The forest didn't seem to end. She trudged along the endless clusters of trees, the grass squeaking under the rubber soles of her shoes. It must have been early morning, everything was still covered in teeny tiny beads of dew. It would have been a stunning view, if she wasn't completely lost and appropriately dressed for the weather. The cold seeped into her bones. She thought of her warm winter coat and then changed her mind. She would rather be cold than carry the weight of the coat around and sweat under it like a pig. A hoodie would have done the job just as well, or at least something with sleeves.

Her head throbbed like never before. She occasionally stopped and leaned against a tree, barely avoiding fainting. She hated the idea of becoming the damsel in distress, who would faint and fall into the arms of prince charming at the sight of a drop of blood or the mere mention of gore. The forced and unexpected walk through the woods cleared her mind, but it didn't stop her migraine. She tried not to panic, but not knowing how she got there made her anxious. The sight of the light seeping through the foliage combined with the uneasy tension of the unknown territory gave her a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, like the landscape hid something much darker behind its façade. Maybe it was just the hunger. The little food she had packed didn't last for long, it was an apple and a few biscuits, appropriate for a short train ride, but not for an unexpected hike.

She had put her backpack between her legs, after hiding her valuables at the bottom, and tried to nap through the train ride as she usually did. Except she didn't wake up near the station as she usually did, she woke up in a goddamned forest, with not a single soul in sight, a terribly cold forest to be precise. Instead of looking out the window and seeing the grey buildings covered in graffiti she saw the incredibly bright sky that made her squint and green everywhere else. She had no reception, and all she could do was to keep on walking and hope she wouldn't have a rendezvous with a bear or a pack of wolves. "The storms come and go, the big fish eat the little fish, and I keep of paddling". You didn't expect Varys to show up to support our main character, huh?

She stopped to refill her water bottle once more from the small creek. She wasn't made for physical effort, or maybe she was, she didn't bother testing her limits when it came to sports, and walking for hours on end meant she could easily get dehydrated and that's not another extra problem she wanted to have right now. She came to the conclusion this was an elaborate joke, planned by her brothers, who carried her sleepy and slightly hung-over person out of the train and planted her there, where she would be scared shitless and then make fun of her for the rest of her life, or at least until something comparatively bad happened to one of them. This needed to remain between them, granted it will certainly become blackmail material.

It was past noon when she got out of the forest. The sun was shining mockingly, looking down at her, as if it was part of an inside joke she couldn't get. Somewhere, too close to the horizon for her liking she spotted smoke. And by greenness of the rocky plains, it wasn't a wildfire either, and taking into consideration her state of total despair, she walked towards her only hope. Her muscled ached from the long long "walk" she had to take, having probably gone in circles through the thick forest earlier that day. It didn't help that the soles of her sneakers weren't all that thick either, and she could feel each and every single pebble she stepped on.

Although it was past noon it didn't get any warmer, the exercise helped her slightly, but it was still chilly and she couldn't understand why. It was late spring, it should have been much warmer than this, but the quickly dismissed the thought. It was just a cold chilly day, nothing out of the ordinary, shit happens. She didn't manage to convince herself though. She quickly considered whether or not it was worth it carrying around all of the extra weigh in her backpack. Her geography book didn't serve much purpose in this case, it wasn't like she was going to stop and study for the test. Her notes weighed heavily on her shoulders, she must have been desperate. Under normal circumstances she would threaten and let out a few colourful curses if anyone suggested that her precious notes were useless.

If the temperature fell another two degrees she would rip her extra shirt and her pyjamas to shreds, tie them together, and wear the makeshift garment as a scarf. She didn't really have the time to contemplate this scenario, as a shout disrupted the heavy silence. She whipped her head around only to make eye contact, first with the arrow pointed in her direction, then with the wooden bow, and finally, with the man who was holding them both, ready to shoot her. She froze. A mop of incredibly light, almost white blonde hair fell to the man's shoulders. Now that she got a proper look at him, he was more a boy than a man. The only thing she could do was stare, as her body refused to cooperate. She took back her words, walking in a forest "with no soul in sight" seemed like a perfectly good plan. The fact that the boy was wearing medieval-looking clothes didn't help either, but she didn't have time to think about that either. The arrow was still pointed at her threateningly. She dropped the water bottle she was holding and slowly put her hands up in defeat. Further provoking someone who could kill her wasn't on her to do list that day.

Maybe, if she slowly stepped back she could zig-zag across the plain until she reached the bushes on her right, or the creek... The boy shouted again but she couldn't understand a single word. He put his bow down and took a step forward. The girl was as dangerous as a scared deer for all he knew. She took a step back, and another, and another. Like two boxers, they mirrored each other's movements. Lisa quickly turned around and started to sprint, yelling "Carpe diem! Carpe diem!" in her mind. Her glorious "sprint", which turned out to be more of a jog really, ended abruptly. Someone grabbed her arm and harshly pulled her into their direction. She prayed silently her shoulder didn't come out of her socket. But the man, again a blonde, didn't look like he was trying to harm her, but he gazed rather concerned at her, speaking the same unknown language the boy spoke, while gripping both of her wrists.

Her headache was made a sudden comeback, just at the perfect moment. "I don't understand!" she told him frustrated. His eyebrows shot up but he didn't say anything. "Je ne comprend pas!" she tried again, but again no prevail, the foreign words tumbled from her mouth with an accent that was far from French. "Ich verstehe nicht!". She ran out of languages in which she knew how to express her confusion, but the man only frowned and turned towards his brother.

She managed to take another step back, but it wasn't her brightest decision. She was dizzy, she had been all day, but this, all of this crap was the drop that filled the glass. She tumbled backwards, and was incredibly thankful for the backpack, otherwise she would have had to deal with a nasty bruise on her back the next morning. The light before her eyes flickered, and she finally closed her eyes, allowing herself to rest. The grass wasn't damp anymore at least. As she slipped into unconsciousness it dawned upon her she probably looked like a turtle who can't get up.