𝓐𝓶𝓫𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂

👑 Chapter Eighth 👑

Her feet were so tired from walking that the mid-heeled boots she wasn't used to caused her pain. After removing her boots and setting them aside, she stretched her legs.

Annie talked to herself, staring at her feet, "What am I doing now?" Am I waiting for someone to come or will I continue walking until I get back?"

She took a five-minute break, then walked in her cotton socks, her hand swinging the boots. The soles of her feet even turned black from the dirt.

Kicking the air in despair, Annie nagged, "Why is the fog settled now? ...This is not its time!"

Suddenly, she heard the sound of rustling leaves in the bushes.

Annie initially dismissed the sound as just the wind, but when it returned closer and clearer; she froze in fear.

Annie's voice trembled, and in a tone full of regret, she said, "Why did I involve myself in this? ...Now a wild beast will come out and devour me."

She squeezed her eyes and buried her face between her palms, trying to suppress the fear growing up inside her. Then she opened her eyes and looked through between her fingers, waiting for the scene, which had been drawn in her imagination to end. But nothing happened, so she looked in front of her again.

Standing, in front of her,  was a tall handsome young man whose coal-black hair swayed with the wind, and his blue eyes sparkled like lapis lazuli. He looked surprised at first glance but soon showed an attractive smile, and she couldn't help but stare into it.

The young man tilted his head so that his face became close to Annie's, who remained covered with her face, and gently said, "No doubt you are horrified by my sudden appearance... I apologise."

She quickly lowered her hands, revealing her face, and took a few steps back. However, the protruding roots of a tree caused her to stumble. The young man grabbed her wrist until she regained her balance and stood upright.

Avoiding his eyes, she thanked him, "Thank you, sir."She felt her ears burning in embarrassment.

But the young man did more than a nod; he knelt on one knee before her. Annie watched, confused about what he was trying to do. "What are you doing, sir?" she asked.

The young man gently grasped her ankle as if he held something precious that he feared might break. He carefully removed Annie's socks and examined her swollen foot.

"This is dirty! Don't do that!" Annie shouted, stopping him.

The young man, minimising her reaction to the situation, replied, "These are just blisters. When I was on the battlefield, I used to treat ten times worse than this condition," he continued, examining the back of her foot, "It would be bad to walk on it."

He got up and wrapped her in his cloak after noticing that she had been trembling. Then he spoke, wondering after eyeing her fine clothes, "What is Miss doing here in the middle of the Royal Forest? By the way, I didn't ask you your name; I'm Henrik. What About You?"

Clinching tightly on her blue dress, Annie replied, "My name is Annie. I got lost on my way to meet the King."

Henrik looked intently at her and replied, "I don't mean to belittle you... But not anyone can meet the King, miss, and then he approached her a little and said, in a tone full of doubt: "Who are you?... I've never seen you before!"

"What am I going to say now? It's hard to believe the story I'm going to tell him. And at the same time, I'm not in a position to lie to him"

Remaining silent and hesitant about her answer, Henrik gently continued his words, "Miss... I'm one of the King's advisers; I'm going to the Palace anyway; you can tell me about your problem; maybe I can help you."