Finally deciding to act upon Philip's cry, I turn in the opposite direction and run as fast as I can.
The rumbling of the four hairy feet followed me behind with a loud growl that could have pierced the sky.
"I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A BIG WOLF IN MY LIFE!" Philip yells over the sound of the four feet hairy monster chasing us.
"Tell me which way now!" I interrupt his thoughts.
"Take a sharp right from here!"
I twist and turn through the bushes while removing the twigs and branches from the way. I didn't look back even once, afraid if that scary monster would devour me all at once if my pace slowed even a little.
My lungs were getting sour and I was working hard to catch a breath as I run through the dark jungle.
"Hey! I said take a right from here! Why did you turn left?!" Philip squeaks from my shoulder.
"We need to hide! We can't win against a beast double our size if we keep running!"
I rush past a huge tree and duck under a small cave, under the cliff that was exactly fit for one person to sit inside.
Once I took my shelter inside the cave is when I noticed that the rumbling had long stopped and the beast was nowhere to be seen.
"We left him behind! Oh yes!" Philip fist pumps the air and jumps off from my shoulder while I was left frowning.
"I hear something…." I crawl out of the cave and stand up.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Get back here! Come back inside Cinderella! You fool!"
Ignoring Philip's tantrums, I kept on following the sound that resonated back to my ears.
It was a soft sob. A cry of mercy. A warm voice that attracted me to itself. My feet were moving on their own accord and I couldn't help but move back from the path I came from.
As I remove the bush away from my vision, I sighted the same beast that caused my feet to flee. My eyes widened as I take in the view through the tough wild bush.
It was definitely a werewolf, that I had only read and heard stories of. Until now I thought it was a mythical creature but seeing it right in front of my eyes was a different feeling.
I was only five feet and three inches tall but that beast apparently crossed over that figure. Its long fury tail had come across his body, keeping him in his own warmth. It had silver hair and sharp claws that could pierce my delicate body if I even tried to touch them. Its sharp gnawing teeth told me another scary story of hundred deaths trampled in between them.
But even so… I wanted to touch him.
"What are you doing! Cinderella!"
Ignoring Philip's protest who had popped up suddenly beside my shoulder, I continue to move ahead.
"Stop being a fool! I am warning you nut head!" Philip pulls on my hair but I still move on.
The creature notices the rustling of my feet and turned his head only to focus me under his brooding eyes.
His sharp blue eyes were slits but they didn't bother me at all.
"Cinderella! Cinderella!" Philip tried to stop me again but I knelt and placed him on the ground.
I continued to slowly move closer to the beast and his movements reflected mine. With large paws and bare teeth, he inched closer until I was only an arm's length away from him.
I slowly extend my arm and place my hand against his furry jaw. I remained still and to my amazement, the beast gave into my touch and lowered his head while shutting his eyes.
"You are… Beautiful." I breathe and the werewolf's eye snapped open. His eyes weren't slit anymore but round and beady.
The next moment that took place was not something I expected.
A strong wind blows, carrying sand into my eyes, I hide my face to prevent further intrusion and in turn, my feet stagger backward and I almost fell when a strong pair of hands grabbed me by the waist.
The whoosh of the wind halted and I looked up to find the same beady eyes but transformed into a human form.
I blinked my eyes as a set of hazel green eyes stared back at me. The silver skin had lost its fur but it still glimmered like the snow, very smooth and perfect. The ash grey hair complemented the white skin and all in all… I was mesmerized by this Almighty's made walking beauty on land.
For once, I didn't care who this stranger was, where had he suddenly dropped down from and where did that freaking eighth feet tall beast suddenly disappear to?
I just wanted to keep staring into those pair of eyes that held me with warmth in them.
The moment was short-lived when my eyes fell on the bare chest of the stranger and then it travel down to the navel and then-
"HOLY FREAKING MOOSE! PUT YOUR FREAKING PANTS ON!" I pulled away from the stranger's grasp and shut my eyes close but still peaked from the corner.
"Excuse me?" The stranger now looks down at himself and it dawns upon him the meaning of my sudden outburst. "Oh! My deep apologies!"
The man covers himself with his bare hands and looks from left to right to find something to hide his privy.
That man was in his freaking undies only!
But he looks hot!
I slap myself on the face and come back to my senses.
"Wasn't this man in a werewolf form a while ago?" Philip squeaks in my ear, suddenly appearing on my shoulder and I look at him in bewilderment.
"Hi, there! Sorry to cause you trouble." I turn my head towards the stranger's voice and now find him fully clothed in a…. Livery?
A livery of one of an aristocrat that Beatrice always rambled about.
A livery of one that belonged to the important member of the castle…
"Hi, I am Prince Andrew Fredrick of the Rosenheim and very pleased to make your acquaintance." The stranger now leaves a small peck on the back of my hand that leaves my skin tingling around the edges.