Now back to the Princess, after venting her anger on the poor tree which only resulted in a lost shoe, a bruised foot, and a hurting backside from a fall to the ground when she kicked the tree with too much force. She swore the first thing she'll do when she gets home is to order this stupid tree to be cut down and for its wood and branches to be used to stir manure. After a lot of cursing and mental pep talk she finally calmed down and rested for a while, she got up with a limp, ready to go back home, only to realize her right shoe was missing.
She grounded her teeth against each other, keeping her barely surpressed anger in check, she looked around but her shoe was nowhere in sight, she suppressed the scream that was about to erupt, limped to the nearby bushes in search of her runaway shoe but still her shoe was nowhere. Her stomach rumbled announcing it was way past time for its lunch, almost time for dinner, she groaned in annoyance, looking at the darkening sky, her heart was gripped with fear her intestines turned green with regret at her hotheaded impulse.
She contemplated the feasibility of her braving the sharp stones and thorns of the forest with her bare foot and shook her head in disagreement, she was already limping from her abuse of the big tree, she might as well just condemn her right leg if she even managed to make the journey down the forest successfully. She hoped her maids and guards will for once be useful and find her quickly or she may very well end up in the belly of one of the beasts she was wearing. As the second's ticked by, seconds turning into minutes and minutes into an hour her resentment and fear grew, when the irresponsible maids or guards finally finds her, she'll have the lot of them beheaded and made an example of for their incompetence, she thought darkly, seething with barely contained anger.
An animal's roar thundered from deep within the forest breaking the creepy silence of the forest, Princess Emajiri trembled in fear, her heart beating like Ogaga the master drummer's drum, she covered her mouth in horror, all thoughts of torture and punishment long gone, she had to first be alive to punish anyone. She drew her knees together cowering in fear.
Her fear grew as the sky darkened. Cries of various animals sounded from time to time, interrupted by a roar now and then. Would she really die in this forest she wondered, under the claws of a wild animal? Maybe they wouldn't even find her body, the beasts would have torn it to shreds, as she was swallowed by her fear, her thoughts getting darker and more frightening by the minute, footfalls broke the dark haze her mind had fallen into, she trembled with fear the closer the footsteps came, she curled herself tighter in fear, hoping to magically disappear.
The footsteps drew nearer, stopping short of the tree that served as her shelter, she dared not move or even breathe lest whatever it was at the side of the tree noticed her.
The footsteps suddenly moved, coming dangerously close to her hiding place, her heart almost flew from her chest at the rate it was beating, she could barely hear the sound of the footsteps over the loud beating of her heart.
Her heart leaped in fear as the footsteps stopped in front of her, her heart stopped cold for a split second and started it's race with renewed intensity, at the back of her mind she wondered if she'll die from a heart attack even before whatsoever was about to send her on her way gets to her.
She hugged herself tightly not wanting to look what could be her death straight in the face. Tears flowed down her cheeks, she deeply regretted her stupidity in choosing to come to the forest alone. She could have stayed in her room and cried like a normal human being but no, she decided to come to the forest like a stupid fool, and now she may end up as dinner for a wild animal anyone of her suitors could hunt to please her. If she by some miracle survives this, she'll agree to the courtship of her next suitor, whoever it might be, even if it's an imbeci- no sorry, even if he is not fair or tall enough. She swore in her mind.
'Uh uhm, are you going to keep sitting on the floor,' a soft mellow voice interrupted her thoughts.
She lifted her head in surprise and was met with an even bigger shock, she gasped in surprise, her eyes opened wide to take in the image of the creature standing but a yard away from her, her heart still beating fast but the rhythm at which it pounded changed, instead of the loud almost painful thumping in fear, it became more gentler, fluttering like a butterfly, lightly sending electric sensations rippling through her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, maybe she actually died without noticing, because only that could explain the appearance of the gorgeous being before her.
After so many years of waiting she finally saw the man of her dream, her tall, fair and muscular gorgeous man, and just like she desired he was not too fair or too thin, just the right size, everything was were it was suppose to be, his lips were plump and shining like he applied ground nut oil on them, his nose was tall and straight, not too slender or fat, his eyes were big but not too big, they were just perfect for his face, his lashes were thick and long, framing his light brown eyes, She didn't even know eyes could be that beautiful, his chest was broad and jutted out like that of a real warrior, his stomach was lined with muscles like a badge of honor, his legs were long and straight rippling with muscles and strength, his hands looked strong and spoke of great strength, in short he was just perfect, there was nothing missing or was not in the right place. He was not fat or thin, he had muscles but not too much muscles that he looked like a bear, like most of the men in this kingdom and other kingdoms, and his face was so beautiful that Her mind couldn't fathom words that were worthy enough in describing him. She knew She must look like an idiot now, her mouth open in shock like that of a dead fish and her eyes opened wide bulging like the eyes of a squeezed frog, speechless and unable to say a coherent word to the perfect being standing before her.
'-are you alright?' He asked, looking at me puzzled. I think he said some words before that but I was too engrossed in feasting my eyes on him that my brain failed to comprehend his words.
'-'s ok' again my brain and ears failed to do their job. A roar that sounded a lot like that of a lion tore her out of her reverie, she jumped in shock and and fear. 'Don't worry you are safe, can you stand up on your own.' he asked in concern.
She tried but fell weakly, having miscalculated her strength, she hissed in pain, as her already abused nyash (buttocks) hit the floor with force, her pain multiplied, she winced, frowning as tears almost rushed out of her eyes.
'Ok, don't worry I'll help you.' He said and crouched down, bending towards her, but hesitated when he saw her pulling away. 'Don't worry, I'm just going to take you to your destination, I'm not going to hurt you.' He reassured her.
Princess Emajiri considered his offer, even though he was handsome and was her dream man, he was a stranger to her, and besides she was alone in the forest, he could do whatever he wanted with her and no one would be the wiser. But also she was alone in the forest and she didn't know if she'll encounter any other person she knew, who could take her out of this horrible forest. She sighed in resignation, like they say, a beggar has no choice. On the plus side, she'll get to be held in the arms of her dream man. ' ok.' She whispered, her voice low with shyness. If her skin was a shade lighter, her blush would have been visible on her face.
He didn't say anything. Before carrying her, he brought out her missing shoe from behind him and gently wore it on her feet, it's official, she must be as red as a tomato now, she almost wanted to squeal right now but she held herself back. She had already embarrassed herself enough. 'Thank you.' She whispered in embarrassment.
'No problem, ok, let's go.' He said, lifting her up as if she was as light as a feather. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, smiling in joy. This day might have started badly, but she liked the direction it was heading to now, she concluded in her mind, grinning like an idiot.
But above her, in a place she couldn't see, his gentle smile melted away, replaced by a hair raising grin, his eyes glinted with success.