Marriah ran, didn't slow down, and would never stop. She hadn't meant for this evening to end up like this. After all, no one tries to be framed for kidnapping a 2-year old girl, made the kingdom's most wanted, and sent on the run. I would explain to you why Marriah was framed for kidnapping a 2-year old girl, made the kingdom's most wanted, and sent on the run, but seeing as Mariah herself did not yet understand, that would be rather difficult. But I suppose I could try, as Mariah was still registering everything that had just happened:

She had been outside for only a moment late that evening to retrieve her cloak (which she had left on the front steps) when she'd seen a woman running down the streets with a child in her arms. The child was screaming and trying to speak, "NO! GO BACK! GO BACK!" Marriah guessed she could only be about 2 years old, 3 at most. She ran forward and wrestled the struggling girl out of the woman's arms and knocked the woman to the ground. She set the child on the ground and whispered, "Are you all right? Did she hurt you?" The girl shook her head. She had curly, tumbling blonde hair and sad blue eyes. She wore a small nightdress, laced at the top, bottom, and on the sleeves. The child turned her gaze on the woman who'd stolen her, and quickly pointed, "She-she-uh!" I turned around and saw the woman stand. She was as tall as a man, and wore a pitch black cloak that trailed the ground. Her hood was up, and Marriah could not see her hair. But she was not mistaken of her piercing yellow eyes that shone in the night, like a cat's. The woman looked behind her, panicked, as if expecting to see someone coming. It was then that Marriah noticed the soldiers on horse-back who were speeding their way. The woman turned to Marriah and started laughing, "Ah! So my mission was not completely failed after all!" Marriah stood in front of the young girl, who hid behind her legs, and said to the woman, "What are you talking about? Those soldiers are racing towards us, and they will find you, and arrest you. You can't get away!" The woman laughed again, and spoke slyly, "No, I can most definitely get away, but I'm afraid you can't!" She lunged toward Marriah.

Marriah picked up the girl as quickly as possible and shielded her as they ran toward Marriah's home. What Marriah didn't know was that the woman didn't follow; she snuck back through the bushes, leaving Marriah and the child alone. Marriah reached the steps and looked behind her to see that the woman had disappeared. She set the child down and said softly, "I think you'll be all right. Those men are coming to find her and take you home safely. What is your name?" The child looked up and paused, as if trying to remeber. Then her eyes lit up, as if remembering, and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a soldier's voice, "Young lady, stop right there!" Marriah froze, turned, and spoke, "I have the-" "Quiet, girl! We have you red-handed! There's no escape now!" Marriah was taken aback, "I was going to say I retrieved this poor girl from that woman you were after!" "Don't try to feed us lies, girl! We saw you carrying her and running, probably so you could stash her here! There's evidence all over, you even have your cloak on the step!" Marriah winced and looked down. So there was her cape on the step, as pitch black as the woman's. She still debated, "You don't really think I kidnapped this young child, do you?" "Don't play innocent with us, girl. We can't be tricked. You are coming with us."

Then the young girl Marriah had saved stepped forward, "I-I-bad lady!" she said, probably referring to the woman who had fled to the bushes, but it did not help Marriah's case, if not make it worse. Two of the soldiers steped forward and attempted to grab Marriah, but Marriah grabbed her cloak and avoided their grasp, running quickly into the night. As she ran, she put her cloak on and figured the best way to escape. Ah! In between two houses across the dirt road she saw a thick wood, one that no horses could make it through. She heard hooves thundering behind her but didn't look back once. She disappeared into the forest, and ran as fast as she could. Immediately, she heard no more horses, but could still sense footsteps coming for her through the trees.

So now you see why Marriah was running, but she had been running for nearly half of an hour now, and the footsteps were not stopping. She was deciding whether or not to stop and jump into the bushes on the sides when WHAM! She ran right into somebody. She fell onto her back but quickly got up. She looked up at who she had run into: It was a boy, no older than she (Marriah was about 18 years old, and this boy looked about 18 or 19). He had dark brown hair and blue eyes that shone like moons. He was dressed in plain pants and a button up shirt, and wore a cape the color of his hair. He held a bow in his hand and had a quiver on his back. Marriah guessed he was a hunter, but didn't have the time to ask. She quickly got out an apology, "Sorry! I didn't see - " "No, it's my fault, I'm sorry." Marriah looked behind her and saw the soldiers coming through the bushes, "Oh, no, get down!" She grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him into the bushes. Once safely hidden, he asked, "What are you -" "Shh! Don't make a sound!" They sat in silence as the soldiers ran right past them.

Marriah exhaled, then turned towards the boy she'd pulled into the bushes. He just stared at her with his eyebrows furrowed, then asked, "Are you some kind of criminal?" Marriah was taken back, "Of course not! Do I look like a criminal to you?" "Well, judging by the fact that you were just running from law enforcement and are dressed in a black hooded cloak, I'd say you do." Marriah paused, "Okay, I guess. But I didn't really do anything, I - well, it's a long story." The boy shifted and said, "Well, I think we have plenty of time to explain ourselves." And so she did. And so did the boy.