CARDIGAN, acotar ¹

chapter three

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CHAPTER THREE

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FROST AND STARLIGHT waltzed upon the low-lying mists nipping at her heels as she waded through the forest. wintertime had long turned the ancient woodland into a wonderous labyrinth—where one oak tree clearing ended, another began.

it was an infinite puzzle stretched upon acres of land, one that was only ever unsolvable during this time of year.

carson swore, low and cold, while glaring at the snow slowly reaching upon her knees. she would much rather be dozing in front of the fireplace, or drinking hot cocoa as she curled up in her bed—but here she was ... gathering logs in the dead of winter, using an axe she'd stolen off the mandray family just to spite them.

above, clouds soared upon the storm sky as light bled through their foggy mist to kiss the tallest of tree tops. the early moon obscured the forest clearing, yet not even its beams could spare the forest from darkness.

all of carson's annoyed—and heavily vulgar—complaints about it all died in the rich wind passing. only silence stretched throughout the land.

her arms ached as she hauled the axe over her head, right before sending it harshly upon the log, cutting it clean in two.

carson used the sleeve of her jacket to wipe away the cold sweat trailing down her temple. gods, she hated winter. even as a child, she had longed for the warmer seasons, where she could lay out on the grass and let the sun kiss her skin. endless days of summer had been spent swimming in lakes, running around acres of lands with her sisters, and staying up until the sun finally declared its farewell.

with a light smile just thinking of it, she hefted the log into her sore arms before throwing it over to the forest line, joining the small pile.

her knees buckled beneath her, and her arms were aching, begging to rest before she bundled the wood together and headed home. wisely, she listened. ice seeped into her clothes as she gave no care and rested upon the surface of snow, sighing tiredly and loudly into the melody of nature.

she was perhaps just a few blurry-eyed blinks from falling asleep when all of a sudden, the silence broke. not in a way that sounds danced and frenzied but rather went unusually quiet, as if a strange feeling had washed upon the wind. the breeze no longer brushed her cheeks, and the snow falling upon her hair and lashes had paused, too.

carson stilled, sensing a presence behind her.

she flipped herself over and reached for her axe, while trying to track the pair of golden eyes shining from the forest shadows.

a wolf.

at first, she thought she was his prey, but movement in the corner of her vision told her otherwise. her small breaths clouded in front of her as she watched a small doe tear bark from a tree, chewing slowly. the wolf's eyes never left its prey, so carson figured she would take her chances.

she didn't dare breath too loudly or harshly, only ever balanced in times like these. dragging the blade of her axe through the snow, she crawled from her position on the ground before standing tall. that was before she realized that the wolf had moved, and the gold eyes that gave his cover away disappeared.