Huntsman: Love Will Find a Way (5 page)

“It will be done
.
”

He jerked his head towards the door I had come in through
.
“Go
.
”

The meeting had been over just as soon as it had begun
.
Once I was out the door, I let out a sigh of relief
.
I hadn’t actually thought that I would be walking out of the castle that day, much less that the king would agree to my condition
.
I wondered if he would go through with letting me keep the girl alive
.
I prayed that he would
.

We stopped at the opening of a worn, narrow path in the middle of a thick wall of trees
.
It looked out of place, as if it actually was supposed to be hidden in the side of the castle walls, or perhaps the side of a cave
.
The guard looked annoyed, as if he had done this a million times
.
“Follow this all the way down, until you come to the clearing
.
Hide in the trees
.
She usually stays until after dusk, so you can grab her after the sun sets
.
She’ll be less aware then
.
”

“Alright
.
” I started walking towards the path, when the guard put a hand on my shoulder
.
“Was there something else?”

“Just…not everyone in the castle feels the same as the king and Princess Vivian
.
I, for one, agree with you, and I’m sure others will too
.
Lara doesn’t deserve her father’s wrath
.
”

“Then, why does he want her dead?”

“Did you ever see the late Queen Adelaid?” I shook my head
.
“Well, Lara is a spitting image of her mother
.
All the way down to the way they laugh
.
Her kindness outshines her beauty, which is not something you hear of everyday, especially of someone with her beauty
.
”

“She sounds like a great girl
.
”

He nodded
.
“The king was never tender hearted and, as you said, hates to have his people love someone over him
.
They way that the people admire Lara…
.
They will never look at the king the way they do his youngest daughter
.
”

“That doesn’t explain why her sister wants her dead
.
”

The guard laughed
.
“Princess Vivian is just like her father
.
She wants all eyes on her, or all of the men’s eyes
.
And, like I said, Princess Vivian is beautiful, but Lara’s beauty is something that cannot be compared
.
” We heard footsteps closing in
.
“We have wasted time
.
You must hurry
.
”

I nodded
.
“Thank you, my friend
.
I shall keep the princess safe, you have my word
.
”

“I know
.
”

I watched as he walked away before I made my day down the path, the bare branches scratching my arms through the thin fabric of my top
.
Once I got to the clearing, I stopped to examine the area for a moment
.
I could see why the young princess favored this place
.
The serenity was almost overcoming
.
Surveying the bordering trees, I found a dark patch of forest, the bushes coming up out of the ground higher than anywhere else
.

Moving behind it, I sat on my hunches, waiting
.
I didn’t know what this princess looked like, sounded like
.
All that I knew about her was what the guard had told me briefly before I darted down the path
.
As I heard footsteps and breaking twigs, I hunched lower
.
As the person got closer, a quiet humming was added to the mix
.
Now, that she was here, I just had to bid my time until the sun set
.

Chapter 5
Lara

As soon as I started walking down the path, I could feel that something was different
.
It gave me a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, as if a handful of rocks were just tossed down my throat and took up residence in my gut
.
I didn’t know what it was that had changed, but it made me feel uneasy
.

I walked down the wooded trail cautiously
.
I knew most of the creatures, both animals and realm-dwellers, which resided in that part of the woods, but every now and then, there would be a new resident who would move in, and I wouldn’t catch it until they ran across the path in front of me or struck up a conversation
.
With a deep breath of strength, I tried to calm myself, reassuring my inner self that it whatever was different was nothing to worry about
.

As I made my way into the clearing, I sighed in contentment while I took in the familiar area
.
This place was the only connection I had left to my mother, and it held its position well
.
I had never seen it start to die or fade
.
Its beauty was natural and never-changing
.
During the spring, the blooming tulips and budding trees held the promise of new life
.
In the summer, everything was alive and buzzing
.
Autumn was the time when the old things fell away, not dying, but simply leaving for a season
.
And winter, winter was my favorite
.
Branches of the trees were frosted with snow, the flowers and grass covered in a protective covering of ice, keeping it safe until spring
.

