Mara hated running. Any day of the week she'd pick swooping around on Calypso over sprinting through thick forest brush. But she didn't really have a choice. She wanted her pegasus safe from these dastards chasing her, and she was certain she could outwit them herself. She hoped.
"Wait! Mara, please!"
Chills spiked down Mara's back. How the hell do they know my name? She turned her head as she ran but the couple was still far behind her. And gaining quickly it seemed. Mara coughed as she ran, chiding herself for not taking the time to do more ground training. This is what you get for lazing around on a pegasus all day, Mara. She took a sharp left and hid behind a tree to catch her breath.
It finally occurred to her stubborn brain that she couldn't run forever. She looked to the sky for Calypso, though the attempt was hopeless. The canopy above was swathed in branches. Damn, she thought, now what? She couldn't fight them off—not without Calypso—she wasn't strong enough on her own. Mara again chided her lack of training.
"Mara!?" the man yelled.
They were closer than she anticipated.
I need a vantage point. Mara's heart throbbed in her breast. She again looked to the sky. No Calypso—but something else dawned on her.
Mara reached up and tested the strength of the lowest bough of the tree that hid her. Good enough, she decided. Footsteps pounded the earth; she heard the snapping of nearby bramble. Her hands gripped the sap coated branches. She scaled her way about 15 feet up, and just in time.
Mara could hear their panicked conversation almost right below her. She slunk close to the tree's trunk, hoping the leaves and darkness concealed her well enough.
"Did we lose her?" the woman was more out of breath than she.
"We couldn't have! She was just in our sight…" the man barely wheezed, but he looked dazed and lost.
"Should we keep running?" her voice was oddly timid.
The man sighed. "I don't know…she's smart, I don't know if she would've kept going."
The woman thought, then "Probably hid somewhere."
The man nodded, "Right."
Mara hugged closer to the tree, holding her breath for a moment. Naga keep me safe. All was suddenly silent. She took that time to sneak a glance at her assailants.
The man swayed in muddy boots. His clothes looked expensive; dark navy with embroidery of gold and lots of golden rivets and folds. A white cape—torn to shreds at the bottom—was secured to his back by a silver broach. His shaggy hair was an equally dark blue. Mara would've thought him handsome had he not been chasing her.
The woman's most striking feature was her eyes. They glowed, despite the darkening sky, with a soft intelligence—they were almost warm, giving Mara a false sense of security. Her clothing looked modest. Her blouse was a light blue with darker stripes at the sides. Her slick, black pants tucked neatly into a pair of shiny leather riding boots. Mara wondered where the woman's mount was.
Mara furrowed her brow. The people intrigued her. They had the audacity to chase her into the woods, but their voices held no cynical tone. Their stances were relaxed, not battle ready at all. She was almost interested to see what they wanted from her.
A sharp sound broke Mara's pondering.
"Aria?" the man asked softly.
An intense pain sprouted in the back of Mara's head—it was the same pain she felt whenever she tried to remember something. She forced herself to concentrate through the strain. She peered at them using her peripheral vision.
A few slick tears slid down Aria's face.
"What's wrong?" the man asked again, a bit more forcefully. He approached the woman and ran a hand through her blonde hair.
She shook her head, "I can't…"
"What?"
"I can't look anymore, Chrom."
Mara had heard that name before, but where eluded her. Trying to remember only gave her a stronger headache.
"But—Mara needs us, Aria."
Mara almost scoffed. Who do you think you are? she thought.
"I know, I know…But we've been searching so long and…she seems so fine without us. I-I almost feel bad for tracking her down. I can't imagine how confused she is," Aria wiped her nose with her sleeve.
"I know but—she's our daughter. We can't well leave her be, can we?"
Mara nearly fell from her perch.
"What the hell…" she whispered uncontrollably.
Chrom looked up to where Mara hid. She dared not breathe. His eyes searched for a moment, then went back to his wife.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
The sniffling woman rubbed the tears from her eyes. She looked at the ground, then followed Chrom's momentary gaze to her supposed daughter. Aria squinted.
"Mara?" she yelled up at the tree.
Mara cursed herself within an inch of her life. She labored her breathing even more, as if that could make her disappear again. She hugged the trunk of the tree, trying to shimmy around the back of the monstrous limb.
"MARA!" the exclamation made her lose her concentration.
And her balance.
Mara's right foot slipped from the branch and a loud rustle shook the tree. She cursed herself again, but she didn't have long for that. With her balance gone, Mara had no hope in hiding—or even staying in the tree for that matter.
Her left foot slipped and Mara fell through the open air. The branches she crashed through luckily slowed her fall, but the impact was still enough to knock her out.