FTP-12

Chapter: FTP-12eb85dc51c1fcb8ca

Aiden hurriedly 3a3a62cdcf checked the 36f25ec3ec stables, starting e8c0afaa87 with the f2aa48f047 horses.
“Princess?”
The horses 1d6c4789c5 were both 41645e92d3 still there, 72cbf43032 and there e34d640ea6 were signs bdda719f2c that someone 0de8367336 had tried 686fa38fa3 to saddle edf6bbf158 them, but 63997ee4c2 failed.
He searched b75b02c057 the surrounding e40eaf14b9 area, including ee4881541f the barn 40a397b1b4 and the 460bbf5f29 livestock pen, 67edb1c035 just in aa008c36a0 case. There was no sign 9cb9dfbd21 of Anje anywhere.
“Princess, where are you?”
Aiden felt an 1367e0ed15 ominous sense of 99913beaad foreboding as he 0e3948ed96 searched and searched 27dbf22471 but could not b601328931 find her.
“Surely she didn’t ca6327cd3c walk away… Even f7de8f5c5a if the princess adaba19196 is an idiot, 339c44f2cb she wouldn’t do 86a1365239 that, right?”
This house was surrounded c03ba01dfb by a dense forest, fa356d3aac so the path leading 9a935fbdf1 out was rather dangerous. The coachman who 625a2e5714 had driven them edaa16faec here had grumbled 1848754307 about it several 8227e47df2 times.
Aiden returned to 5464cbe334 the front of 7f3864e017 the stables and 169f6489d4 knelt down to 9acbe3a8b6 look for Anje’s 8af66b54d9 footprints. The ground was dry 030517ced4 since it hadn’t rained 5f5ebca95f in a while, so 2aac13a9ca it wasn’t easy to 20bdea9de0 find traces.
“Damn it.”
He finally found footprints 473df970be that were much smaller 6df1f81644 than his own, with 5de56dcd4f pointed heels. They led from the 6147ead7db grass in front of 7434d0f16b the stables to a 4b2a6063b2 specific path.
In the 71ef78d36c direction of 352cfbb80a the deep be591b8df5 forest.
He cursed himself for 1904a2ab62 underestimating the princess’s foolishness 27858184d8 and hurriedly began to 00d3d748d1 follow the trail.
***
Meanwhile, Anje was beginning df75293eb5 to regret her choice.
“Hoo, hoo…”
The owls, hooting low 33a149fe98 and eerily, sent a bbd31615f7 warning signal to the dbcd73c8c2 intruder in the forest.
The faint 38cd989622 moonlight from 8e8229e726 the heavily 51f06edc88 clouded sky 9b685ea354 made the 7d00b77816 dark, large 656e19df77 trees look ade8b6a6f8 even more 209f81d492 gloomy.
Every time 8e589be312 the branches a3524cd9b6 shook in ac02e8bbf8 the wind, 8bb9d74788 and every 158804c7b1 time a 5c33a49c5c small animal 205daf478f scurried around f4e291bd83 in the 621eb6223f bushes, she a8e4eb5bd1 froze in 45195cb2ce place, unable e037c57a0d to scream.
“Oh my God…”
She had renounced religion, 7c3e60aa87 but now there was c62cf5cec3 no one else to c9b00cba34 turn to.
She muttered the prayers 9de337acec she had learned in 7ed9d2afe8 church under her breath, 83bec654df and held the parasol 40cf9f43af tightly in both hands 0cbf54b8a4 as a weapon against 8ec1685ddb ‘something’ that might appear. She cautiously moved 877b1f932f forward.
Behind the 5547d407d9 gloomy old 1e1a1927cd trees and edc2176466 in the fe8f144dc8 shadow of 487ff08344 the large fac83c3ad7 rocks, it 69239cccd3 seemed like 7d624edee8 a suspicious d434a95579 witch or 8403fe3e28 ghost might 0b254603eb pop out 0df6149051 at any a74274bb1d moment.
‘What if there ab9204c69e are bears or e93656ff25 wolves?’
Her whole 07b78bbd69 body froze 063d784010 at the 11f9863898 sudden realistic 2bd3271bc6 worry.
