Darkness fell again onto the Midlands; this was the third night for her. She wasn't alone, she had the horse, but soon she'd had to set the young mare free into lands, the horse was something she could be easily traced with. The thought terrified her. It wasn't that she wouldn't have a companion that scared this young maiden; it was the thought of lying under the silver-edged, dark clouds that hid the moon and stars, alone, without another creature near her to reassure her that she was still amongst the living.

She'd never been truly alone before. When she had lived in the hidden town, there had always been some type of movement in the darkness, some sound that reassured her that everything was under control. She was losing control and it terrified her.

The fire began to die, and she curled up against the horse's body for warmth through the autumn night. The only 'blanket' she had, was the thick material of the charcoal clock that she had traded her rings for, along with supplies and a simple dress that was promised to be good in all weathers.

'Maybe all weather's of the summer,' she thought briefly with sadness, 'but through the winds of autumn, the coldness bites though the material and tears through my skin to eat at my bones.'

The horse slept easily near the dying flames, though the girl was unable to, and only fell asleep when her thoughts finally used the last of her energy for the day. But before she fell asleep, she promised to free the horse once she reached the edges of the Forest that was just two day's travel from where she was. She had two days of companionship left.

It would be difficult to get through, especially with so little preservatives left, but somehow she'd make it, and she knew that with her being so far ahead of the men, it was unlikely they would be able to catch her if she went through the forest.

-I-

The forest was thicker then she expected. Her cloak would snag on barren branches, and her feet catch upon broken levels of ground or on the above ground roots. She had yet to fall or tear at her clothes, but her paranoia would constantly lead her to believe that someone was catching her cloak or grasping at her ankles.

That wasn't the worst part though.

Her preserves has ran out the night she first arrived in the woods – she had given her last apple to the horse and had been left with the last piece of cheese and scrap of bread, it hadn't been much and had definitely not fulfilled her then and within a day's time from now – possibly even sooner – the hunger cramps would kick in, slowing her down even further.

She needed to eat, no matter how little it was – because if she didn't soon, then her stomach would start to eat at its self and eventually she would starve to death – a fate she dare not wish upon her worst enemy; she'd seen the results of the starved, and the after effects of those who starved themselves and then ate so much that their stomach was unable to digest the food – it wasn't pretty.

She needed an apple, or bread, or something that would fill her up, but also something that wasn't too much.

She looked up to the darkening sky and gasped with joy. Smoke was rising in the short distance! By how thin and small the smoke was – she assumed it was campfire though there was only one way to be sure.

Her pace quickened, the hunger within her driving her past the exhaustion and fatigue that wore at her body and echoed in her bones. Faster then she estimated, she arrived near the camp. Through the trees and bushes, she peeked out on the crackling orange-lit camp. It was quiet, and it seemed as though the passing travellers were all asleep.

Rabbit stew sat covered, simmering upon the dying fire – something she was literally unable to eat because of the meat - but the girl's heightened sense picked up on the scent of apples coming from a pack which lay a distance away from the fire, but close to the three sleeping figures. The three people lay in between the larger roots of the trees in a thinner section of the forest that was probably closer to a trail she had avoided.

One of them was snoring, whilst the other two seemed to just have heavy breaths, it was loud enough to hide her light footsteps, but soft enough that most probably they would awake if she broke a stick under her foot.

She had to be careful.

-II-

Cara stretched her shoulder muscle as she listened to the night's air. Something was off, it seemed quieter – and although insects were still singing in the light of the half hidden moon, it seemed like some had stopped. Her eyes focused through the trees, seeing if it was near where she was – but no, no nocturnal animal raised their head near her, there wasn't even a shuffling in the bushes.

She turned around, the hairs on her neck prickling at something her other senses didn't pick up upon. When she had turned around, she almost cried out in anger and ruined the element of surprise in catching the thief.

She grabbed her weapons, pulling them from their holds and watched as the young maiden crept into their camp. Her feet were light on the ground, trained to not make a sound. Cara watched closer, curious about the girl as she walked past other bags that were of obvious more use, with important items edging out of them, and headed towards the bag containing the apples Kahlan had bought in the previous town a week ago.

The girl's hood slipped from her head, revealing eyes as blue as winter's ice upon the last azure blossom, with hair the colour of freshly spilt blood on snow tumbling down her back in ringlets.

Cara took that moment to run at her, swift upon her feet, but her heavy boots were loud enough to turn the girl's head. Her breath let out a gasp as she took a few of the red and green apple and stood back up to her full height before she began to run.

The Mord'sith ran faster, the element of surprise now gone, she jumped at the last moment and her fingers reached out and grazed the cloak, unable to grasp at it completely before her feet hit the ground again. The jump had been premature and had allowed the girl to get away.

There was no point running after her now, after all, the only things she stole were a few apples. Besides, the only reason that Cara attempted to run after her was because of pride. She didn't want the others to know that she had allowed someone to get into their camp without her noticing, even if the maiden had been trained to be fast.

She turned around and looked at the still sleeping figures, she cocked her head to the side and allowed a small smirk - they hadn't noticed a thing.

The confrontation between her and the girl had been quiet enough that nothing had aroused their sub-conscious, though this was good for her pride, it was a worrisome thought. If the girl had been an assassin it was possible that one or more of them could have been killed.

Cara checked that the red-head girl had done nothing to upset Kahlan's apples, before she, herself, took one and went back to where she had been, her fingers twisting the stalk of the apple as she contemplated what had just happened. Though she looked relaxed, the Mord'sith was higher on her guard then before, wondering if she'd catch another glimpse at the girl and another attempt to heal her bruised ego.

-III-

She'd been able to steal four apples. Four was enough to get her through if she paced herself, and now that she knew someone else was walking the trail, making their own tracks, she'd be able to use it, but only scarcely.

It would only be a day or two until she got out of the woods, then she'd be able to find a wider variety of food.

Luckily on her way back, she had found a plant – that though it's leaves had been poisoned to kill rabbits, the roots were unharmed. And while the root its self couldn't be used as food, it would add a spicy taste and an added texture to the apples if she were to stew them over a fire and over the days eat that.

The girl's fingers tapped against her thigh as she finished off the apple. It had been well worth the excitement of getting caught, to eat the apple. She thought back on the woman dressed in tight leather and wondered if the woman had saw her, or if she had just sensed she was there – regardless, the woman was quick and had almost grabbed her, she had felt it through the cloak. If the woman had tried grabbing the material instead of her body, she surely would have been caught, but as luck had it, she was safe.

Next time she might not be so lucky.

She slept as harsh as she had the other nights, with the lack of a good cloud cover allowing the heat of the day to escape into the night's sky, leaving her cold and without another living body to share heat with. She had nothing but her cloak against the rough ground as she lay a safe distance from the fire.

Dreams plagued her sleeping mind with amalgamated memories blurred to become a single thought in a near-endless torment. Every time she awoke from the same dream drenched in sweat, she would awake alone and afraid of the seemingly prolonged darkness that embraced her fear with a cold smile.

When the sun finally broke through the tree's branches, she opened her eyes in terror for the final time. She packed everything away and put out the rest of the near-dead fire – though pocketing some of the charcoal for later use, her thoughts scared but calm as she did the tedious work of preparing to get back on the move.

A few days, that's all it would take, just a few days – and only then would she feel that she had escaped the men entirely, because after that it would be too difficult to track her. That's what she believed, and every time she got up in the morning, and lied down to sleep at night, that's what she would tell her self.