52 The Best Tracker

The prince and Garrett walked down the path away from the palace, his small group of men following behind. If he wanted to, he could go through Direwood forest by himself; the prince knew the woods inside and out and could live in the wilderness if he wanted to. He did, once or twice back in his rebellious days of not wanting to take on his role as the Crown Prince.

But after many years and the death of his mother, he decided to grow up and take on his responsibilities. He still had fun on the side, but that was either by killing something or someone or having one or two women to keep his bed warm at night. For the past few days, though, he uncharacteristically declined his usual mistress.

The prince made sure to bring his blades out with him today, sheathed and crossed behind his back, mainly hidden from any opponent's view. He carried his bow and quiver, too; they were his prized possession and were never found useless if an enemy thought they could escape. Because they never did escape, once he saw them, they were his for the taking.

99% of the time, he killed them on the spot, but there was that small 1% that sometimes scratched at the back of his mind, and he would take them prisoner. But this was neither mercy to them. They would be tortured or waiting for their impending death.

The prince walked in a comfortable silence next to Garrett while his men behind him joked about the Eldora, making him smirk. There was word spread from the Eldora tribe that lived in the western part of Direwood that there were some trespassers. He laughed when he received the message.

They were asking for the Flori to help in such a matter that could have easily been resolved if they fought off such pests. But there was a feud between the Flori and the Eldora. The Eldora did not fulfil their duties on the small part of the land they were allowed. Instead, they reached out to them, 'warning them' of a new threat heading their way.

He scoffed; threat? No one was a threat to him. Not one single person or beast had taken him down, and even if he met someone that could kill him, he would still laugh in their face. Death did not scare him. It was just another adventure he would embark on.

He marched forwards and frowned slightly before stopping abruptly. He felt as though somebody was watching him, and so he turned on his heel and searched the surrounding trees. Just as he raised his head, another one of his warriors appeared by his side. It was Cedric, one of the younger elves of the group; he tended to let guard closer to the palace. 

Cedric was a good fighter, but his wife was pregnant and due anytime soon, and so he let him be closer to her, ready for when the baby would come. A pregnant wife was the only tender spot he had in his ice-covered heart. Otherwise, he did not particularly care.

After hearing the news, the prince glanced at Garrett and immediately sprinted forwards before turning off to the right and jumping up into the trees. His men followed suit, and they went higher into the trees so they could run efficiently across the broader branches. They were the Flori and used the trees as a means for travel. They did have horses and used them from time to time, but he liked to stick to the trees; it was easier to blend in and watch any possible trespassers.

After two hours of sprinting through the woods, they finally stopped as they heard the rush of water and the thunderous sounds of water hitting water. The prince dropped to the ground and searched the area; Cedric informed him that human prints were found leaving the waterfall's side. He dropped his plans for these new trespassers the Eldora tribe sent word about and was more interested in the humans and the woman named Evanna, who somehow, out of all odds, seemed to have survived the faceless.

It, of course, did not take much for him to put two and two together. The small band of humans only entered the other side of the river but 2 miles south from this point. His eyes scanned the area as his men kept watch with their weapons and bows ready.

He kneeled on the ground and looked at the footprints with a scowl on his face; these were too big to be a woman's size. There were three sets of footprints from what he could see, with one of the human's possibly injured from the way the prints were smudged and almost dragged at some points. He followed the prints for a while but still could not see any other tracks, so he returned to the original spot next to the waterfall.

Narrowing his eyes, he saw the tree that usually connected the two sides was now mainly on the far side, barely kept there and dangling over the drop of the cascading water. His jaw tightened as he realised that the women may not have made it out of there alive.

Who the fuck leaves women to fend for themselves!?

Rage began to burn beneath the surface as his eyes saw red.

"* Your highness? *" Garrett interrupted the rising anger evident on the prince's usually stoic face.

His face had tightened, and his icy blue eyes sent out daggers to anyone who dared to look into them. It was a look that made many tremble in fear and makes the strongest man stutter in his presence. However, the good thing about Garrett being his second-hand man was that they had been brought up together and best friends since they were kids. He was the only man who did not flinch or tremble in his presence.

