Thunderbolt of Laurels

Chapter 2: A Small Encounter

"Is that princess Alaura?" the dwarf asks.
"Uh perhaps. . ." I reply. It's not directly a lie. The dwarf stares at me, examining me.
"Woah!" he says, under his breath. I arch my eyebrow. "I mean, it's nice to meet you."
"Likewise. So who are you exactly?"
"He's Merlin. He and his friends have been helping me," Red Shoes says.
"Friends? There's more of him? How many?" My question is answered for me when six other little tiny green creatures come running towards us. "Red Shoes! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" one of them asks her, the one in red with blue eyes.

"I'm alright Arthur," she says.
"I'm so glad you're okay, I—" he trails off when he sees me. In fact, they all stare at me.
"Um, do I need to use my bow?"
"No, no, no. Don't worry about them, they're kind of weird," Red Shoes says.
"We're just admiring two beautiful princesses," Merlin says.
"She's a princess too? That's great!" the short one with red curly locks exclaims.
"Why exactly? And who are you guys?"

They all introduce themselves. Han's, the one with red hair. Jack, the blonde. Arthur, the brunet with blue eyes and Pino, Noki and Kio, the triplets. "Are you guys a fan club for the Fearless Seven?" I laugh.
"That makes sense, since they have the same names," Red says and laughs with me. The dwarfs look at each other.
"Yeah, sure. We'll go with that," Arthur says.
"So what's a girl like you doing in these woods?" Merlin asks.
"First off, what do you mean a girl like me?"
"Well, you're a princess. A beautiful princess," Hans states.
"If you say so," I reply.
"Not as beautiful as Red Shoes," Arthur whispers to the dwarfs, but I hear him and roll my eyes.
"I ran away from home. And I'm not going back."
"What were you doing in the woods Red?" Arthur asks her.
"I thought I saw my father, turns out it was just that big bunny," she says.
"Your father?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm looking for him. He disappeared and I need to find him."
"I can help you," I say.
"Where are you staying?" Jack asks.
"No where. I think I might stay in the woods a few more days and go to an inn in a nearby village."
"You can stay with us. Red Shoes is staying as well, you can bunk with her," Merlin says. I hesitate. Do I really want to stay with these strangers? They seem harmless, and it's kind of nice to meet new people.
"If that's alright with her," I say.
"Of course," she replies.
"It's settled, Alaura stays with us!"

We travel back towards their home, the dwarfs dragging Chonkers behind them. I hope I'm alright making the choice to trust them. "Oh by the way, do any of you guys know what happened to the F7? Since you're all fans and all," I ask.
"Nope, they just vanished," Jack says.
"Gone," Kio adds.
Merlin scratches his head. "No one knows what happened to them. All we can hope is that they return sometime soon," he says.
"Yeah. I hope so. Or I'll go looking for them."
"No! You don't want to do that!" I arch my eyebrow at him.
"I mean. . .the F7 have to come back sometime right? Give them time."
"It's been a year since they were last seen," I counter.
"Just put your trust in them. I know they'll be back soon." I nod, wanting to believe him. "Why do you want them anyway?"
"Oh uh, don't worry about it. I just wanted to talk to them, yeah," I say nervously. It's not any of their business why I want to find them. Plus, it's not a priority. Maybe fate was meant to keep us apart, just how I kept us apart years ago.

"Ta da!" Merlin exclaims.
"It's cute," I admit. Their house resembles a castle. Very stylish. When I walk in, everything's super small, like all the furniture shrunk. "Cozy in here."
"It's small I know, but we're small," Arthur says. I snicker.
"I'm exhausted, I'm going to get some sleep," Red says.
"Me too," I agree. "Thanks so much for letting me stay here. You guys are great. I'm trusting you, and if you guys do anything I have my bow and arrows," I warn them. Merlin laughs nervously.
"You wouldn't use them on us. We're small and adorable, right Red?"
"Of course you are. Alaura was just kidding, right?"
"No I'm not."
"Okay then, let's get you upstairs," she says and grabs my arm pulling me up the stairs.
"There's something weird about those guys," I say. "Something they're not telling us."
"You noticed that too?" she says. "I feel I can trust them though. Maybe they can't tell us."
"Or they don't want to."
We get inside the room. Red goes to sit on her bed and I put my bag and bow onto my bed. I take off my torn cloak, revealing my light icy blue skirt, which flow right below my knees and white top. The swirl designs in the top of my dress are the same colour as my skirt. My absolute favorite dress that I own. I let my dark black hair loose and it falls down to my waist. This room has two beds and there's only one other room up here, does that one have all seven of their beds? These one's don't seem to have been used for a while.

"So why did you run away?" Red asks me.
"I was living a life I didn't want. Being forced to do things I didn't want. I want freedom, adventure, a life." Someone knocks on the door. I go over to open it.
"Hello ladies. I was wondering if you would care to join me in putting on face masks. I know you both said you're tired but it would help you relax," Jack says. His face white with a face mask sheet covering it.
"I think we're good for now. Thanks Jack," I say and close the door.
"But it's important to care for your skin!" he yells. I look over at Red Shoes who looks like she's about to burst. When we hear his footsteps fade, we let out the laughs we were holding in. We laugh hard.