Narcissa and I spent three days following the river, camping out under the stars once night had fallen. Neither of us had the slightest idea of where the fast moving water would take us, but at least we were moving. Hopefully towards the edge of the large forest.
I estimated that we had walked nearly 40 miles west of the Kingdom during our time out here and surely had to be getting out soon. The trees couldn't go on forever.
Nights were still the scariest, although we were acclimating to the strangeness of it all. Smaller animals no longer frightened us and actually became a great comfort as it meant no larger predators were nearby. However, last night the forest had reminded us of its true nature in the most wretched of ways.
Flashback to the night before:
"It's getting cold and my feet hurt. We've been walking for ages. Can't we just go ahead and stop for the night?" Narcissa whined, making me snort at her childish behavior.
"You're such a little princess you know that?" I teased, flashing her a grin over my shoulder that she returned with an unamused glare.
"Yes. I am. So I get to say what we do." She sounded triumphant and I just rolled my eyes, looking around to see if this was in fact an adequate place to spend the night.
"Well I'm sorry to have to tell you this Princess, but out here I'm in charge. If it wasn't for me you'd have either starved, dehydrated, or been eaten by something with an exquisite taste." I heard the other girl release a puff of air angrily, knowing it was true.
"Fine. You are my glorious knight. Here to protect little old me from the big bad monsters. Happy? Now can we stop? I can't take these bloody rocks poking into my feet any longer." I glanced back to see her slightly limping and my expression softened.
"Fine. I brought along an extra pair of my work shoes. They have a thicker sole than your flats do." I dropped my bag on the ground underneath a tree and started rummaging through it.
I tossed Narcissa the pair of basic, brown shoes I used to do the outdoor chores at home, earning a look from the other girl that said, 'seriously'?
"It's those or nothing Princess." She huffed and replaced her own black flats with the hardier work shoes, smiling to herself when they were a perfect fit.
"You couldn't have at least gotten them in pink?" I rolled my eyes again and let out an exasperated sigh. Princesses.
We had grown closer over the last few days, becoming much friendlier with each other and more expressive. I had taken to calling her "princess" when she was acting like a prude, and the girl didn't seem to mind.
We had also taken to subtly flirting, both knowing exactly what we were doing. I knew she liked me, and I had grown to quite like her as well. Narcissa had a much bigger personality than I would have expected from her as the others never showed anything more than a scowl or minuscule smile depending on the situation.
She was also quite beautiful. Sure I had known that already, but as with everyone in the Kingdom I had only admired her from afar. Never would I have thought that I would get to feel how soft her porcelain skin was, or see the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed.
Narcissa had always been the put together, perfect little daddy's girl she was supposed to be when the royal family had visited the village. I would have thought they were crazy had someone told me I would get to gaze upon every inch of this beautiful young woman's body, and meet her authentic self as well.
The girl was certainly not as modest as I would have expected her to be considering her upbringing. After that first day we shared a quick bath in the river she had not hesitated to show herself off every chance that she got.
I knew that's exactly what she was doing too. Showing off what she possessed. Every so often she would catch my eye and smirk, twirling away or swinging her hips to try and get a rise out of me.
I couldn't deny the blush that appeared on my cheeks every time Narcissa did that and every time she would chuckle lowly before returning to her current task.
However, I was guilty of doing the same thing to her a couple of times just to see what she would do. Anytime I did something even slightly provocative I could see a switch in the other girl's eyes, her jaw clenching as she obviously debated with herself what to do.
We had become a sort of game to each other, seeing who would break first and take this newfound relationship to the next level. But for now, we continue the game.
"Same jobs as usual?" The question pulled me from my thoughts, the other girl eyeing me as she waited on an answer.
"Well unless you'd like to try and spear the slippery little bastards we plan to eat, then yeah, same jobs as normal." I chuckled at the eye roll I received from Narcissa, grabbing my makeshift spear and following her to the edge of the water.
While she filled up our canteens and tracked down dry sticks to use for our campfire, I worked on catching us dinner and getting the fire started. We had become a pretty good team, the pious girl taking to the outdoors much quicker than I expected.
After a dinner of fish and bread the two of us waded into the cold water to wash off the day, chatting comfortably as we did so.
"So, what do we actually plan on doing out here? I mean we can't wander forever." Narcissa scrubbed at the dust coating her face.
"I have no clue." I replied with a sigh. "I really and truly don't know. I guess we'll just see where the river takes us, maybe find a road and eventually a town. We can either stay there or if we don't like it we can make some money, restock supplies, and move on. We can be the local travelers." I laughed, grinning.
"Fine by me. This has been much more enjoyable than I could have imagined." Narcissa had a slight blush creeping up her cheeks as she paddled closer to me, our limbs bumping together as we tread water to keep ourselves afloat.
