Millie starts her journey

Millie looked around at the woods surrounding her. It was mainly leafy trees, tall and far between, and little vegetation on the ground. The sun was shining, but few of the rays made it through the dense foliage high above her head. After a little while there was a small puddle of water in a crack between two rocks. The water was clear, so Millie stopped to look at herself in it. The blanket she was wearing as a poncho did not at all flatter her curves, as a matter of fact, it almost made her look a bit boyish, especially as the **** traders had cut her hair short to keep lice from spreading amongst their captives.

An idea suddenly struck Millie. She should disguise herself as a boy. It would be much safer for her to travel through this strange land she did not know as a male, perhaps a returning soldier, a travelling craftsman, or whatever. She would think up a cover story if it was needed.

Millie used the puddle to style her hair as boyishly as possible, and then smeared a bit of dirt on each side of her face. Looking like a filthy and poor young male traveller would ensure that she did not warrant a second look from any passers-by. Millie gave herself on last look in the puddle, and satisfied that she had disguised herself as best as possible she continued her walk. Gradually, the forest looked less dense, and then she came out into a clearing. On the other side of the clearing was a small village.

Millie paused and looked at the village. Perhaps there she could find some simple work that would earn her a bit of food and maybe permission to sleep in a barn overnight? She started to walk across the clearing towards the town, but then she heard the sound of a small waterfall. She turned to try to figure out where the sound was coming from, then she saw a small stream of water coming down between two rocks a stonesthrow to her right.

Millie thought that it would be nice with a drink of water as she was getting thirsty, but then maybe she should head to the village instead to have time to find an afternoon's work milking cows or similar to earn a meal and a place to stay.