The Girl in the Woods

Chapter 8

Prince Darvyn went back inside the inn when Suranne left. He instructed Nicholaus to do their things while he wanted to stay in his room to read. He felt lazy to go out, out of a sudden which is odd to his knight and best friend Nicholaus. Nicholaus knows that he loves going out and mingling with the subjects of the Kingdom. He loves reading too, but he always puts his priorities on top of it.

“Your Highness, the kids are waiting for you,” Nicholaus said, talking about the kids they met earlier on the street, excited for his magic tricks.

“They can wait,” he replied and smiled like an i***t heading to his room. Nicholaus shakes his head thinking that the girl might bewitch his Highness.

“The sun is still up anyway, those kids can wait,” he mumbled and left to go down to check the other knights. He then went downstairs and found the three knights talking about the Prince.

“It's weird! Do you think our Highness is bewitched by that girl?” Artus said.

The other two knights, Brice and Ernie nodded to agree.

“He smiles differently today, it reaches his eyes, and he looks fond of that girl,” Ernie added.

“Uhhmm…” Nicholaus cleared his throat to stop the three knights talking about the Prince and for them to notice him.

They looked at each other thinking that Nicholaus heard about their topic, but they let out their breath when Nicholaus said he was also thinking the same. They find it weird to see their Prince acting like a teenager who found his first crush. They served to be his knights for several years and they all know almost everything about him and since the previous day when the girl destroys his displays of magic, he started acting weird. One of those is to ask his father, King Weston, to stay in a certain place for a week which is new to them. Usually, they will just travel for a day or maybe spend a few days out of the palace, but always wander to towns and villages each day.

“But, that girl is fascinating,” the knight named Brice suddenly said, making the others look at him with their brows furrowed. “Yesterday, she showed the magic counteracting the magical prowess of His Highness. Isn't it interesting? I mean, she has those powers and might be one of the reasons why His Highness got interested in her?” he added.

The three knights nodded to agree and silence engulfed them, they all fell into deep thought. On the table closer to them, a guy who is busy sipping his tea hiding his appearance from the old straw hat on his head is all ears on them. He finds it interesting to listen when he overheard those guys talking about the girl who shows a magical power. He devilishly smiles when he thinks that he may have found his target. He then decided to stay in the village to see the girl that they are talking about. He let out a devilish and triumphant smile as he put down his teacup. He called the innkeeper to reserve a room for him. He doesn't want to lose sight of the guys behind him. He will secretly follow them to that girl. He is not certain about his speculation, but he was willing to take the risks.

Meanwhile, Suranne is walking back to the woods. Her mind seems blank that she cannot comprehend what had happened. The guy she punched on his face the previous day, treated her to a meal? And wanted to make friends with her? She even asked herself why he trusted him quickly.

She shakes her head to get to her senses but is startled when she hears a horse whining and getting closer. She quickly finds a place to hide. She saw a boulder a few meters away from where she was walking and hid. From behind the boulder, she saw Kitler on his black horse coming back to their place.

" Where did he come from?” she asked in her thoughts. "He seems in a hurry.”

When Kitler passed by, she came out from her hiding place and went home hurriedly but she put an extra effort not to be caught so she went out of the barrier.

After a few minutes of walking heading to the place where she exited this morning, she checks herself and takes a deep breath, and gets ready to break the spell when she hears someone just behind her.

“Aha!”

Suranne jumps out in panic, thinking that it was Helga who caught her, but her eyes narrowed when she saw Gwyndolyn holding her tummy for laughing too much. She knows that she made fun of her. She pouted and glared at her. Gwyndolyn then stops laughing and her facial expression becomes serious.

“Why did you go out without me? What if something or someone hurt you?” Gwyndolyn said.

“I felt bored and I know you are with Helga,” she replied and slammed herself on the ground.

“She is looking for you. I know you went out, but I told mother fairy that maybe you are at the hill,” Gwyndolyn continued.

" What did she say?"

“She just told me to come home quickly if I found you there."

"Then, what are we waiting for now? Let's go!" Suranne got up and was about to break the barrier spell when Gwyndolyn stopped her.

"Wait! Kitler just came back ...."

"I saw him but I managed to hide before he could see me," she said.

"Good! Now we have to make sure that once we break the spell, no one will see us,” Gwyndolyn said thinking of how they can get in without anyone noticing.

Inside the woods, Kitler tied the horse not far from their small hut. Orlando and Frio, who are resting after their work from their small farm, got up when seeing him.

“Why did you come back too early?" Frio asked instantly and wondered why Kitler had to come home earlier than they expected.

”I have news," Kitler said. Frio and Orlando straightened their backs showing an extreme interest in the news that Kitler said.

"What is it?” Frio asked.

"The Queen commanded Moki to lead the search for the King's daughter,” Kitler replied. Frio and Orlando exchange stares after hearing the news. Recently, they're talking about the curiosity that arouses in Suranne. Her curiosity about her identity and they know that she will be curious about why they have to hide in the woods. This sends trouble on him during his sleep thinking about the security of the girl they raised. Sometimes he will ask himself if until when they will be able to hide her? How will they be able to protect her when the time comes? He heaved a sigh and looked at the others.

"The full moon is coming soon.”

They turned their heads when they heard Helga. She's been there and manages to hear their conversation and worries. She is also worried because she knows, she cannot protect the girl all the time. She also knows that the girl they raised is stricken with curiosity about the outside of the woods, And as adventurous as she is she will find her way out to address her curiosity. She knows that they cannot keep her until they want, she will find her way.

" We will see then what we can do," Frio said, restless. He suddenly felt tired thinking about the girl.

"They must be everywhere now to find us," Orlando said. "You have to be careful, Kitler. If they see you, you will be their key to her," Orlando added.

Silence then engulfed them. They all fell into deep thought. The same thing runs in their minds; the girl they raised as a baby, now as a beautiful, adventurous lady.

Outside of the woods, Suranne and Gwyndolyn decided to make their way inside the barrier after Gwyndolyn came out from checking if someone was nearby.

“They're all gathered outside our hut," she said when she came back "We can go inside now." She held Suranne's hand and was about to go when Suranne spoke.

"Let's go straight to the stream."

Gwendolyn agreed and nodded. She then murmured and raised her wand to open the barrier. In a blink of an eye, they've already crossed the barrier and quickly go to the stream. They stayed there to pretend that they're just there playing not to be able to be caught when they went out of the woods.

"Gwyndolyn, I'm sorry if I am putting you into trouble," Suranne said while waddling his feet on the water. Gwyndolyn is on her side sitting quietly.

"It's fine. We've been friends since you were a baby. I know your struggles and I've been to that, so no worries. Just don't let mother fairy catch us," Gwyndolyn chuckles when she mentions Helga. She knows that they will be punished once caught.

That night, Suranne is having trouble sleeping. She keeps turning upside down on her bed to find a comfortable position, but still, she can't be able to sleep. Every time he closes her eyes, Prince Darvyn's image appears in her vision. And the strange feeling of excitement bothers her a lot.