The Deathly Scream - 𝟙

༒ Fifty-nine ༒

'That is probably the most dangerous thing you could say right now', I whisper confused which makes him smile a little.

'Rosa, my family has always admired you because of your strength. The whole village knew about that even before the Selection had started. I have been in love with you for many years, only by the way you are'. A tear runs down my face when I try to look away but he holds me in place, putting a lock of my hair behind my ear.

'I am madly in love with the princess standing in front of me', he whispers eventually.

'I don't understand what I'm feeling', I admit distraught which makes him laugh soft. Pure honesty on his face.

'I won't force you to have feelings for me. But only the fact that you came this night and risk all of this makes it pretty clear'.

'I do feel something. I just don't understand it', I admit soft, not wanting to hurt his feelings or mine. This moment was a dream coming true, much realer than the stupid visions I always have. This was my life, and I had to be able to make my own choices no matter what people thought about me.

'Love is complicated', he gives me a vague smile and for one second I thought he would kiss me. But then he walks back a little, our faces not as close as before when he takes my hand in his.

'If one day you understand your feelings, I'll be here waiting for you', he finally says. I walk over to fall in his arms, my emotion uncontrolled when my head leans against his shoulder. His hands hold around my waist, softly he leans his head against mine. I could stand here for the rest of my life, safe in his arms under a warm sunset. It all seemed to perfect.

'You should show me how to hunt deer', Cameron whispers in my ear after a while and I start laughing. A most honest laugh after all the trouble I got myself in. We release each other, as if nothing has happened but we both can feel the different atmosphere, although his time it was better.

'Watch me', I say more confident and take an arrow and my bow out of the leather bag. There was no wind and for the first time in months, it seemed that more deer showed themselves as usually.

I lay my arrow on my bow, trying to keep my focus when he looks at me and release the arrow with a lot of strength. I missed it by only a few centimetres when the deer jump on the rock, realising I was back.

'Almost', I say annoyed which makes Cameron smile.

'Well, I am impressed.' I give him a sarcastic look and take another arrow, not able to hide a smile when I shoot the next one and it hits a deer right in the side. Cameron claps in his hands, completely stunned about what he has seen.

'Tell me princess, why do we hunt deer?'

'Decades ago we used to hunt the normal humans, but my Great-grandfather stopped that. He thought it was cruel, besides the body's spread a horrible smell around the castle', I explain quickly and take another arrow.

'You are joking, right?' Cameron asks, his eyes widening a little.

'I wish', I glance and he carefully watches me when I shoot another time, but miss again. The deer were afraid by now.

'Why arrow and bow?' He asks curious. I sigh, thinking back of the moment I realised who I wanted to be. Tears appearing in my eyes again.

'One time I was outside the castle and I saw a woman in the village riding a horse while holding her arrow and bow. I've never seen something like that before. I tried it a few times but I couldn't do it, I didn't have technique', my voices softens a little when I think back of the time I still used to have a loving family.

'Then my mother told me not to give up, she had so much faith in me. I could become whoever I wanted to be'.

'Do you remember a lot about her?' Cameron sits down on the wall, our first serious conversation of that night taking place.

'Not really, only the important things I guess.' I raise my shoulders a little. The last thing I had expected to happen tonight was talking about my mother, and Cameron could see that it hurt me more than I thought.

'Can I try?' He changes the subject and looks at my bow. I give it to him quickly, glad that we would act normal again.

'How do you even point this thing?' he says confused and I laugh through the tears in my eyes when I walk over to him.

'Let me help you. Your left arm a little higher and your right more to the back. Once you see your target you release.' I hold both his arms for a moment, feeling his safe warmth again and step back.

'I don't think I can do this', he notices but releases the arrow after a few seconds.

'Are you trying to kill the deer or my bow?' I laugh when he gives me my bow back, the expression on his face reminding me on how disappointed I was when I tried this the first time.

'It wasn't that bad for a first time'. We both laugh and realise how late it already must be when the sun is almost completely under. The garden lit up only by the flowers around us.

'We should go', I remark and I can see by the look in his eyes that he is as disappointed as I am. Instead of using the double doors behind us we walk through the other gardens on our way to the main entrance of the castle. You could call it a detour, but we enjoyed ourselves a lot.

The staff of the castle bowed again in a proper way for me and only for a second I feel free from all the bad things that have happened over the years. But the moment we walk up the stairs towards the gate, the façade of the castle gets lit up by a vague orange colour.

Cameron and I turn around in a rush, staff of the castle running towards us, grabbing us tight and yelling that we should go inside when in the village a huge fire raises up.

The war was starting, and it was all because of me.