Children of Esteria

Ana was sprawled across the forest floor, resting on a pile of moss and leaves. She stared forlornly up at the canopy as sunlight dappled down on her face.

"What's wrong, princess?" Nightwing rustled his feathers as he glided down to perch on her leg.

"Don't call me that," Ana said, rolling her eyes. Nightwing cocked his head and appraised her with a beady black eye. She could have sworn the raven looked amused.

"Why not? It's what you are."

"I don't feel much like a princess of anything. Well, maybe princess of the forest if anything."

Nightwing squawked and it sounded like laughter. There was a rustling in the trees and a sleek gray hare leaped from the shrubbery to land beside Ana, most quivering madly.

"Ana! Thank the stars I've found you." The hare's voice was as soft and velvety as her fur, but in that moment it was laced with terror. Ana sat up, heart in her throat.

"What is it, Silvra? What's happened?"

"I think your family is in danger. Something is happening in town, and people are frightened. Your family left the bakery; I saw some of them at your house."

"They left the bakery in the middle of the day?" Ana jumped to her feet, feeling as though her blood had been replaced with ice. "Then something is definitely wrong. Father would never do that."

Nightwing cawed a warning and a moment later Ana heard the sounds of footsteps in the distance. What must have been nearly a dozen people were moving swiftly through the underbrush. And it sounded like the stomping of soldier's boots. The color drained from Ana's face. She scooped Silvra into her arms and began running for home. Her soft shoes made almost no noise on the forest floor as she sprinted through the foliage. Nightwing circled above her, keeping a lookout.

"Be careful Ana!" Silvra called with alarm. Ana saw the root jutting up through the dirt a second too late. Her foot snagged under it and she tumbled to the ground, hissing as pain shot through her ankle. She did her best to twist so that she didn't fall on the hare. Silvra nudged her face, urging her to get up quickly.

"This way," Ana heard one of the soldiers shout. "We're picking up a strong surge of magic."

Panicked, Ana climbed to her feet and tried to run again, ignoring the pain in her ankle.

"You there, stop!"

A jolt of adrenaline urged her legs on despite the cold command. The soldier shouted at her again and Ana knew he was gaining on her. An iron grip latched onto her arm, yanking her to a halt and spinning her around. Ana let out a cry that was half fear and half fury. Keeping Silvra tucked under one arm, she balled her free hand into a fist and rammed it hard into the soldier's face. He wasn't prepared for the blow and his head snapped back and his nose made a sickening crack.

Ana wrenched her arm free and backed away from him as other soldiers fell in around her. She could hear more commotion, coming from the direction of town. Solomon's men must have rallied supporters. Ana choked back a whimper of terror. Then almost all at once, the creatures of the forest descended on the approaching soldiers. Birds flew down from the branches in a flurry of feathers; foxes and wolves leaped from the underbrush with fangs bared.

Then Prancer appeared before her, knocking the soldier with the broken nose to the ground and kneeling so Ana and Silvra could scramble onto his back. The great stag bounded through the wood at dizzying speed, bursting from the tree line and running full tilt toward her family's cottage.

"There you are!" her mother cried. "Where are Kristopher and Liah?"

"I haven't seen them," Ana replied wildly. "The woods are crawling with soldiers and villagers. They found me; sensed my magic. Mother this is all my fault-"

"No, no my dear one." Isobella reached up a hand to touch Ana's shoulder. "It is not your fault at all. We should have expected something like this to happen eventually."

"We have to find Liah and Kris," Ana said frantically.

"There they are!" Al pointed down the road, where two figures were moving hurriedly toward them.

"Ana, thank the stars," Kris said breathlessly when he and Liah reached them. Ingrid, Makena and Zachary came out of the house then. Ana could tell her younger siblings were trying to be brave but Makena's eyes were wide and frightened and Zachary's lips were trembling slightly.

"Ana says the woods are overrun," Niko said grimly.

"The animals came to my aid," Ana said. "They bought us some time."

"Then we shouldn't waste a second of it. I can cast a Cloaking Spell and take us through the long way around the forest," Ingrid replied.

"We should bring Prancer," Ana said, sliding from the stag's back. "The little ones can ride him; it'll make the journey that much quicker."

"Good thinking, my love. Hurry, children. Onto his back, that's it. Now everyone gather close and stay close. Casting such a large Cloak will be difficult."

Ana gripped Al's hand tightly as she huddled close to her family. Ingrid chanted a spell under her breath. Ana felt a crackle in the air and her skin tingled as the spell took effect. She handed Silvra to Zachary, so he could let her soft fur to keep his mind off his fear.

"Let's go," Niko said, urging his children forward and keeping an arm around his wife's shoulders. Ana stumbled forward as if in a dream, trying not to wince as her ankle twinged. They moved as quickly and as quietly as they could through the trees and Ana cast a lingering final glance at the home she had grown up in. They crouched in the shadows of the woods as a mob of townspeople and soldiers approached the house. Ana was chilled by the cold hatred in their eyes. How could they all have turned on her family so readily?

"We must go," Isobella whispered. "Niko, I don't want the children to see this."

He nodded and urged them away. But Ana craned her neck to watch as soldiers kicked down their door and ransacked the house. Finding it empty, they ordered the house be burned down. Her stomach dropped. As much as she hated sharing such small space with her entire family and slaving away at the bakery, she felt a dull ache in her chest at seeing it destroyed. Her father took her hand and told her not to look. Ana dragged her gaze away from the rising flames and blinked back tears.

Al put an arm around her and let her lean on him to keep weight off her ankle when he noticed her limping. Ana smiled up at him gratefully and he squeezed her gently. They didn't speak as they walked; they were invisible but the spell couldn't muffle all sound. They would take no chances. This left Ana alone with her turbulent thoughts, and guilt made her shoulders hunch. Despite what her mother said she couldn't help but feel that this was all her fault. She was the one the soldiers had tracked here.

Ingrid whispered a warning and everyone held their breath as they spotted several soldiers. The three men walked with their heads bent together, muttering about where the d'Auvay family could have gone. Ana was sure they could hear her heartbeat as they passed by barely an arm's length from her. But the soldiers never paused or even looked up; they strode right past her, worrying about what Solomon would say when he learned that they had been so close and let the royals slip through their fingers.

When they were gone everyone let out a shaky breath and they resumed their trek. Ingrid was taking them through the less traveled part of the wood, where the trees grew thick and close together. Al used his earth Gift to flatten roots that jutted up from the earth and Ana could have sworn the trees themselves were doing their best to allow them passage. It was the middle of the night when they staggered free of the trees and found themselves on a narrow mountain road.

"I can't...hold it," Ingrid gasped. Ana felt that odd rifle fade from her skin as Ingrid, pale and trembling, nearly toppled over. Isobella and Kris steadied her.

"What do we do now?" Liah whispered. Makena and Zachary had fallen asleep on Prancer's back, Silvra nestled in Makena's arms.

"We'll have to cross over the mountain into Valley Glen," Niko said. He spoke lightly but his face was weary. They were all exhausted and the mere idea of descending through the mountain pass made Ana's body ache. Beside her, Prancer stomped a hoof restlessly.

"Someone is approaching," he told her.

"Someone's coming," Ana whispered. Everyone stilled, hands going to daggers concealed beneath cloaks and inside boots. Everyone in her family was an adept fighter, but they were bone tired and rattled; and Ingrid's energy was spent. Ana waited with baited breath, hoping desperately that there weren't more soldiers just beyond the tree line.