Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 84

(Daniella's POV)

The picnic basket in my hand was a little heavy to carry after a while so I set it down on the marble floor of the inner courtyard. Luckily, it was lunch hour and no one was there to realize that I wasn't in the dining hall like everyone else. Well, there were two guards who stood by in a distance of course. Ever since the incident with Snow's guards, mother has told two of her own guards to closely follow me. I couldn't say that I was comfortable with it, but given her anger at Snow, I didn't dare interfere. 

"Daniella, sweetie."

I jumped at the voice but turned around to see grandma standing there in a lovely dark blue satin dress. I gave her a quick curtsy and beamed, "Hi, grandma." 

"I see you've brought a basket along with you."

"I thought we might be able to have a picnic. There's a nice little pavilion inside the hunting grounds. It's a little walk from the palace, but we'll get there soon."

"Whatever you want, darling," she replied as she came forward and tucked a piece of stray hair behind my ear. Then, she waved her hand and the basket disappeared. "Oh, I took it to the pavallion, ready for us when we arrive."

"Thanks," I murmured. Then, grandmother put her hand around me and we started to walk. I was nervous that someone would see us so I asked, "Umm, what if someone sees you? They'll know that the Queen of Hearts is in the Enchanted Forest. Shouldn't you be disguised as Anastasia right now?"

She chuckled and replied, "No one from the Enchanted Forest recognises me as my Wonderland counterpart. Tell me, prior to the curse, if you walked into a village without any guards, without the royal crest on the tack of your horse, would anyone have recognised you as the princess?"

I shook my head and argued, "But they wouldn't because they only knew I existed one year ago."

"No, it's because they simply wouldn't know unless they've seen you. I wasn't in Storybrooke either, and I...well, I don't exactly look very much like your mother. She has taken more of her father's features. Besides, I don't believe many know that we are related."

I laughed, "I don't think they do. But Snow and her family does. It's annoying really. They think we're some kind of cult whose aim is to destroy everyone." Then, I lowered my voice and grumbled, "Even Henry thinks in that way, it's dumb."

"Daniella, we will deal with that soon enough. Just enjoy this time away from the palace and all those peasants running around. Honestly, I cannot believe Regina is letting the Charmings have their way with who is allowed onto these grounds."

With that, we ended up talking about trivial things as we walked through the hunting grounds. Every now and then, we heard rustle and there would be tiny movement in between the trees. Then, a deer would peek out its head. I personally didn't really understand why people like shooting animals for fun. According to mother, the King used this as a means of boasting to his important officials and generals. It must have been true for he had many heads on display in his chambers. I know I have furs on my bed but at least I'm using it for a purpose. Besides, to have a row of animals heads staring down from the walls....

That's when I thought about Accalia. I missed her and I have no idea where she was. "Grandma? Do you know how to track animals?"

She looked at me with wide confused eyes. "Track them?"

I looked down and replied, "I...well, mother's court huntsman had a wolf, and her name is Accalia. She used to be my companion but she's not wild, I swear! I mean, she is wild in that, she enjoys killing, but she's harmless to us. Mother said that she was in Storybrooke but she never turned up after the curse broke. Would she have been transported back here with us?"