The heartless princess (1)

Chapter 2 - Black

She could have killed us both, her gun fell on the furniture and a bullet went through one of her pillows. Her body collapses in my arms, she weighs nothing, I carry her on my shoulder, pulling on her dress to cover her bouncing buttocks. I'll stuff her later, I've got other things to do for the moment. I take her to the Seven and go back to work.
I don't use the gates to get out of the castle, with the number of guards and the number of guests, I'll quickly be spotted and arrested. A touch of magic and I find myself at the entrance to the Wonder Forest. I rest the princess against a tree to stretch my back. I take the opportunity to admire her features and empty a can of soda.
There's no doubt that she's Snow White's little girl, they look exactly alike: brunette, beautiful natural curls hidden beneath the artificial ones, fine eyebrows, hazel eyes, rosy cheekbones and pronounced abs. There's nothing shocking about her being called the Palace slut - she's got an athletic body and knows how to use it.
I telephone one of the Seven and tell him I'm coming; if there are no obstacles in my way, it will take me about an hour to get there. He answers with a grunt, so I hang up and move a lock of hair from in front of the princess's eyes when a little girl dressed in red with beautiful golden hair greets me.
" Hi, I'm Paris. Your friend doesn't look well."
" She hasn't eaten properly this evening and she's a bit ill. I'll let her sleep for a bit. Isn't it late for you to be going out on your own?"
She's not the first little girl I've seen at the entrance to the forest, I've already met twins there, a beautiful little blonde without an adult and a little boy who wanted to give some honey to his friend. They never came out again, pieces of them have been found, but never the whole children.
" I'm going to see my grandmother, she's waiting for me, can you come with me?"
" I can't, I have to look after her. Watch out for the wolves, they're hanging around here at the moment. Aren't you scared of the big bad wolf?"
" I'm not scared of anything."
All nice girls say they're not scared of anything and end up being someone's fear. April has never been a good girl, she doesn't scare anyone but her fears are well guarded. I've been watching her for a long time, I know her fear of syringes like I know her fear of oceans and seas.
" So you'd better hurry, they're forecasting rain around one in the morning." I smile as I bang my fist into hers to say goodbye. "Here, give this apple to your grandmother."
I rub the green apple on my shirt, find a place for it in its little wicker basket and set off again. She blends into the most dangerous forest in the kingdom as if she were immortal. Her courage impresses me, too bad for her, I whistle, attracting the wolves of the forest. Crow and Sky, enticed by the smell of fresh meat, soon join me.
In their human form, they are far more terrifying than in their animal form. Both six feet tall, built like gladiators with their dark skins and clean-shaven heads, they would make April's head spin if she wasn't in another world for the next twelve hours. They sniffed around and set their dark eyes on the princess.
" Have you brought us a present, Hunter?"
Crow crouched down in front of the princess, brushed his fingertips against her necklace and stepped back, burnt by the silver jewellery. He brings his fingertips to his lips so I call him to order.
" Not her. She belongs to me, there's a kid up to eight years old who's going to see her grandmother, I gave her an apple. You're not eating deer tonight."
" I prefer her. With a body like that, I'll enjoy myself before dinner."
I take out my dagger and point it in his direction as I wedge myself between him and April.
" The royal blood is mine, I'll bring you supper, be happy."
" Last time, you brought us three big, fat pigs. Today you've brought us a couple of little girls and tomorrow, what's in it for us?" Crow asks, gripping my blade despite the burn on his skin. "I'll gladly devour you if I'm asked to, Hunter."
" Only you would dare kidnap and drug the princess. Call me when the palace demands your death. I hope it will be public." Sky adds before cracking every bone in his body and transforming into a gigantic, beautiful black wolf.
He runs into the forest while Crow leans against a stone, still naked. The wolves have no interest in wearing clothes, so they don't and wander naked between the trees
" What are you going to do with her?"
" I'm taking her to the Seven while I sort out some unfinished business. Why are you interested in her?"
Crown only thinks with his belly and his dick.
" I wonder what you'd do with her, last time I checked you prefer things cold and she looks hot."
I'm not flinching, he's got to go, I've got an appointment in fifty minutes and I'd like to get there on time, otherwise the orphan will be grumpy again and I particularly hate it when he grumbles.
" Why don't you go hunting with Sky?"
" I'm not very hungry tonight and a princess always comes before a good dinner."
