[Music Recommendation: Let’s Run Away Together ~ Johannes Bornlöf]
On the other side of the woods, Freya walked four steps behind, her eyes looking back just in case something or someone decided to attack her. She picked up a stick for protection.
"Kai, what are you planning on hunting today?" Walter asked, holding her brother’s hand. "I think Grandfather would love a deer."
Freya furrowed her brows, wondering how a boy so small would be able to hunt a deer. Maybe Walter was just asking for too much. She touched her neck to get rid of the insect that was crawling on her body.
"Uncle Rowan, are you planning on hunting anything today?" Walter continued. He was obviously the chatterbox in the group, and he didn’t want anyone staying quiet.
Rowan nodded, "I wasn’t planning on hunting before, but now I think I should." When he said this, he turned his head to the side as if looking at the person behind him, but he didn’t.
Freya gulped when she heard this. The conclusion in her head was that she was the prey. She took two more steps back for precaution, gripping her stick tightly.
Walter turned to look at the servant behind them, and he frowned, running to where Freya was. "You shouldn’t stay behind. I heard from Kai that dangerous animals stay here, and they attack when you are alone," he said, dragging Freya forward until they were all standing in the same line.
"This looks like a small family. It’s like Uncle Rowan is the father, and Auntie’s maid is the mother, Kai and I are the children." Walter clapped his hands together, pleased with the little family he had just formed.
Freya almost glared at the little boy, but she stopped herself, praying that the hunting session would end quickly so she could run back to safety. But then Walter stopped walking, holding his jaw like he was deep in thought. Freya prayed desperately for the boy to stop thinking because she knew it wasn’t going to be something nice.
"I think something is missing," Walter started, "Mother is going to hold Father." He reached forward to hold Freya’s hand, and she backed away, removing her hand with fear written all over her face. When she realized what she had done and that everyone was now looking at her, she cleared her throat.
"Sorry, Prince Walter, I-" she didn’t know what else to say, but her heart was beating very fast.
Walter shrugged his shoulders, dragging Freya’s hand. He put it together with Rowan’s. "That’s better. Now I’m going to stay beside Mother and Kai beside Father."
Freya’s palm turned sweaty and cold when Rowan’s hand enclosed hers. For a moment, it felt like her heart stopped beating, and she couldn’t see clearly. To make it worse, she heard Walter ask her.
"Why is your hand so cold?" the small boy asked innocently.
Freya, who was about to lose her mind, racked her brain for what to reply to the boy. She was already stressed and couldn’t think straight.
"We are out in the woods," it was Kai who came to her aid, "and it’s cold out here."
Walter nodded like he had gotten the explanation he wanted. "That’s right, she is cold. We will all keep her warm. What is your name?"
Freya’s teeth were already clenched together. It wasn’t really because of the cold, but it was caused by the fear. She was literally scared at the moment. She turned to look at the young man beside her, who still had no emotions on his face, his deep black eyes looking ahead. Freya nodded, of course, which stone-cold killer ever had emotions for his victims?
"Freya...my name is Freya," she replied in a very low voice.
Walter nodded, "I like your name, Aunt Freya. I must confess, I feel the call of nature."
Freya didn’t know when her grip tightened around Rowan’s palm. When she realized this, she quickly pulled her hand away and turned to look at the small prince. She had always been an only child and didn’t know how to take care of someone else, especially when it’s a boy. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
"Um, Prince Walter..." Freya started, "I will take you-"
Rowan walked over to Walter, ruffling his hair playfully. "I’ll take you. Kai, you too?" he turned to ask Kai, and the boy nodded.
Freya exhaled. This was like the most awkward day of her life, and she couldn’t wait for it to end anytime soon.
"You can stay here alone, right?" Rowan asked without looking at Freya, and she nodded. "Good, let’s go."
Freya watched them walk straight into the forest. She finally let out a sigh of relief. Standing alone and getting her mind straight was what she needed at the moment. She found somewhere to sit down with her head on her knees. When she remembered how she had tightened her grip, Freya gave herself a knock.
"Why did you do that?" she muttered, "He will know you get scared easily and come for you soon," Freya continued to beat herself up for her awkward actions.
Minutes passed by, and they had yet to come back. She stood up from where she was sitting, craning her neck to see if they were about to return, but there was nobody; just her alone in the woods. That was when Walter’s words replayed in her mind.
’You shouldn’t stay behind. I heard from Kai that dangerous animals stay here, and they attack when you are alone.’
Freya touched her hair. "Prince Walter?" she called, "Prince Kai?" All she received as a response was her own echo, showing that she was all alone. She went to pick up her stick, ready for defense in case anything should happen. Freya remembered the story of someone who had gone missing in the woods and how they were found dead. Out of fear, she ran towards the direction she saw them go through. The further she walked inside, the thicker and more slippery the forest became.
"Anyone here?" she called. Her heart was beating very fast as she had never been lost before, and the feeling right now was very scary. "Hello?" She tried to retrace her steps, but couldn’t find her way back.
Lost! That was Freya’s first thought. She was lost in the woods at the moment, and nobody knew, especially her father and the princess. Tears started forming in her eyes at the present situation she found herself in.
"Argh!"
Freya’s blood turned cold. It wasn’t her scream, but anyone who had shouted must have been in danger. Out of fear, Freya started running far from the direction she heard the scream come from, not knowing that she was running deeper into the woods. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, she felt someone tap her back.
"Ah!" Freya shrieked, jumping out of her skin, but then she lost her balance and slipped, rolling down the other side of the forest. Her head hit a rock, and she passed out.
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