His One and Only

Chapter 23

 

Mira opened her eyes and looked around. She found herself in deep forest with no answer as to how she got there. The forest was dense, dark, and foggy. It was completely silent without a single chirp of a cricket or breeze in the trees.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed into nothingness as she looked in all directions to find something...anything.

Suddenly a pair of glowing eyes shone in front of her. Mira froze as the being came fully into view. A small but beautiful wolf stood in front of her. The wolf was very strange because it was fully white and had a long fluffy tail. The wolf stood there staring at her and Mira stared at her back.

Suddenly the mood shifted and the wolf's eyes turned blood red. The fur on the end of its tail and all four paws turned blood red as well. The wolf growled angrily and snapped its jaws at Mira. Then the wolf turned and sprinted away.

"Wait! Who are you??" Mira took off running after the wolf. The fog made it difficult to follow the wolf but Mira ran as fast and as hard as she could after it. Mira started to gain on the wolf but just when she was almost able to reach out and touch its tail dancing in the wind she tripped. Mira fell through the forest floor and sunk into darkness.

Mira sat straight up in bed gasping. Her heart was pounding wildly as she looked around to see that she was in a tent. Mira closed her eyes and tried to slow down her breath to calm herself. It was just a dream... Mira had been having this nightmare for the last two days and she hadn't the slightest idea what it meant. Regardless of her nightmare the day had to start.

They continued on their journey and Mira did her best to ignore the now blatant stares and whispers from the group. She wished she had just kept her mouth shut and tried not to become friendly. Apparently meeting Frida was very rare and more than half of them that did meet her have died. Whether the group was staring at her with admiration in meeting Fria, or waiting to see if she died a sudden tragic death, Mira had no clue and she frankly didn't want to know.

They reached the next village that was named Pinewood Village by the next afternoon. Taking one glance at it she already had a good feeling about it. It was a very small village tucked away in a huge forest. She could see a few cabins here and there. Samuel informed her that only around 50-60 Grizzlies lived here.

The ambience of it was very calming and peaceful. Mira just hoped with everything inside her that the people mirrored the village's looks.

After unloading they headed to the center of the village for lunch. Fall was approaching so the trees were filled with beautiful colors of orange, red, and yellow.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Samuel spoke up.

"Yeah this place is just really pretty." Mira lowered her voice in hopes the people wouldn't hear her. "Do you know anything about the people here?"

Samuel shook his head. "This is my first time here."

"I just hope they are not like Creekshit but I doubt anyone can be as bad as-"

"Mira?....Mira-Jane?" A soft feminine voice up ahead called out.

Mira stopped in her tracks and looked up. It took her a few seconds for her brain to process who she was looking at.

"M-Mary...?" Mira could barely breathe and was scared if she spoke too loud then the dream she was having would disappear.

The last time Mira saw Mary was when she was being mercilessly beaten in the Royal's Village garden. She had accepted the fact that Mary had most likely already died. Yet it would appear as if she was in front of her alive and well. Not only was she in front of her but she looked clean and healthy. Her brown wavy hair looked shiny and her skin was bright with a slight tan. She was dressed in warm fall clothes and was holding the hand of a small cub.