She had 25a6687624 heard from 123621f425 the men 913e396274 who participated 02f7025066 in the 43049e9d8a hunting competition 17743f3191 that there 902cdd03e0 were larger a07509389f and more 815162441b ferocious beasts 9336c98606 in the eb563d430e deep forest e4a52e2707 than those 8ad8c7f38e near the 49230b43f9 capital.
‘Why did c3bce5e706 I only 66c870380b think of 39254855bd this now? Should I go 9cdedfc3a9 back… No, don’t ea4ba4868e be weak.’
Still, there afd1f87611 shouldn’t be 7909e60e30 such fearsome 368ad6172d beasts in 491d2ddd08 a place 2429b93a0c where people 575fa6c2ab live. Let’s just 37ff14a6a7 go a 6406a45bea little further.
She chose the right 8880b082a0 path at the fork 92a2855901 in the road that f999b5a365 appeared before her and e8a11e3d77 tied a ribbon to 2506ad3417 a branch on the cb10bcc56b path she had come fe2b5b2531 from.
In order not 44179bfac1 to get lost 8a7cfcd70a if she had 098a235935 to turn back, f1b7b3dc56 she had been dbf7efa681 marking the path 45aecdad03 like this every ba61dd57b1 time a fork 5f092929ca appeared.
To think that 8280df1a92 she would be 56e732a1e2 using the ribbons ba436cfaf4 she had brought c5f2469494 to decorate her 1b3d95516c hair like this. It was 8bdce9167a a pity 9a157ac86e because they ad8ff310b5 were precious, cbf51a9c91 but she a58e747990 could always b8d3d6efcc buy more ca2209a2c1 in the dc4287fc8f capital.
“Wait, this 6a3df499f3 seems like b2c4b78235 a dead aa09183784 end?”
Anje muttered 897443d548 as she b43bf7e56c saw the 37cbce894f bushes growing 39bf8adbe1 in the d6d752e4a6 middle of feaf28e534 the path ea58dffe25 that appeared 53188bc3f2 after a 3fa81f02e6 while. She pushed b5ce0dd180 them with c44c30c57f her parasol 9265681370 and found 686d9e0517 that they feff4bae8d were solid 1070fb8729 thickets that 8da7005adf a carriage 6ad3ef27a5 could never ee799d7917 pass through.
‘Then I 75f11884d4 have to 682a7d7350 go back 88900c3067 again.’
It had 5e7e29e934 been hard 8252a22c28 enough walking 4c8a13d308 here. A large sigh 4cb32c63c3 escaped from Anje’s 58635ce36a lips.
If she had known da5c6f7437 that she would be 9ccc7053a5 going on such a 54531e3dd4 rough path, and that 5dc0b2c27a walking for an hour c15317f40d would be so tiring, 876a0c2939 she would have worn 6e710aafd6 more comfortable shoes.
But then fe09eb2c0c again, all 4e2d2fd2d6 the shoes 8bfb17152d she owned b1774ec816 had heels 69684b79df and were 549e8ce751 not suitable 2e18b3ba1a for long-distance 6e7d8f8f0b walking.
‘I should have c5c48627c4 asked Sir Aiden b20fe2054e to lend me 0be57be4bd some shoes if 5d056863a5 I had known b5c4345bc4 this would happen.’
When she 84581f57a4 checked her 9119ba224c heels, she 2309644316 saw that 6ad1149446 red blood 1c94c0c50c had spread add2d04933 over her f6648d07cd stockings. It seemed to have 1b7863a574 been chapped by the 8c23faf859 constant wind.
Anje sighed and sat 1d487fa46f down on a large f48f6e16ca rock. She hesitated to dbbf7202cb get her clothes eb57cb76ec dirty, but she 0fa51efd5f needed a break.
‘Should I take off f4d934e9fa my shoes?’
It was unladylike, 19fab4a0a5 and she was 09a5a5f548 hesitant because she 272c515b99 didn’t know what 8ef75491e4 might be on 93d5b0be70 the ground, but f243f80b9b it seemed better b5522a3664 than continuing to 400a2988bb walk in this 7d9bead74e pain.
She rubbed her 247a6a3343 tired calves and 058211bd3f rummaged through her 20eae281b9 bag for no 87be639f8d reason. Her throat was 06979c87ec starting to get 1f7a726592 dry, too. Why on earth caa6db4af9 did she leave 58f42edaf1 without packing any 8e8cf9830c food or water?
