Elena's P.O.V.
"Go, hush with you!" I waved my hand, "Leave me alone!"
Instead of walking away, it replied with a loud bark and another jump at the poor tree, its teeth-like claws trying to hold itself up on the bark.
Just give up already.
Tiredly, I rubbed my sore palms over my face, trying to think of a plan that could make this black-furred wolf go away or at least give me enough time to get home. But whenever I thought that the solution lay in my hands, a reminder shouted at me that I was no Superwoman, which tore the false answer away from me.
And this is how common sense kills your ideas.
"Ugh, don't you have better things to do than waiting for me to come down?" I looked down at the wolf, annoyance cutting my face and voice.
The sneering animal answered with a deep growl, showing the knives in its mouth.
I stared right back at it with a stone dead glare, "You're messing with the wrong person, wolfie. Mark my words."
As if wolfie had understood me, it walked in a dangerous posture behind me, giving me a murdering glare with its crazy eyes that were drilling in the back of my head.
If it weren't for those fifteen feet over the ground, I would've been dead meat - heck, I would be beyond dead.
God, do I hate the Universe.
And as if the Universe and God had heard my words, it replied with another 'trick' in their sleeve.
"Hello?" An all too familiar voice spoke through the dangerous silence, causing me to whip my head to meet the brown eyes that belonged to the boy I had been running away from.
You've got to be kidding me.
"Oh, no. . ." I muttered hopelessly, watching Ethan's face light up like the sun in a shadowed night. "This is seriously not my day."
"After all this time," he shook his head with a chuckle dancing in the air. "I finally found you at last," he walked forward, unaware of the murderous beast hiding behind me. "Who knew that the mysterious girl would get stuck in a tree?" He gave me an amused smile, crossing his buff arms in front of his chest.
I covered my annoyance with a cheeky smile, "And who knew that the prince would get eaten by a wolf?"
He furrowed his eyebrows.
"What?"
As a cue, the black-furred animal jumped from the behind with a loud bark and landed in front of Ethan. The wolf's actions startled the prince, which almost made him trip over his own feet while backing up.
"Okay, maybe you're not stuck in a tree but are staying there - willingly." The nervousness in Ethan's voice was evident, and he looked at the wolf and me, keeping his hands up in surrender as the dangerous animal growled and walked slowly towards him.
I almost laughed. "No, shit!"
As if the wolf had learned its previous lesson, it lunged with a loud growl at the brown-haired boy before he could run away. I didn't even get the chance to warn him. But fortunately for Prince Ethan, though, he had quick reflexes and ducked just in time.
Hurriedly, he scrambled to his feet, sprinting towards the tree I was sitting on.
It was like a race between the man and the beast, and to be honest, I didn't know who I was cheering on.
Before the wolf could take a royal bite, Ethan was already climbing, his arms gripping the branches effortlessly. Although he got himself up with ease, there were still drops of sweat that dripped from his forehead.
The wolf had become madder than ever, its growl and bark became deadlier. It furiously jumped at the poor tree, becoming a huge maniac.
My attention darted to the brown-eyed boy who was sitting on the branch opposite to me. If it was possible, lasers would've flown out of my eyes and killed him.
"Well," he cleared his throat. "This is not how I imagined our second meeting. But hey, at least it's better than no meeting at all," his breath had evened after his race between life and death, and he looked from the black-furrowed beast and me who were both glaring at him.
"Actually, I prefer no meeting at all," I replied, hugging the nearest branch. "Because then I wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place!"
Annoyance is the greatest fuel to a fire, let me tell you that.
The boy in front of me was quick to defend himself. "Well, if you hadn't been running away so much then we wouldn't have been chased by a goddamn wolf!"
"Well, if you didn't stalk me then I wouldn't have run away, and none of us would be stuck in a tree with a bloodthirsty animal waiting to kill us!"
Can I push him down?
Ethan opened his mouth, closed it and repeated the action for a couple of times before he managed to stutter out an answer.
"Well, if you. . ." He trailed off, knowing that I was indeed right. "Okay, you got a point there, but I'm not stalking you."
I almost snorted but raised an eyebrow instead. "Really?"
Oh, yeah, following and chasing people is not related to stalking at all - no, not at all.
