Tara sat in her seat in the back of the covered wagon.  She nervously toyed with the soft cloth ends of her belt, looking about at the other women who had been forced into the caravan as she had been.  It had been weeks of travelling since the caravan left her home in Ponder, travelling around the edge of the kingdom from city to city, selecting maidens from each city as it went.  Tara touched the soft embroidered at the neck of her dress, sighing and wishing the long trip would come to an end.<br/><br/>Suddenly, she heard screams from outside of the caravan and the alarmed scrabble of feet running frantically.  For a moment, the women froze, wondering what was happening.  Finally, they heard the cry, "Dragon!"<br/><br/>With that, the girls were set to jostling to flee the wooden wagon.  Tara bumped and struggled on her own way out, scrambling out of the wagon with as much grace as she could muster.  Bright orange flames were licking about the wooden frame of their escorts' own wagon.  Tara's blue eyes widened in fear and horror as she looked up, beholding the massive dark shadow of the beast that had set the guards to flight.  The dragon!<br/><br/>Tara turned and fled, hiking her skirts up to her knees as she ran pell mell into the woods, her only concern being escaping the reptilian predator.  She ran and ran, until finally she came to a gasping halt.  She paused, leaning against a tree to catch her breath, panting and looking about the forest she had fled into.  Logic dictated that the dragon was probably too big to make it's way amongst the densely packed trees.  Logic, however, didn't do much to calm her after seeing the legendary lizard lacing into the luckless guards of the caravan.  After a moment's rest, Tara resolved to head further away from the site of the attack.<br/><br/>As she walked, it dawned on her.  She was free!  The guards were most likely scattered or slain!  Now she was on her own, far from Kobal City and its lecherous king.  The future was wide open to her.