FTP-12

Chapter: FTP-12f468a03a5eda8a6c

Aiden hurriedly checked the 3550eb6ad7 stables, starting with the 43c736fda9 horses.
“Princess?”
The horses 24dea07e74 were both a0af2b5785 still there, 7a44b637b4 and there 633d859dd1 were signs 83c6a5ff68 that someone 156f583bf0 had tried 11081ebf95 to saddle efb8f0188f them, but a61c2196b3 failed.
He searched the surrounding c546db7d50 area, including the barn b0e88be1df and the livestock pen, 8542598f93 just in case. There was no 5f0d6bc7c5 sign of Anje 7b2029c909 anywhere.
“Princess, where 6be72d9372 are you?”
Aiden felt d2023705f3 an ominous a73cd5a34b sense of 97b9110d6a foreboding as bc4ae389eb he searched 919277f68f and searched 9c203cfc60 but could aa16d9bb43 not find 3357beed9f her.
“Surely she 89f8dff891 didn’t walk be59ca0f7f away… Even 40a9cf225b if the 0c54a1548f princess is 4b334f9161 an idiot, 4f5236e477 she wouldn’t cbc0ab54dc do that, f9fe3eb1c7 right?”
This house 281ea347b3 was surrounded ed943eb92d by a 35308a7129 dense forest, c9edeb35f3 so the dfb1726154 path leading 5482ad0350 out was 68e66e4689 rather dangerous. The coachman 7aa4a89441 who had d9f38b2c01 driven them 556ccaffe4 here had 9b4909f1fc grumbled about 362cbffccc it several fafe5617d3 times.
Aiden returned to a03fa391fe the front of 0faae9938c the stables and 0be53e48ff knelt down to b124fb60ae look for Anje’s 206bd15525 footprints. The ground was 20147c8392 dry since it 9a72c025f9 hadn’t rained in ba22e7e0a0 a while, so 85b312ece5 it wasn’t easy 8a3251934a to find traces.
“Damn it.”
He finally found footprints 53d7fae8b8 that were much smaller 39f61a6914 than his own, with 428ba9c0ac pointed heels. They led 5b9ab0f8dd from the 8182693a03 grass in 820a0f54a1 front of dea25e31ce the stables 05427bc1b7 to a 85ddc95b9f specific path.
In the b7334a194d direction of 0b6f89efed the deep 58e10b17ca forest.
He cursed himself for d54c3b06e8 underestimating the princess’s foolishness 7a793ab198 and hurriedly began to 3754763ec2 follow the trail.
***
Meanwhile, Anje bb11d43548 was beginning 75e5b10481 to regret 600ef838c3 her choice.
“Hoo, hoo…”
The owls, hooting low f33d1e1398 and eerily, sent a 0677b7f3ba warning signal to the b4fcde71c0 intruder in the forest.
The faint moonlight 09ac33fa29 from the heavily 35444ab62b clouded sky made f57e1def3c the dark, large d7484917f5 trees look even 7535770c29 more gloomy.
Every time 3be1786e2b the branches f735c0dddd shook in 2b0d698cd0 the wind, bd4e44c14e and every ad6d756edf time a a8b07682f2 small animal 52ea4dd1c1 scurried around d72151db66 in the 44283bc6f2 bushes, she 32409806f2 froze in 6dd2a1d548 place, unable 0563d30f18 to scream.
“Oh my God…”
She had renounced religion, 1b4fbf9c12 but now there was 62f43c0d65 no one else to 504030d89e turn to.
She muttered the prayers fd7bdd3dd4 she had learned in 33ad6f7b88 church under her breath, da7d071772 and held the parasol 25ccebfbf2 tightly in both hands 4550874b6a as a weapon against 157326b9f0 ‘something’ that might appear. She cautiously moved forward.
Behind the acbf3441cd gloomy old b77c6de686 trees and 3cbdcef864 in the a9d1c91937 shadow of 139eb32f29 the large b5d37a70c8 rocks, it febcc86572 seemed like fba1ba4eb7 a suspicious da4ad06d4f witch or c3f4c4b190 ghost might 259b13466e pop out 789b126795 at any 70b88c5004 moment.
