Chapter 80 - Lost with a racing heart
Isabela
Whatever it was, it came running out of the undergrowth, which at first frightened me, making my heart almost stop. But I soon pulled myself together, after all, it was only two deer that had run past me and lost sight of me, entering the other side of the forest behind me.
"Of course! At the very least, I want to die before my time, scaring myself like that. Oh my God! I'm scaring myself silly. Calm down, Duchess, it's only two deer, for God's sake, young lady!" I put my hand on my chest and took a deep breath, recovering the air that had almost gone forever. "I thought they were wolves."
Relieved that it wasn't the wolves, I concentrated on where the animals had run from, after all, if the animals were in such a hurry to get out of there, it was for a reason.
"Looks like the first group is back." I gave a satisfied smile when I noticed two men coming out of the forest, mounted on the saddles of their horses.
One of them was carrying the corpse of a huge wolf, and his face was not at all happy. Were they the winners, or what had happened to make him so dejected? No, I don't think it's anything, he's probably discouraged at only having one wolf, that's not enough.
"Excuse me, is the duke coming after you?" The men ignored me and galloped past without even looking at me. "Hey, what's going on? Don't tell me the wolf eat your tongue?"
I shouted at them, but even my shouts couldn't stop them on their way back to the square, where the ladies were anxiously awaiting their gentlemen. Seriously, how could they be so rude as to not even give me an answer? I hastened my pace and followed behind them, driven by a curiosity so intense that nothing else mattered at that moment except finding out what they were about to say.
I finally arrived and could vaguely hear what the older nobleman was saying. The man was practically screaming, showing surreal desperation, while the other was sitting exhausted on the dirt floor next to his hunt.
"There is something embedded in the boundaries of this forest, something that is not a wolf." He emphasized his memories, gesturing to the scene with trembling hands.
"Luckily, we made it back…" The man, who was smaller in stature, said breathlessly, his eyes closed. "But not everyone will be as lucky."
The conversation was intriguing and worrying at the same time, but what on earth were those nobles talking about so agitated?
"The duke's group is still out there, isn't it?" I asked with firmness in my voice, this time receiving disapproving looks from some ladies.
"Please, duchess, sit down and let the nobleman speak." Said a white-skinned woman, so white she looked like a porcelain doll. "Wait for your duke in silence! Good heavens! What an insolent woman."
"I'm not the one creating hysteria, come on! That man is talking so loudly that you can hear him from the middle of the bush, and you come and scold me?"
"Please be quiet." She scolded me again, pointing her finger at me.
That's enough! I wanted to pick up a rock and throw it at her! But that's okay, I've put up with much worse people than her, I can take it like a passing summer rain. I stopped myself and, before I could hear her again, spun on my heels and started walking away from them, without even hearing what that guy was saying.
Suddenly, while I was wondering what he had said, I came across a totally provocative sight: she was mounted on a majestic brown horse, waving her right hand masterfully. That pose was a real invitation to exhaust my patience, and I could sense from that mischievous smile that she was ready to surprise me. With a skillful gesture, she pulled on the reins and the horse began to gallop, adding even more charm to the scene.
"The idiot did a good job," I muttered between my teeth. "But what does she want?"
Before Ana de Hanover completely disappeared from my sight, I caught a glimpse of her intentions. She was planning an audacious strategy to lead me into the heart of the forest, where something surely awaited me. Good or bad, without hesitation, I quickly grabbed one of the majestic horses that had brought the first nobles and mounted it with dexterity.
Ana rode ahead of me, leading the fast horse that didn't seem to have suffered the same exhaustion as mine, which had certainly come a long way before returning to the outskirts of the marquis' mansion.
~
I finally arrived at a beautiful clearing, where the sun's rays, still warm, filtered through the leaves of the majestic green trees and gently caressed my face. In a few weeks, the white of the snow would be the predominant color in every inch of the forest. My brave horse stopped and began to savor the tall grass. Poor thing, he was clearly exhausted, and I could never force him to continue. I have no idea how long I drove that animal, but we were a long way from the mansion.
"Ana! Where are you?" I echoed in that wide corner, scaring some birds that were resting on the branches.
I heard nothing but the sound of the immense nature that surrounded me. Furthermore, I scanned my surroundings with my eyes, but I couldn't find her. Not only had I lost sight of the girl, I also seemed to have lost myself. Perhaps that was her aim, to trick me and leave me lost in a forest full of ravenous wolves. I didn't like that scenario one bit. How could I protect myself if one of them suddenly appeared? Luckily, I spotted a path nearby and could only hope that some nobleman or even the duke himself would show up to rescue me.
On the other side, behind some giant trees, I heard the excited neighing of a horse. Ah, surely it was the horse on which Ana had run away from me! What did that woman want, dragging me to such a remote place? In fact, what was I thinking when I decided to go after her? Even so, I decided to speed up my steps towards the sound, carefully descending a small slope of sandy earth, holding on to the roots as if I were a real acrobat. After all, the last thing I wanted was to fall and end up with a broken leg or arm.
Finally, I came across a scene that shook me to the core. A deep anguish penetrated my heart, causing it to soar as my eyes witnessed that unexpected encounter between the two of them.