Kali was in a trance. The world around her didn't exist, except for the obstacles in her path: avoiding a tree here, jumping over a bush there, and using a tree trunk as a foothold to vault over another bush covered in thorns. She didn't think she just focused on the here and now without letting her mind wander.

Small twigs snapped beneath her feet as she treaded over the snow-covered ground of the dense forest. The frigid air carried the taste of wood and earth, mingling with the distinctive scent of the pines that surrounded her. The ache in her soles, knees, and arms was a constant reminder of the miles she had covered while running.

Regardless of not keeping count, she must have fallen hundreds of times by now.

A misstep here could result in smashing her side into a coarse tree trunk. A missed root hidden beneath the snow might lead to tasting the dirty snow as she scraped both her arms to cushion the fall.

She didn't let those stop her; she got up frantically and continued her dash. The constant stream of adrenaline overrode her sense of pain, but after this long, they were adding up, and she was getting exhausted.

Another protruding rock sent her stumbling, leading to a tumble across the ground. She collided with the trunk of a nearby tree a few meters away. Her momentum abruptly halted. Struggling, she pushed herself off the ground using shaking arms, attempting to rise, but her legs betrayed her, giving way beneath her weight.

Collapsing back against the trunk, her head found support in its rough bark. Her breathing remained rapid and tinged with panic, but with each passing moment, the grip of exhaustion tightened around her. Her vision swam as she tried to calm her breathing and settle into a more comfortable position.

It was currently night again. She didn't know how long she'd been running, but she was sure the sun had risen and fallen once, at least. The blue light of the larger moon shone through the gaps between the canopy and gave her more than enough light to see.

Kali saw the moon the elves called the 'gentle sister' peek through the gaps. Its smaller crimson twin, the 'wrathful brother,' didn't give off enough light to overpower his sister's, so the night was mostly dominated by the bluish tint on Aetheria.

The trees around here were absurdly large. She could barely reach a third around the trunk of the one serving as her headrest if she tried to hug it, but it wasn't even the largest around. The lowest branches were five or more meters off the ground, and she couldn't even guess how high up they reached into the air.

With her mind settling slightly and her breathing growing more and more controlled, she belatedly realized she still had her bracelet on her arm. She quickly channeled some mana into it to ease some of her pain.

The waves of pain radiating from her soles dampened and became a numb pain, and the scrapes slowly closed, leaving only spotless skin in their place. She didn't want to waste too much mana on it, so she left her soles and the soreness all around her body as they were. Those wouldn't be too much trouble, but the bloody scrapes would be annoying.

She sighed as she collected her shoulder-length hair behind her head into a ponytail and fixed it in place with a small piece of silk she always kept in her pockets. With her hair no longer sticking to her face from the sweat, she felt slightly better and checked herself for anything else she might have missed.

Her white leather boots and tight leather pants of the same color were covered in mud from her many falls, but she didn't notice any rips or tears in them. They were enchanted clothing, so she would be disappointed in the royal tailor if they got torn just from this much.

On top, she wore a long-sleeved black shirt that clung to her frame and was great at keeping her warm, along with a white jacket that went well with the pants and boots. She enjoyed keeping her clothes white in the vain hope that she would one day need them to help her blend in with the snowy landscape.

She channeled a minuscule drop of mana into all of her clothes and sighed in relief as the mud and sweat were expelled from them and rolled down in drops on the outside. They even cleaned her body underneath them as much as she could have done with a towel and a bucket of water. The slight mana investment was worth the comfort, in her opinion.

She ran her fingers around her belt and pockets, listing all the stuff she still had on her that might come in handy if she wanted to continue living. Not knowing if Mythral and the others were alive or when they would reach her, she had to endure.

She had her knife, but it was a utility knife, not a combat dagger, and was only as large as her palm. Despite that, with its sharpness, it was by far the best weapon she had.

She also had her clothes, which, while not offering much in terms of defense, would keep her covered and clean. Combined with her inherent traits as a Winter Elf, they would let her survive in these freezing temperatures.

She also had her bracelet for healing if she ever needed it, along with a few other enchanted trinkets that might come in handy, but nothing overly useful for surviving in the wild. She had a small pocket brush that could tame her curly white mane in seconds, a small Silverite ring that could create illusions and a black ring that had a storage space inside it.

The last one was an unadorned black ring with a color so dark that it ate up the surrounding light. She could only see the outline of the ring and not its exact shape because of that. Currently, it held her collection of favorite books along with a few treats she convinced the castle chef to make for her journey.

