~Dark Princess~ (Edited)

~Annika: Chapter 15~

I had no idea why I was starting to have these feelings for Shayne. I had to control my every movement because I wasn't exactly sure how I would react to some of the things that he would do. It was driving me insane that we were both stuck on this island just hiding away together, as well! I had just been reunited with my father and now, before I can even begin my training, I am whisked away from his grasp. I hope that he's not worrying too much since I've been kidnapped. He's probably just laughing that Shayne jumped in with me.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt a warm hand land on my shoulder. I jumped, tensing as I did so. I relaxed almost immediately because tingles began to spread through me. I rolled my eyes because I knew exactly who does that to me. I turned slightly towards him. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts, not noticing that I had already turned my attention towards him. I smiled as I studied his expression. I somehow found it quite adorable. I bit my lip, scolding myself for thinking of such things at this very moment. I cleared my throat to get his attention, trying to distract myself from the thoughts. His beautiful eyes snapped to my own eyes then, focusing on me. I saw a hint of a blush flood his cheeks when he looked at me; most likely embarrassed that he hadn't noticed I had my attention on him.

"Uh... so, what did you want to eat?" He asked hesitantly. We were now in this abandoned cabin, a distance from the lake that we had left Keon at. I couldn't believe that he was the one that had murdered my foster parents. I wanted so badly to destroy him because of the pain he had brought me, but I knew that wouldn't solve the fact that my foster parents were no longer among the living. I bit my lip once more to pull myself back to reality and respond to Shayne.

"Uh... we should both go looking for food together. It would be better if we stuck together in this situation." I murmured, side-stepping him and heading towards the back door. I heard him following me as I did so and I secretly smiled to myself as reality seriously hit me. I was alone with this beautiful guy who was destined to be mine. I blushed at the thought and pushed it to the back of my mind immediately. Shaking my head, I peered out the back door to check if it was safe enough for us to go. I motioned for Shayne to follow me then, knowing that we were safe for the time being.

I snuck out then, ducking between the trees while doing so. I heard leaves rustling, telling me that Shayne was still following me. I took out the dagger that my father had given to me before the training and then turned towards Shayne. He looked at me wide-eyed when he noticed that I was pointing the dagger at him. I held back a chuckle before putting the dagger down, rolling my eyes at his actions. I motioned towards the dagger and then whispered the rest of my thoughts.

"We're going to use this to find some dinner for us, is that okay?" I asked, unsure whether he even wanted any meat. He thought about it for a moment and then nodded slowly, still eyeing the dagger as if I were going to stab him at any moment. I rolled my eyes once more before turning back towards the forest that lay before me. I crouched, motioning for him to do the same. I then realized that I have actually never hunted before. I smiled sheepishly as I turned back towards Shayne. He seemed to be scolding himself about something, so I tapped him lightly. He jumped, his eyes turning towards me again. "Uh... actually I don't know how to hunt." I chuckled a little and this earned me a chuckle and an eye roll from him.

"Okay, I'm going to stop acting like you're the one actually in charge and show you what a real assassin can do." I chuckled at his words and he shot a playful glare towards me before he took my dagger and turned his attention towards the forest. He motioned for me to get behind him and I did as he said. He crouched motionlessly for a moment longer before he suddenly went dashing off into the forest. I was tempted to run after him, but I knew I would only be hassle if I went along, so I decided to wait until he returned with the dinner.

I heard a rustling coming from behind me, making me tense up and listen in to what was happening behind me. I knew it couldn't be Shayne because he had just ran off in the opposite direction. I turned slowly towards whatever was behind me and held in a gasp when the ugly face of Keon came into view. I cursed at myself; cursing because I had just sent off my personal bodyguard to go catch dinner for us and now I had to fight this guy myself. Gulping, I backed up a step while assessing my chances of winning against this guy. My energy hadn't returned to me yet, so I was still unable to summon any power to fight him.

He grinned as if he knew my situation and then took a step towards me. I looked around at my surroundings discreetly so that he wouldn't guess my thoughts. I spotted a tree close by, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it before he captured me. I just had to keep him at bay for a little while as I waited for Shayne to return to me. Licking my chapped lips, I looked towards Keon innocently like I had earlier in the lake, but he didn't seem to be falling for it this time. I bit my lip and then backed away another step. He seemed to be studying me actually, now that I thought about it.

While he was distracted, I decided to make my move. I ran. I could hear his laughter as he chased after me, as if he believed that I wouldn't escape him in any way. I dodged him when he tried to tackle me, but it was just barely. My heartbeat was speeding up as fear began to seize hold of me. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself so that I could think rationally. I then came to the tree and began to climb. Just as I was about to make it to the first branch though, I felt a tugging on my leg. I let out a yelp at the sudden intrusion and turned to see that it was Keon. I kicked him in the face repeatedly until he loosened his grip.

In that moment I began to quickly climb once more as he cursed. When I was high enough in the tree, knowing that it would take him a while to climb up because he was bigger in size, I screamed out Shayne's name.

"Shayne!" I screamed, wanting him to hear me immediately. I heard Keon curse again and tell me to shut up before he made my death more painful than he was planning to before. I yelled out Shayne's name one more time before I noticed that Keon had made it up a lot faster than I had originally planned. He began to corner me at the edge of the tree. I decided that I had to fight until Shayne came... if he even came.

I swung my fist, but it missed. I bit my lip and forced myself not to panic. I told myself repeatedly that Shayne was going to come to save me; I just had to wait patiently. I picked up the closest loose branch on the tree and tore it off. That was when Keon finally retaliated and swung his fist into my gut. The air left my lungs in that moment and I gasped to regain it. He then back handed me and I fell against the tree clumsily trying to catch my balance. I then swung the branch that I had gotten hold of.

It didn't hit him either though; I had to remember that this guy was a trained assassin. He caught the branch and threw it off the tree and I gasped when he began to advance towards me. He back handed me once more and this time... I lost my balance.