The Bloodshed Crown

Chapter 22: Voices in the Woods

"Ayla!!" Alexander shouted as he searched for her. He looked at the ground to see if there was a trace of her and found footprints.

He followed it carefully to where it led him, but then she was relieved as he saw her hanging upside down a rope.

"You are so stupid and clumsy, aren't you?" He said as he was smiling and enjoyed the sight of her.

"Stop mocking me and put me down this instant!" She demanded as she could feel her blood flowing down to her head.

"You are ordering the future king of Serdruan. How lucky are you" He said as he still didn't want to put her down.

"Please? Please put me down; I feel nauseous," She said

"You should stop doing things we didn't ask you to do. Now, you are so clumsy, and you don't even see where you're going and not to mention that you can't even detect the traps that are set for the animals," Alexander said as he went to where the rope was pulled.

"How can I know when all I can see is a very plain land covered with leaves from the trees," She said as she was getting dizzier as time passed by with him trying to see where to cut the rope.

"Do you even have a third sense, like you sense something is not right, or even feel in danger?" He said as he slowly cut the rope.

"Well, I was focused on getting your horses back," She said.

"You didn't even ask us about where exactly di we tie our horses?" Alexander said with a frail smile on his face.

"Did I go the wrong way? I heard some horses near here," She said, which made the crown prince question her.

"Horses near here?" He again asked.

"Yes. I sensed their presence because I also heard something from the ground, running horses," Ayla said as she was so proud of herself.

"Congratulations! You just figured out that you are an animal, not a human. You sensed them? Does that even make sense?" Alexander said as he stopped cutting the rope.

"WAIT! Let us not argue first. I will cut this rope, and trust me, I will catch you from there," He said.

"How can I even trust you when you almost killed me," Ayla said with her sarcastic smile.

"Then I should leave you hanging upside down then," Alexander said as she pretended to go away.

"WAIT!!! You're too serious! I was only joking around! Come back and untangle me from my despair," She pleaded.

"As you wish!" He said he cut the rope and ran to where she was expected to land.

"Caught you!" Alexander said happily as he carried her safely in his arms. The only surprise is that she vomited on his clothes, which he finds very uncomfortable as he can feel the warm gross thing flowing down his chest.

"And that's how you repay me," He said with a fake smile as he immediately put her down.

"It wasn't intentional," Ayla said as she ripped a part of her dress and immediately wiped her puke out of the prince's clothes. He was furious, but he contained his madness.

"I will seriously kill you next time," Alexander said as he tightened his grip.

"You did not e----" Ayla put her pointer finger on his mouth.

"Shhh! Feel the ground; I told you there are horses here," She said as she placed her hand on the ground and pulled him down.

"Can you feel them?" Ayla asked as her face turned lighter than ever.

Alexander was mesmerized by her beauty up close; he could see how beautiful her eyes were. It has a very distinct color and is very rare.

"Hey! Can you feel them or not?" She asked him again.He knocked himself back to reality and was amazed by her skills in detecting something.

"How come you know something like this?" Alexander asked her.

"Well, my father was the general of a Kaastianan troupe, and he always teaches me some skills," she proudly told him as she smiled from ear to ear.

"You should refrain from mentioning the country you came from when you reside here. You'll be an outcast," Alexander said as he heard some voices beyond the forest.

He pulled Ayla and kept her by his side always.

"Keep your head down," He warned as they looked for a perfect hiding place.

He was holding on to Ayla's hand tightly, and she felt butterflies in his stomach even though she was looking at him from behind.

"Can you hear them?" Ayla asked as she tried to look at their faces for herself.

"Still no information about her?" the man asked his fellow men.

"Unfortunately, there is nothing new to report, sir," He said as she could feel the man shivering in fear.

"Do you want me to stay here for a year for new information about her?" Their commander said

"No, sir," They replied.

"I already made way for me to stay in the castle as an envoy for a few days. Not to mention that Alexandria is getting suspicious of our long stay. Find her at all cost," He demanded as she heard the horses leaving again.

"Are they perhaps looking for you?" Alexander asked as he looked at her.

"Why would they look for me," She said as she rolled her eyes at him.

"You have such a nasty attitude. A man would never even dare to marry you," He said, making her speechless.

"Stop saying that because it's your loss; if I married the man, then he would have a great wife behind to support him," She said as she stood up, which made them blow their cover.

"Who's there?!" The men shouted and immediately saw her head.

"You are something," Alexander said as he smiled and pulled her away. This time, they are running away for their lives to continue.

"You know that you are putting me, The future king of Serdruan, in great danger?" He said as he continued to run away.

"You shouldn't have teased me, which made me lose my temper," She argued.

They ran into endless woods, and the men were still searching for them; they would kill them because they had just heard their conversation. Ayla and Alexander were trapped and had nowhere to go except if they won't bother jumping off the cliff. It was a very high cliff, but the important thing is that they are jumping into the lake, which is safe if both of them know how to swim.

"Can you swim?" Alexander asked as he was catching his breath.

"I can," She said as she panicked, constantly looking from behind.

"Then JUMP!" He said, and he pulled her to a very daring and thrilling task