The queen had been walking for a while now. She had watched the cherry blossoms blowing in the wind from her balcony window for so long, but had never dared to venture that far. She was hardly allowed to even visit her village where her family lived. But today she had felt particularly audacious and slipped away from her guards, letting her feet lead her into the forest. Right away she was overcome with the enchanting beauty that surrounded her. The pale pink flowers were in bloom right now, gracefully slipping off the branches and whisking away into the mountains. They looked like little sprites fluttering towards a new destination. The light breeze tinted her cheeks, but it made her feel lighter, as if she may possibly blow away with the wind, too. The sky was clear and a serene pale blue. The air smelled strongly of a sweet aroma unlike any other, like a mix between roses, strawberries and freshly made cinnamon rolls.
The queen breathed in the scent. "Do you like that?," she asked, putting her hand to her abdomen. The ground was soft beneath her, covered with a thin layer of grass and fallen petals from the blossoms of the trees making it seem as if she were walking on a blushing cloud. It was almost as if she had fallen into one of her fantasies that she used to read to her students. But every fantasy has a villain, an evil that the hero must stop. Do not be deceived though, this story will not be like all the others. No, this story will cross the boundaries between hero and villain.
Queen Mia had been so enthralled by her surroundings that she did not realized when the sky began to darken. She felt so calm that she had fallen asleep in the soft bedding covering the floor and by the time she awoke, she could hardly see her hands in front of her. Upon realizing how long she had been away, she quickly stood up, almost stumbling backwards from her haste. She examined her surroundings but was at a loss of where exactly she had ended up. Attempting to remain calm, she decided to simply retrace her steps back to town, but the more she walked the more far away she seemed from getting back home. Every direction she looked, all she could see were trees. She felt so foolish to have come so far alone, usually being so sensible. She assured herself that she would find her way but this optimism did not hold for long and after a while she began running, suddenly the forest seeming so threatening. The branches that earlier looked like welcoming arms now looked like claws. The cold air was beginning to feeling piercing and she clutched her shawl closer around her. The forest air began to thicken as a blanket of fog covered it.
She would find her way back, she told herself, and certainly if she did not the king would send the guards out to search for her when he noticed her absence. But as more time passed, no one came and she seemed to be walking in circles. Her legs began to tire after a while. She sat herself down, to relieve some of the pressure off of her body. Carrying another being inside her did not make her situation any easier. Her child. Queen Mia suddenly felt even more fearful. If she did not find her way back, what would become of her child? The king's child. The kingdom's heir. She dug her fingers into her hair and clutched it, forcing herself to refrain from panicking. She would find her way back in the morning she decided. There didn't seem to be any wild animals around, so she was safe from harm. She had become extremely weary from walking around. She decided the best thing to do now was to give herself some rest so she had the energy to find her way back in the morning. With that thought she lay back on the ground, still as soft as ever, and shut her eyes.
The next day when she awoke, the sun was once again bright and the forest was back to its former serenity, but Queen Mia no longer wanted to immerse herself in the beauty. She wanted to be behind the safety of the palace walls. She got up and began walking once more, trying to find footsteps to follow back, but it seemed as if the wind has replaced the petals on the ground. She sighed and decided to just walk in a straight line and see where she ended up. Even if she ended up far away from home, at least she would eventually get out of the forest and not be stuck endlessly walking in circles. But even this plan got her nowhere. It wasn't long until her stomach began to ache from hunger and worse, her throat wrenched for some relief from the sore dryness. She carried on though, keeping her eyes out for any sign of a source of water. Soon she had to stop once more. She huddled herself back onto the ground, and hoped the king would come find her soon. Another day passed like this with the queen still remaining lost and no one coming to her rescue.
It was the next morning when she began to fantasize about all the stories she used to tell her students. The ones where a princess would be in peril and a knight would come and save her. She always hated those stories but the children loved them. Now here she was waiting for her own knight to come save her and she felt disgraced. She imagined her child being ashamed of their mother's weakness. With this thought she once again pushed herself off the ground and trudged forward.
As she walked on, she noticed something strange. The petal bedding on the floor suddenly stopped. There was a circle void of any leaves or petals on the ground. Only dust and pebbles rolled on the barren floor. A gush of wind pushed on the queen's back, as if forcing her forward. In the center stood a tree quite different from all the others. "A Gaub Tree?" The queen approached the tree in confusion. Her eyes lit up as she saw the packages of sweetness hanging on the branches of the tree. The tree was overflowing with fresh, ripe persimmons shining a bright orange shade. Her hunger overcoming her, she forgot the peculiarity of the tree's presence and excitedly snapped the nearest one off of its branch. She wiped it off with her shawl and brought the fruit to her smiling lips. She bit into the persimmon and let it's juice trickle down her throat.
One bite was all it took. The fruit slipped out of her hand. She placed one hand on the tree trunk to steady herself as her eyes became clouded and the energy from her body seemed to be seeping out. Clutching her stomach, she screamed out in pain, falling to her knees beside a boulder standing upright next to the tree. Her breathing became harsh and her heart began beating hard. Then everything suddenly went black as her head hit the hard floor with a thud.