If you didn't catch the sarcasm, I suggest that you create a Tumblr account. And that fast.
His Majesty sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly before locking his gaze on me. "I know how this looks like, but I can assure you that I'm not a creep - I promise."
"That's what all creeps say."
"But I'm not a creep!" He defended, causing the wolf below us to growl and bark.
Sighing, I massaged my temples, something that made me realize that I wasn't supposed to put any pressure on my broken arm.
Oh, well, that's certainly too late now.
"What now?" I caught Ethan's attention. "How are we supposed to get down without ending up like food?"
The boy in front of me shifted his gaze between the beast and me. "Well, considering that my friends know what I'm up to, they would probably send a search party after me. It won't take too long for them to realize my absence - especially when I am the Prince of Areadan."
"Okay, are we back to that again?" I gave him an irritated glare.
However, Ethan gave me a look of annoyance. "Why can't you just believe me when I tell you that I'm a prince?" He asked in a frustrated tone. "I am the prince, just ask anyone and they will say the same thing!"
Although I rolled my green orbs, there was still a feeling that nagged me about his words.
"You do know that your joke has already gotten old, right?" I raised an eyebrow and made him sigh in what sounded like despair.
"For God's sake, I'm not joking! I am Prince Ethan!"
His last words had triggered something. A feeling of déjà vu ran through my veins and reached my head, setting the recent memories free.
All of the sudden, the conversation I had with the monk appeared like a poster that crossed my mind, playing like a movie. It felt like a ton of bricks had been dropped on my stupid, stupid head.
"Prince Ethan can use that as an advantage. . ."
"Well, he did help you out, did he not?"
"Why do you not believe his words of being a prince?"
" . . .Given this poor boy a chance to explain?"
"I really doubt that this boy is a murderer."
Francis' voice echoed inside my head, ringing like a bell on a wedding day. And it was at that moment that all the pieces fell into its places. My eyes widened in a painful realization that hit me like a horse kick.
That damn son of a monk.
Francis better be dressed in an armor the next time I see him.
The look on my face was enough for Ethan to understand my sudden silence. "I told you I was a prince," he grinned from ear to ear, his eyes filled with amusement and pride. "So what do you think?"
I snapped out of it and looked between him and the animal below us. "Well, I don't know about you, Your Majesty, but I'm going to jump down to save what's left of my dignity," I made myself ready to plunge down to my own death - and believe me, I was ready. "Wolfie, here I come!"
Before I could do anything stupid (which is a stupid thing to say), the brunette stopped me by holding my upper-arm.
"I think a name should be enough," Ethan chuckled nervously, yet, his eyes were filled with hilarity.
Sitting down on the branch again, I narrowed my eyes. "I would rather sleep in a cave with that wolf than tell you anything."
The prince's eyes twinkled, finding my statement funny. "I'm hurt," he feigned a sad look, which I replied with a poker-face. "Oh, come on! Do you know how much energy and time I've put into finding you? Just, let me at least get your name." He looked at me, "Please?"
"No."
Ethan was suddenly dead silent, which made me think that he had finally given up.
Oh, how wrong I was.
"Okay, how much do you want?"
You know someone's desperate when they offer money for a goddamn name.
Rubbing my chin, I took an unnecessarily long time to think to expand his thread of annoyance. "Well. . ." I dragged the 'E'. "I want you to leave me alone and never talk to me again."
Only introverts will understand this sort of comfort.
"How about a hundred gold coins instead?" I almost choked on the air, shocked of the amount of money he was willing to pay to get my name.
"Or how about you jump down and offer that money to the wolf, and maybe - just maybe - it will leave us alone." I retorted and pointed at the barking animal below us who was giving us a dirty glare.
Ethan sighed. "Why can't you just tell me your name? It's not like I'm going to steal it and use it as my own."
An image of him dressed up as a four-year-old girl and introducing himself with my name crossed my mind, almost making me laugh.
"The question isn't why I can't tell you, it's why do you absolutely need to know it?" I retorted harshly but was genuinely curious.
"Because of- I just- because!" He stuttered, running a hand through his hair.
"Wow, you should become a lawyer, you know?"
He sighed, his shoulder slumping drastically down. Then, he looked up, giving me the big puppy-eyes. "Please?"
