Hiding Royalty

6

The growling intensified with every second and the trio found themselves almost paralysed with fear. What was lurking in the camouflage of the trees? What was watching them?

Liam's eyes scanned the area, trying to find the source of the ominous noise but it was nearly impossible when dense forest surrounded them, hiding their predator from them. He instinctively walked over to stand in front of the girls to protect them from anything that lunged out from the trees but Emma pulled him back so he stood beside them.

"If one of us goes down, we all do," she whispered, and gave a faint smile to Liam to reassure him that she wasn't scared.

Lyra on the other hand was shaking with fear, her whole body trembling and quivering, and she looked as if her knees would give way any second and she would fall to the floor. Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes, trying to muster up some sympathy for Lyra; the princess was unadapted to life in the forests, and had no clue how to defend herself. She had a right to be scared.

The trio stood in the clearing of the forest, listening as the growling grew louder and louder with every second, bracing themselves for what was coming. Liam wanted to hold Emma's hand, and he tried his best to not run away as fast as he could; he had a responsibility to look after both of them, and he would never be forgiven if he allowed the princess to get hurt or die.

Sprinting out of the thick mass of trees, five huge beasts lunged towards the trio. They were grey wolves, their fur matted in dirt and other substances, who bared their sharp teeth. Upon noticing the trio, the leader of the pack stopped and let out a low growl; Liam stood in shock, frantically trying to find the safest exit for all of them.

"Emma, when I say go, run through that opening in the forest with Lyra. If my calculations are correct, there will be a town in a few miles," Liam mumbled to Emma, maintaining eye contact with the leader of the pack.

"I won't leave you," Emma replied stubbornly, but the trembling of her body suggested that the only thing she wanted to do was run away.

"You're not leaving me, I'm telling you to go away. There is a difference," Liam said through his teeth, anger and tension building up inside him.

Before Emma could argue any more, Liam walked towards the leader of the pack slowly, trying his best to not aggravate the beast. He counted in his head. Three. Two. One.

"GO!" He yelled to the girls and began to dart around the clearing, trying to keep the wolves' attention on him. He hoped that his quick and sporadic movements would catch their eyes and thankfully all the wolves seemed amused by his actions.

They chased him light heartedly but none of them seemed to want to do him much harm... Except the leader who had not left his spot in the middle of the clearing. That wolf was watching Liam intensely, trying to understand why the human was not more scared of his pack.

With a commanding growl, the pack came running back to their leader who was glaring at Liam. Grinding its teeth, it lunged towards Liam, trying its best to knock the man over. Suddenly, it was not some innocent fun, and Liam realised that if he didn't act soon, his life could be in danger.

So, mustering up all the energy he could, he began to sprint out the clearing; the wolves immediately followed him, their legs pumping faster than Liam's and they soon overtook him which drained the colour from Liam's cheeks. He was surrounded by bloodthirsty wolves, all ready to rip him limb from limb.

But from the corner of his eye, he noticed a group of men walking in his direction; the men were carrying rifles and it was obvious that they were looking for an animal to hunt. It would be dangerous for Liam to call out to them, but it would be possibly deadly if he didn't.

"HELP!" He screamed, and this seemed to catch the attention of the hunters who quickly ran over to see the wolves slowly getting closer and closer to Liam's body.

The wolves looked back, obviously confused what was going on, and this lapse of concentration was enough for the hunters to fire five warning shots into the air and the animals all instinctively sprinted back into the forest. Liam ran over to the men and hugged them all, thanking them for saving his life.

They told him to leave the forest soon, because the wolves would be back now they knew his scent. Liam took their warning very seriously, and ran off as fast as he could to find Emma and Lyra. He hoped they had found a town where they could seek refuge or, at the very least, somewhere that they wouldn't be ripped apart by wolves.

***

Emma and Lyra had found a town after an hour of walking; neither had spoken to each other, purely because they didn't have anything to say. Emma knew exactly what Lyra thought about her, and Lyra had known from pretty early on that Emma had some unspoken grudge against her.

The town was rather big for a town in the middle of nowhere, and there seemed to be people walking around everywhere they looked. Spotting the local tavern, Emma began walking towards it with purpose while Lyra followed behind, muttering about her aching feet.

Inside there were a few men drinking away their sorrows, and Emma tried her best to put on a brave face. She was excruciatingly nervous about Liam, and her mind played endless scenarios of him being devoured by the wolves.

The pair of girls sat in silence, Emma too preoccupied by worrying about Liam and Lyra wasn't in the mood to make conversation. Suddenly, the door burst open and a breathless Liam came staggering in, looking slightly dishevelled but completely uninjured.

Emma couldn't have been more relieved if she tried.

So Liam just about saved our trio? What other dangers are awaiting them?

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