Into The Forest II

Laura and the two elves quickly searched for a cave to settle in so that they would be safe, away from the evil monsters. As they continued walking, they spotted a cave, and hurriedly walked inside.

Re jumped off of Laura's hand and with one point from his index finger, a fire was made. Re reassured Laura that he'll be in charge of lighting the fire.

Do who got scared by the wolf's cry had stayed hidden, buried in the crook of Laura's neck. Laura laughed softly and carried him down onto her hands.

Laura sat on the soil as she looked out the cave. She had a feeling that Mary and Lester were panicking right now. It would be bad if she doesn't get out of the forest as soon as possible. Laura hoped that she won't encounter any of the evil monsters.

Suddenly she felt something on her knee and saw Re giving holding out a berry.

"Here, for you."

"Thank you Re."

Laura gently placed Do down and got the berry from Re. When she took a bite her eyes widened. Never in her entire life had she tasted such sweet and delicious berries and immediately wanted more.

However, Laura noticed that Do and Re both ate one berry only, so she decided not to be greedy and to forget about it.

Laura tucked her knees closer to her body, resting her chin on her knee. Her stomach was rumbling but did not care about it. She just silently watched Do and Re eating the berries happily.

Re noticed that Laura had only been able to eat one and felt bad as he realized that the berry probably wouldn't be able to satisfy her completely, not only that, he also felt guilty for bringing Laura into the forest. He then lowered his unfinished berry and offered it to Laura.

Laura found it adorable but refused it because she knew that he was still hungry.

"I'm fine Re. I had my share already."

"But it's my fault that you're in the forest."

"Re... it's alright. I'm not angry. Plus, I'm really happy that I was able to see an elf."

Re couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and thankful towards Laura. He did not want to lose his one and only family, and Laura risked her safety to help him. He did not know how to repay

Laura, and the reason why he reached out to Laura because he felt Laura that was different.

"So how did you find me in that secret place?"

"To be honest with you, I felt mana in you, but it wasn't yours."

"So you could feel it, huh?"

Ever since Laura met Prince Winston, she has been cautious of the royal family. It was because they said that they could feel mana in her. But Laura did not know why and questioned if it was because of the journal.

Laura buried her face in her knees, feeling tired. She hoped for someone to find her and at the same time worried that Mary and Lester wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Her stomach continued to grumble until she had fallen asleep.

=====

"Lester, did you hear anything?"

Lester shook his head and sighed frustratedly. He was wondering how Laura keeps getting into weird situations.

"I told the master about it, and he had sent some of our guards to find her."

"I hope she is safe. I was looking for her and even went to her favorite place, and yet she was not there. I don't know what to do."

"Let's just hope that she'll be alright."

Tine was smiling from ear to ear as she picked up the pink necklace. She held the necklace and laughed.

'I hope you never come back.'

Tine wore the necklace and complimented herself.

'Indeed, I'm the prettiest woman in the world' was what she thought. She hummed while touching the necklace not until the door opened suddenly.

Count Harrison walked into Tine's room, and she panicked upon seeing him. Tine covered her neck as it was too late to remove it. Her heart was beating so fast, hoping her father wouldn't see what she was wearing around her neck.

Count Harrison walked towards Tine with long strides and Tine had noticed that his expression had changed.

Tine flinched as she saw that her father's expression darkened. Tine's words spoke nonsense, and she immediately removed the necklace off her neck.

"What is this Tine?"

"I was actually going to give this to sister, but since she had gone missing, I thought that it would be best for me to keep it first."

Count Harrison believed what Tine had said. He believed her and felt relieved that his daughter had found it. Count Harrison thought that Laura and Tine had gotten along, but the truth was that it was all an act.

"Have you heard any news about your sister?"

"No, I didn't and I'm getting worried."

"What if she stepped into the forest?" Count Harrison lifted his head up and quickly called Percival to order the guards to search for Laura in the forest.

Tine frowned, pretending to feel pity for her lost sister. She wiped her fake tears away and Count Harrison had noticed it.

Count Harrison pitied Tine who was crying. He thought to himself that he was lucky to have a daughter like Tine, who'll cry for Laura. He calmed Tine down and kissed her on the forehead.

"Make sure to sleep early and once you wake up, I promise to bring your sister back safe."

"Okay, goodnight, father." As the door shut, Tine raised the necklace up and threw it into the box. She hoped Laura never came back and wished she was dead.

Suddenly, the window opened, and a black shadow swiftly entered. Tine clicked her tongue and shut the windows closed. She wondered why these people can't enter the room normally. It's not like they're not human.

"So? What do you want from me again?"

"We may have been found."

"Huh? By who?"

"I don't know who he was, but for sure he's a part of the royal family."

Tine thought hard about it. Who in the royal family could've found out? She excluded Prince Winston and had suspected the crown prince. But thinking about it again, the crown prince would not bother to be involved with a small organization.

Tine bit her lips and had thought of one person, and that was the duke. She took her seat and had come to a decision that it could only be him. But no one except for the royal family and Laura knew who he was.

Erwin Ferguson was a big mystery to everyone's life. Only the royal family knew how he looked. It was also rumored that his mana had surpassed the crowned price. Not only that, but the people had thought of the duke as a monster.

"Let's watch his moves for now and I have a job for you. Find Laura and make sure she doesn't come back." The black shadow then opened the window and jumped out of it and disappeared. Tine sighed in annoyance and closed the window again.

"This time I'll kill you."

=====

Laura woke up lying on the floor, and her hands were shivering. She sat up on the soil and saw Re and Do sleeping peacefully. She smiled slightly and stood up but quickly leaned on her knees, supporting her legs.

Laura rubbed her hands together and touched her cold face and hugged her stomach as it growled out loud.

Wanting a breather, she went out of the cave, seeing the stars as she looked and was mesmerized by the breathtaking view. She folded both of her hands together in a praying form and wished that someone will find her.

Suddenly, Laura heard the bush rustling, and she took a step back as it went silent all of a sudden. Her breathing became shallow, and she blinked her eyes quickly. She was fully alert and cautious as she took quiet steps towards the bush.

Laura reached to push the bushes away, but instead, she got pulled in by a hand. She screamed out loud while struggling. She hit the man on the shoulder as he covered her mouth.

The man fully covered in black tied her hands and legs together and had knocked her down. He then dropped Laura's body onto the floor and removed his headpiece. He pitied Laura as this was not the first he had done this to her.

"I'm sorry."

He took his knife out and aimed it on her chest. He held his knife with two hands and raised it up. However, he dropped the knife as he realized couldn't kill her. He felt bad that Tine wanted to kill an innocent person.

He then forced himself to pick up the knife again not until he heard someone calling Laura's name out.

The man in black put his headpiece on and ran away before Re could see him. Re walked towards the bush where Laura was lying unconscious, and as soon he saw her he called her name out loud, pulling her hair.

"Hey you, wake up! Wake up!"