Free BreadCrumb Trail (The Yellow Hoods, #2): Steampunk meets Fairy Tale by Adam Dreece

confirming for herself that what they said was true, but wishing it wasn’t.
    “Who are you?” she yelled, her anger evident. “I can hear you! I know you’re people!”
    “We aren’t people . Are we, Saul?” asked Hans, from somewhere in the trees now.
    Mounira noticed snow falling from a red pine tree thirty yards away.
    Saul’s voice came from another tree. “I think we might be. What do you think Gretel?”
    “Oh, no. We’re the spirits of the forest. Spirits who work for the Ginger Lady, remember?” she replied.
    Feet aching from the cold, Mounira moved toward the voices. “I’m lost. Help me!” she urged.
    “You’re not lost—you’re exactly where we wanted you to be,” said Gretel cheerily.
    “Help you?” asked Hans, sounding like it was an absurd request. “Hmm. Shall we, Gretel?”
    “Well, if we don’t, she won’t get to where she needs to go. This way,” said Gretel, with a sweet voice. Twenty yards away, a red-hooded figure briefly stepped out from behind a pine tree.
    “How do they move around?” Mounira wondered out loud. She wasn’t sure if she’d heard some machine-like clanking a moment ago. She shook her head—that didn’t make any sense.
    “Come on ,” said Gretel, annoyed. “We’ll bring you to Mother’s.”
    Mounira could swear she heard the male voices chuckling. She was so tired and cold she couldn’t remember any more if the bandits had also worn red. She staggered forward, hoping these weren’t the same people. Maybe these red-hooded voices would soon take pity on her.
    Several minutes passed, with only a voice promising that she was almost there, as she dragged herself through the snow. She cleared her mind and focused on moving toward the voices.
    Finally, exhausted, Mounira stopped and dropped to her knees. “I’m not going any further until you tell me where I’m going!” she yelled out. The anger that fueled her was fading.
    For a while, there was nothing.
    “Okay, then, but you’re ruining the fun,” said Hans. “If you look up to your left, up that ridge, you’ll see trees in a line. That’s the shortcut to Mother’s house.”
    “Follow the breadcrumbs,” said Gretel. “That’s what we used to do.”
    “What breadcrumbs?” asked Saul jokingly.
    “Oh, did they get eaten by the birds? Those flying rats always eat them. Horrible things,” said Hans.
    “You’re such a cat person,” said Saul.
    Hans, Saul, and Gretel laughed.
    Mounira, her teeth chattering and body numb, forced herself up to the ridge.

CHAPTER TEN

The Road from Augusto
     
    Mounira fell to her knees in the snow again. She was now at the ridge, and able to see through the trees. She was hungry, thirsty, and, above all, exhausted.
    “Only a little more,” she told herself. She stuck her arm out to lean against a leafless tree. “I’ll rest for a minute… just a minute.” Her thoughts carried her back to the day after her eleventh birthday a couple of months ago.
    It had been a great celebration with her parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents. Twenty-eight of them had gone to the annual parade in the capital city, where the soldiers and royalty would march among selected schoolchildren and merchants. Every fifth year, all the royals came out, and Mounira and her cousins were excited to see them.
    The kingdom of Augusto was humble in size compared to neighboring kingdoms, yet it was the second most prosperous. Citizens benefited from generations of monarchs who placed the people first. Augusto was also well-regarded by its neighbors for having the best mediators and consulars. Its capital and southernmost city, Catalina, had a strategically-positioned port, considered by many as easy to defend, and ideal for trade.
    The weather was beautiful and warm that September day. Mounira wore the new white dress she’d received the day before. Everyone remarked how beautiful she was, and each time she smiled and curtsied politely. She couldn’t imagine a