Careful not to repeat the mistake of stepping onto a random twig, my eyes darted from two different directions. One quick glance at the prince at the front, and the other at the ground so that my walk would be as hushed as possible. My shoes were carried, unused.
The bottom part of my dress was a dirty mess that I cannot even describe. For a second, I wondered what kind of disgusting things latched onto the soles of my feet. I shook my head at the thought of it and raised my skirt.
There were times when Prince Tayden Pharrell would whisk his attention behind him, his senses perhaps warning him that somebody was at his tail. Whenever he did that, I managed to hide.
Although I was not quite sure, I would frequently hear another set of footsteps that were obviously not mine. I ignored it, my main focus at the prince I followed.
I was glad that there was daylight. It made the forest less creepy, less nerve-wracking.
But then I realized that scary things can also happen during the day, during when the sun is up to watch over a bloodbath. I swallowed my fear, gripping onto the silk so tight that I might as well cut my palms with my nails.
The prince stopped.
I hurriedly snuck behind a tree, peering at him from there.
A merry group of rugged men was the first thing I saw next. Tents and blankets surrounded them as a perished campfire at the center released pallid smoke into the air. I could sniff barbequed chicken.
I wish I had eaten more of my breakfast.
When they noticed the noble standing close to their campfire, all they did was greet him with a toothy grin, which for me wasn't quite respectful. It was friendly. A mischievous kind of friendly.
"Ah, princeling," one man at the front sneered, yet Prince Tayden reacted apathetic to the insult he was given, "Rocco and the rest of the boys have told me a lot about you. Stories about you and your past."
I squinted at them, soon figuring out that they were definitely Rocco's ghastly group of terrible men. I recognized a few faces, like that guy who screamed for his life as he ran away. Others... not so much. The rude dude talking was rather new to me.
The prince merely stared down at them, cocking a smirk in return. "My past? Oh, about that day when I battered your bunch? I can do worse right now. My fingers are aching to seize you by the throat."
Their smug expressions dropped.
"What is he saying?" someone asked.
"Is he planning to fight us?" another chimed in.
Nervous whispers and worried murmurs filled the space. The muffled voices ended the instant the first man spoke up, waving his arm at the prince as if shooing him away.
"Oh shush, princeling. You won't kill us. You can't." He alleged dismissively.
"Who says I can't?" the royal countered, unfazed. "My job is to kill off invaders at the palace, so why would you guys differ?"
The way he said it so nonchalantly scared me.
It appeared that some of the men thought the same. With furrowed brows, they slowly stood up from the ground and prepared their weapons.
But the first man wasn't like them. Instead, he gave the prince a long hard look, which to me, seemed as if he was deducing, as if he was analyzing the young man's actions.
Finally, an odd spark ignited in his wrinkled eyes, like he had somehow put pieces of a complex puzzle together. He then released howling laughter as he clapped.
YOU ARE READING
Slowly and Painfully ー ✓
Fanfiction[COMPLETE] ❝Seven princes stood before me. But which of them is the one I seek?❞ Briar Rosette, a curious girl of the 21st century, was somehow captivated by one of History's greatest mysteries. It was the tale between the Painter and the Musician...