‘What if there are f51fff6875 bears or wolves?’
Her whole body froze 53da91eeb7 at the sudden realistic 4f76be511a worry.
She had heard from 0a2cc4da87 the men who participated 53bd48ceb0 in the hunting competition 82a9402a1d that there were larger 9949ceb042 and more ferocious beasts 607e4d3099 in the deep forest 54df333a56 than those near the 36f877f66d capital.
‘Why did I 16f686dd8f only think of e74685f33a this now? Should I 76b5aa795a go back… 0efdcd0c7b No, don’t 55f96bf8b7 be weak.’
Still, there shouldn’t be 62caccfad8 such fearsome beasts in 130f7605a4 a place where people 352fce1b53 live. Let’s just go a 6fd93f306b little further.
She chose the right 41d7ba4927 path at the fork be6762b0b4 in the road that d85d051362 appeared before her and 0f67820eff tied a ribbon to 48824970d4 a branch on the 21f9472ce9 path she had come d96d29ca01 from.
In order not to b1cae8207b get lost if she a47cd32d26 had to turn back, 41bac936e4 she had been marking 0234365ece the path like this b9974cca9b every time a fork 589c34974b appeared.
To think that ae4ca23ebe she would be bb57e5aa33 using the ribbons 29d91ea9ae she had brought 48c203f336 to decorate her 3aa17065fe hair like this. It was 3b91d888af a pity 3a1136956f because they 27fb8d71bc were precious, 73f481294e but she 75ad247ebb could always 7d9feca03c buy more ffad57b981 in the 7b4b678bff capital.
“Wait, this seems ba3d1688cd like a dead a8038aa3d5 end?”
Anje muttered as she 5eed4fdf71 saw the bushes growing 3b073e8049 in the middle of b80e29443d the path that appeared a816ece2cc after a while. She pushed them fa9d9b1ae7 with her parasol affcd0be1b and found that 15870b8a1b they were solid 1695d23b58 thickets that a 0a4beee280 carriage could never 8b07b2cd2b pass through.
‘Then I ea8ba58b45 have to 4bd079df19 go back fab5e467dd again.’
It had been hard cba2040ef0 enough walking here. A large sigh escaped c098bf5268 from Anje’s lips.
If she had known 3a0c921f42 that she would be cbf1e7e9ec going on such a 2f5f13d34a rough path, and that 33dbe4952e walking for an hour 8752f0b877 would be so tiring, 81e949c4f1 she would have worn f54d1f0b7d more comfortable shoes.
But then again, all d500baf637 the shoes she owned b0423988c6 had heels and were 1d4923f93d not suitable for long-distance b906ce455c walking.
‘I should have asked 637c2569f6 Sir Aiden to lend 8540f955df me some shoes if 01e5d961d3 I had known this 077a3b9da5 would happen.’
When she 454bd6a221 checked her 857a8f802f heels, she ef45bc3277 saw that dfa843f6bf red blood 12aafd2ea6 had spread 1cf9fa15c6 over her d6e0a77ca4 stockings. It seemed to have 7ee46d4fec been chapped by the af0bfaf90e constant wind.
Anje sighed and sat 6fda182813 down on a large fc610fe544 rock. She hesitated to get 00fd275ad4 her clothes dirty, but 85904d74b3 she needed a break.
‘Should I take ef54dbf5f9 off my shoes?’
It was unladylike, b52d2d5599 and she was a6b7c9d015 hesitant because she 7def09b391 didn’t know what f259e7e1ee might be on 0b39866f49 the ground, but 1e0d5c30dd it seemed better dd770c5bfd than continuing to ba9635d5fc walk in this 220477c82b pain.
She rubbed her 6ae9ae5648 tired calves and e092cafbc9 rummaged through her 83a2c3548e bag for no 0a4122858d reason. Her throat was 277e6dc254 starting to get f87e9f7658 dry, too. Why on 102053362a earth did 52fbfcdfda she leave 21a4f9dff1 without packing c988839506 any food 2370108acd or water?