"I have had people waiting on me hand and foot for the entirety of my life. I have never been on my own before, especially out in the wilderness." She paused, eyes darting down for a split second before meeting mine again. "I am the reason you're out here, away from your only family, not even knowing if we'll survive the night. Nonetheless you haven't resented me, you haven't blamed me, you haven't even been angry at all this entire time. Without you, I wouldn't have made it this far. So.. thank you y/n. For everything."
Narcissa's guilty, sad little smile nearly brought tears to my eyes. Her tone was genuine and I brought one hand up to gently cup the other girl's cheek, running the pad of my thumb across her baby soft skin.
"You don't have to thank me love. I made a promise that I'd keep you alive. One which I intend to keep. And to be perfectly honest I've enjoyed your company much more than I expected to. You aren't the stuck up prude I expected you to be." I giggled, trying to lighten up the mood as I never really knew how to respond to such sentiment.
It worked because Narcissa let out a breathy laugh of her own, shaking her head. "And you aren't the average peasant I was always taught about." I quirked an eyebrow at that.
"And what exactly kind of peasant were you expecting?" I had always kind of wondered what the royal family truly thought of their subjects. They had always been respectful enough during the rare occasion they interacted with us, however, there was also an air of prejudice surrounding them, obviously knowing they were better than the rest of us.
"All my life I have been taught that the people of the village were never to be treated as equals, only as servants that did not know they were servants. My parents often referred to them as 'worthless animals' when someone did something to displease them."
I couldn't help the snort that left my nose. "I always knew there was something fishy about the way they acted around us."
"Yes, well, my sisters and I never agreed with our parents views of our Kingdom. We played our part when we were out together but tried our best to befriend the villages without our parents knowledge." I nodded, knowing the three occasionally made an appearance in the town alone and now knowing why.
"You tried to be your own person and that's the best thing you can do. Even if it ultimately went wrong, you stuck by your own morals and while it may not mean much, I'm proud of you Cissy." I smiled at the former princess, another blush creeping onto her cheeks at the use of her nickname.
"You called me Cissy. No one but my sisters has ever called me Cissy." It was obvious that she liked the use of that name as one side of her lips turned up into a crooked grin.
We were mere centimeters apart and I couldn't help my gaze flitting between her round, pink lips and deep brown eyes as I debated whether or not I'd get slapped if I kissed her. The other girl's gaze found my own and she swallowed nervously, inching closer and closer as I did the same.
My eyes instinctively closed alongside hers, our lips just barely brushing together before I was ripped away from the intimate moment by a loud 'crunch' from behind us. I instantly whipped around to peer into the dark forest, eyes narrowing as I searched for the source of the commotion.
Narcissa's nails dug into my shoulders as she hid behind me, chest pressed up against my back as we both searched the tree line for any source of danger. Neither of us spotted movement in the underbrush but stayed uneasy, deciding to quickly get out of the water and get dressed, sitting down in front of the fire with our back to the stream in order to watch our surroundings.
"A deer maybe?" The other girl sounded very unsure of her prediction.
"Yeah maybe." I hoped it was just something as simple as a wandering deer but that little 'crunch' had sounded much more predatory.
Darkness fell around us but neither could even so much as think about sleep, too unnerved by something we couldn't place our finger on. It was several hours before I figured out why exactly I was so distressed by such a small thing and it sent shivers down my spine upon realization.
The forest gave off a pungent smell of pine and wild flowers, a very Earthy smell that coated your senses and very easily hid the scent of both predator and prey. However, my nose now detected an underlying hint of something new.
Something rotting.
I recognized the scent of a fresh kill hanging onto the fur of the creature that had killed it, pinpointing it's origin to one particular bush in the distance. It was there that I now could see the faint glow of small, beady eyes leering at Narcissa and I through the underbrush.
It was lying in wait for the right time to make its move.
I couldn't tell exactly what kind of creature it was from our spot by the water but I knew it was big, the form of the creature barely hidden behind the sparse bush. My heart picked up and my breathing became unsteady but I tried to remain calm so the creature did not realize I knew where it was.
"Cissy." I breathed into the deathly silent air. The small woodland creatures that typically accompanied us had gone silent, fearful of becoming the creature's next meal.
"Yeah?" I knew she could hear the fear in my voice as her eyes quickly scanned my face to see what was the matter.
"We need to go. It's stalking us." I felt the other girl tense beside me as she took in my words. Her gaze darted out into the darkness to try and decipher what exactly "it" was.
"Come on, let's grab the bags and get out of here but be slow and quiet about it." Narcissa nodded and we slowly packed our things, trying not to startle the creature peering at us with interest.
