A Land Of Secrets: ATALANTE

Act XXII- His Handkerchief

Meira's POV

I feel like I'm regretting joining this event. I haven't caught a single animal. Not a single one!

Gosh, before I could even aim my gun they could sense my presence and ran away immediately. I also haven't seen a human the whole time I'm in this forest. It must be big.

I got off my horse and tied it to a tree.

"I'll be back okay? Take a rest." I told the horse as I patted it on its head.

"Thank you, Princess." My heart suddenly jumped when the horse spoke. I forgot for a second that I can speak to animals.

I smiled and went deeper into the forest. The hunting outfit that I'm wearing is very comfortable, it's so much easier to move in these than with dresses.

I heard something through the bushes so I immediately hid behind a tree. I took my gun from my holster and aimed at where the sound was.

I scanned through the bushes until I saw a cute bunny eating some berries. I aimed the gun at it.

... I can do this.

"Princess!" I heard someone call me as I frantically looked around. When I looked back at my target, it got alerted and ran away.

Dang it! I immediately ran after the bunny.

It was because of the voice!

Or was I just hesitating?

Damn it, I was just hesitating!

I was mindlessly chasing the bunny through the forest. While I was chasing the bunny, I aimed and took some shots and I kept missing.

This bunny is moving like crazy! Why did I even choose a small target like a bunny?!

I'm not even that used to using a gun...

I reloaded the gun and tried once more. I see ahead that there is a cliff, and the bunny pauses as it realizes it. I took the chance and quickly pulled the trigger.

*bang!*

"Huff... Huff..." I panted as I ran so far just to get one bunny. At least I successfully got one! I celebrated by drinking my water happily.

I did it!

Now I wanted to go back and rest, but I realized that I made a mistake. The forest... It smells and feels contaminated... By grims.

Why do I feel there are grims near me? Wasn't I supposed to be in the yellow area?

I saw a ribbon tied to a tree nearby, my heart sank when I saw its color.

Red...

Did I really chase the bunny mindlessly to the point I got lost in the red area?!

I quickly reloaded my gun when I heard something in the bushes. I can sense that it's grim. It must've followed the sound of the gunshot I just made.