As expected, both Jere and his father were waiting for Alera at the stables as they had planned. She could almost feel the tension as she approached, but only when Jere saw her did that relief wash over him. He was genuinely concerned for her, and that unexpectedly made her heart soar to a height she never expected.

"I'm sorry," she breathed as she approached. "I was unfortunately... delayed."

Jere arched a brow in question, as if waiting for her to further explain. She only shook her head—she would be happy to never have to think about it ever again.

"We were concerned, Princess," Palo said as he approached, with a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows in the other.

"What's this?" she asked as she accepted the offered weapons.

"Jere had told me how your father allowed you to train with them, and so I think you'll have more use out of these now than I ever will."

She looked between the two men curiously.

"They were my mother's," Jere offered. "Neither of us were ever very good with them. So it'll be nice to see them put to use."

She gave him a smile and returned her attention to Palo. "Thank you. To you. And to your wife."

Palo's smile was sad, but he cleared his throat. "If you need some time to get used to them before we depart, Princess, I suggest you do so now. And quickly."

Alera shook her head as she looped them over her shoulders. "The one thing my father allowed me was to know how to shoot a bow. Like it was a tradition he knew he would never be able to properly pass down because he never had a son to teach, and his pride for the better of him. When he refused to marry, he knew the knowledge would die with him, so he reluctantly taught me." She looked to Jere as she added, "It's the only reason I was allowed the freedom to visit the stables so often."

The stableboy gave her a smile in response, and Palo cleared his throat. "Then we should not delay any longer—the night grows dark and we have much ground to cover."

She nodded and turned back to Jere, who was already mounting the saddle to the tamed wild horse. Placing a foot in the stirrup, he offered her a hand up and she easily climbed into the saddle behind him, hugging him with her legs and wrapping her arms around him. She felt him tense, but only for a moment before he relaxed back into her and she smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Are you ready to begin your life, Princess?" he glanced back at her and asked her softly.

She nodded against him. "I've never been more sure of anything before in my life."

"Good."

Palo had mounted his own horse and was already kicking into a gallop as Jere followed, and Alera dared one glance behind her as the castle slowly disappeared out of sight behind them.

-----

Palo's plan was to take them to the forest. The inherent fear of what lay within would be enough of a deterrent to keep anyone from following. It was why Alera was shunned as much as she was—her mother's people lived within those trees that superstition separated from the rest of the world.

"It's the only way," Palo said as they cantered next to each other. "But gaining entry is the greatest concern."

"Not to mention, once we are within, how we will find our way through," Jere added.

"What do you mean?" Alera asked softly, afraid that if her voice was too loud, anyone else could hear them.

"This forest is tricky to maneuver and ever-changing," the stable master told her, his voice almost as low as hers was. "It will play with your mind and get you lost within its mazes and shadows."

"And neither of you stopped to think that any of that was due to ignorance and superstition?" Alera asked as she looked between the father and son, who in turn shared a glance all their own.

"Have you ever been in the forest, Princess?" Palo asked.

Alera almost felt ashamed when she answered, "No, my father would never allow it."

"Your father may not have been well versed in a lot of things, but in that, he did right by you."

"Why? Because of the wolves?"

"No. Because of the magic."

Alera paused. "You're talking about my mother."

"We're talking about your mother's people. Her marriage with the king is a rarity of a happy ending," Jere interjected.

"Too many stories have surfaced over the years of souls being lost in that forest, or if they returned, being different than they once were," Palo added.

"Canny."

She knew she didn't even need to say it, but Palo nodded anyway. She turned her attention from him, from the road, and out towards the forest in question. The shadows did seem to grow longer and darker the closer they rode. Even the temperature seemed to drop the closer they got, and she shuddered against Jere's back.

"Are you alright?" He asked with a glance over his shoulder.

"I'm fine," she lied, holding him closer to her.

But she couldn't take her eyes off of the looming forest ahead. And then she heard it.

She and the horse both, simultaneously.

She sat straight in the saddle as the wolves howling in the distance were as clear as it was the other night in her room. Jere and Palo had to calm the horses but Alera could only listen and look towards the forest.

The horses had to be urged closer to the edge, but Alera was ready to run right towards it. No longer did the shadows concern her or the wolves frighten her—no, now she needed to know what lay beyond.

As if the forest itself could hear here, there was a rustling and a parting and the trees and their branches and leaves and overgrowth parted, allowing them entry.

"Look!" Jere exclaimed as the entrance itself almost seemed to be encapsulated in the moonlight.

"I'll be damned," Palo cursed as he, too, saw the entrance open for them.

"It's okay," Alera assured Jere as she heard the wolves call once again.

"Weren't you just saying you were concerned about the wolves?"

"And weren't you saying you were worried about finding a way in?"

He opened his mouth to counter, but the howls of the wolves cut him off. It sounded like they were coming from the newly opened entrance, but Alera was not afraid. In fact, quite the opposite. She was entranced and drawn towards it. To them.

"Go, Jere," she urged.

He gave her a look that was conflicted between wanting to counter her but also wanting to appease her and the latter won. She smiled slightly as he urged the horse on, closer and closer to the forest and the sounds of the waiting wolves.

This would be the way towards her freedom. She knew it in her heart. Once they were within that forest, no one would find them, and they would be free to live out the remainder of their days together without fear of who she was and what was expected of her.

But a little bit further...

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

All three of them turned in their saddles to see what looked no different from a hunting party behind them. None of them had heard their approach, but now that they had, there was no longer a need for silence. They blew their horns and shouted at them as the leader of their pack traveled to the front of the group.

It was Prince Nicholas, and his hawk-like eyes were focused solely on her.

"Run," Alera whispered.

And the horses were already moving towards the forest.

How had they found them? And how were they able to catch up to them so soon? They had covered their tracks as best as they could, or at least they had thought, and in the moonlight unless one was trained to travel as such, it would have been near impossible to discover their direct path.

"FIRE!"

Her backtracking thoughts were interrupted at the same time she heard the knocking of the shafts and the thrum of the released strings and the thud of the arrows as they pummeled the ground around them. Jere and his father wove in and out of the onslaught, the opening in the forest their only destination.

Alera could not just sit there helpless. Unslinging her bow and knocking her own arrow, she blindly let it fly towards the group behind him. She only watched long enough to see the arrow make purchase into the closest rider. Their shouts were enough to dismantle the group's advance and Alera knew this was going to be their only chance.

"Go, go now!" She , and the horses ran towards the opening in the woods while they still had the time to do so.

Alera clung to Jere as he pushed the animal hard, with Palo and his horse right ahead of them. Only after they entered the wood did they stop, but not until they were certain they were far enough in without chase. She couldn't hear the shouts of their chase any longer, and she looked back to make sure they had lost them.

Only to see the walls of the forest had closed in behind them, and the path they had followed in had disappeared.