SpeechBubbleMe: Thanks.
LilactheDryad: Uh-huh.
Antha1: What a coincidence.
After leaving the cabin, Gerda, Belle and the Beast continued onward on their quest. Only this time, things were much quieter.
The group had expected the wolves to reappear once they strayed from the cabin, but to their surprise and relief, they found no sign of them. The wolves' paw prints had vanished from the ground, and their scent was gone. It was as if the wolves had never been there in the first place.
"I wonder why the Snow Queen called back her wolves," Belle wondered aloud as the group began to exit the forest and enter the open plains. "If they were her wolves, that is."
"Maybe she's feeling generous," Gerda suggested as she road on Wynter's back, using the gem to guide the way. She decided to keep quiet about her brief encounter with the large black wolf the other night. As it was, she was hoping to remove that memory as far out of her mind as possible.
"Look, we're practically out of the forest now," She pointed out to the rest of the group as they left the last fringes of the woods. "That means we're one step closer to reaching Kai."
As the words left her mouth, Gerda began to hesitate for a moment. As they left the forest, she realized that she was also leaving the last remnants of her home. Before her was a large, empty terrain, covered in ice and snow. She had no idea what awaited her out there.
Despite her inner doubts, though, Gerda said nothing. She simply took a deep breath before continuing forward, to an uncertain future, to the Snow Queen.
But most importantly, to Kai.
The next few hours were long and tedious. After exiting the forest, the group had made their way through the frozen tundra, struggling to ignore the bitter cold pinching their skin.
The tundra was large, blank, and vacant, with no sign of life present with the exception of the group themselves. The entire area looked exactly the same for miles around; the only way the group knew which direction was the right one was due to Gerda's gem.
Gerda herself wondered if maybe this was where the Snow Queen had forged her new home. However, the thought left her mind when she realized that the area seemed totally uninhabited.
Despite the harsh cold and lack of food or water, Gerda was, at the very least, relieved that they were momentarily safe. Since they had left the forest, there had been no sign of the Snow Queen or her minions. The first hour or so, she had expected the wolves to reappear to finish them off, but it was as if the Snow Queen was simply not acknowledging them anymore. Why, she didn't know.
Eventually, after hours of exhausted walking, the group finally spotted signs of timberland in the distance. Relief overtook the group, and they gladly rushed to the new forest, happy to have escaped the tundra.
"Finally, I can see green again!" Belle said as she entered the forest. "I was getting sick of all the blue and white!"
Gerda rushed up to a nearby tree and quickly began picking some of the fruit from its branches. Handing pieces of the fruit to the others, Gerda began munching on her piece gleefully.
The Beast looked around at the forest, his eyes squinted. "Did we really leave the forest just to arrive at another one?" He asked, baffled.
"Who cares?" Gerda asked. "At least we're not in that frozen wasteland anymore. And besides, now that we're in a forest again, there's bound to be people around."
"Oh great," The Beast grumbled sarcastically. "I bet they'll be so much fun to mingle with."
"Just keep your hood over your head," Belle said to him. Turning to Gerda, she said, "Check your gem. Are we any closer to the Snow Queen's castle?"
Gerda pulled her gem out of her pocket. It was glowing brightly in the palm of her hand.
"Yeah, we're getting closer," She said. "As long as we don't face any more detours, we should reach the Snow Queen's castle in a couple days, give or take. Now, let's get a move on-"
Before she could continue, Gerda was interrupted when a piercing scream tore through the air. Instinctively, the group dove behind the bushes to hide, not knowing who was out there.
Gerda mustered up the courage to peak out from behind the bushes. Immediately, she caught sight of a young girl around her age, dashing through the woods. The girl was rather wild-looking in appearance; she wore a bearskin as a coat, and her black hair was long and unkempt. Her skin was of a slightly darker complexion than Gerda's.
The girl was running with a loaf of bread in her hands. There was a panicked expression on her face as she ran. Gerda didn't understand why until she heard the sound of a horse galloping through the woods, and saw a man riding his steed after the girl, an enraged look on her face.
