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Bread Crumbs

Ok don't panic, I told myself. I knew I wasn't dead. I could feel the air enter my lungs as I breathed in. I could feel my heart rapidly beating in my throat. I could feel the pain of a major headache, along with other aches and pains that spread throughout my body.

I was lying face down on soft ground. I lifted my head and opened my eyes. Everything was blurry, but I could tell I was surrounded by trees. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, trying to get the haze to go away. I pushed myself off the ground but didn't stand up. My head throbbed.

"Ouch." I said out loud.

My eyes finally began to focus and I could see my surroundings more clearly. My panicky feeling died down. I was sitting in a small meadow in a forest. The trees were bright green and the ground was covered in small colorful flowers. It was absolutely beautiful. The trees were large, the trunks were the biggest I'd ever seen. Sunlight was shining through the canopy of leaves above me, giving everything a warm, peaceful look. How strange it was that someone who wanted to harm me would send me to such a nice place.

I thought back to Una and a small shiver ran through me. She had put on quite the act. I wondered if any of the royal family knew of her true identity. I doubted it. I did feel sorry for the Prince though. Poor guy was going to marry that witch. Maybe he still will, I thought. Now that I had ruined everything, he was free to marry her again.

I take that back. I didn't ruin everything. He was the jerk, he was the one that ruined it. Although I was kind of relieved to break it off. It wouldn't be the right thing to do, marrying someone I didn't love.

I sighed as I looked around, knowing that really none of that mattered now. I didn't even know where I was or how I would get home. I squinted and looked in all directions. It looked like whatever forest I was in spanned for a very, very long time.

"Oh no."

A thought shot through my mind.

"Oh crap."

I prayed that what I was thinking wasn't really what had happened. I stood up and took a closer look at a tree nearest to me. I'd seen these leaves before, their shape was familiar. I'd seen them when I let the fairy go at the border of the Enchanted Forest. I looked around quickly for any signs of danger. The warm, peaceful meadow all looked like a façade now. I knew that at any moment something could happen. Like a giant monster could come chasing after me. Or a tree branch could wrap itself around my throat and strangle me. Or I could step into a pile of quicksand.

I was suddenly hopping on my toes worried I'd start sinking every minute. Finally I realized that for the moment it seemed that I was safe. So what now, I asked myself. I couldn't just sit here and grow old. I'd have to move sometime. I could already feel my stomach rumbling with hunger.

"Walking, walking is OK." I whispered under my breath. But which direction? I looked up, trying to see where the sun was, but the leaves were too thick. I spun around a few times trying to decide which direction looked the most safe. They all looked pretty much the same.

I randomly stopped turning and began to walk forward. As I left the little meadow, the trees became thicker. I could still see quite well though. I walked cautiously and watched every step I took. I didn't see anything too scary. I did come across some strange looking bugs. I jumped back and gasped as I saw a large, caterpillar like insect crawling up one of the trees. Maybe it's better described as a snake like insect. It was almost a foot long with fuzzy legs but it's body was slick and gooey looking. I shivered as I watched it leave a trail of slime behind it. I was grateful it didn't have large fangs or anything that could devour me. However, I was not going to let my guard down.

I think I had been walking for almost an hour. My stomach was aching so much I could barely keep myself upright. There was nothing that look like food around. And even if there was, I wouldn't dare eat any of it. Suddenly I came upon a small meadow. It seemed very familiar. I looked around and around. It was the same place I started! At least I thought. Meadows in the middle of forests I could assume had a tendency to look very similar.

A whiff of something delicious passed my nose. I stopped dead in my tracks. My mouth started to water. I sniffed the air and caught the scent again. It smelled fantastic, whatever it was and wherever it was coming from. The back of my mind screamed at me not to follow the smell. It could be some trick to lure me into a trap of some kind.

My stomach had other ideas and it soon began to argue with my head. My stomach won. I mean, honestly I didn't know much of anything when it came to the Enchanted Forest. I had seen creatures from the Enchanted Forest before, they seemed civil enough. People survived this place all the time. I was making too big of deal of it.

I made my decision and I followed the scent. It smelled like lots of things at once. Sometimes the smell changed. Once it smelled like chocolate cake, the next a roast turkey. Whoever was cooking was cooking a huge feast. I hoped it wouldn't be rude to barge in and ask if I could share their meal. But I was a starving lost girl. Surely they'd take pity on me.

Soon I came upon a house. I was taken back at first, it was very strange looking. The wood was knotty and warped. The house was crooked, as if part of the house had sunk into the ground a bit. The smell of food was so strong I ignored the strangeness of the house and ran towards the door. As I stepped on the porch, I heard a snapping sound and the whoosh or air passing my ears. I felt something tighten around my ankle and I was pulled upside down. My frilly dress fell over my head. Despite the lack of people around the area, I felt a huge surge of embarrasment. I could only imagine what I looked like with my undergarments exposed.

As I hung there the door opened.

"Awe! Another one! This is my lucky day!" An old woman's voice shrieked with utter joy.

The old bat walked around me lifted my skirt from my face. If I would have seen this woman on the street I would have guessed her to be a sweet old lady. Her eyes were kind and were surrounded my laugh lines. She was very petite. I probably weighed more than she did. Her peppered hair was pulled back neatly in a bun at the base of her neck.

"Hello deary, welcome! Now, I don't want you try and run away, I am a very hospitable woman, I don't like my guests to be uncomfortable. I had enough trouble with the young man who came here earlier. So, I'm just going to make things easier for both of us."

"Um, please let me go." I requested of the woman, unsure what she was spouting on about. I didn't want to find out.

"Yes yes dear, I will! Don't you worry one bit. First I think you need to take a little nap." She said sweetly.

"A nap?" I asked as I noticed a cane in her hand. It flew at me with a speed and strength I didn't imagine possible with the old woman so frail looking. She hit me on the side of the head and once again, I fell unconscious.

I opened my eyes and saw metal bars in front of me. I also saw metal bars to the side of me. They surrounded me completely. I leaned forward and realized I was sitting in a small cage. I started to panic. There was no stopping it this time. The floor was a probably six feet below me. I pulled on the bars around me.

"Let me go!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"It's not going to do any good to panic." A voice said from somewhere.

I looked around, noticing I was in some sort of kitchen. I turned and saw another cage hanging from the ceiling. A man was inside, leaning against the bars.

"Prince Charming??" I gasped.

"Looks like you fell for it too."