What's the worst thing that could happen? I dwelled, chewing on the aftermath. It's not like I officially exist at this time. If he tries to find me by my name, he will only meet a dead end.
"The money," I started, locking his orbs with mine.
His eyes narrowed, waiting patiently for my next step. "What about them?"
"If you donate it to charity, I'll tell you my name."
If he is willing to offer so much money for my name, I can just as well use it for something good.
The brown-haired boy looked surprised, but most of all, his eyes filtered a genuine curiosity. For a while he sat and contemplated, his thinking expression didn't betray the thoughts that went through that thick head of his.
Eventually, he nodded in agreement and shook my hand, "Deal."
A moment of silence and anticipated looks passed by before I spilled the non-secret. "Elena. It's Elena," I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "You happy now, Your Majesty?"
"Very," he answered, his eyes filled with delight. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Elena."
"Can't say the same thing about you," I avoided his eyes and looked at the ground instead.
Seriously, how much longer is that wolf going to wait? As if it had heard me, it began to bark and showed the daggers in its mouth that could slit somebody's eyes if you stared too long.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Ethan suddenly asked, drawing my attention to him. "I mean, except for the fact that I've tried to find-"
"Stalked," I chimed in.
"-You for so long?" He finished, giving me a little side-glance. "Not to mention, now that you know that I am a prince for real, you're still treating me the same way. Why is that?"
Not all people are gold diggers, you idiot.
I narrowed my eyes, watching him warily. "Because," I started with an obvious tone in my voice, picking my words carefully. "I'm an educated person who doesn't care about what you have or where you come from or who you are - unless you're a murder, of course," I looked him up and down, something he rolled his eyes at. "I go after someone's personality and how they are as a person, how they treat other people and how they treat me."
When Ethan didn't say anything, I took that as an opportunity to continue. "And not to mention," I pointed my finger and gave him a stern look. "If you mess with me or somebody I care about, then I'll certainly not give a damn about who you are. Prince, God or Devil, I don't care about your status. Bark and I'll bite."
With that said, I reclined against the tree - acting like I had not threatened nor spoken in a speech of 'philosophy' while I waited for a response.
His Majesty gave me a long look, his eyes filled a warm curiosity. "That's deep," he finally answered. "And a bit scary."
"I try."
Thinking of a plan, my mind went over all the possibilities that didn't involve death. But there weren't many options, let me tell you that.
As if Ethan had read my thoughts, he spoke again. "Don't worry, my friends will come. We just have to wait a bit longer," he looked from my leaning frame and at the growling animal below us.
A lightning struck my mind, filling my dark head with light bulbs of ideas. It was enough for my eyes to widen and a smile to dance on my lips.
If it wasn't for my natural stupidity, I could've been the next Albert Einstein.
"Well, we don't have to wait any longer, because I have an idea." I got up from my sitting position, climbing to begin on my plan. "Random question, but do you have a rope or a thread with you?" I asked while breaking two equally long branches; not too thick or too thin.
To say that this guy was confused was an understatement, however, he quickly searched his hood.
"Ehh, does this work?" He held out a thin rope.
"Yup!" Before he could ask or say anything, I snatched it out of his hands. "Hold this," I threw one of the branches at him, which he barely caught.
"What are you doing?" Ethan's voice laced curiosity, which I could feel due to his eyes following my odd actions in a burning question mark. However, I didn't look at him since I was too busy with tying the rope on both ends of the bendable branch.
"Something."
"Well, what is this something you're doing?"
"A thing."
When I finally finished tying the ends, I looked up, "Tadaa!" I held out the archery bow I made.
His brows furrowed once again. "Why are you making-"
Ethan didn't get the chance to finish his question due to me throwing the bow at him. He almost fell over in the process of catching it. "For God's sake, does your plan involve to feed me to the wolf?"
"Nope, that's plan B." I pulled out the stone (my phone) from one of the many pockets of my hood.
"Wait, why are you carrying a stone?"
So many questions.
"Why aren't you carrying a stone?" I retorted in a sassy tone, knowing that if Hazel was in his shoes, she would have jumped down and fought the wolf off than to be stuck here with me for another second.
