Extract from Amnis Perennis by

Iwas running. I had been for what felt like forever. Running from so many things, but right now I was running from him. My feet beat against the ground. I didn’t stop, not when I had a painful stabbing feeling in my side, not when my mouth was bone dry and I felt like I was going to be sick. The further I got, the deeper into the forest I found myself and the quieter it was. The pounding of hooves faded, but I continued to run. I only stopped when the moon was high in the sky and everything around me was pitch black. I couldn’t even see two paces in front of me. My legs felt like heavy lead pipes attached to the worn out frame of my body. Collapsing into a ditch filled with dead leaves and damp moss, I passed out.

Snowflakes fell softly, melting as soon as they touched my skin. The snow was soft underfoot. I was with a person. A tall man, someone I didn’t recognise. His face wasn’t completely focused, just a blur; I couldn’t make out any of his features, other than his piercing, icy eyes. Their coldness made my soul shiver and as he stared at me, I got a strange sense of déja vu. The man took my hand tightly in his warm one. I looked down. His hand completely covered mine and mine was… mine was tiny. About the size of a young child’s. He wandered forward, and I felt myself go with him. We were walking down a path, with roses climbing around the walls and over in arches. The deep red was stark against the clean white of the snow, reminding me of the ‘Snow White’ story my mum used to tell me when I was little.

We continued walking for what felt like forever until a large castle came into view; the path led right up to the heavy wooden doors. The strange man threw them open.

I awoke. I was damp and shivering, clinging to my knees in a ball. I sat up and gazed around. I was in a ditch, in the middle of nowhere. I racked my brains, trying to remember how I got here. The horses. The man, the fear I felt, it all flooded back. I didn’t know him, I just knew I had to get away. Fairytale

By Arlo Evans

Art by Lucy Wood