The Girl in the Woods

Chapter 1

Along the border of the two Kingdoms, a small town was named Lakeside as it is along the fringes of the biggest lake that separates the two known kingdoms. The sky is clear and there are no indications of bad weather. The surroundings are quiet yet lively. Commoners are busy to and fro to their destination. Some are buying staff and others just to take a walk when suddenly a commotion arises. The crowd suddenly full of excitement mostly children who are darted in the direction. Vendors stop selling and lengthen their necks like wanted to catch a glimpse of what is causing a commotion.

It was a guy in his twenties, showing off his magical abilities. It is a common sight to that place. He became popular among the residents.

Displaying his impalpable facade, he regales the children whose childhood became felicitous by the way they serve as the validation of who he is as of the moment.

He swerves his right hand in a horizontal swift motion as if to pull a string, suddenly but smoothly, the stone hovers in the air from the wooden mini table which is enveloped with a thick brown fabric.

"Fantastic!"

"I've never seen such magic before and I'm loving this one."

"Hey, mister! Can you create another trick?! We would love to see more, aye?!"

Said the 6-year-old with a golden buzz cut who is chewing a pinch of cupcake who is followed by the kids his age in unison.

A smile then appears on the guy's thin lips as he returns the stone from its recent spot.

"Alright alright, kids. This will be the first time I'll be showing you my arduously practiced trick. Behold!" His voice boomed in the central park as he drew two enclosed boxes of cards from under the table and opened them.

The kids look up to him, expecting to see a marvelous trick.

Once again, he swerves his right hand in a horizontal motion, but with a little effort because there are too many cards to manipulate. It is then followed by his left hand and the cards from the other box hovered in the air causing gasps from the crowd. He noticed that the crowd became more and others are coming his way, curious of this new trick of his. The cards float and some are spinning slowly. The guy moved his fingers in different directions and the cards on his right dashed on his shoulder across his chest. He did the same with his left hand and the cards followed, creating an ex all across his chest like a belt but the cards are continuously in motion.

"I call this the belt of the wolf. Everyone, for the next trick, please create a safe distance from me or you'll get burned." The guy earned another gasp from the crowd, eventually, they complied and the parents and guardians pulled their kids on their sides.

His arms are still raised, it's as if he was Moses who parted the seas. The difference is it was cards he was controlling. The eyes of the audience are full of expectation, he cannot fail them.

Once more, he moved his arms like he threw something up in the air and the cards made a final circulation around him then rushed towards the sky like a flying snake. A grin crept on his lips when his hand, formed into a fist, suddenly, the cards are enflamed. A dragon in a body of cards emerges in the sky, it roars and dances in the sky like it was being ridden by a warrior with his flaming sword.

"Awesome!"

"Wicked cool!"

"I wanna ride it, but I'm afraid I'd get burned. Still magnificent!"

"It is almost real. You think it's dangerous?"

Different comments and murmur of praises and little negative feedbacks emerge from the crowd, but he felt so confident and proud of the successful practice of power. Yes, power. Not just magic or a trick, he has it.

His attention was diverted by a lone girl far from the crowd who has a naughty grin on her face. Unexpectedly, his fire dragon went out of control and roars wildly. The crowd thought it was still part of the stunt, but little did they know that he could barely control it anymore.

'That girl...'

They fought for dominance against each other that the dragon ended up doing silly things that made people laugh.

"Never thought you're also a clown, Mister!"

A fat man exclaimed from the crowd that earned more laughter including from the children.

This made him humiliated a bit, but his annoyance is above all big.

'I'll show you.'

He dropped both of his hands as the dragon froze from the sky. Its flame kept in motion and the girl's forehead creases when she couldn't take a hold anymore. She looked at the guy and shook her head in amusement.

'So, easy to piss. Silly guy,' she thought.

Since the crowd is far from him as he told them earlier to keep a safe distance, he made up his mind.

This will make him being loved more by the crowd and children.

His hand formed into a fist and a surge of energy went from his feet towards the dragon, causing it to blaze even more. The crowd was mesmerized by the dragon's beauty that they forgot the guy's still there, including the girl who gave him a little struggle.

'I'll show you who's the dominant one.'

The dragon roared loudly and suddenly, wings materialized behind it. It flew across the sky, then when it reaches the designated spot for him, it flew headfirst towards his direction in a very fast motion.

Different emotions could be seen and felt from the crowd, some are excited and some are frightened about the outcome that they made an extra safe distance from him.

Surprisingly, when the dragon reaches several meters from him, it shrinks little by little until it's just larger than his head. When it reaches over his head, it exploded into tiny bits of glowing red crystals that made the crowd rejoice and gave him noisy applause.

This day is just unexpectedly awesome even though there was an annoyance that quickly dissipated when he earned the crowd's praises and love from the children.

A moment after the show, the girl stayed and waited for the crowd to return to their homes.

When he was finished arranging his things, a voice startled him from behind.

"I know you. I know what you can do. Who are you?" He directed his attention to the voice behind him and is shocked to see the girl.

"And you dare to talk to me after what you've done." The girl kept her composure, her face shows no emotions.

He looked at her intently. He was stunned internally. The girl's green orbs look enchanting and mesmerized him. He tilted his head and back to his senses when he heard the girl's chuckles.

