A-Z Challenge. Day nineteen.

This one took me a little longer to figure out what S would be for, but I did it! Enjoy day nineteen :)

S is for Safe and Sound.

Her feet slap against the ground as she runs through the trees, pushing branches out of her face as more scrape her bare arms. Her breath comes out in pants, grey eyes wide in fear. The light from the dying sun guides her way through the forest. Hooves pound on the ground behind her, sounding like multiple horses spread out to try and surround her.

She stumbles over a root, hopping on one foot to gain her balance and shake out the pain in her toes before she continues, running through the pain. Her arms pump at her sides, fists clenched and nails biting into her palms. Her satchel slaps against her hip as she runs and she prays nothing falls out.

"We know you're there, theif!" A male's voice shouts from behind her. "Stop and turn yourself in."

She shakes her head as she reaches the part of the forest where the trees start to thin, revealing the turquoise lake that sits in the middle. She takes a deep breath, doesn't turn around, and runs right onto the water, her feet slapping against it as if it were ground. She spreads her hands out to the side beside her, unclenches her fists to point her palms towards the water.

"What the," she hears from behind her as she continues across the water. "Halt witch!"

She laughs then and pushes her hands towards the water, causing her to speed up. A roar comes from behind her as the creature that lives in the lake surfaces, glaring at the men on horses.

The men scream and unsheathe their swords while their horses rear back.

The creature raises its long neck to the sky, sucking in air, before tilting its head to the men and blowing the air at them. They go flying into the trees, off their horses, landing with a crunch into bark.

She jumps off the water at the other side of the lake and turns back. She smiles and waves at the creature that nods before diving back into the water. She doesn't stay to watch if the men survived the attack, she just continues into the forest, aiming for her hut up in the trees where she feels safe. She sees the tree she marked with her power and jumps up to the lowest branch, grabbing it and pulling herself up. She climbs a little higher, entering the hut she built and taking off the satchel. She dumps the contents onto the small table she has, grinning when she sees nothing has fallen out. A clump of carrots, a couple apples, and a loaf of bread sit on the table. She grabs an apple and bites in, the juice flowing over her lips. She takes a step back and falls onto the mound of fabric she's collected over the years, sighing in happiness. She made it another day, safe and sound.