Lost in the woods- 2

Amelia's brows furrowed. The man was here a second ago. Besides, there was no carriage around except he used the forest. The shocking part was that the stranger knew her identity.

"Princess Amelia. Is that you?"

Amelia heard a familiar voice ask behind her. Due to being lost in thought, Amelia failed to hear the carriage that had been coming from afar.

"Oh. Lord Tobias," Amelia greeted with a smile. "Nice to see you here"

"It's my pleasure, Princess"

Lord Tobias' black eyes observed Amelia and he wondered what she was doing in the woods when it was almost time of night.

"Are you alright? I didn't expect to see our princess here of all places," Tobias said in slight humor which led to Amelia chuckling. She never expected to see him here, and now that she had, her heart raced. He was the only man to who she had taken a liking but he never looked at her that way.

"Let's put it this way. I got lost and I'm glad you've found me," Amelia replied with a smile. Her eyes looked deep into Tobias' eyes and he offered her a polite smile.

"Well then, I think you visited this town because of the fair," he assumed and she nodded. "I'm saddened you didn't come to visit me"

Amelia pressed her lips together. The reason she didn't want to visit him was because of her feelings. Staying away from him would kill her feelings over time. Or maybe that was what she thought.

"Oh. I guess the fun of it took me away. I did not remember this was your town after being carried away by the fresh scent of bread, cakes, and chocolates," she lied. "I am glad we coincidentally met here"

"I came to survey this area. There have been rumors of a strange spirit visiting this place at night. Didn't you see the warning?" Tobias asked, finally moving away from the carriage he earlier rested on.

"Warning? I don't think I did," Amelia replied, trying to recall if she saw any warning board.

"It is right there," Tobias pointed at where she came from. Amelia brushed it away with the thought that she didn't see it due to her earlier tense mind. About that, Amelia checked for the man who had been chasing her earlier but he was nowhere to be seen. He must have run seeing Tobias' carriage.

"You mentioned strange spirit. What's that?" Amelia asked curiously.

"I don't know. But it's said to dig the ground. The Mark of its claws can be seen sometimes on the ground"

Amelia looked at him with furrowed brows before responding,

"Maybe it's not a spirit but an animal then. I mean, the claws"

"Exactly what I thought. My men testified they had seen him. It was a human with sharp claw-like nails. Before they could attack and probably bring him to me, he disappeared into thin air"

Amelia's eyes widened. Disappeared?

"What if you men aren't telling the truth? They might have made up that story to save their ass from being punished. I mean coming back with no report would make them feel useless so they had to make up a lie"

Amelia couldn't believe it. It wasn't an animal but a man with claw-like nails who dug the ground. Worse of all, they told he disappeared.

"That's why I'm here to confirm whether it is true or not. Besides, I have no reason to doubt them," Tobias said before biting his lip gently and pondering about something as he looked at the sky. "Did you by chance meet anybody here or on your way here? A man to be precise"

Amelia had met three, no four men this evening. If she was to suspect, She'd suspect the three men who chased her because they were the most aggressive. They looked like ones to dig the ground. Then the last man, was just like the wind. Calm voice and a striking color of eyes she had never seen before. He even knew her identity and that was a really shocking part.

"No one. I met nobody on my way. As I said, I only got lost"

Tobias nodded in response to her. Truly, he considered what Amelia had said. It was a possibility that his men had lied about what they saw. But then, it would not be right to disagree with them without proof and that was the reason he had come to this part of his town. To find answers.

"Your shoes. Where did you drop them?" He asked in a concerned tone that warmed Amelia's heart. He stared at her legs which had sustained some injuries from walking on the stones.

"Oh. That. I couldn't-"

"I saw a pair of black shoes on my way here. Are they yours?"

Amelia bit her lip. She had wanted to lie again but it seemed like the man caught her now.

"Yes, they are mine. I dropped them so I wouldn't get too lost. I planned that if I go any further and find no sign of life, my shoes would help me retrace my steps"

Tobias nodded not knowing about her lies. It was something he did when he was young. Whenever he got lost in the woods, he'd leave a mark on the trees so he could get back to his starting point.

"Since you're here and I can't take you with me to find this strange spirit, let's go enjoy the fair. It just officially started"

Amelia beamed in happiness. The weather had darkened and the wind scattered Amelia's hair as well as Tobias'. Her blonde hair danced with the wind while the same wind ruffled Tobias' dark blonde hair. He could tell from her facial expression that she was glad to hear the fair.

"My coachman has been waiting. Let's get in"

Meanwhile, not too far away from where Tobias and Amelia stood, a pair of purple eyes watched them in entertainment. He had a soft smile on his lips as he watched Amelia jump into the carriage before Tobias followed. The purple-eyed man sat on the tallest tree so he could see everything happening in that environment. After seeing the carriage leave that habitat, he jumped down from the tree not caring about the height. A few of his bones cracked but in a split second, they were back to position.

He ran his tongue across his portruding fangs and began to walk to an unmistakable path; the thicker part of the forest.