Ashalan navigated her way down the hill from the cave, hoping that her Uncle’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sarau, still lay to the west, otherwise she was completely lost. She ran until her legs hurt and her lungs burned, and then she ran some more.
The noises of Serephine’s men soon became distant, and when she was sure that she had lost them she stopped. Leaning over, panting, sweat covered her makeshift sack tunic and it felt slimy against her skin.
She heard running water and slowly stood upright, looking around to see where it was coming from. Moving cautiously towards the direction of the sound, she realised that she was incredibly hungry and thirsty having burned through all her energy to outrun the henchmen.
Creeping up to some bushes, she saw a river running past and decided to investigate. A few large deer stood at the edge drinking, when she approached their ears perked up alert to her footsteps.
Quietly tiptoeing to the edge of the river, she tried not to startle them. She didn't want any disturbance to give away her whereabouts or draw attention to herself. Kneeling down to the water's edge, she leant over and reached into the water to scoop up some of the liquid into her palm. Ashalan lifted it to her lips and enjoyed its cool wetness in her parched mouth. Drinking as much as she could, she then splashed some water on her face and rubbed her skin with her palms in an effort to get some of the dirt off her face. She rested back on her legs and looked around.
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It was such a beautiful place, she imagined it would look even better in the daylight. The trees towered above the undergrowth, creating silhouettes against the dark indigo sky. A cool breeze softly blew through the branches creating a symphony of rustling leaves. She sighed as she realised she could only imagine life in the sunlight, but there was hope, once she reached Monterey hopefully the spell could be undone.
She leant over again to take one more sip when suddenly a hand came up out of the water and grabbed the amulet. Taken by surprise she lurched backwards but the hand held tight to the necklace causing her to lose her balance. She flicked her fingers to form a fireball in her palm, threw it at the creature but it hit the water and exploded into an array of sparks.
Grabbing at the chain as it tightened around her neck, she used her remaining strength to pull back against it but it was to no avail, the creature was stronger and she was dragged into the water.