The Princess had actually considered turning around, going back to the castle where it was safe and Irina could protect her, but she had already come this far. Probably the farthest she had ever traveled in the forest. Alone. Now she was thinking of worst case scenarios. Crystal glanced around self-consciously, suddenly she felt like...there was someone...or something watching her.
Something! There were wild animals out in the forest, Crystal knew that, and not all of them were friendly like Lily and Argo. Would she be able to outrun an animal with her ankles? It had been two weeks since Crystal walked around like this, and on top of that, she didn't really know her way around the forest. If she stayed on the path it would be easy enough to follow, but the path was natural... It wasn't meant as a guide for people. "I should have just dragged Pindel and Versetti out here for company. Irina's---"
The sound of horse hooves clopping against the dry path interrupted her as she was about to utter bitter words about Irina being gone. Crystal held her hat to her head and looked over her shoulder, a smile forming when she saw the familiar armor gleaming in the sunlight and the valiant steed, Argo.
Irina... She didn't want to reveal her excitement that her Royal Attendant finally made an appearance, but a wide grin was working it's way onto Crystal's face. Now that Irina had arrived, all of her worries seemed to disappear... Well, the ones about feral animals attacking. The fact that they shared a bed one night...that was still in the back of Crystal's mind, and not to mention walking in on her lady knight in the nude. Crystal quickly lowered her gaze and pulled her hat down a bit, just so there was a shadow over her face. Her cheeks were more pink than usual, and the courteous manner in which Irina spoke surprised The Princess, yet also warmed her. Crystal was a little afraid that Irina might scold her, guilt trip her for breaking their promise that she couldn't even keep for a whole month.
I'm terrible. Underneath her hat, she was frowning and mentally scolding herself for not listening to Irina. She didn't even understand why she all of sudden cared about what her Royal Attendant thought!
She relaxed a bit, glancing at Irina and dropping her hands to her side. Casually she spoke, as if she wasn't just nervous or reminiscing about earlier events. "I didn't anticipate Father letting you leave so soon. What was it he wanted to discuss with you?"
Not even five seconds had passed before there was a distinct
buzzing around her head. Instinctively, her purple eyes searched, and it didn't take long before she saw the
perpetrator!...not that she needed to gaze into those giant almond shaped eyes to know what it was. The giant hornet was so, so close. "EEEEEEEEEEE!" A look of utter terror, and not another moment spent walking. Crystal threw her arms up while simultaneously bolting away from Irina. Her eyes clenched tight, she had no idea where she was headed...nor she did she even care. She didn't want to be stung by that thing, or even have it touch her. These things were deadly. Nurse Rosie had treated Pindel for a sting once, and it was not pretty. She was convinced this insect would be the death of her if she ever came into contact with one.
She ran as fast as she could, but the buzzing never seemed to disappear, or even fade at her feeble attempts to distance herself from it. The hornet was right on The Princess' tail, sometimes moving beside her or even in front of her, it's stinger ready to impale her tender flesh for no good reason. Crying, screaming, Crystal veered off of the path and through the thick brush. One would think someone was trying to kill Crystal with the way she screamed...the girl might as well have lost her mind. She flailed around, and there was nothing Irina could do to the hornet without hurting Crystal in the process as it was nearly in her hair.
The buzzing faded just a little, but now she was in a clearing. It was quite dark, the trees above were blocking most of the sunlight, though small rays managed to peek through. She couldn't have gone too far from Irina, but a giant steed like Argo may have difficulty moving through all of the thick plants. Her Royal Attendant would be there any minute though...
They can't be far.A hand came to rest over her heart. The poor thing was nearly thumping through Crystal's chest. She leaned over to catch her breath, panting softly, her throat nearly dry from all of the screaming. Paranoia was kicking in, and Crystal wondered where the hornet went.
Bzzzz! She perked up, and out emerged a knight clad in that black armor - the very same those men wore that attacked their carriage on the way to Avalon. The hornet was perched atop the knight's shoulder, like a bird, and completely uninterested in her. The insect's work was complete.
Crystal furrowed her eyebrows in confusion...
horror. This was worse than a hornet attack, but there was only one...she might be able to outrun him. Crystal backed up slowly, only to hit something cold...
metal. Before she even turned, two large hands were clasped over her much smaller arms and hoisting her off of the ground. Crystal screeched her royal attendant's name, repeatedly even as her possibly soon to be captor attempted to throw the young Princess over his shoulder. "No! Stop!! IRINA!!! "She kicked against the armor repeatedly, but the beast of a man did not respond.
"She can can not hear you, Princess. Irina has met a fate much worse than your own... It is the price she must to pay for slaying our men. I imagine Bazyil will have done away with the insufferable woman by now. Come, let us go now - It is not wise to keep him waiting." The dark knight said coldly, turning to leave without waiting for his comrade. He was unfazed by the Princess' screams, and was positive Lord Vaross would show him favor for doing this job.