@starrymused
The woodlands of Estoriia were the opposite of crimson-and-gold plains of Vabreen: the ground was more treacherous than one would have imagined, with tall grass hiding the gnarled tree roots occasionally bursting from the earth, and the trees stretched so tall overhead that they practically blotted out the sun.
Aidan thought it was beautiful as it was intimidating -- of course, at the moment, he had little time to enjoy it as he would have liked.
In a burst of frustration (and royal-born arrogance, shame as he was to admit), he had walked away from his escort party while they rested in the night. The intent had only been to put a bit of distance between him and them to clear his head and recollect his thoughts, but he had fallen down a ravine he couldn’t climb back up.
Now he was lost, and honestly? He probably deserved whatever fate awaited him here.
Of course, after the fall, he had enough sense to stay where he was until morning and call for help -- calls that went unheard. Maybe they got tired of me? He did have a tendency to sneak away pretty often.
In any case, he was alone in a foreign woods and needed to find his way back to the main path. That meant finding a way up, which --
Was the OPPOSITE OF DOWN, WHICH WAS THE DIRECTION HE WAS PRESENTLY FALLING!!
A pit.
He had fallen into a pit. First a ravine, and now a pit, and as he rolled onto his back to stare up he realized it was a trap. For hunting, maybe? As sore as he was (it was a wonder he hadn’t sprained or broken anything), perhaps this was good news. Perhaps that meant a hunter would find him, eventually, and he could at the very least barter his fine (stained) clothing and (dirty) jewelry in exchange for directions. Maybe even food.
He was hungry.
Exhausted and frankly fed up with this entire affair, Aidan stared at the top of the gaping hole he’d fallen through. The damp leaves beneath him smelled of rotten moss and dirt and bugs that lived in both. As much as he had been enjoying the change in scenery, he suddenly very much missed Vabreen.
There was movement above him, much to his surprise. And muffled mumbling? Had the hunter been close by?
Aidan forced himself to sit up. The depth of the pit was just too much for him to jump and reach the ledge, so he really needed help down here!
“Excuse me!” he called, voice horase from his earlier shouts for help. “I’m sorry for falling into your trap, but can you help me out of it?” No response. “I’ll even help you rebuild it if you need to!” Just help me up, please.
He was never going to sneak away from his escorts or even the castle ever again (that was a lie)!
Finally, a silhouette appeared over the top of the pit. Two, even. But as Aidan got a closer look at their faces, he found himself screaming again.