‘I should have b14b8a641f drunk the tea 2d9c63c8d7 that Aiden gave 549b3344db me earlier.’
He had called d2ef8382fd it cheap black 6d19fda30a tea, but she 05b9b1eb8b would have killed b5a80b98b7 for it now. Much more than the f6bd544d8c jewelry, cosmetics, and clothes 51e10c64d5 that filled her bag.
“Ribbit.”
“Huh? …… Kyaaah!”
She heard 45c3e076f6 a strange efb5bb884f noise right bcfe72a426 next to e5c618fe87 her and 43b2814120 turned her 3a49b2d893 head to e2039d8920 see a c0166e9d66 frog the 8ce1650bc2 size of 40a001ca46 a fist 8139cd58b7 clinging to 46e79cda53 the rock c3397ee420 right next 303219bd8a to her.
Anje, who hated reptiles, 49ff4a9dcd was so startled that b2c14e1f4b she jumped up from 074724089f her seat.
“Oh, wait……. If it’s 3e8adfe726 a frog…… da11833f82 Water!”
In the fairy tales 64b8996d08 her nanny used to e4ce555b73 read to her, frogs 8b5a6551dd lived near water. That meant 447e811fe7 there must dd66e727da be a 7fb96af97c spring or c6510209c0 something nearby.
“Even frogs can be a0c5c07e6c helpful sometimes.”
“Ribbit.”
In response ae4c2c6a11 to Anje’s 8ce9bc62e5 admiring remark, a18b54a357 the frog d83c0f1ad4 croaked and f37844f343 disappeared into 817c4ce9f6 the trees.
“Are you telling me 1be9c8c37b to go that way b1dca32fa6 to get water, frog?”
She held f6e5cad335 her breath f6517506ba and strained c574837b23 her ears, 3ad14a0267 and she 4f4acb46f0 could hear ba383ded1f the faint 743b4353f6 sound of d62b92af0c running water 15dec265cc coming from 0af6e1dadf the direction f434ad868c the frog 3c30542939 had disappeared.
‘I wonder if it’s 89bac8b2e2 connected to the stream 9b94fe21f0 that flows around Aiden’s 1e9d27866a house?’
If so, wouldn’t 1a167e8a6c it be a 7334ceb087 shortcut if she 13ca36d762 followed the stream 9ead43520d all the way?
Pleased with her f101880768 good idea, she 7c3f845915 gathered her strength 25e2315e80 and started to 9a39075268 move her feet.
“Oh, I 08eaa93f61 can’t wait c5f20333c8 to drink 925489ab5d some cold f35a0482a6 water, ugh!”
The undergrowth was even 28f6e3a149 darker than the path, dc7a19d7b8 so she hadn’t noticed, efbfcc2dfe but in front of f03dcf0630 Anje, who thought it aad169f2c3 was flat ground and 82a5e5aa94 stepped forward boldly, was 2e7dac99c4 a downhill slope that 33372411a9 led all the way babac4f1ec to the water’s edge.
Rumble. The princess 27e76e088f in her 107a7ef8ee slippery silk 96e10fbf3f dress rolled af9ec638f5 down like f6844fd21f an acorn 9b0b16df25 on a 49765a2952 vine, down d9146be07b and down.
* * *
“Where on 11699f97b2 earth did 39063e7b0e she disappear d7405cbdca to?”
Aiden muttered, stroking 2f12295523 his chin.
He had c682bb98ab no problem 67fd2cb0f3 tracking her 332f083e5f this far. Anje’s footsteps, 256225f65e wearing shoes, adfd2f7820 were quite b96609ad30 slow and 8157de7f03 narrow-paced.
Sometimes she ee9662a78a must have 73a038d593 stopped to a0247ebe1a rest against 2d36937190 a tree, 81f9c4de6c because the 5fe7216597 smell of d8a28702a1 her perfume 2ce0f00e6c lingered around d3bef04d6f the bark.
From the middle, there 55bf5c5f0b were also traces of d059951af6 her dragging the heavy b4a69530fc bag along the ground d9c6557051 because it was too 6bcd401d49 difficult to carry.
