Chapter 64
Wondering if Rius might know the way back, Floria let him go where he pleased, but whether it was from exhaustion after the long run or simply that he didn’t know the way either, he just stood there blinking blankly.
She remembered something someone once told her when she’d gotten lost in the forest as a child.
“If you ever get lost like this again, just stay where you are. Don’t move.
Don’t wander deeper into the woods where people can’t find you.”
His voice suddenly came back to her.
If she moved elsewhere, she might end up even farther from where she had originally been.
The horse hadn’t run for that long, so if she just stayed put, the attendants would eventually find her.
“I’ve caused trouble…”
She hadn’t even found the baby deer, Bella, and had only ended up separating from the others and giving the attendants more work.
It had been a pure chance that the horse got spooked, but if she hadn’t insisted on coming, none of this would’ve happened.
“Sigh.”
Just as she sighed with guilt, Floria spotted a small, flickering brown puff far in the distance.
It was too far to see clearly, but it looked like a deer.
And it was far too small to be an adult deer.
Could it be…?
“Bella?”
Floria called her name aloud. At that, the brown fluff of fur suddenly turned its head.
The spotted pattern around the neck was just like the one she saw every morning and evening. The black eyes, the slender legs—
It was definitely Bella.
She thought about riding the horse toward her, but worried that the clatter of hooves and the large size of the horse might frighten Bella into running away, so she stopped Rius for the moment.
“Whoa, whoa.”
She patted the horse’s mane to calm him, then carefully dismounted.
Having ridden under such tension for so long, her lower back ached as she landed.
“Ugh…”
Letting out a small groan, Floria tied Rius securely to a nearby tree and cautiously approached Bella, who was still visible in the distance.
Bella, too, seemed to have spotted Floria. She perked up her ears and stared at her quietly.
As Floria approached slowly, Bella took a step forward.
“That’s it. Come here.”
Floria’s heart pounded with a mix of relief that she’d found her before anything could harm her and fear that Bella might bolt again.
Bella was just as nervous—her lashes trembled slightly as she stepped closer.
When she was just within reach, Floria quickly extended her arms and pulled Bella into her embrace.
“Got you.”
The tiny body slipped into her arms. Only after feeling that warm little creature did Floria let out a long sigh of relief.
“You little rascal. Why did you run away? Do you know how much trouble everyone went through looking for you?”
It had only been a few hours, but to think she’d made it this far—she really was a wild forest creature. Stroking her soft fur, Floria made her way back to where Rius was waiting.
But now that she’d returned, the path back to the castle was a complete mystery.
Not knowing what to do, she held Bella tightly in one arm and ran her other hand gently through Rius’s mane, lost in thought.
Then, a droplet fell onto the back of her hand.
“Rain?”
When she looked up, the sky that had been so clear earlier was now dark and roiling with clouds.
A cold raindrop landed again—tap, tap—on Floria’s pale cheek.
Rain was falling over the dark forest.
Before her body got completely soaked, Floria hurried into a small cave she spotted nearby. Afraid the others wouldn’t recognize her if she stayed hidden, she tied her bolero jacket to a visible tree branch outside as a marker.
Then she coaxed Rius, who was reluctant to move, into the dim cave.
As soon as all three of them huddled together inside, a heavy downpour began.
Shhhhhh—
The forest, already dim, grew even darker under the clouds and rain. Hardly any light came in—it could have been dawn, and no one would question it.
The previously warm early summer air turned chilly, and her exposed skin felt cold.
“Looks like it’s a sudden shower.”
Floria’s voice trembled as she spoke.
They were stranded.
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