[DISCONTINUED] A Beauty and A Beast (Garmau AU)

Chapter 4

Aphmau's mother sat on the carriage with a bored expression as she and her horse made the journey back home. The trip was nothing short of successful, but she couldn't help but dread going home seeing as how it was so incredible boring.

Even though it was boring, her overactive imagination got the best of her as she looked off into the deep, dark thicket surrounding her.

Then, just her luck, she heard thunder. It had been raining for thirty minutes now, but only then had she actually heard proof of lightning.

She let out a nervous laugh before speaking, "Well, I'm completely lost. Do you happen to know where we're going girl?" She asked the horse out of fear.

The horse didn't respond, she only continued to trot down the dirt road.

They were silent for a moment before lightning came down from the sky and struck a tree only about forty feet in front of the horse.

Her steed let out a neigh of terror before standing up on her hind legs. Aphmau's mother yelped before reaching over to stroke the horse as to calm her down.

A few seconds later, the tree hit the ground, blocking off the dirt road.

She began to rub her horses back in an attempt to calm her, and to the woman's relief, the animal's terrified neighing turned into soft, animalistic whimpers. She was about to sigh in frustration at the road obstruction when she suddenly noticed a new path she had never seen before.

"Well. I guess we're going that way." She said to herself before steering the horse in the new direction.

She looked around warily, suddenly realizing just how utterly lost she was. Everything came crashing down on her, and she let out a sigh of annoyance.

What she didn't expect was the cloud of breath that she let out when she let out the air.

It was then that she noticed the newfound snow laying on the ground, surrounding her in every direction.

"Okay... so it's snowing... in June." She shook her head rather rapidly to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, but the white powder still remained on the ground when she opened her eyes.

She breathed out again, saw her breath, and started to shiver from the cold.

Thankfully, her coat had been on her body the entire time, so she didn't have to stop to put it on.

Everything was calm, save for her mind which was going absolutely crazy as she took in her surroundings, until she heard the faintest of growls.

At first, because she hadn't been paying much attention, she assumed it was her horse.

Of course, after thinking about it, she scoffed at her stupidity before turning around.

A large, gray, and furious wolf stood, ready to pounce at her from on top of a small, nearby ledge.

She let out a yelp before snapping the reins as hard as she could, and grunted as her horse picked up speed in a split second.

Before, she had been leisurely strolling through the nice, peaceful woods. But now she was racing down a path she had never seen and from hungry wolves no less, who would like nothing more than to sink their teeth into her skin.

She could practically feel her horse's pain and anxiety as the animal tore through the unknown forest, but she could only think about how much it would suck if they reached a dead end.