She sighed as she thought back to the indulgent expression on the only portly elf she had ever seen in her short life. He was utterly loyal to her father, just like most Winter Elves in the castle, but he always indulged her requests, as long as they didn't contradict her father's. From this, she quickly learned that he didn't care too much about what she did, as long as she didn't get books or artifacts he had forbidden her from having, or escaped the castle.

Well, that concluded the short list of useful stuff she had. It was kind of depressing that most of these weren't hers because she wanted them, but because they helped her become a better bride.

She scoffed at that, the whispering voice at the back of her mind getting louder with her thoughts once again spiraling down that rabbit hole.

What if they died and won't come after me? What if the humans killed them and were the ones chasing me? What if they can't even find me after that snowstorm? What...

She was descending into an endless spiral of 'what ifs,' but the answer she came to at the end of them all was the same simple one.

I just have to survive alone, expecting no one to come and find me. I need to be careful in case a monster or the humans come after me. And if in the end, nobody comes, then... isn't that what I wanted all along?

She fought back a slight grin at her final thought, but she didn't quite manage it. It felt unreal, and she could barely think ever since Mythral tore the door of the carriage off. She had been frightened, frantic, and then in a panicked trance. For the first time in what might have been days, she could reflect on the ambush with a relatively clear head.

She was sure now that the attackers were from the Corvus Empire. They were too strong not to be the elite force of a formidable nation, and they were the only ones who would benefit from her death. Kidnapping her could be problematic, as that might strengthen the alliance between the two kingdoms, with the sultan having his to-be wife and the Winter King, his 'beloved' daughter, kidnapped.

Unless proven otherwise, she would believe that to be true. She wasn't a political genius, and she didn't know too much about world politics, but growing up on tales of the villainous deeds of the empire against any non-humans, she didn't think her hypothesis was too much of a stretch.

As far as she knew, the most objective description of their philosophy was that humans were the superior race, and every other race descended from them. It was their mission to reunify the world under their banner. To reintegrate these 'demi-humans' into humanity, the only obvious option was crossbreeding. Demi-humans in the empire were ordered to 'mate' with a selected human and were forbidden from having children with another of their original race.

They viewed this as the ultimate symbol of their conquest over their defeated enemies, and it made Kali sick to her stomach. It wasn't too different from what she was forced to do, but those poor war trophies weren't even called wives or husbands—concubines at best and slaves at worst.

She didn't know how much of that was true, but it surely held some fraction of the truth. After all, it was the common consensus about the nation in her kingdom, according to her history tutor. Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Not that knowing any of that was going to help her if a frost wolf decided she would make a fine snack. Dense forests of giant pine trees should be the preferred places for their dens. Biology at least was coming in handy, especially her extensive knowledge about how to kill any and all monsters found around the continent from her multiple readings of the Adventurers' Guild's 'Monster Manual.' That was one of her favorite books after the ones about spell crafting and Runes.

She was breathing deeply now, her chest rising and falling with each heavy intake of breath. She let her body grow colder, taking in the temperature of her surroundings to blend in with it. Even though she had barely used this ability of hers, it was instinctual to her, as much as breathing was. Her body was no longer giving off heat and blended in with the frigid surroundings. If anything looked around with thermal vision here, it wouldn't easily spot her.

She felt the instinct switch for the semi-hibernation appear in her mind. It would allow her to steady her core while minimizing her nutrient consumption. It would dampen her mind so much that she'd only be able to focus on any prey entering her vicinity. She pushed it to the back of her mind and, on wobbly legs, she rose to her feet.

"Why aren't there any spells that can restore stamina?" Kali whined under her breath. She needed to find a place to sleep before she collapsed mid-run. She could barely stand by now, and her stomach was growling at her.

The snacks in her spatial ring would do for today, but she wouldn't last long if she couldn't find food. Tomorrow she would have to hunt or forage for something.

When she stood, she no longer looked like she'd just been in a fight with a mud monster. She looked like a prim and proper elf if you didn't count her drooping eyes and ears from exhaustion. At least her clothes were clean, and her hair wasn't sticking to her face and getting into her mouth anymore.

Instead of sprinting like she used to, she took a considerate walk that gradually turned into a jog as she regained some stamina.

She kept her eyes peeled and her ears alert in case anything tried to sneak up on her. The only sight before her was a vast expanse of tree trunks and a snowy ground, occasionally broken by tenacious bushes. Her ears only caught the crunching of the snow and her own shallow breathing, along with a few bird calls in the distance, or small skittering insects or rodents hiding under the snow.

She knew the mountain range wasn't the most ecologically diverse or populous place, but it was still surprising how calm and silent everything was. Back in the castle, she could always hear some servant scurrying around doing chores, or the guards marching around.

The silence unnerved her a bit.

