She stood up, brushed off her skirts, and tried again.
And again.
Each time, ending with the same result.
This wasn’t working. With her heart hammering in her chest, she listened for her sister; she could still hear her sobbing about the earring.Thank the skies above.There was still time.
Spinning on her heel, she took off farther into the woods to a different section of the wall, scanning each and every tree until she found a massive oak. Its enormous trunk was surrounded by several trees that had sprung from its base, creating a complex network of intertwining branches and pathways. It didn’t grow as near to the wall as the last tree she had attempted to climb, but it was close enough that she could probably jump off of it and land on the wall. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was a plan nonetheless.
Luna grasped the rough bark of the tree’s lowest branches and began to climb. The tree was a living staircase, each branch a mostly solid step. The multiple branches as wide as her arm’s reach narrowed as she ventured upwards. Carefully, she navigated from one to the next, occasionally moving onto the adjacent trees where their boughs seamlessly intertwined.
She didn’t stop to rest, not even for a second. Fearing if she did, she would realize how stupid this was and return home. Without hesitation, she grasped another branch, her fingers tightly gripping the rough bark, and with a strong pull, she hoisted herself up. With each upward movement, she felt the tree supporting her, its leaves whispering encouragement in the breeze.
She could see over the wall now. From here, if she jumped, she would land on top of it. Her heart raced; though she had never been one to be scared of heights, she also had never been at risk of falling off something. Before apprehension could set in, she launched herself from the tree. Wildly, her legs and arms flailed around her, and for a heartbeat, she was flying, until she wasn’t. She underestimated the distance from the tree to the wall. Or perhaps, overestimated her ability to jump the distance.
Luna was falling. Twigs snapped around her, unable to mask her screams. Desperately, she reached out, trying to grab onto something. Anything. The air whizzed by her, a blur of motion and sound. Her life flashed before her eyes.
She was going to die.
In the last second, her hands wrapped around a solid branch—no, shadow—no, a branch. Whatever it was, her body dangled below, so she clung to it for dear life. Gasping for breath, her vision hazed. The trees near her began twirling as bile rose in her throat.
The branch she was dangling from swayed in the wind, bending unnaturally, drawing her closer to the trunk of the tree. Without questioning nature’s ways, she quickly moved to grab the trunk, pressing her entire body against it while thanking her lucky stars.
Shaking, she took a deep, grounding breath. She was safe. She wasalive.
In the distance, she heard Emily’s voice. “You! Guard! You will help me search as well. We need to find my earring before the prince discovers I lost it. This is top priority. You hear me. TOP. PRIORITY.”
How they hadn’t heard her, she’d never know, but her sister’s distraction would only last a while longer. Eventually, the guards would give up and go back to their posts. Luna chanced a glance down, the ground seemed as far away as the sun. She gulped. Should she back out and go home, or dare another attempt? It was now or never. Something deep within her called her forward, beckoning her to continue climbing. It was as if the sunlight was a golden thread, shining down on her, pulling her upwards. This was probably her only chance to escape the palace; she couldn’t waste it. What was the point of living if she never really got to live?
Her fingers found new crevices and her feet found new footholds, allowing her to climb higher and higher. With her heart thumping rapidly in her chest, the world below shrunk. Stepping carefully across the wider branches, she picked a different path than before and moved to adjacent trees whose limbs seemed to crisscross, forming intricate pathways that allowed her to bridge the gaps between them.
When she was finally high enough to see over the wall again, she rested, taking a moment to formulate her next move. The branch she was standing on hung over the wall; perhaps she could crawl out on it, step off, and if luck was on her side, land on top of the wall. Her only hesitation was that luck had not been on her side so far.
Her sister’s voice echoed in the distance. “Now that I think about it . . . I probably dropped it in this flowerbed.” Groans followed from the guards searching for the lost item. It was only a matter of time until the guards actually found the earring.
Slowly, Luna inched forward. When the branch began to narrow, she hooked her legs and arms around it and snaked forward the rest of the way. The farther she got from the trunk, the more the branch bent under her weight.
She was nearly over top of the wall now. Shaking like a leaf, she let her legs dangle, holding on with just her hands. She started to swing her body back and forth despite the fear dampening her skin. If she delayed jumping any longer, she might slip or shake herself right off the tree. With a large inhale, she braced for impact and leaped.
Luck was still not on her side. She misjudged the distance, and more or less fell onto the wall, landing directly on her hips. The impact knocked the air from her lungs and her body was bent in half like a horseshoe, her head and legs dangling on opposite sides of the wall.
With most of her weight on one side of the narrow wall, gravity threatened to drag her down face-first. In an attempt to stabilize, she tried to reach behind her and grab the ledge to pull herself upright, but her arms were weak from the effort it took to climb.
Luna’s fingers fought desperately to find purchase on the rough stone as she slid downward, trying to keep herself where she was, but her palms were slick with sweat. Her heart pounded in her chest and she scrambled to secure another handhold, to right herself. Time slowed to a crawl as the world blurred around her and she fell headfirst.
Before she could scream, everything went dark.
Something wrapped around her, soft and weightless, slowing her fall. She didn’t remember closing her eyes, but when she finally opened them, she was gazing into the eyes of the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
He cradled her against his chest, with one arm supporting her legs and the other wrapped around her back, yet he was the picture of a perfect gentleman. “Well, hello there,” he said, his baritone voice rumbling low in his chest as he spoke. The notes soothed her in a way she couldn’t quite describe.
Gazing dreamily into his deep forest green eyes, she wondered if he was death himself, here to come collect her. If he was, she sure didn’t mind. Leaning her head against his broad shoulder, she watched the wind tousle his wavy dark brown hair as she tried to think of a response but struggled to find the words.
A roguish smirk flashed across his face, highlighting his dimples. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Well . . . Her heart hadn’t stopped, and she was still breathing, so all evidence pointed to her being alive. Forcing her tongue to move, she squeaked out the words, “I think so.”
She caught the faint smear of dirt at his jaw, stark against his skin. Before she could think better of it, she brushed it away with her thumb. His eyes flicked to hers, unreadable, and for a moment, the world narrowed to the warmth of his skin under her touch.
