My Princess

Chapter 41

"Do you think I could pull off a bob?" Narcissa asked, playing with her hair as we walked.

"My answer is the same it has been for the last 10 questions about your beauty. Yes, Cissy, you could even rock being bald for God's sake."

"What about plaid? My mother always said it was too cheap for us to be seen in but I kind of want to try it."

"Oh my good Gods someone kill me please." I muttered to no one in particular, running my hands over my face in exasperation.

The other girl gets one good meal in her and she won't stop blabbering on. 3 hours of 'would I look good in..' or 'could I get this haircut..' or my personal favorite, 'do you think I'm..' was enough to have me missing her being too hungry and tired to talk.

It was completely intentional too. I knew it was. She had that playful lilt in her tone when she was purposefully trying to agitate me. I simply rolled my eyes, refusing to take the bait and bicker with her like she wanted.

"You are beautiful in any way, shape, or form my little princess." I threw a sugary sweet smile over my shoulder, making the other girl chuckle under her breath at the clear strain in my voice.

"Even when you haven't showered in 3 months." I threw in under my breath, hearing a sharp inhale from behind me and feeling my lips curl into a grin.

"Hey now. Neither have you if I recall. You don't exactly smell like roses." The other girl huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and furrowing her eyebrows.

"You clearly don't mind it too much when me and my funk are close enough to have my fingers up your-"

"Ok! Ok. I get it." Narcissa exclaimed, throwing up her hands to shut me up. "I liked it better when you just complimented me without paying attention to what I said. Like a man." She then grumbled, letting out a loud huff and finally shutting up. A win is a win in my book.

"We should probably set up camp for the night soon." I announced a short time later, squinting at the last rays of sunlight filtering in through the densely packed trees. "The forest should protect us from the weather but we still need a fire."

"There aren't any wolves in these woods are there?" The other girl asked with a bit of fear in her voice. She was still shaken up by what happened on the ice that day.

"It does seem like a good place for them to hunt but we haven't seen any in over a month now." I didn't want to scare her by telling her there probably was a pack of them somewhere nearby but I also didn't want to give her a false sense of security either. I had seen the telltale signs of a few kicking around here somewhere but thankfully we had managed to avoid them thus far.

"If only that pelt of yours still had fangs and loyalty to humans." The other girl grumbled, peering around more warily as we trudged through the trees.

A twig snapped to my right, catching my attention but brushing it off as normal woodsy noise. Another one to my left, this time closer, and I eyed the sparse underbrush around us but kept walking so as not to alert my traveling companion over what was most likely nothing. However, I couldn't help but palm the hilt of one of the daggers at my side, ready to hurl it into the heart of anything that moved a little too quickly for my liking.

A bird like whistle came from somewhere behind me and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I finally stopped, standing stock still and listening as Narcissa moved closer, obviously having heard the little whistle as well.

Wolves don't whistle.

I took in my surroundings with a skilled eye as I made sure I knew where every single one of my weapons were located. Keeping the other girl behind me I walked in a small, slow circle, readying myself for the danger to come from any direction.

"Be ready to run if need be." I instructed her, keeping up my predatory prowl as I tried to will whatever it was out into the open and get it over with.

"I'm not leaving you y/n. Not again." I risked a glance at Narcissa, jaw tensing as I took in her hardened yet sad expression.

The last time I had told her to run I came back poisoned. It was hard enough to deal with in a lush, thriving forest in the Fall. Taking on another Hellbeast in this environment was a death sentence. Yet, I knew that determined look in her eye all too well. She wouldn't leave me. If we died we died together.

Without a word I passed the other girl a dagger, holding her gaze as she took it and an understanding passed between us.

Crunches filled my ears as they surrounded us, my back pressed up against Narcissa's as we prepared for a fight.

Running.

The sound of snow crunching beneath running footsteps was right in front of me. I held up my dagger, aiming it at the unexplained noise as it got closer, closer, until it was right on top of us and..

I blinked in confusion, reflexively lowering my weapon as I stared down at the creature that had just jumped out of the brush. A little girl, maybe 5 years old with tanned skin painted with symbols I did not recognize, an untamed rat's nest of long dark hair, and wearing deer skin as clothing, feet bare and tinted blue in the ice.

"What the Hell?" I whispered, Narcissa and I exchanging confused looks as the little girl peered up at us with innocent, chocolate brown eyes, a little side smile appearing on her lips as she kind of swayed back and forth in front of us.

"Are you lost?" I asked her in a sweet voice, tilting my head and furrowing my eyebrows as I tried to determine where she might have come from. A child all alone in the North Mountains. It was impossible, yet, here she stood before us alive and well.

The girl did not respond, simply giggling as she peered up at us with those big, round eyes full of curiosity and still swinging her shoulders back and forth while the tiny fingers of one hand clasped those of the other in front of her.

"Are your mommy and daddy close by?" Narcissa tried, reaching for the girl but drawing back as she side stepped the gesture like she was afraid it would poison her skin. 

"What's your name sweetie?" I tried one more time.

"Kaara" the child mumbled nearly inaudibly, my ears straining to even hear the two syllables.

"Can you tell us where your parents are Kaara?" The little girl started giggling as I asked that simple question for a second time, literally bouncing with glee as I just looked down at her with a bewildered expression.

She pointed one little finger at me. At least I thought she was pointing at me. A little 'chuff' sound came from behind me and I immediately straightened up, swallowing the bile rising in my throat as I realized she wasn't pointing at me, but behind me.

Narcissa and I slowly turned as one, coming face to face with a dozen or so men and women alike. They were all barely clothed in deerskin, their appearance just as wild and untamed as the child, their tanned bodies painted head to toe with mysterious symbols. The little girl giggled behind me as her people surrounded us, clearly having been the distraction while the adults moved in for the kill.

'You have got to be kidding me.' I thought to myself with a sigh, dropping the hand with the dagger at my side as I knew it was futile to even try and take on these bloodthirsty, weapon wielding fiends.

We had found ourselves some fairytale savages.