A shrill shout of panic broke the quiet tranquility.
A knife was raised in the air, glinting under the sun’s rays.
But then—
“I can’t...”
The gloved hand wielding the sharp weapon shook, shook some more, and finally let it go, dropping the knife on the grassy ground.
“I can’t do it!” cried a man as he fell to his knees before a fear-stricken white-as-snow maiden. “Forgive me. I beg you, your highness,” he cried as he grabbed the end of the woman’s long dress and covered his face with it. “Forgive me.”
The young maiden, clad in a blue and yellow dress, slowly brought her raised hands down, looking at him. “I don’t understand...” she said in a low, uncertain voice.
The huntsman suddenly whipped his head up, looking at her. “She’s mad! Jealous of you! She’ll stop at nothing!” he said in one breath, letting go of her dress.
Jealous of her? “But who?” the snow-skinned maiden asked.
“The queen!”
The fair maiden stepped back in surprise, her back against the boulder behind her. “The queen?” she asked in disbelief. Why would the queen—?
“Run away, child!” the huntsman said in urgency, pointing deep into the forest. “Run! Run away!”
She could clearly see and hear the fear in his eyes and voice, and without even realizing it, her feet were already carrying her around the boulder.
“Hide! In the woods! Anywhere!”
She was moving back, she just realized. She took a glimpse of the forest behind her, but the man’s words brought her attention back to him.
“Never come back!”
Never come back? To her home? Her arms covered her mouth in disbelief.
He saw her reluctant steps. He couldn’t blame her. But he cannot allow her to die. “Now go! Gooo!” He doesn’t want her to go, but if she wouldn’t— “Gooo!!!”
The maiden finally turned her back on him and fled towards the forest.
A sad smile flashed on his lips. “Run!” he shouts after her.
“Run!” she heard him say as she ran deeper and deeper into the forest. “Hide!” she can barely hear him now as the distance grew between them, the trees and bushes blurring by.
Heart racing and breath fast and shallow, she swayed her hands left and right to push the thick vines out of her way. Finally, for what felt like an eternity, the vines had cleared and she ran without any obstructions—
Yellow glowing eyes suddenly appeared from the shadows—“GUWAAAARK!!!”—and it flew straight towards her!
Her heart almost leaping out of her chest, she ducked, turned around, and ran, her racing heart beating even faster n—
Even more glowing, yellow eyes in the darkness!
Her ears suddenly rang as the eyes flew around her, screeching all over.
Perhaps she was lucky, but she was able to turn around and run away from them all. Gone were the soft rays of the sun. Gone were the greens of the grass and the colors of the flowers.
The darkness and shadow were blurring past her as she ran—
Her long dress caught on to something—or something caught her. She looked back and a frightened gasp escaped her rosy lips. Long, claw-like limbs were grabbing her dress! She tried to run, yet she can’t, but she persisted, and after a long-hard struggle, the claws lost its grip on her.
She lost her balance from the sudden speed and she fell, but many smaller claws caught her fall, clawing at her dress and her skin. Her breath freezing, she wiggled and struggled and was able to escape their clutches.
She continued to run, away from the claws, the eyes, the—
A monstrous face appeared right in front of her, its long, clawed limbs stretched out to grab her!
A loud gasp escaped her lips. She immediately turned around and—
The leaves under her feet gave way, and with a terrified scream, her fear-stricken mind failed to register the flashes of light and the crashing noises as she fell.
Her arms and feet flailing, she managed to grab a vine with one arm, saving herself from her demise. Catching her breath, she looked down, and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw the ground only a few feet below her. Gulping, she braced herself and let go, waiting for her feet to land on solid ground—
A mighty splash erupted as she landed on her feet on a shallow, waist-high water. Wiping her eyes as dry as she could, she opened them and screamed as she saw the opened maws of crocodiles swimming towards her. She stumbled and ran towards dry land, hoping against all hope to get away from the watery predators.
She reached the shore, yet she kept on running towards the unknown. She saw a light up ahead. Sunlight. The end of the forest. The end of her fears.
Claws tried grabbing her, but she pushed them away as she kept on running. She was almost there. She was almost out.
A claw swept down her feet, tripping her and making her fall on the ground.
She lay there, breathing hard and deep, suddenly too tired to run... Too tired to move.
She cast a tired look at the mouth of the forest, the light too bright to see beyond it.
She heard things moving towards her, making her hold her breath. The exit was so close yet so far away. She choked on a sob as she closed her eyes. Tears started rolling down her face as she sobbed, gravely accepting her fate as the noises—footsteps—grew closer and louder.
Something stood before her face. She could sense it breathing down on her. She was terrified, she didn’t want to die, yet here she was, helpless.
And then...
...something poked her nose. It was soft. It was gentle. And it was fluffy.
Slowly, she opened her eyes...
...and she saw a white bunny rabbit looking at her in confusion.
She blinked a teary blink. Her rosy lips curved into small and relieved smile. “O-oh, hello there...” she weakly said as she slowly brought a hand over the cautious rabbit’s head.
Scared that this strange creature might hurt it, the white rabbit suddenly turned tail and fled, causing the other critters who surrounded the strange creature to do the same.
“Please don’t run away!” the maiden pleaded after them, watching every small animal hiding behind bushes, rocks, and branches. “I won’t hurt you,” she added in a gentle tone.
Hearing no malice from the creature’s voice, the critters slowly poked their heads from their hiding place, watching the creature slowly turning around, smiling a gentle yet tired smile.
“I’m awfully sorry...” she said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you...”
None of the animals really understood what she was saying, but something about her voice made them feel at ease and safe. Just like—
She slightly hung her head. “...But you don’t know what I’ve been through,” she said in a sad, quiet tone. She still couldn’t believe that the queen had told that man to...to...
She closed her eyes and took a breath. She was alright, for now, at least. She had run quite a distance. At least, that was what she believed. She hoped that it was enough to keep her safe from the queen.
She suddenly felt two soft paws on her hand. Opening her eyes, she saw the white little rabbit from earlier, trying to grab her hand. It made her smile. “What are you doing, little one?” she asked as two little birds flew and grabbed her dress, pulling her towards the exit of the forest.
The other animals were gesturing for her to go, too.
She suddenly felt worried. Why would the animals want her to go so badly? “Do you little ones not want me to stay?”
They didn’t understand a single word she said.
She frowned, but decided to ‘listen’ to them. “Alright,” she said as she stood up. Strong paws suddenly grabbed her from behind and lifted her up, eliciting a startled gasp from her.
It was a bear. A bear had carried her with its mighty paws as it walked on its hind legs towards the exit of the forest, the other smaller animals following.
She was scared, her eyes locked on the mighty animal’s sharp-looking teeth poking from its closed jaws. She wanted to struggle and run, but she doubted she could. With a gulp, she remained motionless until—
A bright sun greeted them as they exited the forest. After rubbing and blinking her adjusting eyes, she looked around and stifled a gasp. Before her, she saw green, swaying grass stalks on rolling hills, under the clear, blue sky. Tall mountains loomed in the distance...
...and a large, old-looking tree stood on top of a hill a little distance away.