Rise Of A Queen

Winding Road

As Roan walked along the road ahead of her the setting of the sun seemed to stretch longer than usual. She listened closely to every sound knowing at any moment there could be a sign of trouble. This road is well known for all sorts of unsavory people. Bandits and mercenaries loved to prowl the main roads of the towns knowing that is where most merchants will go. They always ambush so every sudden sound puts her on edge and keeps her on her toes. She wasn't even sure if the dragon shifters would have hired someone to watch the roads to catch anyone who might have escaped their punishment.

It was the snap of a twig that made her dart her eyes quickly to the right. A shadow moves among the trees.She took a soft discreet sniff of the air trying to see if she could smell them. Roan nearly gags on the smell of unwashed people so strong that she was unsure how they thought they could sneak up on her. Then her head jolts forward; they weren't trying to hide someone in the woods. She lifted her lip in a snarl and shifted into her other self.

Her ear twitched to a soft swear as they realized that she wasn't just another traveler. Shifters and werecreatures were a dangerous lot to deal with. Even Elves were tricky if they had a weapon. Humans were easy targets, werecreatures and shifters were often mistaken in their two legged form. She let out a roar lashing her tail, her teeth bare as she narrowed her eyes to the trees on the side of the road. The sword was on the ground from the shift she picked it up in her teeth, her fur fluffed up to look bigger than her already large size. She didn't think twice and she took off down the road using her claws to dig into the soft earth to run faster.

She could hear the sound of paws pounding the earth behind her. She flicked an ear and took a sharp left and leapt over a rock. She could hear them crashing through the foliage no longer trying to keep up with her pace. Roan's had already been aching from her earlier activities and now was starting to protest her brutal pace. She knew she couldn't slow down or let them catch her. Her breath started to burn in her chest as she bounded through the forest. She had a goal: the village just a mile more through the forest. Maybe she can lose them among the buildings.

Roan could feel her breath getting ragged and the edge of her vision growing dim. She dug deep in herself and pushed herself as fast as she could go. Just ahead she could see the tip of a roof in the distance. Hope flared in her chest for just a second before she found herself in the air, a harsh steel net pulling her up into the trees.