[Music Recommendation: 6.6 Gigue ~ Peter Gregson and Richard Harwood]

Freya groaned, touching the side of her head that was bleeding. She didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, but the sun was now overhead, and her whole body ached from the fall. She tried to stand up, but her leg was stuck on something, and when she tried to move it, she winced.

She saw blood gathered at her ankle; she had sprained it badly. Freya moved her body slowly, trying to move the stone away from her leg when she touched something wet and sticky. She was going to write it off as mud water, but when she raised her hand, it was covered in blood.

"Ah!" Freya gasped. It was then she turned to see the other body not far from her and another one close by. If she was just scared before, now she was terrified. She wanted to go home. She saw the servant uniform and knew that they were from the palace.

"Help..." Freya cried with a small voice, but she thought about the killer still lurking in the woods, so she stopped shouting and decided to free her leg first, then find a way to run back to the palace and let Princess Oriana know what happened. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Freya pushed the rock, but the more she did, the tighter it became, and she was getting really tired. She stopped struggling and relaxed to retain the little energy she had left. She found a broken twig on the side. Freya held on to it. It wasn’t going to do much, but she needed to be able to defend herself if anything came.

Just then, a distant howl was heard, and she threw the stick away, looking for where to hide, but there was no way for her to move. Freya resigned to her fate, sitting alone in the cold woods beside two lifeless bodies and with a broken leg. What was the worst that could happen?

The worst happened when Freya heard footsteps. She stopped moving just in case it was the killer or a wild animal. She heard a female voice say,

"Mother, I’m telling you right now. Inviting the other princess is of no use," Jasmine said to her mother, pushing a leaf off her gown. They had been arguing since they entered the forest.

Gwen stopped walking and looked at her daughter. "I told you, it’s going to work. I won’t invite their father this time."

Jasmine sighed. "I hope it really works because I’m tired of that Princess Oriana acting like she is Queen already."

Freya gulped. Even if she had wanted to ask for help before, she couldn’t possibly do that now. Also, the younger woman’s voice sounded very familiar, something she had heard somewhere.

"Let’s leave this forest. I’m tired of this stupid hunting," Gwen cursed under her breath before leaving.

Jasmine looked around the forest. "Is anyone there?" she asked, looking around like she had seen something.

Freya held her hand over her mouth, leaning back so she wouldn’t be seen. She finally remembered the voice. It was the woman the personal guard was with that day. She gulped. If she found out, they might actually get rid of her in the forest. It meant the guard was having an affair with the princess. She swallowed hard.

"Mother!" Jasmine shouted. "Wait for me. This place has an eerie vibe." She shuddered before running after her mother.

Freya let out a sigh of relief when the princess passed. She tried again to push away the stone. She needed to leave before someone else walked by. Also, she needed to let Princess Oriana know what they were plotting against her.

Meanwhile, Rowan and the boys continued searching for Freya. Just a few minutes after they had left, they came out and saw that the girl was no longer there. He initially thought she ran back to the palace, but that couldn’t be the case, as this was her first time in the woods. It was difficult to find your way if you hadn’t been in it before.

"What if a wild animal has eaten her already?" Kai asked with a serious face, his eyes still scanning the area.

Walter nudged his brother. "Kai, she’s too slim. The wild animal won’t want her," he added.

Rowan chuckled as he listened to the boys. They weren’t far from the truth. The girl was so tiny, with eyes that always darted from side to side. And her skittish movement was akin to that of a hamster. What he didn’t know was why she was so scared of him. Even Walter had picked up on that. Earlier, when Walter asked to go take a pee, the girl tightened her grip on his hand, and her hand was so cold and small. He’d decided to help out and take the boys. He didn’t know she wouldn’t be able to stay all alone.

"If Auntie Freya gets missing, you’re the reason. She was running away from you," Walter pointed out, narrowing his eyes at Rowan.

Rowan smiled, touching the boy’s head gently. "I’m sure she is not missing, yet," he said the last word softly. He was also worried about the girl because her survival instinct was zero. She carried a stick to a hunting game. Rowan stopped walking when his ear picked up something. He turned to the boys.

"Shh..." he placed his finger on his lips, and they stopped walking. Then he walked quietly towards the other side of the forest. There she was, looking very tiny, trying to move something away from her leg. Rowan’s eyes followed her movement. That was when he saw that she was stuck. He was about to jump down and help her when Walter held him back.

"I have a plan. Let’s scare her a little," Walter suggested with a wild grin. He whispered something into Rowan and Kai’s ears. Then moved back and started shouting,

"Auntie Freya," Walter shouted.

When Freya heard Walter’s voice, she was so relieved. She raised her hand, shouting back, "Walter, look over here. I’m here," but the boy continued to call her name.

"Auntie Freya, where are you?" he shouted as they walked down to where Freya was, almost passing her.

Freya waved her hand. "I’m here. Walter, can’t you see me? Kai?" The first thought Freya had was that she had turned into a ghost and they couldn’t see her. She burst out crying. How was it that she died just like that, but she could still feel pain?

Rowan turned when he saw the girl crying. He touched Walter’s head. "Enough of the game, Walter. You scared her." He walked towards Freya, sitting on his heels in front of her.

Freya didn’t stop crying. She thought of her father and how he would be left all alone in the world without her. Most importantly, she didn’t want to die yet.

"You can stop crying now. Walter was only teasing you," Rowan said with a cold voice, looking at her leg and checking how to free her.

Freya touched her chest. "But am I dead?" she asked with a shaky voice. "Can you see me?" She couldn’t stop crying.

Walter stood where he was, the smile on his face faltered. He didn’t know his joke had been so extreme, and he now felt bad. He ran to Freya and hugged her closely.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I was only joking. Please don’t cry, Auntie Freya," he hugged her tightly.

Freya felt so emotional with the boy’s action and words, and she started bawling her eyes out again without minding who was in front of her. All her defenses melted down at that moment.

"Walter...I was so scared. I missed you..." She held the boy, forgetting all the pain and fear she had felt earlier. It was now replaced with comfort.

Rowan stared lazily at the girl as she cried loudly with her mouth open. He took the opportunity to move the stone away from her leg. She didn’t feel the pain, but he saw how injured her leg was. He removed the band from his head and used it to tie her leg up while she continued crying. After he was done, he stood up and saw Kai looking at something with deep interest.

"What are you looking at?" he walked up to where the boy was standing. There were two dead bodies.

Kai pointed. "I think they were murdered," he said with a cool voice, still looking at the bodies like it was nothing.

Rowan narrowed his eyes. He wondered what had happened in the forest, sensing that it was time to leave. He walked back to the girl and carried Walter up.

"Close your eyes, Walter," he said, and the boy obeyed. He was still too young to witness death, while Kai was comfortable with anything. It wasn’t the same with Walter. He turned to Freya.

"Can you walk?"

Freya pressed her lips, drying her tears with her hand. She tried to stand, but it wasn’t easy as the pain in her ankle caused her to fall back.

Rowan got on his knees, with Walter in front. He said to Freya, "Get on my back. We need to leave here now."

Freya was too exhausted to complain. She felt pity for the guard, but she didn’t want to stay here anymore. She quickly got on his back, with her leg straddling him and then Walter’s leg on her body. It was an uncomfortable position, but she had to bear with it. It was better than being let alone again.

"Go ahead. I will bring the weapons and her shoe," Kai suggested, helping Rowan with the loads, and together they left the forest.