Like I did every other time I went out, I made my way to the middle, humming the tune my mother used to sing to me
.
I laid down in the cool grass, spreading my arms out beside me, staring up at the canopy of leaves the trees provided, letting in enough sunlight that I could see but not be blinded
.
I reveled in the simplicity of such a place, unable to think of anything that could change it for the better
.
It was perfect in its current state, the wind blowing through the tree tops, the birds singing a late spring song
.

I closed my eyes and praying that I could stay here, forever trapped in this single moment, never changing, never moving
.
Just lay there in peace, believing that there was nothing bad in the world, no hurt or disappointment
.
But, that would be a dream
.
And dreams very rarely come true
.

I tensed as I heard a rustling to my right, much more than the simple deer or rabbit that passed through on a rare occasion
.
The footsteps kept getting closer, vibrating the ground underneath me
.
My fingers clenched in the grass slightly, trying my hardest to keep calm and remain still
.
When the sun above me was overshadowed, I had no choice but to open my eyes
.

I couldn’t make out the face, but I could tell it was a man
.
His long hair mixed with the sun to his back shadowed his features from me
.
He sat there for some time, simply looking down at me
.
I couldn’t help but stare back at him
.
It didn’t matter that I didn’t know him from Adam, or the fact that I was more afraid that I was willing to admit at the time
.
I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream
.
I couldn’t do anything but stand there
.

After a while, he finally spoke
.
“Are you Princess Lara?” I managed a weak nod, and he sighed
.
“I was afraid of that
.
”

He extended his hand, and I took it hesitantly
.
Standing, I wiped the stuck-on grass and leaves from my clothes
.
I tried to look at him, but had to crane my neck in order to even see the bottom portion of his face
.
I backed up a little, and tried to see him more clearly
.
Thankfully, he finally looked down at me, so I didn’t have to hurt my neck too badly
.

“Do you know why I’m here?” He asked carefully, almost unsure
.

“I assume that it has to do with my father? If not, my sister perhaps?” I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear
.
He nodded
.
“Then, more likely than not, you’re here to kill me
.
”

The shock on his face was almost priceless
.
I would have laughed if we weren’t in the situation we were
.
“How…
.
how did you…
.
”

I sighed
.
“A few months after my mother died, one of the guards told me about a conversation that my father and sister had
.
They were talking about how I was too much like my mother, how seeing me just brought the pain of her passing back
.
Apparently, my sister had the idea to kill me, not that it’s surprising coming from her
.
She never cared for me, not really
.
”

“So, you’ve known all this time that it was coming?”

I shrugged
.
“More of suspected, really
.
I’m surprised that it took my father this long to agree to it
.
He never could look me in the eye after my mother’s death
.
He would always have his back to me
.
He had declared that every picture and relic of my mother be burned, he was so heartbroken
.
I had managed to keep a small picture of her safe, but everything else is gone
.
”

“I’m sorry,” he said softly
.
I looked away, not being able to stand seeing the pity in the eyes of my murderer
.

“Don’t be, it was my own ignorance that kept me from seeing the inevitable, my own hope
.
I knew he couldn’t stand to see a picture of my mother, but I hadn’t realized that he would never be able to look at his own daughter again
.
I suppose heartbreak can do terrible things to people
.
”

He nodded
.
“Yes, it can
.
”

I took a deep breath, standing up straight
.
“Well, if you’re going to kill me, you might as well get it over with
.
No reason to postpone it any longer than it needs to be
.
But, can you try to make it quick? I don’t have a very high pain tolerance
.
”

He chuckled, and I felt my forehead furrow in confusion
.
I couldn’t understand how he could be laughing when he was about to kill me
.
I would have thought that he would have done it as soon as he saw me, not make small talk beforehand, and definitely not laugh at me
.

“I’m not going to kill you, Princess
.
” He finally said, smiling down at me
.

I was taken back
.
“Why not? I thought you were sent to kill me
.
”

“I was,” he explained
.
“But, I’m not like other Huntsmen, I can’t kill something or someone for pleasure
.
And, I definitely cannot kill an innocent young lady
.
”