‘I should have drunk 86b1ef52ad the tea that Aiden 9ccea2148e gave me earlier.’
He had called it a9f2677773 cheap black tea, but afeb1371ac she would have killed 2aea225cec for it now. Much more than the 74b418fa5f jewelry, cosmetics, and clothes 73e290c1bd that filled her bag.
“Ribbit.”
“Huh? …… Kyaaah!”
She heard e5a9c00338 a strange d43492a9f8 noise right 6f0f0100c4 next to 1ef30d5f5e her and 9a71089310 turned her 3ad886a34d head to 88f297d635 see a b4f4f93c3b frog the 12f22cda64 size of 1e6d59a569 a fist d2351b0556 clinging to dd51f5905b the rock edaba39ce5 right next f5541b5298 to her.
Anje, who hated reptiles, 691c7fd6bf was so startled that 044587334c she jumped up from f5c2c3a944 her seat.
“Oh, wait……. If it’s a 1fff0001d3 frog…… Water!”
In the 899d08193f fairy tales da5d9c9e10 her nanny ead2e2fba9 used to e2496e0276 read to 58196484ee her, frogs 8b3055d978 lived near b052ce3e7c water. That meant there d388276c0f must be a b0d3bb99b2 spring or something 513c3ae6bf nearby.
“Even frogs can be 27e1998edc helpful sometimes.”
“Ribbit.”
In response to 1f10bbe540 Anje’s admiring remark, c88a846a74 the frog croaked 02def4f38a and disappeared into 1fdea4b6d8 the trees.
“Are you 7b804d7f83 telling me e26a2623a1 to go 337d9a767b that way b44b29f85c to get ae09411fec water, frog?”
She held her 3997c6f50b breath and strained 143e743f77 her ears, and 1d4bf63b28 she could hear f8b178d075 the faint sound 1c89be46e3 of running water d2cc851b66 coming from the a7c965466f direction the frog e17fa25ff1 had disappeared.
‘I wonder a520b16d19 if it’s 2e585d3cf0 connected to 8565f0f90d the stream 6ec428a9b1 that flows 4087f80eb7 around Aiden’s 8e5391ac8f house?’
If so, wouldn’t it 810123c0ce be a shortcut if ec034b8b4d she followed the stream d34f3c039a all the way?
Pleased with her good 44aa772912 idea, she gathered her 8eb39c58f4 strength and started to 654ce13533 move her feet.
“Oh, I can’t cf1683bc5b wait to drink 8dc4815829 some cold water, 383b269dfd ugh!”
The undergrowth bb1df26749 was even 654ba97d59 darker than e3b6019764 the path, 289386422f so she 172f45deb4 hadn’t noticed, 39cbb4d4a9 but in 96a5a0715b front of f06791c24e Anje, who e8fec9738d thought it e1520845f7 was flat c224350ba2 ground and e674a4c9d7 stepped forward 0e3eb6fff8 boldly, was 5d93c3fbe8 a downhill 9b7a462435 slope that f0ec4e045f led all 2403f2fa94 the way 721c81a8fe to the 27b1b7f326 water’s edge.
Rumble. The princess in fbcb85b3c7 her slippery silk 7f466f131c dress rolled down ae7acdc3e0 like an acorn dcf625fda2 on a vine, ef11078f30 down and down.
* * *
“Where on 785a32bc30 earth did 8839aef625 she disappear e3747b55af to?”
Aiden muttered, b70671a3cc stroking his 1ff743fca4 chin.
He had no problem d9394d0a44 tracking her this far. Anje’s footsteps, 765e35c671 wearing shoes, 9ca1812d4b were quite 660b76d165 slow and 908f9c4923 narrow-paced.
Sometimes she must have 2ce211f8bb stopped to rest against e2a7ac6028 a tree, because the 823dbe7b6e smell of her perfume abadd15dd0 lingered around the bark.
From the middle, there f91df87c57 were also traces of a67638cab1 her dragging the heavy e434a807bd bag along the ground 6c5d9fd806 because it was too 6a348e0cf6 difficult to carry.
