AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He thought me a spoiled, pampered princess. He thought me a pawn in his thirst for revenge. I was neither.
I was his match.
A twig snapped in the distance, whipping my head around. I squinted through the gloom, but saw no one. Nothing but shifting black under layers of white.
Crunch.
I twisted, and locked eyes with two, red glowing orbs.
“Ahh!” I took off running.
Crashing through brush, colliding with trees, kicking up a flurry of snow, screaming my lungs out. I cared not for Alisdair, or if he caught me. All that mattered was getting far away from that creature.
Light emanated ahead, drawing me back toward the village. I huffed and wheezed, making for noise, people, and protection with every last bit of strength in my numb legs. There’d be places to hide in the village. Crowds to lose myself in. Possibly people to take pity on me and give me clothes and shelter until dawn. And, most importantly, there’d be no Taken.
I shoved through two trees and staggered to a stop. I wasn’t in town. On the contrary, I didn’t seem to be anywhere near it, but where I was... was beautiful.
My lips parted, awe stealing my breath—drawing me closer.
Water streamed down the riverbed, making them dance.
“Stars.”
I dropped down at the edge of the bank. Small, glowing, impossible flowers brushed against my knees—their long, delicate petals so featherlight, I barely felt them. They almost resembled sun flowers, though their petals were as long as their stems.
“Starflowers,” I whispered, touching one ever so lightly. Pulling away, I gasped, wondering at my glowing fingertips.
Their gentle light emanated from seeds to stem, and carried down into the roots—making the bank shine. Was this the work of magic, or were these beautiful things made this way by the goddess herself?
Sitting back on my heels, I swept the calm, still clearing.
The trees curved around the river and reached for each other overhead, their branches stretching, reaching, tangling into anatural roof that blocked the falling snow. It was a quiet, pocket world outside of time—outside of war, harm, and the dangers of the night. I don’t know how, but I knew the Taken wouldn’t come here. Such a place was too beautiful for the likes of a beast.
I lit on something to my right, rising at the edge of the clearing.
A bridge.
Carefully, I ripped the hem of my cloak and used the cloth to gather up a handful of starflowers. “Goodbye,” I whispered.
Holding out my natural lantern, I crossed the bridge and stepped onto a path.
I was torn. Wouldn’t Alisdair search for me along the routes that he knew—like this very path? Or did I heed sense, and stay on a path that clearly led somewhere, instead of wandering through the dark and night until I tipped over the cliff into that nest of Taken?
My mind was made for me. Lifting my feet, I stayed on the path.
Where is he? Have I truly lost him?The most feared man in Elva— No, in all of Elvan history, and he couldn’t track down one sniveling, insipid, pampered princess who was lost in the woods.
I couldn’t help but smirk.
A shadow jumped out of the trees. “Ahh!” I flung back, landing hard on my tailbone, and harder still when it landed on my chest—shoving me down. We blinked at each other.
Curious, the rabbit sniffed me—its twitching, little nose tickling my cheek. Was it not used to people, or was it not used to normal fae? It certainly inspected me like I was a new and interesting discovery, and wanted to know if I was edible.
“Hello to you too,” I said softly. Gently, I stroked his soft, fuzzy head—almost smiling when I heard his sweet, grinding purr. “Would you like to come with me? I’m in search of a place to hide from a monster.”
Wings sprouted from his back, trapping another surprised cry behind my teeth. He took off, shooting into the air.
I held up my starflowers to follow him and came eye to eye to eye with a herd of white and gray rabbits, all gazing down at me from the trees. My new friend was clearly the brave one—putting himself forward to check if I was a threat.
