Equinox (Book One of the Firebird Chronicles) WATTY AWARD HIDDEN GEM WINNER 2015

Chapter Fourteen: The Emerald District

A/N: I've finally hit 1K reads! Yay! To show my thanks...here's a new update!! Media is what I imagine our new character to look like. Note...her horns are more antler-like than the other characters' so far :) Please vote/comment/follow! Larissa x

I awoke to the sound of birdsong and the gentle lull of movement.

With my mind feeling groggy, I realised that at some point during the night I had fallen into a deep sleep. My neck now ached from the strange position I had been forced to curl up in within the crate, and I stretched it out gingerly. The swaying motion, combined with the musical sound of horse's hooves, indicated that the cart had begun moving, and I only felt a slight uneasiness at not knowing where I was going. Following last night's events, and the certainty of Fabian checking who was leaving the district, I simply felt relief that I wouldn't have to spend time figuring out how to escape the city.

Light was creeping in through the tiny cracks in between the panels of wood, and I tentatively tried to spy through it. I could see nothing aside from a single plane of the wagon.

The still air around me also signalled that the wind, who had been my saviour and ally, had gone. No matter how I tried, I could not seem to gauge the connection I had last night. It saddened me, to be so alone now— it had felt, in a strange way, like Fabian was with me. Now every trace of him was gone, and it left me feeling oddly hollow.

I hugged my knees and shooed the thought away. Depending on a man I barely knew was not what I wanted. I hadn't even paid a thought to Scarlett.

Not knowing quite how long we had been travelling, I decided to wait longer, until the birdsong was dulled by the growing voices and chimes of another city. By then, my muscles cried out to be used to leap away from the damn crate and finally, finally be free.

The cart began to clatter more loudly, and I deduced that the terrain had changed to something more like stone. It had slowed considerably; the rocking motion was now barely evident. Biting my lip, my hands crept up to the edge of the crate. It was now, or it would be never.

I threw open the lid as quietly as I could, praying that no-one was a passenger in the wagon. Thankfully, only a few crates were there to see the girl climb through them, and throw the door open.

I was hit by light, and green.

Barely able to take in my surroundings, I rolled quickly onto the moving ground below; which, I realised, was not stone, but smooth wood, fashioned from the huge tree roots that formed the road. I was gasping in awe, rather than physical strain, as I rolled, conscious of the myriad of sounds all around. I could hear what was presumably the coachman yelling, suddenly aware that he had been carrying a fugitive. I heard shrieks as I rolled into pedestrians. But most importantly, I heard the exhilarating rush of my heartbeat as I landed on my feet and was fleeing.

Crowds were all around me, and the angels parted as my feet came padding through. Snaps of conversations hit my ears, although they sounded more like syllables I moved so fast. I noticed eventually that I had been running far longer than I had needed to. There was nobody following me, and there was no-one paying me any attention.

I sighed, and was able to take stock of my surroundings.

I breathed out in awe.

Trees.

Trees, taller than anything I'd ever seen, loomed over me. Their trunks formed part of the town; paths and roads sprung from the huge, twisting roots and as my eyes raised, I could see tiny tree houses, with beautiful glass windows, dotted all around. But that wasn't to say there weren't any buildings on the ground; buildings had been carved from the trees, forming mass gateways and thoroughfares for the busy city.  They were all decorated in wonderful hues of emerald and ivy.