The hidden pathways in the castle were cold and dark. They were secret paths so naturally, there were no torches within to light the way. Damia moved quickly, but quietly throughout the halls, as she was uncertain whether the halls were soundproof, and now was not the time to find out if they weren't.
Her plan was to make it out through the stalls where she would be able to take a horse, assuming that Elric hadn't taken them all on his hunting trip. Even if he had, that would still be the best escape point as the guards relied on the horses to raise alarm if anyone suspicious approached from this area. They would recognize Damia so she would not cause them to react.
As she had suspected, two horses remained, the two that Elric kept aside, saying they belonged to Damia and Adi. She took her horse, a white mare, and put a saddle on her, filling the pouch with food for the horse. Off to the side she found a sword, a quiver of arrows, and a bow, which she assumed had been spare equipment that the hunting party had left behind. She grabbed them and set off with the horse, following behind her with a blanket to cover up the tracks. She did this until they were a few yards into the forest to the east of the castle.
"Alright, Helize, we have to set off on a journey now. I haven't had a chance to ride you in a long time, but I trust that you will travel faithfully with me."
Damia shook out the blanket and tucked it into the saddle, then mounted her horse, making her way through the forest. She had always ridden sidesaddle due to wearing a dress, but this time she decided to ride astride as this would be a long ride and would prove to be the safest, most comfortable position for the distance being traveled.
Once on, she reached into her sack to pull out the atlas and confirm where she should head, but instead of the atlas, she grabbed the Hidden in the Mist book by mistake. As she was about to set it back, one of the pages started glowing. Bringing Helize to a slow trot, she opened the book to the glowing page. A map had appeared on one of the pages that had been blank previously, and a path was glowing on the map, leading to a small village about a two-days' journey from her current position. This village also happened to be in the opposite direction of the known lycan pack. She thought perhaps the book wanted her to set a different path to throw anyone that may follow after her off her trail.
"Alright book, I understand you want me to go there, but how do I know where to turn to follow the path you're illuminating?"
Just as she spoke, the glow brightened, and then disappeared. Feeling discouraged, she closed the book and put it back in her sack. As she looked up, she was shocked to see a glowing trail now presented itself in front of her.
"Consider your sign understood, thank you, Book."
Damia guided Helize to follow the glowing trail and they were on their way to the village.
Damia had never been through this forest. There had never been a need. As she glanced around, she noticed it was thick with trees, making it necessary to be attentive in guiding Helize. But she also noticed a few creatures scurrying about, as they tried to avoid coming too close to her and her horse.
The tree canopy was thick, keeping the forest floor in perpetual darkness, with the exception of a few rare openings that allowed her to see that it was still well into the night. Off in the distance, she could hear running water which must have been a river that maintained life within the forest.
Having never travelled outside of the castle on her own, Damia thought she should be feeling afraid, but she found that it was the exact opposite. Every step deeper into the forest brought her greater anticipation for the next, eager to see what else was out there, and she was filled with an overwhelming sense of serenity. As though she belonged out here, away from civilization.
The glowing path continued taking her deeper into the woods. At this point, they had travelled so deep that if Damia got cold feet and decided to return, she wouldn't know which direction would take her back to the castle. Continuing through, she and Helize could see the glow was taking them to a clearing through the tree line. They approached it and realized that the sun had started to rise. They were now standing at the foot of a magnificent waterfall, and the glowing path had disappeared.
Damia brought Helize to a halt and slid off her. She decided this would be a good place to set up camp until the glowing path returned, or until after she rested enough to resume the journey as she had not slept a full day. But first, she needed a bath. Feeling that no one else would be in the vicinity, she undressed and stepped into the water. The cool water felt so revitalizing that she thought perhaps she wouldn't need to rest long before being able to resume. She scrubbed the dirt off her body and swam out to the waterfall, letting the water rush down onto her.
Once she felt she was sufficiently clean, she headed out of the lake to dry off and redress. Just as she reached the edge, she heard a voice over by Helize. Fear kept Damia frozen and she thought about who could have possibly come all the way out here. Was it possible that her departure had been discovered so soon?
She managed to reach her clothes without stepping out and dressed herself, keeping herself hidden behind a boulder a few feet out from the edge of the lake. She looked around for anything she could use as a weapon as she had left the sword, along with the bow and arrows, over by Helize. Picking up a rock the size of her fist in one hand, and a holding a thick, but short branch in the other, she approached Helize with caution, staying hidden for as long as possible.
"I know you're there, you can put down your weapons, I'll only mean you harm if you strike first."
Damia didn't recognize the voice so she didn't know if she could trust it. She decided not to come out from where she hid.
"I don't know you, how can I trust you."
"Well, for starters, I knew you were bathing, but instead of watching you, I decided to keep your horse company and gave you your privacy."
"While you make a valid point, and I appreciate your consideration greatly, that only proves you are honorable, but not without an ulterior motive."
"Alright, you caught me. I've actually been watching you trek through the forest with your horse. It's been a very long time since someone has come through here and I just wanted to talk to someone. It gets boring staying here on your own for so long."
"Who are you?"
"I'm a guardian of the forest."
Damia immediately jumped back and fell on the ground, startled, as the voice came from beside her ear.
"How-how'd you move so fast?"
The Guardian couldn't contain his laughter. "Oh man, the look on your face right now is priceless. Can we do that again? I could use another laugh like that one!"
Taking a closer look at the Guardian, Damia noticed he was part of the elf race. He had pale silver hair, with blue undertones, and grey-blue eyes. He was just a few inches taller than Damia, with a slender frame. Not quite as slender as Adi, but leaner than the Marquis, and a mischievous, but charming look about him.
"I'm not here for your entertainment, elf."
"Guardian, but you can call me Alf."
"How is that different from calling you 'elf?'" Damia was growing impatient.
"My name is Alf, not 'elf,' that's the difference." Alf crossed his arms glared at Damia indignantly.
"Fine, as you wish."
"Good, so now that that's settled, how about you tell me about what brought you here."