“Do I look funny? Hmmm?” he moved closer to the girl who is slightly taken aback. He smiled mischievously and leaned forward until their faces are just an inch distant. The girl gasped as his actions are out of her expectation. His earthy sandalwood scent permeating her nose and arouse an inexplicable feeling that made her completely in a daze. The guy at the same time, released a winning grin while looking at the girl's face. He has the chance to look at her intently. She is a mysterious-looking girl who is wearing a button-down long sleeve over a thick red cloak that hides her beauty. Her eyes are a pair of green orbs that when the sun makes contact with it, becomes bright like a fire in an earthly hue. Her skin looks smooth and delicate like a baby's face. Subconsciously, his hand moves wanted to touch the beauty in front of him but jolted when the girl suddenly back to her senses and scowled followed by a punch on his face before she darted quickly across the street. He was left dumbfounded, not be able to move a minute on his spot as he was shocked by the girl's action.

“Your Highness, are you fine?” a guy came and asked. They are the knights who dressed simply to hide their identity. They came rushing when they saw what the girl did to their highness. The guy is none other than the prince, Prince Darvyn Mayfair of the Kingdom of Asimont.

“Go and chase her! Take her to me but make sure to not hurt her nor a graze on her skin.” He commanded while massaging the part where the girl's punch landed and move his jaw as he felt it was locked due to the pressure. The knights in disguise then quickly followed the girl's direction.

“A Prince being punch by a girl?” he mumbled and chuckled. He finds it funny because he is the Prince, Prince Darvyn of the Kingdom of Asimont, and just been punch by a girl? With his tall height and sturdy muscular physique, a lot of women admired him but he didn’t give attention to them. He enjoys his life with his trusted knights, roaming around the Kingdom and mingle with his people though it is unknown to them that he is their Prince.

“She is the opposite of what I assumed she was. Her looks deceive me. She is delicate and fragile in front of my naked eyes but her agility is amazing. Interesting!” Darvyn mumbled as he walks to the small table where he left his stuff. At the back of his mind, he wanted to know the girl. He wanted to know the secrets behind the girl's mysterious identity. It was his first time get interested in a woman.

Meanwhile, “Suranne! Suranne! Hurry! Hurry! This way!” a small voice shouting coming from above the girl's head. She is her fairy friend Gwyndolyn. “Ah no...no...this way!” she panics as she saw the men are chasing them.

“Gwyndolyn, please be certain. I know I have extraordinary agility but your uncertainty for giving me a direction will send us in great trouble.” She answered panting while looking back to see the men who are chasing them when suddenly someone pulled her quickly to the corner, covered his mouth to prevent her from screaming.

“Mmm...mmmm...” she’s struggling to try to get away. Her eyes widened when she saw a guy when he lifts her head to check. It’s new to him being hold by someone and is a guy. The guy asked her to be quiet as Darvyn's men passed by. When they heard the men's footsteps are getting far, the guy released her. Gwyndolyn flew to follow the men to make sure that they are not coming back to capture them.

“Forgive me My Lady, but I am helping you to get away from those men,” the guy bowed his head and speak apologetically.

“Thank you!” she responds shortly. “May I know your name, Mister?” she asked, curiously.

The guy stands up straight to look at her and responds, “I’m Gareth...Gareth Straus.”

“I'm Suranne....” she introduces herself. She looks at the guy. He has a bulk body with sharp golden eyes. His hair is blonde as if it was made of gold worth a thousand karats while his features are almost gentle and fierce. He is wearing a loose shirt paired with faded brown trousers. He is simple yet looks attractive because of his captivating golden eyes.

“Suranne, let’s go home. It’s about time,” Gwyndolyn who just came back, said. They always set a time for sneaking out from the woods and they cannot be late for coming back as it may cause the fairy Godmother Helga to isolate them and limit their freedom whenever she finds out. Helga is the mother fairy who raised Suranne and Gwyndolyn as well when she became an orphan.

“Uhm! Sorry, but I need to go home now. Again, thank you!” she bowed her head and was about to leave when Gareth speaks.

“Would you mind, My Lady... if I send you home?” Gareth said tilting his head slightly waiting for her response.

“Thank you but there is no need for you to send me home. I will be safe. Thanks for your help,” she responds and smiled coyly.

“Friends?” Gareth seems persistent to be her friend. Suranne finds him gentle and friendly so she accepted his offered friendship, but she always reminds herself to not trust wholly as she doesn’t know if he is sincere to her.

“See you again next time!” Gareth shouted waving his hand to Suranne who is straddling back to the woods. Gareth smiled sweetly and punches on the air like he aces his target.

Back to Prince Darvyn, the knights who chase Suranne came back. They bowed their heads and one of the guys, speak.

“My apology Your Highness, as we weren’t able to chase the girl. She is suddenly disappeared, but we assumed that her direction is towards the woods.” The knight said looking at him waiting for his response. Prince Darvyn's brows furrowed when he heard the woods. He thought that the girl can’t live in the woods as it is a secluded place. Ferocious and deadly animals are there but he brushed off the thought and assumed that the girl might just live nearby and wanted to lose his knights to stop chasing them.

“We will come here again next time, Nicholaus“ Prince Darvyn respond to his knight. Nicholaus Souci or also known as Nicholaus of Asimont to all of those who are close to him including the rest of the knights. He is the most trusted knight of the King since Prince Darvyn is still young. When Prince Darvyn grew up, his father decided to assign Nicolaus as his knight to protect and accompany him wherever he wanted to go.

They walked toward the place where they tied up their horses used to travel back to the palace. The horse’s whines and clip-clopping of the hooves guided them back to the palace leaving a cloud of dust, dancing along with the piercing wind.