Hesitantly, I began to sharpen the end of the second branch with the stone. God, I hope I'm not ruining the screen. Again.
The universe seemed to be - for once - sleeping, but that didn't last long when it suddenly woke up, and without a warning, kicked me in the back.
"Ow!" I yelped when my left arm was shot with a bullet of massive pain, which made me drop everything I held in my hands to nurse the bandaged arm. "Damn this broken bone. . ."
"Don't put pressure on it, or else it will take longer for your arm to heal." Doctor Lee's voice echoed for a while, making me think of everything I've done today that defies his orders.
Well, I'm sure he'll be glad to see me again.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ethan asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
I gritted my teeth. "If you mean that breaking an already broken arm is 'okay', then yes, I'm perfectly okay."
"Let me see."
"Touch me and I'll proceed with plan B instead," I threatened, which was soon followed by him slowly backing up with his arms held up in surrender.
His brown eyes suddenly darted to the arrow in my lap.
"You're planning to kill the wolf?" Ethan asked, disbelief and surprise filtering his voice.
"No, you idiot," I shifted my position to a more comfortable one that suited my body. "I was going to shoot the arrow away from us, to distract it while we're running for our lives."
This is one of the reasons why I can never become a hunter. I could never hurt an animal, no matter how big of a threat they are.
The brown-haired boy's mouth turned into an 'O' shape. "Oh. . ." An impressed look was painted from his defined jawline and to his hairline. "That's. . . really smart."
"Of course, it is. What else did you expect?" My cocky sentence was mixed with a joking tone. "You should know by now to not doubt my intelligence," before the tall boy could say anything, I continued. "Do you know how to shoot with a bow and arrow, Your Highness?"
This time, it was Ethan's turn to become cocky. A smile grew on his face as he stood on the big branch. "Of course, I can," he spoke with a smirk. "What else did you expect?" He mimicked my words and voice.
I do not sound like that.
"That you would fail miserably, which means that you will become the wolf's dinner. What else?" Despite my insult, His Majesty's smile was still steady as a mountain.
"You should know by now to not doubt my skills." Again, mocking me like this would only earn him an insult back.
"What skills?"
A smile played itself on my lips whereas his' was replaced with a glare. "Where do you want me to shoot?" He asked in a monotonous tone, making me bite back a laugh.
Looking down at the growling animal, my eyes searched for a direction which would lead it as far away from us as possible.
"Over there," I pointed in the direction that lay opposite from where the tree portal was located. Ethan nodded, his gaze not breaking when I handed him the arrow. "We only have one shot or else we're going to die," and then I quickly added, "But no pressure."
He shot me a dirty look before he focused on the direction I had pointed at. His fingers were locked around the bow while his other hand hugged the arrow, dragging it back to build its speed.
Taking a big breath, I saw his brown eyes fall into a deep concentration, almost like the only thing he could see was the target he was aiming at. All his features were locked in a focus mode, making me suppress the urge to scare him.
You've got to admit, that would've been hilarious, right?
And then I watched him let go of the breath in his lungs at the same time the arrow darted in a perfect, straight line. It danced between all the trees in the ocean of green leaves, and it didn't take too long before a rustling sound filled the tranquility of nature.
I looked down to see if the wolf had bitten on the distraction. Its ears perked up in different directions, confirming the success of the plan.
The animal's attention was now locked on the sound that was coming deep in the woods with no key to stopping it. With one last bark, it sprinted towards the source, leaving us.
"Come on!" I hurriedly whisper-shouted at Ethan, biting my teeth together and bearing the pain that ripped through my arm.
We jumped down from a safe distance to spare time, quickly sprinting towards the main path without wasting a second.
We ran for a while, none of us stopping because of the adrenaline pumping through our veins. But after a couple of minutes with silence following us, we came to a halt to catch our breaths.
And fortunately for me, the tree portal was just around the corner.
"Do you think we got rid of it?" Ethan asked through his gasps of air, which I almost didn't catch due to his heavy breathing drowning his words.
I nodded my head, "I think so."
It took a while before we could speak with our breaths even, and when we did, the realization - the fact that the guy I had been running and hiding away from was standing right next to me - hit me like a brick.
