Sam walked at the end of the line, behind August so she could keep an eye on him. At least that's what she wanted everyone to think. The truth was that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do much if he did attempt to escape, even when he was weighed down by the biggest pack the group had. Sam had taken his sword, though she didn't have a clue how to use it other than holding the handle and sticking the other person with the sharp, pointy end. It was probably a bit more complicated than that, though. 

It was weird, carrying the sword. The closest she had ever come to carrying a weapon was a can of pepper spray that she had in her handbag back home, though she'd never actually used it. When you lived in a big city it as better to be prepared, though. So she had bought and carried the can. The sword was different. She was very aware of it on her hip. It was a noticeable extra weight that she was carrying and sometimes it felt heavier than it actually was. That was more because of the figurative burden rather than the actual weapon though. Sam;s hand brushed against the hilt and she wasn't positive if she felt that much braver or more secure with the sword in her possession.

The scenery was able to take her mind off of it though. The forest around the queen''s hallow had been bleak and silent, almost as though it were dead. But the woods surrounding them were becoming more lush with each step. Sam turned her head, suddenly surrounded by green that was flecked with bright colors from the wild flowers that seemed to have come from nowhere. This was the sort of forest one pictured when reading a fairy tale. She heard Dorothea's yelp and turned her head in time to see something that looked like a cross between a monkey and a squirrel, but with bright yellow fur, scurrying off into the brush. Sam blinked her eyes at the sight, watching the creature vanish and mentally telling herself that she hadn't imagined it. Dorothea leaped up onto her shoulder after the run in with yellow monkey-squirrel, and once she was settled Sam looked over at her. "This is Verinia?" she asked, more for clarification that anything else. Her eyes began to wander, looking up into the trees and seeing some birds she couldn't begin to describe. She wasn't even sure if they were birds, come to think of it. "This place...it feels different from your kingdom." It wasn't stated like the difference was a bad thing. Sam was merely making an observation. "Why is that?"