Vaeri staggered through the forest, dazed. It had been a few days from when Elion died. Shortly after his death, the werewolves closed in on her. She had no choice but to run away, her heart clenched in pain. She wasn"t even able to properly sent him away.She knew pretty well what the werewolves would do to his body, once they found it. She clenched her teeth. Her face was a mess, full of sweat, tears, and blood. Her left hand dangled limply by her side. In the last clash, one of her enemies had managed to break her shoulder. There were wounds all over her body and her clothes were nothing more than rags.
"I have to reach the castle." She thought, staggering forward. Only her will to live helped her move. She felt pain with every step forward. She felt like someone was slicing her every second. The only thing in her head was to report what she had seen.
*Thud!*
She stumbled on a root and fell forward. Her mind was blank, as she laid there, not moving. The scenes from the past days crossed her mind. The spying, the bears that found them. Even the escape into the forest. She wasn"t sure how the werewolves were able to find them in the forest. After all, they weren"t found before even when they were so close to the werewolves.
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She pushed with her uninjured hand, trying to stand up. Unfortunately, her body was too weak. After a few attempts, she finally gave up. Her breathing was ragged. Her stomach rumbled. She pursed her lips, suppressing the urge to cry. With a trembling hand, she took out a piece of jerky from her bag.
Absentmindedly, she started to chew on it. It was tasteless. With some effort, she managed to gulp it down. She reached for more, but there wasn"t any left. That was her last piece of food. Resigned, she sighed and started meditating on the spot.
Vaeri needed to gather some energy so that she could continue her journey back to the castle. She closed her eyes and calmed her breathing as much as she could. Elion"s face flashed in her mind, making her heart clench in pain. She bit on her lips. Opening her eyes, she tried to stand up again.
After a few tries, she was finally able to stand up. Vaeri started to stagger forward again, keeping an eye at the surroundings for any sign of danger. The only good news so far was that she didn"t detect any werewolf in the last two days. If there was even one of them, she would be dead by now. Still, that didn"t mean that she was safe.
Aside from the werewolves, there were many other dangers in the forest. She was painfully familiar with that fact. Her senses were stretched to the extreme, as she was listening for any sound. The forest was deadly silent, with no movements around. That wasn"t a good sign. She clenched her dagger, prepared to respond to any attack.
A few hours pa.s.sed as she staggered forward. There was finally a sound nearby. Thankfully, it was the sound of running water. She increased her pace, but still not letting her guard down. A few minutes later, she found a stream.
Vaeri moved to it and kneeled on the ground in front of the stream. Bowing her head down, she started to drink as much as she could. That was a mistake. She choked, some of the water spilling out from her mouth. After coughing for a while she stood up and decided to enter the stream. She threw the bag she was carrying to the side and entered the water.
Vaeri yelped from the pain she felt through her body. The water touched her wounds, making it painful. She clenched her teeth and endured. She looked at her body and took a deep breath. She had to separate some of her wounds from her clothes. Bitting on her lips, she took hold of the leggings. With a jerk, she pulled.
*Sss!*
Vaeri hissed from pain. A wound on her thigh opened. The pain from separating the cloth from her wounds made her shudder as her lips started to bleed from the power with which she bit on them. In half an hour, she was able to separate all of her clothes from the wounds. Tearing everything apart, she started to wash her body. The color of the stream changed to pink from the blood of her wounds.
The whole process was painful. It was like someone was slicing her all the time. But if she didn"t clean her wounds, they could become infected. That would only worsen her condition. In an hour, she managed to clean her wounds. Trembling, she left the stream and came next to her bag. Opening it, she took out some clean clothes. She tore apart one of her upper garments and used it to make bandages. It took her a lot of time and effort to bandage herself. With heavy breathing, she leaned on a tree. She was too exhausted to even think. Her eyes closed as she lost consciousness.
"Elion!"
She shouted, opening her eyes. In her dream, she saw Elion"s last moments. She hissed in pain from her movement just now. Her breathing was uneven. Tears streaked her face. A few minutes pa.s.sed and she finally calmed down. Looking around, she found that it was already night. Only the sound of running water could be heard. That made her sigh in relief. It was dangerous to pa.s.s out like this, near a water source, where beasts could easily tear her apart.
Vaeri stood up from her spot and reached for her bag, taking out more clothes. She dressed up and drank some water from the stream. She was hungry, but there was no food. With a new determination, she staggered forward. She had to reach the castle.
"AwOoo-"
Her whole body shivered from that howl. The werewolves were close. She started to run forward, her movements awkward. The wound on her thigh opened once more, turning the cloth crimson. She gritted her teeth and continued to run.
After a few minutes, Vaeri could hear the footsteps of her pursuers. Her heart sank, as she clenched her dagger. She didn"t turn around, only increased her pace. If they caught up now, she would be finished. There was no way she would be able to fight in her condition.
While running, she stumbled on a root once again. She fell face-first to the ground. The pain and sudden fall made her dazed.
"Hahahaha, what do we have here? Finally found the rat!"
She could hear the laughter from behind. Her lips trembled and tears started to gather in her eyes. "I am sorry, Elion. I wasn"t able to survive." Vaeri murmured to herself. She wasn"t even able to stand up now, there was no energy left in her body.
*Crack*
She looked forward, startled from the sound. A girl with black hair and blue eyes stood there. She was short, but the presence she gave was one that no one was able to ignore. Her eyes were wide open, looking at Vaeri and the werewolves.
"P-Princess?" Vaeri asked, totally shocked. That was the last person she expected to see here. Erin"s gaze fell on her for a brief moment but returned to the werewolves behind her in no time at all.
"Kill."
Her eyes and hair turned crimson. Her nails longer and the canines in her mouth showed. A strong aura burst out from Erin. Vaeri gulped, her body stiffening from the strong pressure. Was this the princes from a few months back? The last time she saw her, they were just leaving for the human empire. Back then, the princess didn"t have such a presence.
"I will kill you all!"
Erin pounced forward. The thick, crimson aura surrounding her.