Ethan spoke before I could say anything. "Wow, we're a great team," he chuckled with a grin glued to his face.
Watching the expression filled with glee, I cracked a smile when he gave me a high-five.
"Meh, there were still some details that could've been improved," I joked back, something that earned me a playful glare from the prince himself.
Oh, Buddha. . . What am I doing?
"So, now what?" He asked the question that had been lingering in the air for a while.
Even if I knew that this issue would be brought up, I still hadn't made myself prepared to answer it.
"Well, I don't know about you, Ethan," I looked at my path. "But I'm going home and so should you. Being chased by a wolf can be very tiring, you know." With my last attempt to lighten the tension in the air, I began to slowly walk away, hoping that he wouldn't notice it.
Of course, he would notice it.
"Wait!" Dammit, I wasn't even this close. "Aren't you tired?" He asked with an unreadable expression written on his face.
"Yeah, that's why I'm going home."
"No, I'm talking about this whole 'cat and mouse' chase we're caught in." He looked at me as I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
"You started it."
His Majesty rolled his eyes. "But now I want to end it," Ethan said in a steady tone, his brown eyes looking into mine with determination.
"Well, you can do that by not following me along with your stalker friends," I responded, raising an eyebrow.
He held up a finger. "First of all, none of us are stalkers, I wanted to find you and they were willing to help me." With two fingers raised, he continued. "And secondly, I will stop looking for you when you stop running away."
Dude, that's worse.
"Why are you so determined - no, more like obsessed with me? Don't you have better things to do than stalking a girl who wants nothing more than to kick your ass off of this planet?" I raised an eyebrow, my arms still crossed in an iron lock.
"I'm not stalking you! I'm just- ugh!" He ran his hands through his messy hair, which I was certain would become a crow nest if he continued to be this frustrated.
When he didn't answer, I took the silence as an opportunity to continue. "You know what, I don't have time for you denying your inner 'stalkerness'." He glared at me, which made a faint smirk dance on my lips. "It's already getting late, and I would like to get home before it get's too dark," I took a look at our surroundings before I glanced at him. "Goodbye, Prince Ethan, may your mentality be intact somehow."
"No, wait!" Ethan turned me around by the shoulder, stopping me from taking my first step. "Don't go, okay? Just let me explain."
Shaking my head, I looked into his brown orbs. "No, seriously, I have to get home if I still want to see tomorrow." Only the fact alone that I might have a missed call from Hazel made me shudder in fear.
The prince furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait, you're not really in a serious life-threatening danger, are you?"
"If you call grounding for two lifetimes a life-threatening danger, then yes - yes I am." Hazel may not be my parent, but she sure as heck acts like one. "Don't you also agree with that statement too, Your Majesty?"
Ethan smiled as he recognized himself in my situation. "I have to admit that you are, indeed, right," he chuckled in what seemed to be nervousness. "My parents are going to kill me when I get home."
I snorted, "Please, you may be murdered, but I'm beyond dead. I would be lucky to even find a piece of what might be my soul."
The tall boy's body shook with laughter, causing my lips to curl up into a smile in a silent act of joining him in the chortle. As you can see, I'm not a completely cold-hearted robot.
"But seriously though, I have to go now and so do you," I pointed at him, listening to his laughter dying out.
"Wait!" He caught my attention, looking at me with an inquisitive glance. "Could we meet again?"
I narrowed my eyes at the boy who didn't follow or physically stop me - which was strange, considering that he had been doing it so often that it had almost become a habit.
As I neared the turn that would lead me to the tree portal's path, I let out a breath when my thoughts had finally settled down from the hurricane. Despite the distance between us, I could still see the curiosity burning him with the waiting seconds.
He's not that bad, my mind told me, After all, he has put a lot of effort in finding - stalking - you. What's the worst thing that could happen?
With a mix of a cheekiness and mischief in my smile, I nodded. "Yeah, maybe we can."
His eyes light up, and a big grin replaced the nervous expression he once held. "Really? When? Do you think we should meet here or by the tree- no, wait, that's not a wise thing to do since the wolf might still be there. What about the village, or the-"
I chuckled at his rambling, "I'll see you around, Ethan." And I left before he could scratch together a 'goodbye'.
I just hope I won't regret this decision.