"Little thief!" The man roared as he pursued the girl through the woods. "I'm gonna get you!"
The young girl was astonishingly fast, but even she could not outrun the horse. The horse dashed past her and in front of her, cutting off her exit. The girl let out a gasp of terror and whirled around to try and flee in the opposite direction. She didn't get far, however, as the man flew off the horse and onto the ground before her.
A large hand reached out to grab the girl by the coat. The man held the struggling child in place, glowering down at her.
"Little thief," He grumbled at her, his eyes narrowed. The girl curled her hand into a fist and made a futile attempt to punch the man, but he caught her fist with his other hand. A pained scream followed as the man crunched the girl's hand in his large fist. Still hiding, Gerda flinched at the man's brutality.
The girl managed to wrench herself free from the man's grip, but collapsed onto the ground. Her hand throbbing, she tried to crawl away from the man. The loaf of bread fell onto the snow.
The man reached into his pocket. "Damned robbers, always stealing from working people," He snarled. "Well, I'll take you a lesson."
Gerda's eyes widened as the man pulled a hunting knife out of his pocket. The girl saw it too, and she began crawling away at a faster pace.
The man grabbed the girl by the coat once more, yanking her into the air. Taking the girl by the hand, the man raised the knife over her wrist. "This will teach you not to steal from me!" He roared.
Gerda couldn't stand to watch in silence. Rising up from behind the bushes, she opened her mouth to speak.
"Stop!"
Gerda froze. The words she had been about to say were caught in her throat.
The man looked up from the wild girl, wondering who had spoken. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened, his skin paled, and his jaw dropped.
Standing tall, in full view of the man, was the Beast. His eyes glared at the man with an animal-like fury, his teeth bared and his nostrils flaring. The wild girl let out a shocked gasp as she saw the Beast as well.
"M-M-Monster!" The man stammered out in horror. Forgetting out the girl, the man dropped her and dashed towards his horse. Jumping onto the horse's back, the man kicked its side with his boots, causing the steed to dash down the pathway as fast as it could go. Soon, the man was gone.
The Beast watched as the man fled, and snorted, his arms folded.
Gerda and Belle stared at the Beast for a moment, surprised. Then, Gerda turned to the young wild girl. Currently, the child was scooping up the man's fallen knife, which he had dropped during his hasty retreat. The girl took the knife in her hand and shoved it into her pocket.
Hesitantly, Gerda stepped out of the bushes and approached the girl from behind. The girl seemed to notice Gerda coming, as she whirled around, a confused and uncertain expression on her face.
Gerda froze. "Hey," She said, giving the girl a slight wave. "My name is Gerda. Do you have a name?"
She took a step forward, and the girl took a defensive stance. She looked Gerda up and down, as if sizing her up.
"Hey, I won't hurt you," Gerda attempted to reassure the girl. She continued walking towards the girl.
"Are you lost?" Gerda asked the girl, who remained silent. "Do you have a family? If so, I'd be more than happy to help you find them." As she spoke, she extended a hand towards the girl.
The wild girl stared down at Gerda's open hand, gazing at it suspiciously. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out, as if to take Gerda's hand. The redhead smiled.
Suddenly, Gerda felt a sudden, stinging pain erupt in her stomach. She let out an unwilling scream and doubled over in agony. As she clutched her throbbing stomach, she realized that the wild girl had thrown an unexpected punch to her gut.
"Gerda!" Belle shouted in horror.
The robber girl's hand shot out at Gerda for a second before retracting. A gust of wind then flew past the redhead as she felt the robber girl take off into the forest, vanishing without a trace.
Gerda collapsed onto the ground, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of her. As she struggled to catch her breath, she realized that the girl had stolen her fruit.
Belle and the Beast ran to her side. "Gerda, are you alright?" Belle asked as she took Gerda into her arms.
Gerda looked up at her elder sister, her teeth clenched together to keep from groaning.
"Rotten. . . thief," Was all she could say.
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