Escape
The next morning was a brutal wake up call for Aurora and her friends. She awoke very early, the sun just coming up over the horizon, thinking about Antony and her father. She couldn't believe that she had left Antony in New York and didn't say a word to him about her leaving. She thought about her friends, Siobhan and Sara, who were pulled from the only world they knew to this magical land where all of these fictional fairy tale characters were real and two of them were her grandmothers. She thought about Darien and how sweet he was last night. She was prepared for the long journey ahead and she was going to find her father at all costs. There was a rapid knock on her door that she almost screamed, going to answer it, seeing a frantic Darien in the hallway with Siobhan and Sara, scratching his head.
"Darien, Sio, Sara, what's going on," she asked, looking at Darien.
"We have to go, Aurora," Siobhan said, tying her hair back. "Now."
"Why? What's going on?"
"The Queen knows that you're here. The guards are coming for you and your friends," Darien said, looking at her. "We have to go right now."
Aurora nodded, fear pulsating through body as she pulled one her clothes. Siobhan came in to help her, shutting the door.
"I still don't trust Wolf, Aurora," she said, quickly braiding her hair for her. "There's just sometime about him that I don't like."
"Could it be the fact that he's half wolf?"
"No, I think it's something else. I'm just getting a vibe from him. I don't like it; it's scaring me."
"I'm sure it's nothing, Sio. Remember, he's helping us through this kingdom," she said, pulling her shoes on.
"That may be true, but just don't fall in love with him, since you're a princess."
She laughed, opening the door to the room, Sara pacing the floor as Darien was leaning up against the wall, waiting for them.
"Come on, we have to go," he said, grabbing Aurora's hand and running down the hall with her, Sara and Siobhan trailing behind him.
The four companions ran out of the inn and into the village, following the trail out of the village and into the woods. The morning sun shined bright upon the trees and grass of the woods, the morning dew setting upon them. They ran until they were out of sight of the village, hearing the gallops of horses and the shouts of the guards nearby.
"Any idea where we are, Darien," Sara asked, sitting on a tree stump, trying to catch her breath.
"We're in the First Kingdom, the kingdom of Red Riding Hood. This is wolf territory, so we'll have to be careful."
"But you're half wolf," Siobhan said, sitting on the ground, looking up at him. "How can we trust you?"
"Siobhan…" Aurora said, glaring at her.
"I'll be able to stop the wolves, Miss Siobhan," he said, looking down at her, sniffing the air. "There aren't any wolves in this area, but I suggest that we keep moving that way the guards don't catch up with us."
The girls nodded in agreement, standing up and starting to move. They walked the rest of the way, Aurora trailing behind the other three, thinking about her father, absentmindedly touching her necklace. They walked for what seemed like an eternity, eventually stopping to eat, and then continued on their way until the night, setting up camp in a clearing. Siobhan and Sara fell asleep almost immediately, lying by the fire. Darien, however, was nowhere to be found. Aurora got up from the fire, going to find him. She did eventually, almost missing him. He was lying in some tall grass, staring up at the stars.
"Mind if I join you," she asked, lying down beside him as he looked over, his eyes yellow, then went back to brown.
"Not at all," he said, watching her as she lay down in the grass, looking up at the sky.
"I've never seen the stars so clearly before," she said, looking up at the countless consolations, smiling.
"Yeah, this is what I do every night; sleep under the stars."
"Living in the city, I didn't get to see the stars that much, but I wished that I could. Now…this is going to sound corny, but my wish as come true."
"Yeah," he said, turning over on his side to look at her, smiling. "You forget; this is a fairy tale world. Being corny doesn't matter."
She chuckled, looking over at him. "How far are we from the Snow White kingdom?"
"I'd say a week or two. Depending on how many stops we make. Your coronation's in two weeks so we'll have to try and get to the palace in time."
"Do you think you can find my father?"
"I'm hoping that we can find him. If not, I'm sure that he'll be at the coronation."
"I would give anything to see him again," she said, looking over at him.
He looked deep into her eyes, placing a hand on her cheek, stroking her cheek gently with his thumb as she looked into his eyes in return.
"We'll find him, Aurora. I promise," he said softly, his eyes trailing down, looking at her luscious lips and voluptuous body. "I can promise you a lot more."
She watched his eyes move down her body, her hand on the arm that was supporting him. "Like what," she asked softly, looking up at him.