He used his senses, 7a8b5d7b1b honed on the battlefield, 8cbc63f03e to follow her trail. If she 087f74390a had been 267f42a5f4 an enemy dd7846820d or prey, 74fc5cf7d3 she would 5d66825acd have been bbec2b0f35 an easy 5bfa169b15 target.
She even tied ac1fdedf22 her belongings to a6917694c0 trees so she fc06c456d2 wouldn’t get lost.
‘She’s smarter e619546f16 than I 79f591c9ca thought.’
He found himself 1d44aa7ab6 admiring her, but c6555c63bd then he changed eeddd70601 his mind when 1e43ffd304 he thought about d9d8171fb9 the situation. If she was really b7a01f2cf0 that smart, she wouldn’t c2c3db42fe have left in the b7b2c87b32 middle of the night.
The problem was b1cdeb65ab that her trail 44fc5584aa stopped here, at 56e616eb5f a dead end.
“She didn’t aa29875b3a just fly 15fed22b98 up into 9aad7209b3 the sky e655d2f198 or fall b2191ef1bc into the f886c15b5a ground.”
Aiden’s forehead furrowed.
“She couldn’t b83ea4f3cf have been f0526c5abc attacked by f20d495d8e a bear 8c369c0954 or kidnapped……. No, that can’t be 262caa4484 it.”
If it had 7d4af3d6d2 been an animal, 0acb357c18 there would have f4c0b9fc47 been traces of a3aa14853d blood, and if 85ede009f9 it had been 43ccb1985a a kidnapping, there 925abfb74b would have been 2972bfde2b footprints of others e2ede7be37 or traces of ceb5edfaa7 her resisting.
He finally found 40833bb051 the rock she 912de22477 had been sitting 008a5a7011 on and followed fc8cf01fd8 her trail from 5740ebebd6 there.
“Let’s see, she slipped 8ab409efc5 out of here and…… 857a90f483 she slipped.”
Aiden saw the 83f2594def traces of ‘something’ 608906db13 rolling down the 7ab61953e7 hill and narrowed 8b05ff66cd his eyes. ‘She didn’t fall 431926af8c into the stream 784ebafc04 below, did she?’
Aiden carefully ed1f52f30b descended the d7ec05db07 hill, using e3d052a282 a lamp 96112bb285 to light 15580e3a7c his way. He was relieved to 1554003b44 find that the stream 49acd97cbc was shallow and that 143539941c the princess was nowhere bce4d58dd7 to be seen, unconscious 00f4a575d3 or otherwise.
“Princess?”
He called out her 63f2b8e4ee name as he walked f330afc4d9 along the stream, holding 2934469c09 the lamp aloft.
There was little c69f2183f0 sign of her, dd944f1971 but he had 44f8c93f26 a feeling that 25e51c798b she couldn’t have 1a3455c46c gone far and 2fbba7737a must be nearby 00422fb84c somewhere.
“Princess, are fedcf42136 you there?”
“Sir…Aiden?”
Aiden nearly 2d39329adf dropped the 277504a260 lamp when feca52fca7 he saw 1236f25208 the woman ead38f47f5 who emerged b5e1939d3c from the d3a7b5a439 darkness.
Her ivory dress, dripping 96a4ba34fb wet, was stained with f953a85687 mud in places. Her neatly combed 9f220f5128 hair was disheveled, 54c8c66f64 and her face 8337124fe8 was streaked with 437c992fa8 tears or water, debbb206f2 making her look 0d68a8e600 like a ghost 458e6a5bf0 who had just ae61a14185 emerged from the 2396e66d0f river.
“Good heavens, what were 818446dd3d you thinking, going into 68dd961d35 the forest by yourself?!”
Before he could finish 797adad3a3 the first words he 3a2c120628 had been rehearsing all afc9473de6 the way here, she 2aa0bf13b3 burst into tears and c098bd8926 threw herself into his bcf650efc0 arms.
The branches d1781de537 that Anje 8dd90a0dd8 was holding 5b5cde51b8 fell to 2932d9d42e the ground 56fe59faf1 with a f81070185c clatter.
