Dedicated to libraryhaunter for just being AWESOME.
(A/N Should I delete this book? Is anyone actually reading it?!)

Amber wanted to get to Ermelinda. Now. It would have been quicker and easier to go through the town, but she would have run the risk of being recognised, hauled back to her house, and putting up with a huge telling-off.

Amber shivered as she remembered - the word town triggered memories. She'd had some meetings with the one with the blond hair, and they hadn't turned out well.

She had lost count of the number of days she'd been out in the forest for. A knot of guilt tightened as she asked herself how much food her family had left. Selfish, she told herself.

Carrying a board made it a lot harder to navigate the forest. It was light - almost too light - but huge. And while the shield was welcome on rainy days, it became an annoyance when she was walking. If it wasn't for the board, Ermelinda would be in sight.

But Amber was not about to leave her board behind. It was grey, with thin silver streaks that shone in sunlight. Her fingers slipped on the sharp edge, and she cursed, wiping the blood on the cloth wrapped around the board. This is what the cloth was for, she reprimanded herself.

She stopped, heaving the board onto one shoulder.

Her eyes flashed with anger - and fear.

They landed on a streak of blond hair, hidden among the bushes.

Amber was hard to hide from.