He smiled, leaning down slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear, closing his eyes. There was a howl in the distance and he perked his head up, growling softly.
"What is it," she asked, looking up at his reaction.
"That howl came from the campsite," he said, jumping up and running towards the camp.
Aurora rolled onto her stomach, and then got up, running after him. She stopped as he pulled her down into the bushes, seeing about six or seven wolves surrounding Sara and Siobhan's sleeping form.
"What are we going to do," she asked, looking at Darien.
"You're going to stay here. I'm going to protect them," he said, jumping out of the bushes in front of the wolves, growling.
Sara and Siobhan both awoke with a fright, but as they were getting ready to scream, Darien turned, his eyes a blazing yellow and fang elongating.
"Don't scream," he growled, turning back to the wolves. "Aurora is right next to you in the bushes. Make your way to her slowly and run. I'll find you."
The two girls nodded, slowly scooting toward Aurora as the wolves surrounded Darien now, growling at him. Once they were safe and out of the way, they took off in a dead run, running to another clearing, trying to catch their breath.
"I'm going back," Aurora said, standing up.
"The hell you're not," Siobhan said, grabbing her hand to stop her. "You're going to get caught, or worse, killed."
"He's risking his life to save us, Siobhan. I have to go back and make sure that he's all right."
"No, Aurora," Sara said, taking her by the arm. "Sit down, please. He said that he would find us."
She sighed, sitting down, and then laid down in the grass, looking up at the stars.
While limping back to the girls, Darien wiped the blood from his leg, wincing some. He stopped by a small puddle, dipping his hand in it and placed it on the wound, applying pressure.
"Hello, Wolf," a familiar voice spoke from the puddle. He looked down, seeing Azkadellia's face in the water. He gasped, falling backwards, taking a sharp intake of breath.
"Go away," he said, slowly sitting up, wincing. "Leave me alone."
"Why can't I see your companions," she asked while she paced her mirror room, looking at him.
"I'm not telling you anything about them."
"Them? So there's more than one?"
"There might be," he said, trying to ignore her. "I'm not telling you."
"Where's the princess?"
He tensed up, not looking at the puddle.
"She's with you, isn't she," she asked, grinning evilly.
"No, she's not," he said, standing up. "I want you to leave me alone."
"You forget, my dear Wolf. I control you," she said, turning her back on her mirror and her image faded from the puddle.
Darien breathed a heavy sigh. He felt bad for Aurora. When she finds out who he was working for, she would leave him forever. He thought of her beautiful face, body and eyes and thought about how her lips would feel against his, so soft and so warm. He sniffed the air, immediately finding her scent and he followed it, seeing her and her friends in the clearing. He let out a whimper and he saw Aurora perk up and he limped to her, wincing.
"Oh, my God," she said, running to him, taking his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, supporting him.
"I'm fine, Aurora. Really."
"No, you're not," she said, gently setting him down on the ground, making sure he was leaning up against an embankment, looking at his leg.
"Please, Aurora. Don't baby me. I'm really fine."
She looked at him, lying on the embankment beside him, looking at the stars. "I was going to come and look for you. Make sure that you were okay, but…Sio and Sara wouldn't let me."
"It was a good thing. It was pretty bad," he said, his arm around her shoulders. "I'll be fine, though. Being half wolf and half human, I tend to heal pretty quickly."
She nodded, gently resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't want you to get hurt. You're the only one knows the kingdoms."
"You would be able to find your way without me."
"What if I don't want to," she asked sleepily, closing her eyes.
He looked down at her, seeing how tired she was. "Then I'll stay," he whispered, holding her close, keeping her warm, watching her sleep as he looked up at the stars again.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, Azkadellia was pacing her mirror room, looking at her Huntsman.
"So, what's the word from Wolf," he asked, watching her movement, seeing a smile.
"He said 'them,' which means that there's more than one person with him. One of them is the princess."
The Huntsman grinned, getting up and wrapping his arms around her. "Do I leave in the morning?"
She nodded, kissing his cheek. "They're in Red Riding Hood's Kingdom, but they're going to be in the troll kingdom tomorrow. Follow them and try to get her alone. If you do, bring her to me. Alive."
He nodded, kissing her lips. "Yes, My Lady," he said, letting her go and leaving the room.
She smiled happily, watching her Huntsman leave. Soon, Aurora would be her prisoner and soon, her prisoner would be dead.
