just when I'm about to lay down in the cold snow I see a small cottage in the distance.