Edrick
I watched as Moana's head of red hair slowly faded into the distance. She seemed to stop and look over her shoulder before stepping into the treeline, with Kat following secretly at a distance.
From where I was standing, I could still see her as she began to wander around the entrance to the forest.
Just one day ago, I wouldn't have let her go out like that. But I had a constant patrol keeping watch around the entire perimeter of the property where anyone could feasibly get in, I had patrolled the whole property myself just last night, and I sent Kat along with Moana to keep an eye on her.
If my father was going to try to get at Moana, it would certainly be near impossible for him to accomplish. And besides... keeping Moana cooped up would only make her more likely to be in danger.
"Daddy?"
I was suddenly snapped out of my deep thought by the sound of Ella's voice. I didn't realize it, but I must have been staring out the window for quite some time while I was stuck in my deep train of thought.
"Yes, Princess?" I asked, turning to face her. She had a book in her hands, and she held it out to me. Her hair was messed up and she was a bit out of breath, like she had just run inside after playing out on the lawn.
"Will you read me a story?"
Smiling, I took the book out of her hands. The cover was old and worn, with no text or design on it; I honestly had no recollection of ever seeing a book like it before and wondered where she found it, but I figured that children often had mysterious ways of exploring shelves and finding random things, so maybe it was just tucked away in a place where I forgot about it.
"Sure," I said. It looked like it would rain soon, so I didn't mind. Maybe by the time I finished reading to Ella, Moana would have returned from her walk and we could do something together as a family.
Ella grinned and grabbed my hand, leading me over to the armchair by the window. I sat down and let her crawl up into my lap, then wrapped my arm around her and cracked the old book open.
The inside was just as dusty as the outside.
"Are you sure you want this one, Ella?" I asked, making a face at all of the dust. "We have lots of books."
Ella shook her head. "I want this one," she insisted, pushing her lower lip out in an irresistible pout. "Please? Pretty please?"
I sighed and finally relented, although my fingers were already black from handling this seemingly ancient book. I flipped to the next page, where the story immediately began. There was no cover page, and no title to be seen anywhere.
"Once upon a time," I read, deciding that it wasn't worth arguing about and that I could make something up if the story got strange, "there was an old man who lived all by himself."
A strange premise for a kids' book, I thought to myself, but kept reading.
"The old man didn't have any friends, and he didn't have any family. He never got married, and he never had children of his own. In fact, the children in the little village that he lived in were afraid of him, as they saw his worn-out old house at the end of the street as being a cursed place... Are you sure you want me to read this, Ella? Won't you have nightmares?"
Ella shook her head. "Keep reading, daddy."
"Alright... The old man didn't mind being all alone, though, because he was working on something. You see, the old man was a skilled craftsman, and he was visited one night by a guardian spirit who told him that he had to make something very special: a golden knife... with a wolf's head on the handle..."
As I read the story, I felt my hands start to shake and my eyes widened. I nearly dropped the book as a lump grew in my throat.
That knife was the knife that Moana had dreamed of... The knife that would kill the Golden Wolf.
"Daddy?" Ella asked, tilting her head back to look up at me with her big eyes. "Why did you stop reading?"
I shook my head to snap out of it. It was just a story, and it was a somewhat common one. It was only a coincidence that Ella found it in our extensive library here at the mansion.
"Sorry," I said. "I'll keep reading... The old man worked hard every day to make the knife. He didn't know why he was tasked with making it or what it would be used for, only that it was extremely important..."
Suddenly, I had a thought. "Ella?" I asked. "Where did you find this book?"
Ella paused for a moment, then tilted her head back again and looked up at me.
"I didn't find it," she said matter-of-factly.
I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You didn't find it in the library here?"
Ella shook her head. "No."
Now, I just felt confused. Surely this had to be a game that she was playing. "Where did you get it, then?" I asked quietly.
Ella simply shrugged. "Grandpa gave it to me."
Suddenly, I snapped the book shut as my throat felt as though it would close up. "When did he give this book to you?" I asked. I didn't recall my father giving Ella any gifts recently. He never gave her anything for her birthday or Christmas.
Ella seemed hesitant, but I urged her again, and she finally admitted the truth.
"Just now, while I was playing outside. He was behind a tree. But he told me not to tell you, so promise that you won't tell him that I didn't listen."
All of a sudden, I felt my heart leap out of my chest. My father was here? How? Our patrol was airtight... There was no way that he could have gotten through without being seen. I thought that surely Ella was playing a joke on me.
Without thinking, I suddenly threw the book to the floor and stood, setting Ella down on the ground. I grabbed her firmly by both shoulders and looked deep into her frightened eyes.
I didn't see any hint of a joke or a prank behind her eyes. Just fear and confusion.
I knew, then, that this was all real. This book... It wasn't just a coincidence.
It was a taunt.
"I'm sorry, daddy," Ella whimpered, her lower lip quivering. "Please don't tell grandpa that I didn't keep my promise—"
"Ella, I'm so glad that you didn't listen to him and you did a good job," I said, feeling my voice shake. "Did you see where he went after that?"
Ella nodded slowly. What she did next horrified me to my core.
She pointed out toward the forest with her small finger, where I last saw Kat and Moana walking...
And when I painstakingly followed her finger and looked out into the pouring rain, my mate and her bodyguard were no longer anywhere to be seen.