There were a few occasions he had to step back while he threw a knife amidst his rage. But it would never have hit him. That much he was certain.

Sensing Garrett's intuitive gaze, he decided to push his anger back, for now, hiding his true thoughts from his best friend. From what he had seen of Evanna so far, she was somebody capable of taking down any in her path. She even took Garrett out of all his men as a hostage!

A genius move on her part, taking down a critical leader to help their small group who were surrounded to escape from them. So far, no one had surpassed them, and although it would have initially pissed him off, he was more fascinated with the human girl with that ethereal beauty.

He wanted to learn more about her. His first impression of her was of a rebellious youngster who found herself in Kuramji of all places. But now, she and her 'merry men' were traipsing through the forest, HIS forest, and for what?

Nobody intentionally went into Direwood, and he knew their intentions would not be good because they travelled all the way from Kuramji before entering Direwood. This woman was searching for something, but he did not know what. Unless he found clues to show she was alive, then this could possibly be the last time his mind would spiral into all-consuming thoughts about the dark-haired beauty.

"* There are only three sets of footprints. There were five of them. *" He snapped before marching through his parting men towards the slanting forest. The slope led down to the bottom of the waterfall. He took his time descending as he followed a set of footprints that showed long strides.

A man ran down here. 

He stopped and looked back towards the way he came before continuing his venture downwards. His men had scattered around the surrounding woods without needing to be ordered to. They were his men, loyal, wise, and followed his orders for many years. They knew he wanted to find the group of humans who escaped.

When he made it to the bottom, the trees thinned and opened to a small rocky clearing next to the waterfall. This was where the footprints stopped. But he furthered his investigation and searched throughout the terrain for anything that would indicate their presence. Or, more importantly, her presence.

This was the only reasoning he could think of, for one of the men to leave an injured man, was for her or the female shapeshifter. As he got closer to the water's edge, he bent his knees and sat on the heels of his feet while his eyes scanned the area. He turned on his heel, still seated and looked across the terrain. 

The prince's eyes stopped when he saw something minuscule nearly flowing away with the breeze. He reached out and grabbed the small, wired lock of hair and brought it to his face. One side of his lips twitched, the only indication he was ecstatic that he found a clue to show his girl must have survived. He held it up into the last of the sunlight, showing off the dark hue of the strand. Letting go of it, he stood back up. 

He had a gut feeling that his dark-haired beauty fled behind the men and jumped off the waterfall last minute. It would make sense for the tree to be in such a way. The faceless must have been on their tails. The tracks led him to this spot, this man that raced after her..

A scowl formed on his stoic features after the thought of another man finding her and touching her.. His hand balled into a fist at the idea of it but relaxed and released his clenched teeth when his thoughts raced off to where they could be.

If he was one of them and hiding from the Flori, he would try and stick to the shadows taking his time through the forest. That way, the chances of them finding the group would be less. One side of his lips curled up as he began to lead his men throughout the night, following his thought process and the tracks they came across on the way. 

There was a reason the King still allowed him to 'play in the woods'. The prince was the best tracker in all the lands, and nobody ever stayed hidden for long.

Overnight he traced the footprints of the group of five people, becoming used to their gait patterns and finding the areas that they stayed in. Once he found his men becoming tired, he let them rest and slept among the trees at incredible heights for four hours. That was a lie in. Normally, their rest consisted of three hours of sleeping before continuing their quest.

Dropping back down to the ground, they continued to follow the tracks, and he became very much aware of how close they were to the palace. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. What were they after? Was this an object, a suicide mission, or an assassination?

Although it must have taken the humans days to traipse through the forest, for the Flori, it took them much less time. They were so accustomed to the routes and were, of course, not trying to hide as they tracked them down. By midday, they found themselves running up a hill.

There were multiple prints, fresh on the earth. They were close. A thrill of excitement rushed through him while his face stayed composed except for an arrogant smirk that grew on his face.

He would see his girl again, and this time, he would be the one to fight her. She looked like fun, someone he could play with for a while before making her his prisoner.

Much to his disappointment, though, he found the spot empty the moment they ascended the hill. It was then he also realised after investigating the campsite that they were camping next to a creature locked away in a coffin in the cave. 

"* Such foolish humans. *"