History of Fictitious: Volume Three

Chapter 4

"So, how was your day with the Crown Prince?" Snow White asked her sister as they walked through the forest.

"Fine, nothing unexpected happened. He returned to the castle and said he would gather a search party. Now, please focus on the task ahead of us."

Snow White scribbled notes about the behavior of the plants they had found, and then she commented, "I can't believe that this whole time, we've been taking care of the Second Prince of Hamilton."

"I don't really buy into all of this. Fuzzy Prince is just a bear we found as kids."

"That may be true, but you weren't there last night. I'm telling the truth about him speaking to me."

"Believe what you wish, Snow, I just . . ."

A shout erupted, stirring snow that rested peacefully on the branches. This time, the girls could tell who the shout's owner was. The centaur was in danger once again. They wondered if it was a tiny spider this time. Maybe it spun a web in that beard of his.

"Do we have to help the guy?" Rose asked, looking over at Snow.

"I don't think you should. The last time I talked to him, he threatened your life. But I might be able to help."

That's when they heard a vicious roar—a deep sound from a large, angry animal. Without a second thought, both girls rushed over to the racket.

They came upon a clearing where one of the centaur's hooves was trapped between two giant rocks. Nothing else seemed to be there. The only sign of the large animal was the scrapes along the centaur's arms.

When he saw them, he shouted, "Please help me! It's going to come back and kill me. I know it!"

The girls scrambled over to him. Desperately, they tried to make room for his hoof, but they weren't strong enough to lift the rock. The centaur pleaded with them to hurry as a bear entered the clearing.

Snow White perked up at the sight of the bear, trying to see its eyes. Before stepping closer, Rose demanded that she stay back.

"Snow, don't assume it's friendly! Help me move this!"

Finally, the centaur's hoof slipped out between the rocks. At that time, though, the bear had cornered them against the boulders. The centaur reached up to grab an arrow, but there was nothing in his quiver.

"Some help, you are!" Rose scoffed.

Snow White stayed quiet as she spotted the blue necklace around the bear's neck. A smile spread across her face as the human-like eyes glanced toward her. Inside her head, the bear said, Get your sister out of the way, Snow.

Quickly, Snow White grabbed Rose Red's hand and ran off to the side. As soon as they were out of the way, the bear lunged at the centaur. The girls turned away from the fight. With the centaur injured, he didn't last very long.

"Snow, what's happening?" Rose Red asked, horrified by the noise and confused about how Snow knew the bear would go after the centaur and not them.

"You mean you didn't hear him?" Snow questioned, now just as puzzled as Rose, "He told me to get out of the way."

"This again!" Rose shouted, but they glanced back when they heard the bear growling.

Rose Red's eyes widened when the large animal turned to them. She waved her arms above her head and backed away slowly, trying to appear larger than she was. Snow wasn't nearly as worried, yet she refrained from looking at the centaur's clawed body and stared the bear straight in the eyes. Rose continued to step backward as the bear approached them, noticing the centaur was no longer breathing.