As soon as we had everything we slowly moved off down the stream, making sure to keep an eye behind us. The animal followed behind without making a move, just a shadow lurking amongst the trees.
However, that smell accompanied it and told me exactly where it was. If I could not see the creature I could always smell it and know whether or not we needed to pick up the pace or not.
Narcissa kept a firm grip on my arm, nails digging into the soft skin but I barely felt it. I knew she was just as terrified as I and if I didn't keep myself calm she would be the first to panic.
Suddenly the smell evaporated, leaving me confused and eyes roaming the forest floor in search of any sign of the creature stalking us. Had it given up that easily?
"I think we lost it." I whispered, feeling my body begin to shake in relieved terror. It couldn't have given up that fast could it? We had been a pretty easy target.
No sooner had that thought crossed my mind when the smell returned with a vengeance, this time directly behind us. The horrid stench was accompanied by low growling as the creature made its way towards us. It had circled around to give us the illusion of safety, a tactic which caught me by surprise as it showed intelligence rather than simply instinct.
Narcissa and I slowly turned as one, fearing what we would see in front of us and rightly so. The beast was straight out of my childhood nightmares, standing chest level with me while on all fours. It looked like a massive, dark grey wolf hybrid with glowing yellow eyes peering right through us.
The creature stood its ground without making a move, hackles raised and saliva dripping from the bared fangs mere inches from my throat. My mind was foggy with fear, unable to form a single coherent thought other than that I had to protect the girl at my side.
"Run." I whispered breathily, voice shaking as I stared the creature in the eye. The only response I received was Narcissa's grip on my wrist tightening, refusing to leave my side.
"Run. Now." I repeated a bit more confidently. I would protect this girl with my life and I needed her out of the way if my plan went South which it most likely would.
My eyes darted sideways to meet Narcissa's panicked ones, silently begging me not to make her leave.
"Trust me." I breathed out, pleading with her as I knew the beast's patience was surely wearing thin.
A single tear slid down the other girl's face before she darted off into the forest, the creature trying to follow her. I grabbed onto the coarse fur at the nape of the beast's neck, swinging myself onto its muscular back and gripping its ribs for dear life.
The animal began to twist and turn, trying to drag me off with its teeth but I persevered. With every new movement I could feel myself losing my grip little by little and I knew I would soon end up underneath the creature, giving it the upper hand.
With one hand still entangled in the fur to help me stay on its back, the other fumbled in the bag slung over my own back. I frantically dug for the small knife I had, hoping it would be strong enough to do the job I needed it to.
"Ahhh!" I cried in pain, very nearly falling off the animal as its sharp teeth pierced the soft skin of my calf and left a large gash dripping blood onto the grass below.
I caught the beast's eye as it shredded my skin and I could have sworn I saw a proud smirk cross its features. The putrid smell of death encircled the both of us and I couldn't help but think I would be adding to the scent very shortly.
The white hot, searing pain clouded my senses and I struggled to use any part of my body. It was almost as if the beast had venom in those ugly fangs.
My body slipped to the ground with a hard thud, the animal immediately placing itself over me with saliva dripping onto my face. It burned like fire and I fought to keep my mouth closed lest it poison me after all of this.
Finally my fingers wrapped around the handle of my small knife, fingers numb and barely able to grip it appropriately. The creature opened its jaws with a snarl as it prepared to finish me off, savoring the fear of its victim before making the final blow.
Just as it lunged towards my throat I brought the puny knife up and let the beast impale itself right through the roof of the mouth and into the brain. It let out a shrill whimper at the initial pain but died instantly, body toppling and pinning me underneath it.
I tried my best to wring the saliva off of my hand and handle of the knife, the venomous liquid leaving welts in my skin almost instantly. It took some effort to drag myself out from under the animal as it weighed probably close to 400 pounds but I did it, staring into the now lifeless eyes peering into nothingness.
The rushing water of the river was enough to wash off the excess venom flowing across my skin but I could feel it making its way through my veins from the gash in my leg. I tore a strip of the bottom of my dress and used it as a makeshift bandage just to try and keep the wound clean while traveling.
I knew I had to find Narcissa, and fast, before another one of those things showed up. To say it hurt to walk was an understatement. It felt like I was being ripped apart bit by bit as the poison worked it's way through my body from its origin point.
I knew Narcissa would worry and managed to cover it with my dress and had plenty of time to practice walking normally. Hopefully I could keep this little secret to myself. The blood coating my chest could be chalked up to me killing the beast and the dribbles down the side I could easily use the same excuse. Everything would be fine.
A/N: I'm thinking of moving this story to its own book soon and slowing it down. So for those that are enjoying this one, there will be some sort of announcement on here about that if and when that happens (: