Evelyn

  ***

  “Sorry mr.rabbit!”

  As mr.rabbit squirmed in my trap, I stabbed him with my spear. Oh, I got him in the neck! Good job me! Grabbing his hind legs, I took him to the river to clean him out. At the start of week three, I’ve decided that I should try expanding what I can eat. I discovered that mr.rabbits, which had horns for some reason, eat the poo berries so I’ve made various traps for them. The first one that I caught I stabbed his side and his guts exploded into the meat. I didn’t want a repeat of day seven, so I threw him in the river and reset my trap. Since then, I’ve been able to catch five mr.rabbits. That brings us to the end of week four. Or so I think.

  The rain storm sted longer than I thought and it was hard to tell when a day passed. So, the rain storm was either three days that felt long, or five days that felt short. I’m not sure. Just to try and keep count, I decided that it was three days. So, tomorrow I’m starting week five.

  Oh, a few things that I learned! Firstly those spark rocks. I thought that they were normal rock, I now know that they are magical! Whenever I concentrate on them, they start to glow and grow warm! I can even use them to cook! That’s a good thing since my magical girl powers haven’t seemed to grow stronger. So, I may not be able to use the moon goddess’s magic, but I can use this world's magic! Though I say that, I can only heat up the spark rocks. It’s better than nothing!

  Using a sharp piece of rock, I cut open mr.rabbit and dump all the bad bits into the river. I don’t know what organs are edible so I get rid of all of them just to be safe. I kept mr.rabbit’s fur mostly intact to hopefully make some new clothes. It’ll take a while but it’ll be worth it. Also smoking! I can use the spark rocks to heat up dried leaves to make a fire, so I’ve been able to keep smoking my food. I don’t need to since I can now catch food for most days, but it gives it a nice fvor.

  As I’m cleaning off my hands in the river, I see something floating close by. That is… A body!? Yikes! That guy is super dead! Unless people here can live without their heads that is. But he’s dead! Using my walking stick, I hook onto his clothes and pull him closer to the shore. That’s a warm looking jacket he has! I’ll need to dry it out, but it’s better than my current clothes.

  Smiling at my good find, I begin working on pulling his jacket off. Oh? He’s got a knife! Today must be my lucky day! Oh, and rest in peace guy with a missing head, but I really want your jacket. Now that I look at him, his shirt is also better than mine…

  “Don’t say anything if it’s okay for me to take your stuff.” I said to him

  “…” Obviously, he didn’t say anything as I pulled his jacket off.

  “Thank you very much!” I thanked him.

  Ah, no buttons. I’ll have to find a way to close it if it gets windy. I look at his belt and see a pouch on it. Taking them both, I do a little snooping. Dang, no food. Here I was hoping that he had a little snack on him. After I take off his shirt, I use my walking stick to push him back in the river. Why didn't I take his pants? That’s because he soiled himself. Maybe he had some of the poo berries before he died.

  Before I could try on my new shirt, I see something else floating in the river. It’s another body! Today really is my lucky day! It’s got a cloak and some arrows sticking out of it’s chest! Pulling this one in as well, I smile as I take the cloak. It’s a nice green one. This'll make a good bnket! After that I pull out an arrow. Yep, it was pointy. I’ll find a good use for these. Three arrows, red gloves that are too big for me, another shirt, some non-soiled pants, two belts and belt bags, and a knife! Even if I hadn't found mr.rabbit, today was a good haul! Lightly ughing, I push the body back in the river and wait to see what else floats down.

  By the end of the day, I had gathered two more cloaks, another jacket, three more shirts, two more knives, some more arrows, seven belts, and some rope. It took me three trips to bring everything back to my cave. I id the clothes out on some bushes to dry them in the sun and used the spark rocks to dry out the cloaks to use them as my bedding for tonight.

  Happily eating the leg of mr.rabbit, I wondered where the bodies came from. As far as I know, the demons around here don’t shoot arrows, maybe… So maybe they were done in by brigands or adventurers. The st time I used my magical girl powers I flew up into the sky to see if there was any sort of town or road nearby, but found nothing. The bodies were a bit bloated so they must have been floating for a while. I should be safe from whatever killed them. And since their bodies kept floating away, no dangerous animals or demons should be attracted to them. By the time that night fell, the cloaks were nice and dry, so I could pass out comfortably tonight. Taking one st look at the moon, I thank the goddess for my good luck!

  Carriage crash site

  ***

  On the side of a dirt road, a group of royal knights inspected the area. With a rope dder leading to the bottom of the cliff, several of them inspected the wreckage of a carriage carrying the missing duke’s emblem. Aside from a few shards of bone and some torn cloth, there was no sign of survivors. Even if anyone could survive the fall, there would be no way to survive in this forest. Hundreds of miles of demon infested woods y ahead of them where criminals were often sentenced to death.

  Today news would spread through the empire that the main line of the Eytell family died in a freak accident. It may have been foul py or it may have been bad luck. Regardless, the title of head of the household would be transferred to the closest living retive, the Duke’s younger brother. However no one could say if that was a good or a bad thing for the empire.

  Evelyn

  ***

  Week nine-ish. Things are looking up. I’ve been experimenting with my magic and I discovered that when I use it with tools, it makes them stronger and sharper. Because of this, I decided to upgrade my living space. Using a digging stick, I dug out the walls of my cave and the floor so now I can comfortably stand up. Alright, that's not exactly true. I dug a channel where I can stand up and kept my bed where it was, so now it’s on a little shelf along with my food. I also made a little firepce so I can cook things inside without having to use the spark rocks. It should be faster and I can dry myself off from the rain or after cleaning myself off in the river.

  My house aside, the fur of the mr.rabbits that I’ve collected became a nice pillow. I managed to sew them together using a thorn and thread from my old dress! It doesn’t look the best, but it’s a nice improvement from picking moss out of my hair every morning. Speaking of my hair, I went ahead and cut it short. I thought about throwing it away, but I remember reading somewhere that hair, not sure if it was human or animal, was used as fishing line in the past, so I kept it just in case.

  Wondering how that would work, I took my walking stick and fishing line to the river. Since my lucky day in week four, nothing else has floated down the river, so no more new clothes. As I walked there, I saw a deer ru- Run? Gallop? I saw a deer pass by me at speed. One day I would like to eat one, sleep on it’s fur too. I don’t know how long I’m going to be out here, so I would like to be prepared for winter. With lots of things on my mind, I arrive at the river and cast my line. Taking a seat in the shade of the tree, I wait for a bite.

  …

  Week twelve or thirteen, I decided to go on an adventure. Since I made this pce my home, I haven’t really explored very much. My magical girl powers are still weak, so I can’t fly. Instead I’ve put together an adventuring kit! Aside from my normal clothes I bought the leather jacket that went down to just above my ankles. It was hard to walk in, but I managed to fix it by cutting a slit in the back so each half behind my legs could move independently. Also I brought the green wool cloak that used to drag on the floor before I cut it short, as well as a knife and belt bag that I stuffed with smoked meat and fish. Also, surprise surprise, the belt was also too big, but I didn’t need to cut it short. I just left it hanging.

  Closing the door to my house and hiding it with loose leaves and some rocks, I grabbed my new walking stick and headed out. Every so often as I walked I would leave marks on trees so I could come back without the fear of getting lost. I did think about following the river but, remembering about the bodies that floated down it, I figured that whoever was up there didn’t want to be bothered.

  …

  Give it up for the big 2-0. That’s right, week twenty! It’s starting to get cold, so I’ve been making preparations for winter. It’s a bit hard going out when it’s raining, so the progress has been slower than I imagined. Despite that, I’ve managed to catch a deer! How did I do that? Well it was pure luck. On one of my adventures, I climbed up a tree to wait the night out when a deer walked right under the tree to go to sleep! Then I dropped down on it and stabbed it with my knife! Luckily I was only a day away from my house, so it only took two days to bring it back in total. I smoked all of the meat from that and stored it away. As for its pelt, it’s now a comforter for my bed.

  Checking my traps, I heard some twigs breaking behind me. Grabbing my spear I prepare myself to stab whatever may be there. Taking a step back, I look for the quickest pce to run away to. Stepping out of the foliage, I saw three men armed with bows and swords.

  “Ah, you’re brigands!” I couldn’t help but shout.

  “What? No.” The man in the middle said confused. “We’re mercenaries…”

  Now that I was looking at these guys, they seemed to be more than some random bandits. They had an air of professionalism and simir looking uniforms. That could only mean one thing…

  “You’re well trained brigands!” I shouted.

  “Wrong again!” He said. “Wait, no that doesn’t matter. Who are you and what’s a kid doing out here?”

  “Is anyone else in this forest with us?” The man on the left asked.

  “I don’t think so…” The man on the right said.

  “Hey, uh, kid…” The man in the middle said.

  “Stand back! I have a spear and I’m afraid to use it!” I warned them.

  “…” The three of them exchanged looks.

  “Wait no, other way around! I’m NOT afraid to use it!” I quickly corrected myself.

  To prove myself I thrust my spear at them, hoping that they would stay back. After all, I can’t have them doubt me. My stomach, however, had other ideas. Trying to keep a serious face on, I wondered if I could outrun these guys.

  “Do you… want some food?” The man on the left asked.

  I get it, this is a bargain! I just need to make them a deal!

  “Yes…” I thought of what would be a fair trade. “You give me food and I’ll let you go.”

  “What?” The man in the middle asked.

  “So, what are you going to do?” I nervously asked.

  “I think I’m going to bring you back to my unit.” He said.

  “And how are you going to do that?” I asked. “I have the spear.”

  “Man-” He looked annoyed. “I am a twenty-six year old man and we outnumber you. What are YOU going to do?”

  “Um…” I took a moment to think. I think they have the upper hand.

  During my pondering, the man seemed to run out of patience. Knocking my spear away, he picked me up with a single hand.

  “Can we start over?” I asked.

  “No, you’re going to our boss.” He said.

  “As a pything or a guest?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  “What is wrong with you!?” The man asked, astonished.

  “We just want to talk to you.” The man on the left said.

  “I am being held against my will.” I said.

  “You were threatening us with a spear.” The man on the right said.

  Ah, I was doing that. Alright, what now? These guys look official, so they might be this world’s version of cops or something. What can I say to have them leave me alone? Think! What would people back on earth say to cops? … That's it!

  “I am a sovereign citizen, I have the right to defend myself!” I procim.

  “What is this kid saying?” The man on the right asked.

  Dang it. It didn’t work.

  “Let’s just take her back to camp.” The man carrying me sighed.

  Giving into my fate, I didn’t bother resisting as I was taken away.

  Grayburne