She jogged for another few hours, pushing herself more than she'd ever had physically, but she finally found a good hiding place. She could hear the gentle murmur of flowing water in the distance, so she wouldn't have to melt snow for a drink either. That could wait until tomorrow, though. Along with the howling of the wind as it snapped the tops of the large evergreens around her, she could barely make out the more animalistic howls far off in the distance.

Her small sanctum for the night was the hollow trunk of an especially large pine, which reached five meters in diameter. She stumbled inside when she realized that the animals might be able to follow her scent. Elves usually had a hard-to-detect scent, as they smelled like nature. According to her maids, she smelled like freshly fallen snow with a hint of honey. Like snowdrops blooming in the winter, they said.

She channeled a substantial amount of mana into her clothes, hoping their capability in cleaning would also work on her scent. While still channeling, she went inside the hollow tree. She had to squeeze herself inside, as it was a narrow, if tall, opening, but she managed it after a bit, cursing a bit at being 'blessed by nature' in some aspects that were less than useful in the situation.

When she got inside, she promptly collapsed against the opposite wall of the small space and fumbled for the Silverite illusion ring in her pocket. She had to feed it almost a third of her mana, but the thing did its job. It had two different illusion spells imbued into it. One was the Minor Illusion spell, which, while limited in its application, was perfect for what she needed.

Like a one-way mirror, the illusion snapped into being and covered the opening on the other side. She could still peek through it from this side, but nothing but bark showed from the outside. Well, she dearly hoped so, at least.

Kali sighed and tried to calm herself down a bit. She was heaving again. Her stomach was hollow and increasingly angry at her. She felt cold, her lungs were hurting, and she was scared and tired. She fought against the tears of frustration, but the young princess quickly lost that battle. Salty tears dripped down her cheeks and froze on her skin before they reached her chin.

"This is what you wanted, Kali. Don't be such a baby now," she tried to admonish herself to no avail as the muffled sobs continued for a bit. She fished out some small treats from her ring to give herself a bit of comfort before she realized that those too could lure the beasts here with their scent.

She hugged her knees close to her body and stared out through the illusion, finding comfort in the beautiful scene of the morning sunshine breaking through the canopy. Was I ever this alone in my life before now?

Life was hard.

That wasn't a new thought to Kali, but before then, she never had to fear for her life or find food. Life was easy if depressing before, but now it was hard with a slight undercurrent of hope. She latched onto the hope of freedom, adventure, and magic with all her might.

Even if her guards caught up with her in the future, she would make the best of her time out here. She was free for the first time in her life, with no guard peeking over her shoulder, no disapproving maid to annoy her endlessly, and no hateful father whose silvery gaze made her feel colder than this frigid weather.

She tore her eyes off the sight outside and searched through her spatial ring once more.

"I know I put that here somewhere, but where the hell is it?"

She pushed things aside in their compartments, and in the fifth one, she finally found what she wanted: a small silky pillow covered in beautiful embroidery depicting a snowdrop. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at it. She had taken it along so she could sleep on the road if she wanted, but now it would be her only bedding, aside from the somewhat rotting bark covering the ground.

She cast a small spell her old teacher taught her in secret when he got fed up with her incessantly, asking him to cast the spell in her room. This was a bit more complicated than the others, so she couldn't cast it offhandedly.

She closed her eyes while holding her arm out with her palm facing the ground. Runes materialized in her mind with crystal clear clarity as she forced them into being. Mana Gathering, Locate (Insect), Separate, Needle, Rapid Launch. She looked through all the Runes, fearing a backlash that might blow up her brain. Once she found nothing amiss, she infused all the Runes with as much mana as she could without giving a smidge more than the Runes could take.

The Runes brightened in her mind, now shining with a soft bluish-white glow before she released her hold on them. They collapsed upon themselves into a clump of mana that still followed her intent zealously as it raced through her body and into her palm. She pushed it outside of her body and promptly lost her hold on it once it was further than a few millimeters from her skin.

The spell activated right after, and hundreds of small needles of mana shot out one after the other from the small shining orb. They flew straight at the disgusting little crawling bugs. She sighed in relief. Even though she liked most animals, she drew the line firmly when it came to insects.

"They are fine if they stay away from me. After all, they're important for the ecosystem. But screw them if they come closer."

She shuddered at the thought, remembering when she woke up to a large spider crawling over her bed frame just above her head. She didn't know she could make a sound like that before the scare, and her bedrest might have gotten incinerated alongside the arachnid invader.

Once the murderous little orb fizzled out of existence with a green puff signifying having eliminated all located targets in the vicinity, she sighed in relief and laid down on the surprisingly soft ground. Her clothes weren't the best for sleeping, but darkness soon claimed the runaway princess anyway.