Blossom in Full Bloom (Book 4: The Pink Blossom Series)

Cruel Awakenings

"Did she make it?" The guards were walking through the deepest parts of the woods.

"You men are cowards! You should protect the princess no matter what the odds!" The duke yelled angrily.

"She gave us orders..."

"When it comes to her safety, ignore her!" The duke insisted.

"What about her attendant? We couldn't find him either."

"He must have gone after her, like the rest of you should have done!" The duke reprimanded.

They came across the villas. The people ushered them in quickly. They were on foot, so it had taken them forever to get here and it was already dark.

"What is going on?!" The duke demanded from the cowering family. "Has the Princess arrived in this village?"

"The Princess?" The woman asked.

The little boy spoke up. "We saw a girl on a black horse."

The duke stared intently at the boy. "Where is she now?"

"The village had been guarded by a very large spotted cat. One, I would assume was a Leopard. They aren't from around here, I don't know how it even got here."

The woman continued for her husband. "It started to attack the children and people, who were alone. It got bolder and then it started to attack anyone on sight with no hesitation. Now, it parades around waiting for a chance to strike. We can't even leave our homes..."

"Where is it now?" The duke pressed.

"Haven't seen it, since the girl came around." The woman answered.

"You don't think it was the Princess, do you?" The boy asked in fear. He had grown to really look up to the Red Whirlwind as his hero.

"Which direction did she leave?" The duke demanded sternly, expressing the seriousness of the matter.

"The way you came..." The people looked depressed as if they already believed she was dead.

"What?! Impossible! We never passed her on the road! Men, we need to leave now!" The duke turned to the villagers. "Take this opportunity to get everyone as far away, from here, as possible! Head to Difila! Take a few soldiers with you! Do not leave anyone behind!" Then, the duke left with his remaining men.

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Desti grew tired. He looked frantically around. It had become dark. "Where are you, Miko...? Please be alright..." Desti was alerted to a noise in the trees.

He stammered for a moment. "Miko...? Is that you? Please come out..." Desti had a bad feeling it wasn't.

Suddenly, a bat flew down towards him and flew away. He covered his head, shrinking down to his knees. He arose again, once it left. A hoot from an owl, got his attention.

Could it get any more creepy? He already has, who knows how many possessed animals who are out for his blood. It was really frightening, being alone in this forest. He thought about how Miko was feeling, although she had Beauty. Not that he blamed her for letting the horses get away. Being someone around a horse for her only friend all those years, it is no wonder she was so desperate to save them.

He was completely lost. Miko would, most likely be, as well. He couldn't give up on her. She had to be alive! Then, he came across something that caused his heart to nearly pound out of his chest. "No! Please No!"

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A while before that, I still had this mad, blood covered animal chasing me at full speed. It didn't let up. It was sputtering, but did not heed. How was it still going? I would think it would drop dead at any moment. It was a demon, it did not resemble any animal in existence that I knew of. It had sores all over and it was giving Beauty an extreme workout. It would get closer and then fall back.