<div style="text-align: center"><i>They chased her. <br/>
<br/>
They were always after her; she never had a moment's rest. Not since they discovered she was alive and it was she they wanted. There was no escape. She knew: she had been running for years. <br/>
<br/>
Kelpie was quick; fast as a streak of lightning, but she was quicker with her magic. She didn't use it often, for it drew them to her like a moth to a flame, but when this many rode behind her, she had no choice. <br/>
<br/>
With a cry to urge her stallion to keep running, she jumped off of Kelpie and rolled on the dirt ground, drawing her limbs close to her torso to protect her organs as well as to minimize the possibility of broken bones. The road was hard and unyielding, bruising her well toned body despite her best attempts. <br/>
<br/>
She winced, but shook off the pain. Time to allow the Wild Hunt to give chase.</i><br/>
<br/>
...​</div><br/>Ciri gasped, her large green eyes opening in sudden surprise. Her heart was racing, but her legs were not moving. Where was she? The last she remembered she had been running from them. Kelpie had galloped away, faster with the loss of her owner's weight and had thundered to safety. And Ciri? She had used her magic to escape....<br/><br/>Slowly, heart still pounding, the young woman glanced around without moving her body. She took in the modest surroundings of what she assumed was a cottage... and paused on the lone figure of a male asleep in a chair. How had she ended up here?