He'll settle for his brother's leftovers just so he can contemplate April for a few minutes. I throw my can in the bin and take the princess on my shoulder to cross the forest.
I zigzag to avoid branches and bits of food. A stench of rotting flesh has filled the air since my last visit. There's a rotting corpse somewhere and a smell of burnt skin that's actually more like barbecued meat.
Everything seems to be going well here!
The wolf is following me closely, worse than a guard dog. Crow is leading me, his belly screaming for food. He'll do anything to get a taste of meat right now, but he stays with me without saying a word.
" You're stressing me, go ahead and lead the way if you want to make yourself useful."
The wolf overtakes me and guides me towards the orphans' home, taking me along narrow paths and roads blocked by the wilderness. I gain ten minutes when I reach the door.
The advantage of travelling with a man who spends his life in the wilderness is that he knows all the shortcuts by heart. The Seven live at the edge of the forest, close enough to hunt and feed but far enough from the castle to live away from society.
I knock on the door and it opens to reveal the grumpiest of the orphans. Judging by the beads of sweat on his chest and the blood on his hands, I'm interrupting something. He rolls his eyes, kicks the door open and goes to wash his hands before pointing to a room. I drop the princess into the lot and leave the room with a grumpy frame and his friends.
I dump him on the kitchen, noticing the piece of beef he was cutting up. With a piece like that, he could feed the whole orphanage. Instead, he gives Crow a piece and puts the rest in the fridge. His right-hand man, Kane, intrudes on our conversation with a cigarette between his lips.
"Crow, to what do we owe the honour of your presence here?"
"I wanted to wish you a happy birthday, so when I heard the hunter was coming here, I went with him."
None of the orphans know the exact date of his birth; they know the year and the month, but they celebrate him on the fifteenth of the month. He hugs the wolf, his bleached white hair making him look older than he really is.
" Black, what's up?"
" He's brought another one, so I'm waiting for him to give the full list of rules before I kick him out." replies the dark-haired man, rinsing off his knife. "First name?"
Grumpy's in a foul mood tonight, I've known him to be in better shape and more respectful.
" Her name is April."
Kane swivels slowly towards the butcher as I uncap a beer.
" But still?"
" You have to keep her for two months, I've got important business, I'd like to find her alive and with all her preferred limbs."
They didn't keep the last girl I entrusted to them for very long. Within two weeks, she'd been killed because she didn't please Grumpy. It should be OK this time.
"Why? Because you don't torture a princess."
"Because you don't torture a princess." Kane retorts to his friend. "Am I wrong?"
This one knows everything about everything and I like him as much as fire likes water.
" Yes, you do. Where's everyone else? I might as well repeat the rules just once."
" They're sleeping, let them sleep. I spent hours putting them to bed because they were so upset, so throw away the rules. I'll be happy to repeat them in the morning." Barks the dark-haired boy sharply.
" OK, Daddy." I sigh, "the rules remain classic, you don't kill her, you don't cut anything off, you don't let her go, you don't provide her with fags, you don't serve her alcohol, you don't give her weapons and above all you don't touch her. None of you will put your hands on her, none of you will kiss her, none of you will fuck her. Have I made myself clear?"
I have no doubt that these two will respect the rules. I have less confidence in the one who makes fun of everything, the simpleton and the one who is permanently ill. Grumpy asks Mr Know-it-all to go and change April. Kane obeys the others, closes the door and adds clothes to the princess. He emerged twenty minutes later with the see-through dress.
" Shall I leave it with you or shall we keep it? It's pretty but it doesn't cover much."
" Give it to me, I'll take it with me to the Middle Kingdom."
I put the dress in my rucksack, took a sip of beer and looked at the two orphans. Crow smiles, washes his plate and heads for the bathroom.
" He's got free access to your house now?"
" He'll have a shower and spend the night in Lane's room, it happens every week. If Lane lets him come then why not let him have a shower. He smells like wet dog."
" I hear you." growls the wolf from the bathroom.
He slams the door and I finish my beer and put it in the bottle bank. I crack my neck, then my back.
" I'll be back in two months and I want her in one piece. If any of you touch her, I'll emasculate you and make Sky and Crow eat your balls."
" We get it, now get out. We don't really want you here and we're getting tired so if you could hurry it would be great."
He kicks me out like a piece of trash. I get out and disappear.