Noelle was slowly awoken by a harsh surface rubbing against her cheek. She blinked her weary eyes open, rubbing to wipe away the leftover sleep on her eyes. Stifling a yawn, Noelle slowly turned over to look at what woke her up.

It was a sheet of neatly folded paper, lying on her pillow with her name written on it in small, neat writing. She opened it up and read what it said.

Good morning!

I'm at the stables with Harrison, so come join me when you wake up. We can give you a tour.

- Karol

And so, Noelle rushed to get herself dressed, putting on a light green dress she had packed in her bag and a blazer. Quickly, she borrowed Lolita's hairbrush to style her hair and popped a mint in her mouth before leaving the house. She almost forgot to leave her friends a note informing them where she was.

Noelle already knew the way to go, so she quickly met with Karol. She could not see him when she first approached the stables, and only could spot Harrison's back. However, she could hear his soft humming as he sang a song that sounded oddly familiar to her, yet she could not quite place her finger on it.

"Morning Karol, Harrison," Noelle greeted, pushing open the door and entering inside. Harrison turned to face her, flicking his tail in glee as he nuzzled her face. "What are you doing?"

"Hi Noelle," Karol replied, a huge smile flickering onto his face as soon as he saw her. He was dressed differently than the day before, with much cleaner and neater clothes. "I'm just brushing out Harrison." He motioned to the monstrous brush he held in his hand.

"Oh! Can I help?"

"If you want to, here," Karol said, handing her the brush. "Make sure you brush the right way though."

Weaving the brush through Harrison's smooth hair, Noelle felt calmed. With each stroke, it felt like another small trouble or worry was eroded away, since she could focus on the one thing she was doing in the present. She could clearly see that Harrison's sleek white coat had been well cared for by Karol, and that he was a horse dearly loved by his family.

"He's beautiful," she commented, and Karol agreed. She finished brushing Harrison's hair and moved to caress his head, gliding her hands over his cheeks.

"Are we ready to go?" Karol asked, and Noelle realised he was waiting for her.

"Sorry- yeah, let's go!" Being with Karol, Noelle felt like an awkward pre-teen who was only just new to dating.

He held out his hand to help her onto Harrison, and she sat in the back with her arms wrapped around his waist. Karol did not object, not even mutter a word, so Noelle took it as a sign of comfort. They took off, and Noelle watched as Karol expertly controlled the reigns and steered them down the empty street.

Unlike any other villages that Noelle had visited during her time in Dacnella, the streets of Hunter's Ville were completely devoid of people.

Something inside Noelle stirred when she felt Karol's warm body pressed against hers. She felt like she was on a rocking ship, swinging back and forth as she couldn't decide what to do with herself. Shaking her head to dispel any further thoughts, Noelle focused on the world ahead of them.

"So, why do you call yourself the Hunters?" Noelle asked, blurting the first question on her mind. Karol collected his thoughts before he answered.

"A long, long time ago, our ancestors were known as the greatest Hunters in all of Dacnella. Only then, it wasn't called Dacnella yet. Back then, Dacnella was divided into five separate Kingdoms, each ruled by a King and Queen," he explained.

"Our Kingdom, Nervel, was the poorest, smallest and weakest. People lived in extreme poverty, so a group of brave individuals decided to change it. They called themselves the Hunters, and would venture out to do the unknown: leave Nervel. They hunted beasts from the other Kingdom, bringing them back to this village which then became known as Hunter's Ville. Thousands of years later, we still continue their tradition. Minus the part of leaving the Kingdom, of course."

Noelle's eyes widened as she heard the magnificent story. She never knew that Dacnella used to be divided, and the horrible conditions that people lived in. Karol's tale just sprouted thousands of questions into her mind, ones which she was desperate to have answered.

"How did Dacnella become what it is now?" Noelle questioned, and Karol breathed a heavy sigh. She could tell that it certainly was not as noble of a story as the Hunters History.

"Well, the King of Peart, Francis, was a cruel and ambitious man. He wasn't happy with the Kingdom he already had, so he sought to expand it. He commanded his powerful army to invade the other Kingdoms, and one by one, he took control of them. No one even had a chance to defend themselves," Karol said, casting his eyes to the floor.

"He merged all of the Kingdoms together as one, and named it Dacnella. That man is Adron's great, great, great - you get the gist - grandfather."

It all made sense to Noelle now. How Adron was so power hungry and how he came to be. It ran in his veins to terrorise his Kingdom and make the citizen's lives a misery.

"And now, news has reached Hunter's Ville that his new bride escaped, and he's about to make everything ten times worse."

