A GIFT FOR THE ALPHA

CHAPTER 9

Larissa's POV.

Midday, the next day. The afternoon sun shone brightly in the sky and bathed the castle in its warm light. I watched my father enter his carriage and left for the city.

Exchanging glances with Zia, I turned and hurried back inside the mansion– Zia followed suit, and we scooted for my chamber.

Upon entering my chamber, I darted to the pile of clothes on the bed while Zia went after the quivers and the bows under the bed. She began to pack them into two separate bags.

“Are you sure about this?” Zia asked. She panted from the short run.

Stripping down to nothing except my underwear, I turned to Zia while panting like her. “Yes, I saw it. There's a secret passage that can lead us right outside the castle and kingdom.” I changed into the clothes on the bed.

“No, not that,” Zia said. “I mean what if your father finds out that we left the castle?”

At the question, I paused with what I was doing. My throat dried. “We won't spend more than an hour. We'll be back before he returns.” I shrugged and resumed wearing the dress.

Dashing to the mirror, I examined myself. “Your dress fits me well, Zia.” I tilted and our gaze met, she smiled.

Zia crossed over to me and helped me with the zip fastener. “But even if we find the secret passage, we- we don't have the key."

A smile lit my face and I pulled open the drawers. “Here," I breathed and raised a key into the air. “We have the key," I said. Zia's eyes widened.

“Oh my goodness!” she gasped, looking at me, the key, again at me. “Your Highness, where did you find this?”

She collected the key and stared at it, her eyes still wide with surprise. I suddenly felt like a superhero from the books I've read.

Chuckling, I removed my bracelets and earrings, anything that would expose that I was royalty.

“I found it in the cellar,” I replied, and Zia's eyes widened even more.

“Wait. You mean you went all the way down to the underground, your Highness? Just for this key?”

“Yes, dear. That just tells you how long I've longed to experience life outside this castle. My father claims he's protecting me from enemies. I understand. But it's hilarious when he says the enemies are werewolves. I still don't believe they exist.”

“Me too. I found it hilarious when my mother told me, but I forced myself to believe it anyway.”

“Parents. When they want to keep you locked away from the world and from having fun, they make up stories to scare the hell out of you.”

“Like my mother,” Zia rasped. “-she's never allowed me to explore outside the city.”

I smiled. “Does that make us birds of the same feather, caged by our parents?” I asked. Our eyes twinkled and we burst into a laugh.

We grabbed our bags, which inside were our bows and quivers, and we set out for the secret passage carefully dodging the servants and guards.

And shortly, the postern came into view and we both paused in our tracks.

“There it is, the postern," Zia gasped and smiled.

Smiling too, I glanced at Zia...the smile shriveled from my lips. “Are you sure you want to do this, Zia?” I asked.

The smile also shriveled up from her lips and our gaze met. “Of course, Your Highness. I want to come with you,” she said.

“Why, because I asked you to?”

She was quiet. “I'm your handmaid, it's my duty to follow you wherever you go.”

“This is not about duty, Zia. I don't want you following me because of an order, or because it's your job description.”

“Then let me follow you as your friend. After all, I also want to explore the world outside the city.” She stared warmly into my eyes. I gulped.

“You really want to do this?”

Zia nodded. “Yes." And she smiled again.

Shrugging, I chuckled. “Fine, then let's do this!” We moved closer to the posters and I reached inside the dress pocket for the postern's key.

Click! I unlocked it and ushered us directly into a hill outside the kingdom. “Look, Zia!”

Happily, I pointed at the forest below. “That's Lavender, the forest!” I purred.

We both gasped but suddenly, Zia frowned. “But Your Highness, you have never left the four walls of the castle all your life just as me, the city. How sure are you that this forest is Lavender?”

“A map!” I smiled and resumed scanning the large forest before us. “I have secretly studied my father's map since I was twelve,” I revealed.

Mouth agape, Zia stared at me. “You're one hell of a princess!” she teased.

In awe, we resumed staring at the vast lands below, I filled my lungs with fresh air.

Exhaling, I tilted at Zia. “Are you ready?” I asked.

Realizing I was talking about racing down the hills, she grinned. “Yes!”

And so, I counted to three. “One..two..three!”

Laughing, we bolted down the hills, holding tight to our bags.

Giggling. Freedom, so this is what it feels like? I couldn't be happier as I overtook Zia in the race.

We raced.

But closer to the forest, Zia overtook me and we laughed so hard, but our voices tampered as soon as we set foot into the forest.

Slowing down to a stroll, our gaze traveled up the giant trees whose branches intertwined with one another like a spider web. “This is beautiful,” Zia mumbled.

Fingers of silver sunlight seeped through the green bowers, giving the forest a breathtaking fairy tale charm. A group of butterflies pirouetted in the air, as we walked past, and they twirled away above our faces, their wings like whirr-like ripples of silk.

“Mesmerizing, isn't it?” I muttered, unable to contain my excitement. Stretching forth my hand, one of the butterflies came perching on my finger.

“Very mesmerizing indeed,” Zia gasped. “I can't believe this is what our parents don't want us to experience," she added.

Away, the butterfly went and joined the others. I chuckled. “I love this place!” I declared.

“Remember we have only one hour, Your Highness.” Zia reminded, grinning from ear to ear.

“Yes, basically.” I rolled my eyes at the sad reminder and sighed. We continued deeper into the forest looking for a game.

“Look, Your Highness.” Zia pointed at something up the trees. Following her gaze and finger, I caught sight of a squirrel.

Excited, Zia lowered her bag to the floor and brought out her bow and arrows. She wore her quiver.

But before Zia could fix the arrow on her bow, the squirrel was gone into a hole in the tree.

“Damn it!” Zia cursed.

I patted her shoulder. “Don't worry, we'll find another game.”

Also lowering my bag to the forest floor, I took out my bow and quiver, my gaze traveling about the forest in search of a game.

Zia straightened. “It's fine,” she smiled.

And we resumed walking down the forest each holding our bows in our hands and hanging our quivers behind our backs.

We arrived at a brook and luckily for us, there was a deer drinking from it.

We exchanged smiles. “It's alone,” Zia whispered and lowered herself to the ground.

I joined her, reaching for an arrow behind my back.

Lowering ourselves to the muddy floor of the forest, we both scooted behind a fallen tree trunk.

We watched the deer. It seemed to have noticed eyes were watching it as it suddenly paused drinking from the brook and glanced behind it; at the trees. But we were at its front across the brook.

“You go first, Your Highness,” Zia mouthed, signaling with hands.

Nodding, I raised my weapon to my eye level but instead of loosening, my throat dried. I just realized how beautiful and innocent the game before me was, how I wasn't hunter enough to take its precious life.

“Hurry, your Highness. It may get away," Zia urged on.

Okay, I breathed and tried to focus once again.

But I couldn't and lowered my weapon. “I can't," I whispered and glanced at Zia.

Suddenly, across the brook, something snapped out of the foliage and landed in the waters. Bringing back our gazes to the brook, we saw a large wolf snarling down on the deer and then biting its neck.

My eyes widened.

The poor deer! It was struggling and kicking, but its predator just wouldn't let go.

A sudden sense of saving the deer surged through me and I raised my weapon ready to loosen at the wolf.

Only for footsteps to echo behind us.