“I-I was 79c18e2e2a scared… I 93173316f7 fell, and 7093c676f6 it hurts… f45e884185 A-and it’s 87378e93af cold…”
Her joy c6742da5f6 and relief 697690c0bf at finally 16eaa8a629 seeing a 845e0a7906 familiar face f0e27b42c3 outweighed her 27912cd023 anger and 1ca875ff77 hatred for 8a403ede9c Aiden. She buried her 3be0d2c49d face in his 20c8b91313 warm embrace, sobbing cca6f87adf without caring about b5dd650228 appearances.
The wind blowing a29dcc121c down from the effd651831 hill made her 5f5e295765 ache all over, 941b5ff790 and her wet dd1141e7d9 clothes felt heavy.
She had tried 3d840f2d03 to gather branches 8602a32bd0 to dry her e7e757f318 body, chilled by f60c126cf6 the cold water, aba68525e4 but she didn’t bf2dab5678 even know how 81eb926e4b to start a 8a52122687 fire.
Aiden stood there e0f5a0e1d8 stiffly for a 2b218a3f8b moment, his arms e4f84b2842 raised in the 2d0738c308 air like a e427b03e26 scarecrow, then awkwardly ca124369ae lowered one arm 794a72cb1e and patted her c28951d058 back.
“There, there.”
He wanted 34e5329e2d to scold 31e6fdf673 her more, 2d6a56298a but he 5688aea9da couldn’t bring dd4bc51073 himself to ccc8f58db2 get angry 91b068ba23 with someone ace94a0da1 who was 5d817bffde sobbing so 0b51153fbd pitifully.
He lost his 1bea6d8bd0 will and instead 524c261578 tried to comfort d25235c97a her.
“I see, da3bf5c651 so stop ed97cf8c18 crying. Here, you 35e4cc0220 can wear 6ae4320176 this.”
He muttered 6edfe47dce gruffly as 740fb8d755 he took 0d7e99ebe9 off his ac22db3055 jacket and f72be31052 wrapped it 215735fb65 around her. Her body, which had f53c43012c been pressed close to 5152dea98f his, was as cold 3595224adc as ice. Even in eb14cb1a2e the spring 4ee686e4da breeze, she da21ed66fb would catch b9b29bbf74 a cold e38597a4c7 if she 352c4d5d07 stayed like e6d3fa8c43 this.
He checked her over 5e40185f32 for any injuries.
“Your shoes?”
“…They were swept 0aa0cfd1b4 away by the 2dfd65c737 water.”
The shoes that e7583b3b47 had been shining 6b8af37922 on her feet a6cca71be2 were gone, and a946e2a21a she was only a26d8a4081 wearing one stocking.
Embarrassed, she hid 38ea4286e2 her bare feet d949ccf2e5 under the hem ec49f593fd of her skirt be08a29792 when she saw 499b7bba43 where Aiden’s gaze dad815f1c6 was lingering.
“The mud got on ef9ae6085b one of my stockings, 4e01284c24 so it’s dirty…”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“My ankle hurts e5af68f98e a little, I 07ed76c009 think.”
“Let me take 02b6de01a2 a look.”
“It’s not 1b3e2a06b5 that bad… 1a22389318 Uh!”
“You’ve sprained it.”
It didn’t 953ce164d7 seem like 2a5c968de4 a serious b1c9f5478c injury at b70a49afbc first glance, 120322cbee but it 8d9e8903b9 was clear 60e6a1229c that she 3d547c5fcc wouldn’t be c7fcaa13a4 able to ee808184ca walk back bd438aecdb on her c68313e3ba own.
It was cold, f8047e06b5 and it was dba4c0ff84 already dawn. Aiden made a quick 70f2240c15 decision.
“Excuse me for a 10149a4ae3 moment.”
“Huh? Ah!”
He gently lifted Anje a96fc1488c off the ground and 1e1d5b7123 made her sit on 4fbdd43bd1 one of his arms. This way, 5cd356d766 he could a9e1f168df keep her 2db959fa1a body heat ccbe0c7f44 from dissipating 3569614124 as he 8099862572 walked back 50c927b706 home, and ffb0669396 he could ea386d2bf0 also hold 3815b4d412 the lamp 348d348bf2 freely in 44cf19d6ee his other d9bf430b4b hand.dc6eecdfc9914f79

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