Frost

- Four -

       Claire was lost.

       In truth, she had half-hoped, half-expected, Kilian to follow her, either with the intent to help her, or to try and stop her from going on this fool's errand. When he did neither, she had no choice but to follow through with her impromptu rescue mission alone.

       Now, having been wandering in the forest alone for what felt like hours, Claire couldn't help but wonder if maybe Kilian had been right. The cold wasn't unbearable, but she knew the moment darkness fell it could not bode well for her. Was a silly doll really worth potentially freezing to death? Claire couldn't really explain it, she didn't understand it herself, but something in her heart said yes, it was worth the risk.

       "Where are you, Prince Walnut?" she muttered as she pushed through some low hanging evergreen branches and stepped into a clearing. Her heart skipped a beat and she nearly jumped for joy when she recognized the log she had been banished to the previous evening. In the light of day the clearing seemed much smaller than it had illuminated by the silvery light of the moon. This was where they had 'landed' the night before, so the nutcracker had to be there somewhere.

       Claire canvassed the clearing first, looking for any sign of the doll against the white snow. The sky overhead was clear now, but it had been snowing the night before and there was a chance the doll had gotten covered by a layer of fresh powder.

       Once she was confident the nutcracker was nowhere to be found in the clearing, she extended her search into the surrounding tree line. She walked in a slow circling, expanding outward a little further each time she circled back around to her starting point.

       The longer she searched, the more her initial excitement at finding the clearing began to wane. What if she never found it? What if it had gotten buried beneath the snow, or flung somewhere far from where they had ended up?

       The sound of approaching footsteps jerked her from her thoughts and Claire instinctively ducked behind the sweeping branches of a large evergreen. No sooner had she melted from view than three figures appeared at the far end of the clearing. From where she stood she could tell it was two men of average size and build, though one was taller than the other. At first glance they didn't appear threatening, but upon closer inspection, Claire caught the gleam of metal were the afternoon sun glinted off the weapons they carried.

       As they drew closer to her hiding spot, they slowed and the taller man knelt down as though he were inspecting something in the snow. Claire held her breath, uncertain what it might be that caught their attention. The taller man stood a moment later and began to walk in a strange circular path similar to the one Claire had walked earlier.

       That's when she realized just what it was that had caught the stranger's attention -- her footprints. They'd be all over the clearing, and Claire been so methodic in her search that the footprints would spiral outward until they lead directly to where she was hiding.

       Holding her breath, Claire tried to remain as quiet as possible as she stepped backwards into the trees around her. She kept her eyes fixed on the two men in the clearing, the one remaining in the center, while his companion continued to circle around, following her steps, like a hunter in pursuit of his prey.

       Claire had only gone a few steps when her heel met with a fallen branch and snapped it in two. The sound echoed through the trees and Claire froze, her heart hammering so loudly in her chest she could hear nothing else except the sound of her blood rushing past her ears. When she looked towards the clearing she was surprised to see both men had vanished. While some would have seen this as fortunate, their absence only made Claire that much more anxious. Several moments slipped by where Claire stood in frozen silence, like the statuesque woman of her dreams, simply waiting.