And hearing those words, Noelle's heart sank

. . .

Whenever she was near her, Noelle felt like a giddy child who just got a toy for Christmas. She loves the sparkle in her eyes, the warmth of her hands, the quivers she felt when she came in contact with her electrifying skin.

When with her, Noelle felt like she was unstoppable; she was on top of the world. She could do anything. She gave Noelle that faith she thought had dimmed out over time, like a dying candle.

The sound of her voice was Noelle's favourite sound, and the colour of her eyes was Noelle's favourite colour. Falling in love was so quick and so easy, strikingly different from what she had read in Aurora's romance books. It did not come to Noelle all at once, like a speeding train knocking her off of her feet, but instead as a slow meander, gently influencing her thoughts before she had even noticed what happened.

These emotions were so strange for her. Noelle's head spun, her heart hurt and she could not breathe. It was overwhelming... but she wanted more.

They quietly sat together on a green hill, their fingers threaded together like a beautiful work of art. She quietly hummed, and Noelle took solace in the gentle sound as she closed her eyes.

For she made everything better.

She was her sun, her moon, her love and her best friend.

She was Zuzanna Winter.

. . .

"I'm going to show you something really cool... it's where each new Hunter goes through extreme training," Karol said in excitement. "Normally, strangers are never allowed here, but I- I trust you so..."

He led her down a small, dusty path, weaving through the tiny wooden houses stacked closely together. Eventually, they came to a stop in front of a tall fence, which Karol quickly unlocked so they could enter.

The training centre was a large, open field, surrounded by a fence. Inside, it held several targets, ranging from size, as well as a developed obstacle course featuring pillars, ropes and moving floorboards. There was a wet, muddy pit located at the side, with a rope leading into it. If Noelle had to guess she would say that it was deeper than her height. There was already an older boy present at the centre, and he was facing the targets with his back to them. In his hands, he held a shotgun, which Noelle watched as he fired and shot it straight into the middle of the smallest circle: bullseye.

"Ah, it's Jawad," Karol said, rolling his eyes. "Then again, of course it is. He's like a fanatic when it comes to training. Hey, Jawad!"

The boy turned around to look at them, his face holding a bored expression as he emotionlessly stared at them rudely. Immediately, Noelle felt a certain disconnection and resentment towards. "He's the one who I said knew Dacnella so well," Karol added.

"Who's she?" Asked Jawad, not even bothering to greet Noelle or Karol. In fact, his black eyes did not even seem to look at her at all. He ran his hand to brush the sweat from his coily black hair as he slowly began walking towards the two. Just like what seemed like everyone else in the village he was tall, with darkened skin worn by hours of training and exposure to sunlight.

"This is Noelle, she's a friend. She's staying in our village for a bit before setting off to the Lost Forest. I'm just showing her around."

"Hi," Noelle said, lifting her hand. Yet she was ignored by Jawad. Scoffing, she did not say another word until he would speak to her first.

"The Lost Forest? You realise that's basically impossible to find?" Jawad asked, his eyebrows flying high on his forehead. "Whatever do you even wanna go there for?"

"Your lack of faith in me is encouraging," Noelle muttered, and Jawad rolled his eyes.

The audacity of this boy!

"Which is why I need to ask you for a tiny little favour," Karol began, wrapping his arm around Jawad's shoulder, who quickly shrugged it off. "You're an expert with maps, aren't you? You can help us find it!"

"Yeah, I'm not that good. Can't help, sorry."

Jawad started to walk away, picking his shotgun back up and aiming it at the targets. Upon closer inspection, Noelle noticed that it had his initial engraved at the back. Clearly it was worn, with many scratches and small dents, but it was polished and shiny, so bright that Noelle could almost see her own reflection. Jawad prepared his shot, jumping when Karol began speaking again.

"Not that good? You brag about it all the time, you idiot!" Karol said, folding his arms. He refused to back down, and Noelle found it admirable in him. "Come on!"

"Karol, you made me miss my shot!" Jawad groaned, slapping his forehead. "Why do you want me of all people? Go find someone else!" He said, jabbing a finger towards Noelle.

"Because you're the only one who can find the Lost Forest, right?" She frowned. "What, do you have family keeping you here or something?"

"I'm an orphan," Jawad hissed, stepping closer to Noelle. His face was a mixture of sadness and anger, as the fire in his eyes blazed brighter than before. Immediately, she felt a pang of sorrow in her heart for him, but it died down as he spat at the ground below her. With every moment, she just despised this boy more and more! She was beginning to hope Karol would not manage to convince him to help. "Besides, I don't want to hang out with girls."

