It all happened so, so incredibly fast. One minute, she was upright, staring at the awe-inspiring way the flames flickered, and the next thing she knew she was face down on the ground. Her nose was being grinded into the dirt, and when she tried to breathe- could she even still breathe?!? - she choked on her own saliva, mixed with detritus and forest floor. It was enough to cause Juliette to retch. Stomach heaving, she scrabbled at the ground, clawing herself into an upright position just as Dietrich's hand locked upon hers and dragged her back to her feet.
A quick glance at the tree showed more arrows embedded in the trunk, arrows that would've sunk into her flesh instead.
"Run!"
And this time she obeyed.
Juliette's muscles spurred themselves into action, and she took off like a startled rabbit. She had no idea of which direction to run in, but further into the forest looked to be as good an idea as any. Something about the darkness closing in just seemed to be slightly more comforting right now, and so in that direction she went. The dark was better for making oneself inconspicuous.
Her feet followed the path, chalking up little dust storms in the wake of her flight. Juliette couldn't hear if Dietrich was still with her or not, for he must've been weakened from the blood transfer, whereas she had been reinvigorated. She still wasn't sure what he wanted from her.
"Dietrich?" She called uncertainly. Her voice was little more than a quaver. Slowing down to a brisk pace, she strained, listening out for any sound other than the immense pounding of blood that was thundering in her ears, rendering her deaf to all other sounds. The fine hearing would come with a bit more time, but the detailed sight was already present. It was the first thing to come, and in the ever increasing event of torture leading to death, it would be the first thing to go.
"I'm scared," she gasped. Her hands floundered for something...anything to cling to, for here in the deep unfriendly forest, everything appeared larger than life. It was no fairytale, Juliette realised. If it was, she would be able to remember everything. She would be able to throw off the blanket that covered her memories, and she would know who she really was, or at the very least, who she used to be.
It then came to her attention that she was lost. A white fog had descended from the heavens, and it cloaked everything around her, muffling and distorting the shapes of the forest. Instinctively, Juliette shivered. Here, few rays of light from the moon managed to scythe their way through the dense evergreen trees. Whatever light that did manage to cut a swathe through the canopy was meagre, watered out and weak.
But it was enough to reflect off a pair of golden eyes further ahead. She noticed this just before the low growl.
First, flaming arrows, and now this?
What was going on?
There was a name for this animal. She thought of a large furry creature with four legs, and a big panting tongue. But somehow, the image seemed slightly wrong. It seemed friendlier, warmer than it should be.
The eyes flashed once, and then disappeared, but the prickling feeling remained until she came to a wooden cottage. Weeds and the weather had taken over the beams, but the abandoned building still appealed to her. Juliette tentatively crept up to the building, and peeked inside each window, slinking around each side to make sure it was safe. Satisfied, she darted in, for nobody lived here and therefore she was able to enter the dwelling with no repercussions. But she didn't know about this yet.
The only thoughts in Juliette's mind was of the whereabouts of Dietrich, as she curled up on a hearthrug by a cold grate, and drifted off to sleep, with four walls and a closed door offering the only protection to her from this world.