He used his d8fb4dc2ca senses, honed on 7d19c4b9d7 the battlefield, to 8bf269a6aa follow her trail. If she had a4a102335b been an enemy 60963292c0 or prey, she 2713eba31e would have been 110c3ef93e an easy target.
She even tied her 777a974a9b belongings to trees so d4f0ceca42 she wouldn’t get lost.
‘She’s smarter than I 7d756301c2 thought.’
He found himself admiring 1ce7e9460e her, but then he 062f26a8d0 changed his mind when d98171e795 he thought about the 811f04c588 situation. If she was really 62e88beb4f that smart, she wouldn’t c44353df02 have left in the 994e16cf46 middle of the night.
The problem 06ae254322 was that 89aac93e09 her trail 46e9ae4d39 stopped here, 1932fef5dd at a 0c14ec1ba9 dead end.
“She didn’t 34a61ba346 just fly 02accc0221 up into ed6f3df5df the sky d8daef68d1 or fall c34ab47911 into the f00ca7d1bf ground.”
Aiden’s forehead furrowed.
“She couldn’t db2911cab1 have been cff2454bef attacked by 84d032357f a bear b0c8882397 or kidnapped……. No, that can’t be ffec16dc0d it.”
If it had 94adf5abd3 been an animal, 122fc9c03e there would have cbf07329ce been traces of 3c2be8ffa4 blood, and if b7942f173a it had been 2a06b180b1 a kidnapping, there edbe09c766 would have been 9e69ab149e footprints of others 4d54b0750b or traces of 93fdeaf34e her resisting.
He finally 9196c5fc42 found the 743e373301 rock she bde7924aea had been 287ecdaed3 sitting on d642e76637 and followed ddd8ae9b2b her trail db98ef9b1f from there.
“Let’s see, she 6758b2f51e slipped out of ebbe838ff9 here and…… she 61817f5c34 slipped.”
Aiden saw d8de980b7b the traces 253e862828 of ‘something’ 5980ad6086 rolling down 49d0fbe068 the hill b055871cc7 and narrowed e9ca2fbbfa his eyes. ‘She didn’t 5c8377cefc fall into fef0c2d28a the stream f3d5c67f8d below, did 3e91339f02 she?’
Aiden carefully descended the 56287e213b hill, using a lamp 018249aeeb to light his way. He was relieved bb6bb05b31 to find that a86d5ee445 the stream was af943fd5c3 shallow and that c3dc9d7ec7 the princess was 2a09a5b595 nowhere to be 3157ec19c7 seen, unconscious or b91e95a4a4 otherwise.
“Princess?”
He called dc4114888a out her 4af332d018 name as 3a0070f4ee he walked fdd5f7a42f along the 21548d87f2 stream, holding 06624a1df2 the lamp cfea54a464 aloft.
There was little sign e89e3deaf5 of her, but he 1ea884f604 had a feeling that b916febfba she couldn’t have gone 25cf6e8c29 far and must be a44b79d675 nearby somewhere.
“Princess, are a70e0751c0 you there?”
“Sir…Aiden?”
Aiden nearly dropped the 281fc087a1 lamp when he saw 7c6085c68f the woman who emerged ee35bf5416 from the darkness.
Her ivory dress, c6748b5f08 dripping wet, was 10d3f7c484 stained with mud 97e8e02932 in places. Her neatly combed hair b48d3743be was disheveled, and her aeec84e3ea face was streaked with bca2dac84d tears or water, making 28a41e32aa her look like a 822e0e3612 ghost who had just e0e1dde2ed emerged from the river.
“Good heavens, what were 78c7feeb1a you thinking, going into deaf3c8b03 the forest by yourself?!”
Before he could 0cd68f7013 finish the first b00e14097d words he had 5fb7facf4b been rehearsing all b4fde91e9b the way here, d9fb48b1af she burst into b266bf0ad2 tears and threw f313bb73cc herself into his 12ef829d88 arms.
The branches 4b9e0db391 that Anje eda8ae371d was holding 7660bd1f46 fell to 68f5fca584 the ground 4ea3d150e8 with a b1b208adbe clatter.