"What's wrong with gir-"

"I'll come with you guys too, though. Also there's another boy in their group, so you won't be alone," Karol reasoned, before whispering the next part. "Besides, you always talk about how much you want to get out."

"Fine, I'll do it," Jawad finally agreed, and Karol punched the air. Noelle signed inwardly, but tried to look happy at the favour she had just been granted. One thing that she was definitely not looking forward to was Jawad joining their journey.

Then again, if she ever wanted to get home, some sacrifices had to be made. Be it her sanity.

. . .

When Noelle and Karol returned to his house, the sky outside was already dark. The setting sun cast a beautiful golden glow, enhancing the atmosphere around them and most importantly, Karol's face. Noelle imagined it to be the perfect setting for a romantic first date. As soon as the sly thought entered her head she blushed, turning her face away so Karol would not see.

Dear God, what's wrong with me? Noelle thought. She had only known this boy for barely two days, and already her emotions were making her think absurd things. One part of her was ecstatic that she had managed to move on, yet another screamed insult at her for betraying somebody else she knew. Somebody for whom she had tried to flatten her feelings and leave them forgotten.

They left Harrison in the stables for the night, and Noelle helped refill his water tank as Karol ensured he had plenty of hay. He held the door open for her like a kind gentleman as they entered the warm house. Instantly, the smell of cooking hit her nose. Hearing the door open, Lolita rushed to greet them.

"Finally! You guys were gone the whole day! Come, the food is getting cold," she said, motioning for them to follow. On the table there was a feast laid out, one fit for a King. There was a great plate with a cooked chicken on it, golden and crispy, fresh from the oven. There was fluffy, white mash sitting in a pan, and peas in the other, just waiting to be placed on their plates. Once everyone was present, everyone came together as a family to eat.

Noelle's mind wandered to Jawad. If his parents were gone, then who was he eating with? Did he live alone? She knew loneliness all too well, having distant parents and never really having the chance to get to know them. Though at least she had parents and she encountered them every day, even if they usually did not speak more than a few sentences to each other.

"Noelle? You're spacing out," Roland murmured next to her. She quickly snapped out of her daze, digging back into her food. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, just thinking," she assured him, even giving a smile to try to push the act. Roland looked at her questioningly, before turning back to his own food. Noelle listened idly to the soft chatter at the table, but made no effort to participate.

When they finished, the three began getting ready for bed. Noelle changed into her nightgown and carefully laid herself down on the blanket provided for her, ignoring the discomfort of the hardwood floor.

"Goodnight guys," Lolita muttered.

"Night," Roland said, and after that, all Noelle could hear was silence.

. . .

It was midnight. Noelle was in a daze as she was roughly shaken awake, opening her bleary eyes to see Roland above her. It gave her a strange sense of déjà vu, yet she could not remember why. She was too exhausted for her mind to work properly.

"Is she awake? Quicker, Roland!" Noelle could faintly hear Lolita in the background. She sounded desperate, and Noelle could not figure out why. What was going on?

"Noelle, they found us!" Roland cried, pulling her up to her feet as he helped steady her.

"Who...?"

"Adron! Let's go!"

Was this a nightmare? Another wretched nightmare sent to throw her off of her feet? If so, it was certainly working. She did not even have time to get herself dressed before she was dragged out of the house in her nightgown.

"Wait! Where's Karol?!"

"He's with the other Hunters. They're trying to stop Adron's soldiers from entering the village," Roland quickly explained, but did not continue. There was no time for long explanations. The three quickly ran to the stables, where they saw Harrison was already gone. They ran into the second room, which held a black mare who already had someone tending to it.

It was Jawad.

"What are you doing here?" Noelle asked, baffled. The boy turned to look at them, his lips tilting in amusement as he looked at the three's clothing.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked sarcastically. A grey, leather bag was slung over his shoulder, and his shotgun was snuggled against his chest with straps. Noelle swore he brought that thing everywhere. "I'm preparing a horse so you can get away. Unless you'd like me to leave it and you can join the fight, how about that?"

"Horse is fine, thanks," Noelle said, too tired to even argue with him. She and Lolita got into the small wagon that he had attached, and since there was no space for one more, Roland sat behind Jawad on the horse.

"They don't know that we're leaving, so shut up," Jawad warned, before mounting the horse and taking them out of the stables. In the dead of night, completely unnoticed, the growing group slipped away.

As Noelle watched the village turn smaller and smaller, her hope decreased too. Without a chance to even bid Karol goodbye, she felt like she brought misfortune and misery anywhere she went.