We had left the capital five days ago.
The carriage moved slowly along paths that beca less and less marked, where the trees closed in over us as if they wanted to hide us from the sky.
The air was fresh and damp, full of the sounds of nature: the crunch of branches under the wheels, the songs of birds, the murmur of the wind among the leaves.
Bren, the driver, had warned us that this day would be the last with good terrain.
Starting tomorrow, the road would beco steeper, rockier, and we would sotis have to walk alongside the carriage to lighten it. So Dad decided we would camp before nightfall.
"Tonight you will sleep under the stars, Lotte" he said with a smile. "It will be a good opportunity to teach you the basics of outdoor life."
It was not the first ti I had slept away from ho, but it was the first so far away, so surrounded by the unknown.
The forest had a wild beauty that sotis beca unsettling. Sunlight barely filtered through the foliage, creating shadows that seed to move on their own. But I stayed firm. This was the path I had chosen.
We stopped near a clearing where a stream ran. Mom and Claire began unloading the backpacks from the carriage while Dad inspected the surroundings.
Soon we began setting up camp. Dad asked to help him pitch the tent.
"The first rule for camping" he said while placing the stakes "is to observe the ground. Never set your tent in a hollow. If it rains during the night, the water will accumulate there and you will have a swamp inside your sleeping bag."
I nodded, trying to morize every word. The tent was smaller than I imagined, but apparently enough for the four of us if we squeezed in a little.
Then ca the fire.
"Now let's see if you rember what I taught you" said Dad, throwing a small hunting knife and a flint stone. "I want you to prepare the fire this ti."
I knelt beside the dry branches. Dad had shown how to do it during our training, but doing it in real conditions was different.
I failed several tis, but finally, a spark jumped and the fire began to breathe.
"I did it!"
"Well done" said Dad, patting on the shoulder. "It's not just about strength. It's patience, technique… and so stubbornness."
Mom cooked soup over the fire with water from the stream and a bit of dried at, onion and roots we had bought in the last village.
The aroma that ca from the food as it cooked made my mouth water. Claire didn’t stop talking during the entire dinner, telling how beautiful the forest was, though she said at night the trees looked like monsters.
When we finished eating, I walked a little away to sit on a rock and look at the sky.
It was clear, full of stars. I never got tired of seeing that sky.
In my previous world, the city lights hid most of the stars. Here, it seed like each one had sothing to say.
Dad sat next to after a while.
"What do you think?"
"That it is beautiful… but also strange."
"It is" he nodded. "But as long as you have your sword, your mind clear and a reason to keep going, no forest can scare you."
Then he taught to identify so sounds: the steps of a deer, the song of an owl, the creaking of branches caused by the wind versus that made by an animal.
I was surprised how detailed everything was. I realized that Dad was not only strong with the sword, but with all of himself.
"And rember" he said "in nature, there are no small mistakes. Sleeping poorly covered can kill you. Eating an unknown plant too. So don’t rush. Observe. Learn."
That night we all slept together in the tent. Mom hugged on one side, Claire on the other. The warmth of their bodies, the rhythm of their breaths, made feel safe.
That night, for the first ti in a long while, I dread of a possible future. A future where I was not just a girl without magic. A future where I could be strong. Where I could protect.
Where I could be free.
Sothing that unfortunately was not in my near future. A few days later sothing I least expected happened.
"Claire! Mom! Dad! Where are you?..."
"Where am I?..."
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