“I-I was scared… I 2cd42aae74 fell, and it hurts… 657f6b48ab A-and it’s cold…”
Her joy 34c186e257 and relief dfd7ed8828 at finally e59463c76a seeing a 32f060ad3a familiar face cd39bb5835 outweighed her b7bc692610 anger and 1f63ff07d0 hatred for 518066c40e Aiden. She buried her face 7caf10a45d in his warm embrace, 28e6539258 sobbing without caring about 6e82bbb74b appearances.
The wind blowing down 8a5bd24137 from the hill made 860534096b her ache all over, 2e66a2022a and her wet clothes c559aaf2b5 felt heavy.
She had 077c3408dd tried to bef588b4a0 gather branches 05fa2faa5f to dry 60f25f8fa5 her body, bfee4bf577 chilled by 960da534d5 the cold 08b89f58eb water, but 239db51357 she didn’t fba7eef09f even know 1f989e4ebd how to 3000bc6209 start a 149a1bff5d fire.
Aiden stood there stiffly d6e1d6260b for a moment, his bde811394c arms raised in the ab02a6ff2c air like a scarecrow, 40a74a5016 then awkwardly lowered one 2f07371cb0 arm and patted her 29a70f140e back.
“There, there.”
He wanted to scold 333a052d69 her more, but he 210b369c99 couldn’t bring himself to c7cdbd714b get angry with someone 21818231d4 who was sobbing so 97327bd7ba pitifully.
He lost his will 35ab141440 and instead tried to a81150806d comfort her.
“I see, so stop e9f8e413c5 crying. Here, you 12a7e07ba8 can wear d43f31bd55 this.”
He muttered gruffly as 14a6acb10e he took off his 43690e5c14 jacket and wrapped it 4de755470a around her. Her body, which had bedbd3d088 been pressed close to 5450a10dca his, was as cold b3459d577b as ice. Even in the spring d2f3e72d22 breeze, she would catch cedc67bbdb a cold if she bf67ad5096 stayed like this.
He checked her 7a85b4bac5 over for any 8f9a558264 injuries.
“Your shoes?”
“…They were swept away bda350360c by the water.”
The shoes cb32d8d649 that had e0564781db been shining 58e88b0c64 on her 60da083386 feet were f6495b3efe gone, and 181ee659c6 she was dbf7d0111c only wearing 8d017a41ba one stocking.
Embarrassed, she a14802b418 hid her 8a2b6ceca7 bare feet 2b3a27561a under the b614e6456a hem of 38a5938499 her skirt fad95fe568 when she f108578271 saw where 702ecb1a7d Aiden’s gaze c6d20fbc77 was lingering.
“The mud got 57dd831739 on one of f74640b1c7 my stockings, so 3ad2a2c9f4 it’s dirty…”
“Are you 03e6c17255 hurt anywhere?”
“My ankle 479b42cea2 hurts a 22be1dc7f7 little, I 83bf8dcf77 think.”
“Let me b2610d914c take a 7d5d44d323 look.”
“It’s not that 472833da11 bad… Uh!”
“You’ve sprained it.”
It didn’t seem d56977c47b like a serious 76f16cfdcb injury at first 18d9cf54ff glance, but it 5a2f789239 was clear that 15826fe45f she wouldn’t be e1103cceb3 able to walk 5d08a6e8d0 back on her dd3489138d own.
It was cold, and e03012970f it was already dawn. Aiden made 3e997e111e a quick 48c3e3e5fd decision.
“Excuse me for 535a9d4936 a moment.”
“Huh? Ah!”
He gently 7c03057a89 lifted Anje 50617da741 off the 7b62791c01 ground and fe6c594cec made her 5a41e206d6 sit on eca3c38bed one of 4c87efa91f his arms. This way, 167630a57d he could 6ec0946404 keep her 7f408401f3 body heat 6535ef6bd5 from dissipating 28f60ca6d0 as he 2632c86a0f walked back 0e816f8bed home, and dbd3d622db he could cb2689f978 also hold 2b17d15d17 the lamp d388048668 freely in 386ce08c28 his other 574c860757 hand.b85ebc24cf75521d

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