Prose Extract: Empty Forest

Dear Comrades, I have been quiet in the past week: Life suddenly got busy and I am now applying for a MA in Writing, so have not had time to add to my blog.  I have however, been writing lots of prose recently, so although I have not been able to write a blog post, I have something different for you today......

Today I am sharing something different, this is an extract that doesn't belong to anything yet, but I would like to share with you. 

Empty Forest

Sasha stopped for a moment and took a breath in. The complete lack of sound coming from the tree line gave the air a ponderous sensation. As if something was out there, but afraid to move, watching intently for any sign of danger, like a doe in unknown territory. As Sasha took a step, a gust of wind shook the branches overhead and she paused. The forest had risen its head at the girl’s approach, from its careful grazing, and had eyes fixed on the danger of the unknown: Sasha.

The thickness of the undergrowth gave away nothing of what was to come once she crossed the border in the great southern forest. It encompassed a large portion of the Eastern Kingdom territory, and had once been feared and respected by all Kingdoms. The Great Giant had grown quiet since the end of the last great war, the creatures of the forest that had once given it a fearsome reputation were… Gone. So was anything once moving under its shade. The Empty Forest had hence coined its name; a great green expanse with no fauna. Without provisions, a traveller may well hope to cross an arid desert unscathed.

Ever since its inhabitants had left, even the lichens on the trees had become poisonous, the water springs bitter with rot. Below the green tree tops, the forest itself, once a verdant, if dangerous, paradise, was wilting, sobbing. Or was it grieving the loss of its protectors?

Sasha pushed her fears aside, her journey took her directly through the silent expanse. Whilst this made her nerves tense and her skin prickle, she had no alternative. Winter was approaching this side of the world, and with it the King’s troops. A week had passed since the girl’s eighteenth birthday, and inevitably meant that soldiers would claim her in the name of the King. The last “great” war may have ended seven decades before, but war was not over by any means.

The realm which Sasha had been born into had been slowly expanding and engulfing nearby kingdoms with every turn of season. The King had unparalleled military power, and all obeyed. All youngsters joined the military for five years following adulthood. Most never made their way back home.

The fact that Sasha was alone was not to imply that she was not loved. The grief of sending her away would probably never subdue; her tribe had to send her away to persuade the soldiers that she had died during the last winter season. To the family collective this had been like dropping their child from the window of a burning house: Hoping that she would be fine, that she may one day find peace and happiness. Knowing that, either way, they may never find out what became of her.

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