Excerpt: The Way Forward

The crunch of the massive green leaves below her feet let Victoria know exactly where she was. She was home.
Not home, exactly. Arden hadn't been her home for nearly 20 years now. But somehow, even in that time, the concrete memories of the place hadn't faded. The smell of the Ardenwood, littered with wild pinecones and pungent mushrooms, had stayed with her even as other memories of her childhood disappeared. Logically, she was surprised how easy it was to navigate through the woods after all those years, but another part of her felt completely in her element. She secretly delighted in pointing out to Emma various points of interest along the path – distinguishing features that, while relatively innocuous to most people, were memorable enough to Victoria to use as a guide.
Other than confirmations that the two were progressing in the right direction, Victoria and her ward travelled in silence. She hoped that Emma would listen to the indiscrete, almost unnoticable sounds of the forest that weren't present in the city. The slow, steady running of the river. The gentle prancing of the deer in the distance. Sounds that, on certain lonely, restless nights, lulled Victoria to bed in her room. But from the looks of her, Emma paid no such attention. She followed Victoria's feet with a relentless gaze, being sure never to steer from the path lest she get lost in some inpenetrable maze of foliage.
Normally, Victoria would let her be. Emma wasn't her child, and Victoria felt uncomfortable playing the role of mother to her. However, in the presence of the immense solitude that they faced in the forest, Victoria spoke up.
“Emma, what do you hear?”
The young girl stopped. Her massive nest of wavy blond hair stopped a moment after, bobbing gently into the back of her head. “Um ...” Emma turned to look around the forest, hoping to see some obvious source of a sound she was supposed to have heard. “I don't hear anything, really. It's quiet.”
Victoria shook her head. “No, it's not quiet. Don't be dumb, child. Really listen. There are enough sounds around us to drive a person mad, if they lost the ability to drown them out. But take the time to listen, Emma. Sometimes it's worth a little madness to be aware of your surroundings.”
Emma sighed. Victoria knew Emma hated her mothering as much as Victoria loathed giving it. But Victoria's job was to shape Emma into an effective soldier, and she never forgot that mission.
"I guess ... I guess I can hear a river."
"A river, Emma? Do you hear enough water for a river?"
"A stream then. And I can hear animals rustling about."
"That's good. Try to be precise. What if I dropped dead, and you were stuck out here? Would you be able to find yourself dinner?"
"I could eat leaves."
Victoria let a smile curl the sides of her lips. "Don't be clever, child. Leaves can only sustain you for so long. If you needed meat, could you find a deer, or a boar?
Emma gazed at the sky.
"Don't fall into the clouds, Emma," Victoria said. "Find us food."
"Fi~ne," Emma muttered back. "There's a bunch of deer over there." Emma pointed to the southwest. "But I can sort of see them, so I guess that's cheating."
"It's not cheating. I told you to find food. But remember, if you can see the animal, it's almost a certainty that they can see you. Anything else?"
"Um ... I can hear something over there, I think. In that brush way over there." This time, Emma pointed off to the east. "I don't know how to tell what it is though. A boar?"
"That's correct. And why?"
"Because you said something about boars before."
"Boars dig and forage for food, Emma. At least the ones that live in the Ardenwood. Deers eat the leaves, and are lightfooted enough to be almost silent most of the time. But boars are oafish, slower, and less agile. More dangerous, yes, but if I was in a survival scenario, that is what I would seek out."
Emma nodded. Victoria could tell she was writing down the advice in her mental notebook. Victoria always enjoyed watching Emma do that. While most people had noticable ticks while thinking, Emma's occured while memorizing. The young girl would look up with her eyes and twist the side of her mouth. When she was done, she'd stare back at Victoria and blink, as if to say "Got it!"
"So," said Emma. "Are we going to try to catch a boar now?"
"Absolutely not," replied Victoria. "Night will fall soon, and I want to be in and out of town before that happens. I don't wish to stay in this area any longer than we need to."
"All your talk about boars and meat and stuff made me hungry... why are we in such a hurry? Isn't this your home?"
"It was once. Not anymore."
"But why? You were taken like me, right? But after you got set free ... didn't you come back?"
"No."
"You've never come back, like ever? But, why?"
"It's a long story. No more talking, child. If I want you to talk, I'll ask you a question. We are almost there."
Victoria was about to take another step toward Arden, but stopped herself. "Speaking of which. You should know where we are going now, Emma. So lead the way."
Emma's eyes widened in horror. She twirled around, evidently looking for one of Victoria's distinguishing spots to find her place. She pointed out into the forest. "The deer, they were there. Right? Weren't they?"
Victoria shrugged.
"But then ... the boar ... I can't hear it anymore. Victoria, I don't know. I don't know where we're going."
Victoria shook her head and motioned for Emma to follow her. "Don't worry. Many travellers smarter and more experienced than you have gotten lost here. Just try to pay attention, please."