Aurora hurried past forest trees, her long, heavy gown tripping her occasionally as she ran. She had no idea where she was headed to, only that she was going to be free from captivity if she kept running. The cold wind blew past her ears, a whooshing sickening sound further weakening her sense of direction.
It was cold, painfully so, and even the thick material her dress was made of provided little to no warmth to her shivering body. Her arms were almost bare, as whatever was left of her sleeve had been torn into pieces by the thorny woods in her path.
Escaping from the hands of those brutal outlaws had not been easy, and she still could not believe she had made it out of their den alive.
Even now, they were still chasing her; tall, burly men in winter coats, knickerbockers and boots made of animal skin, dogs pulling them as fast as they could go in their bone sleds. Some of them had bows and arrows, trying to slow her down by shooting her as she ran. She had managed to dodge all the arrows shot at her so far, but she wasn't sure for how long she could keep up.
One thing she had learnt as a princess in a politically unstable kingdom was that you never ran in a straight line when being chased by men with arrows.
The trees around her were widely spaced, so she knew they could still see her however far away they were. She quickened her steps, trudging forward on injured feet. She fell to the ground several times but forced herself up. She was a determined princess and she wouldn't stop until she had finally gained her freedom.
An arrow flew past her and lodged firmly in a tree up front. Princess Aurora gasped and looked back, her hands shaking beneath her as she gripped her gown. They had gotten closer.
Another arrow shot through the air and lodged itself in her calf this time. She staggered, wincing. If things continued this way, they would catch up with her and capture her again- and she couldn't let that happen.
Running as fast as her injured legs could, she found herself in an area denser with trees. Very good, she thought. She looked around for a place she could hide, hoping they would gallop past. As she hid, she saw and heard the sleds speed past. She sighed in relief, but it was short-lived, as all of a sudden, she heard the sound of the sleds again, this time moving at a slower speed.
They were turning back.
The Princess adjusted herself painfully under the withered branches and felt the sharp thorn-like outgrowths from them puncture her skin. She stifled her whimpers.
"Stop!" An authoritative voice bellowed and all the dogsleds came to a halt. Their leader alighted from his sled, placing his booted feet on the bed of snow beneath.
"The Princess is somewhere around here." One of the outlaws, Kallik said. "She couldn't have disappeared into thin air."
A few of them nodded in agreement, their bows drawn, ready to release arrows at the slightest provocation.
Aurora wheezed silently.
The heavy man looked around, his sharp eyes taking in every detail of his surroundings. He looked down to the ground. He noticed a trail of blood that started all the way back and stopped a few meters ahead.
Why didn't she think of that? A bloody red on white snow was difficult to miss.
"Little Princess!" Yotimo tugged down his hood and continued, squinting his eyes. "I know you're hiding around here somewhere. You're injured too, aren't you? I'll find you sooner or later so you had better come out."
He walked around, his boots digging into the snow as he went. He followed the trail of blood to where it stopped and his gaze settled on the lattice of branches under which the Princess hid. He sighed and started slowly towards the Princess.
A bead of sweat slid down Aurora's face as he advanced slowly towards her. The air around her stilled. The feeling of the branches prickling her skin intensified.
When he was only a few inches away, he reached out with his burly arm. Aurora closed
her eyes and muttered a prayer. This was one of the few times she ever prayed. She placed her cold hands on her face as Yotimo yanked off the latticework of dried branches, revealing her.
"That was a helluva chase, wasn't it?" He stared at the princess. An unidentified emotion crossed his face as he examined her body.
He tossed the lattice aside with little effort and turned around on his feet. "Take her."
Kallik nodded to two of the outlaws and they approached her with her rope of bondage. The same one she had wrestled herself out of some hours ago. She let a teardrop slide down her face as her arms were bound behind her and she was dragged to her feet.
"Put her on the sleds." The leader's huge body was still turned away from her.
A growl answered his command. It was the unmistakable growl of a wild animal.
One of the outlaws shrieked.
The princess's gaze settled on the source of the growl and her eyes widened.
It stood about four feet tall, a white tiger, laden with heavy-looking bone armor. It growled and bared its sharp teeth.
The dogs began bounding around restlessly, some detaching themselves from the sleds in the process.
"What the...Men! release the arrows!" The leader's voice rumbled. He retracted his own bow and took a shot at the tiger. And missed. The look of surprise on Yotimo's face was gone quickly as he caught sight of Aurora standing alone. "Don't let her escape!"
Aurora gasped as she was yanked forward and hauled onto one of the sleds. She looked desperately around her. There was commotion everywhere. This was her chance. Her chance at freedom. It was now or never. She bit hard into her captor's arm with every bit of strength left in her. She knew it worked, because she was thrown down unto the snowbed with a shriek from her captor.
"You crazy wench!" Her captor cursed.
He was about to reach for her when a sled came flying, tossing him out of the way and sending him crashing into a thorny tree.
Aurora's eyes widened at the sight of him hanging lifeless.
The tiger moved fast, destroying everything it its path. Arrows flew here and there above the princess's head and bounced like balls on hitting the bone armor the tiger wore.
Yotimo trembled. He cast one look at Aurora, and, as if reconsidering, propelled himself unto one of the sleds that was still intact. "On the sleds, men! Run!"
The white tiger bounded twice and pounced on one of the outlaws, tearing his flesh. The other men ran in terror and got on their sleds, urging the panicked dogs to run. One of them was attacked by the tiger before he could get the sled moving. He was pulled down to the ground and gouged to death.
Aurora watched in trepidation as the tiger let go of the dead man and retreated slowly. Then as if as an afterthought, it turned in her direction, slowly approaching her.
And she blacked out.