Hello everyone! Thank you so much for following my story! I apologize that I cannot update daily, but I'm currently working in small increments of time. I use this as my study break from preparing for exams. That means I only get a little done at a time. That said, I should be able to update once every few days. Don't mind it too much if I vanish for about a week in early December, though. My brain might be incapable of producing anything except law terms.
The first day and most of the second passed without incident. Adeline read her book, cooked for herself, tended the chickens and cow, and even had Nathan over for tea in the afternoon of the second day to discuss the book. Altogether, things were just as quiet as ever. Actually, they were a little quieter with the absence of her father's sawing, tapping, and occasional explosions. She couldn't wait for him to return and was already planning to make his favorite dinner for him when he came home.
The book she had been reading proved to be even more interesting than she had originally, thought, but there was something peculiar about it. The author sometimes talked about the area as if it were its own kingdom instead of being ruled by the larger government of the province. Of course, there were plenty of small principalities in that part of Europe, but the book seemed to suggest both that the area was independent from the province and that it had been ruled by it for several centuries. She had asked Nathan about it, but he had only shrugged, saying that perhaps the author was a little confused. In any case, he hadn't read anything to the contrary. An idea began to grow in Adeline's head of going with her Papa to the fair in the spring so she could visit the library in the city where it took place. With any luck, they wouldn't mind her being there and she could do more research. Perhaps Nathan would go with them in case the scholars wouldn't let a woman in alone (or at all).
She was sitting on a bench in the autumn sunlight behind the cottage when a frantic whinny jerked her out of picking apart a particularly confused passage. She stared in alarm as Phillipe, their horse came tearing across the fields from the direction of the forest, the cart lurching crazily behind him. 'Well, the farmers won't be happy about that,' she thought haphazardly as she closed her book, stood, and placed it on the seat. Then she hurried out to meet the horse, stopping a fair distance from him but blocking his path. She raised her hands and called, "Whoa! Phillipe! Whoa!"
At the sound of her voice the horse seemed to come out of a sort of frenzied trance. He slowed and began stamping around and swinging his head, snorting all the while. Adeline eased toward him, murmuring soothingly even as her mind registered that her Papa was nowhere to be seen. As soon as Phillip settled a bit, she took hold of the reins and walked back to look in the cart. The crates containing her Papa's inventions had been tossed pell-mell around the cart. However, there was no sign of her Papa. Adeline's brow creased as she frowned back toward the trees. The sun was setting and it would be a cold night. She knew the route through the forest, but it was hard to determine how far her father would have made it before somehow losing Phillipe and the cart. If Phillipe had wandered at all, or if they had taken a wrong turn, he could be closer than if they had gone straight in and straight back.
Adeline chewed her lip for a moment, then nodded to herself. She quickly led Phillipe into their barn and unhitched him, replacing the hauling tack with riding tack in record time. Then she mounted up and rode off at a swift canter toward the head of the forest trail.
Once inside the forest, she slowed to a steady trot. Phillipe had been running recently and she knew he would likely stop or balk if she pushed him too hard. She also wanted to scan carefully for any sign of her Papa. Her silver eyes flickered across the leaves, brambles, and the path itself, searching for anything that looked out of place.
"Don't worry, Papa, I'll find you," she muttered to herself as the early twilight of the forest began to descend. She shivered as a chill wind cut through her light walking cloak and dress, but she did her best to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.
It was almost completely dark by the time Adeline discovered anything out of the ordinary on the path. She was squinting at the ground and scolding herself for failing to bring a lantern when she spotted a place at the side of the path where a great deal of brush had been trampled. The fact that the wood on the broken ends shone white instead of dusty grey told her that the damage was fresh. As she carefully steered Phillipe through the brush, she realized that behind it was a disused path. She frowned, wondering where it went. From the direction, it seemed to wind deeper into the heart of the forest.
She briefly considered riding back to the village and trying to gather a few villagers to help her search, but quickly dismissed the idea. If she couldn't remember where the old path was it could be morning before anyone was able to search properly. If something had happened to her Papa, it could be too late to help him by then. So she took a deep breath and urged Phillipe onward down the narrow, leaf-strewn path.
She could barely watch the path as she had to lean low over the horse's neck to avoid the twisting branches that hung low overhead. She considered the path itself to distract herself from her increasing worry for her Papa. It looked as though it had been years since anyone besides Phillipe and the cart had been here. The forest seemed to have grown in onto the path, making it narrower. It was almost wide enough for the cart and she saw numerous places where branches had been snapped off. She concluded from this that they had been travelling quickly because if they had been going slowly most of the branches would have bent and snapped back into place. She wondered what had spooked Phillipe so badly that he had not only left the road but also gone tearing down this old path.