Dedicated to Emmanuella for being really sweet and commenting on my book! Thank you! 

"Was there also a prince?" Caroline, the youngest of the four children, asked her father curiously.

The man looked at her with a pointed stare.

The girl remembered her promise and quickly covered her mouth with both her hands before whispering, "Sorry."

"It's alright, just don't interrupt me while I am speaking," he told her in a forgiving tone. "But to answer your question, yes, there was also a prince."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing I loved about to forest was its silence. You could wander around for hours without running into a single soul, only the songs of the birds following you around where ever you went. I could spend hours and hours following nonexistent paths, lost in my own little world, the grass brushing against my bare feet.

I had been living in the forest for quite a time now, almost eighteen years. In almost every book I read it was always described as a dark place, where monsters would lurk in the dark and beasts would eat little girls. But for me the forest had a different meaning. It was a place I called home.

There weren't any monsters lurking in the dark, they were just shadows. And the beasts, they turned out to be a rabbit or a deer, nothing to be afraid of. In fact, they were more afraid of me than the other way around.

I still remember the days back when I was still a little girl and all the animals would disappear when they would hear my arrival. I would try to catch one of the rabbits because I wanted to pet them. But when I couldn't find one I went crying to Aunt Kara. She then explained to me that I had to befriend the animals if I wanted to pet them.

I started to leave carrots and salad at a clearing near our house. Over the night all food would be gone. I left more food outside and one day it happened. As I was about to return back home, I turned around one more time only to see a small rabbit eating the salad.

From that day onward I would remain in the clearing and watch the rabbits. Sometimes also a deer would appear and eat the vegetables. As time passed, they became less afraid of me and accepted me as part of the forest. I could walk through the woods with rabbits crossing my paths without running away from me, but instead halting and looking at me with their little eyes.

"Isn't it a wonderful day, Ray?" I asked him as I strolled through the forest.

Ray let out a caw as if he was answering me. I smiled to myself and looked around for berries that weren't poisonous. Once I found a bush full of wild berries, I sat the basket down on the ground and started to fill it.

"I had one of those dreams again, Ray," I started to talk to him, a habit I had grown used to over the years. "Do you want to hear about it?"

I threw a berry into the air and Ray swiftly caught it. He swallowed it down and let out a short caw.

"I was in this room again, you know, the one with the chandeliers and the golden walls," I stopped for a moment to eat a berry before continuing with my narration. "I was lying in bed with a rose colored blanket and there was a rose about my head."

I let out a sigh and tried to remember as much as possible from the dream. "It all looked so beautiful, it felt so real," I stopped for a moment to see how many berries I had already picked. The basked wasn't near as full as I expected. I looked up to the tree in front of me, Ray was sitting on one of the branches.

"Ray," I told him in a scolding voice. "How many times do I have to tell you not to eat the berries that are in the basket? If you are hungry, you can go and eat the berries that grow on the bush."

Ray let out a few caws, almost as if he was apologizing to me. I looked at him with a smile and shook my head in amusement. "You truly are something, aren't you?" I laughed to myself and continued removing the berries from the twigs and putting them into the basket.

After a while of silence Ray let out a caw. I looked up at him questioningly. "What is it?" I asked him and turned around to make sure that there wasn't anything unusual behind it me. I heard a few leaves rustle, probably a rabbit again, I thought to myself.

I turned back to the berries and started to hum an unknown melody. "Oh, I forgot to tell you the rest of my dream, Ray!" I exclaimed as soon as I realized that I hadn't told him everything. "I was lying in this bed, remember? Well, I felt happy and... safe there. But then everything suddenly stopped. The music, the people, everything went quiet. And then..." I stopped for a moment to catch my breath.

"And then this man appeared above me. He had these dark brown eyes with green sparks in them. And the way he looked at me." I shuddered as I remembered the darkness I could see in his eyes. "I was so afraid. He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but luckily I woke up before I could hear his voice."

Ray let out a long caw and raised himself up from the branch he had been sitting on while I was busy filling the basket. I looked up to him into the sky, a bad feeling over coming me. Ray always waited for me to stand up before he got into the air.

Aunt Iris always told me to follow my instincts and trust my gut. And my instincts were telling me to leave and get home as fast as possible. I had a strange feeling that there was something, or someone, watching me.

I picked a few more berries pretending to be focused on the bush while my right hand went to the knife I always wore hidden under my apron. Aunt Iris insisted that I wore it with me where ever I went. When the tips of my fingers brushed against its wooden grip, I let out a relieved breath and quickly hid the knife in the basket.

As I stood up I turned around one more time to make sure that I wasn't just seeing a ghost. I saw a movement on my left side and stopped in my tracks for a moment. When nothing happened, I turned back around and started to walk back home, the feeling of someone watching me, following me.

Ray flew above my head. Here and there he would let out a long caw, telling me that something wasn't right, warning me to be careful.

I didn't go straight back home, instead of going right, I made a turn to the left and walked to a small stream. As soon as I heard the lapping of the water against the stones I slowed down and focused more on my surroundings. The sound of a branch breaking startled me and I quickened my steps once more.

When I reached the stream, I kneeled down and wash my hand in the cold water. I heard another branch break and quickly dried my hands on my dark apron before standing up, the basket with the berries and the knife in my hands. I hesitated for a moment and then jumped over the stream.

I quickly ran off into the undergrowth, counting my steps, and then hid myself behind a tree. After a moment of silence I could hear the sound of footsteps that were getting closer. I closed my eyes, the knife, now in my hands, was pressed to my chest as I started to count down the steps.

Four. Three. Two. One.

Without opening my eyes, I stretched out my right hand with the knife in it. The person following me let out a surprised shriek and halted in his step.

"Wow, careful there."

I carefully opened one eye and then the other, surprised and unsure of what to do. A young man with light brown hair stood in front of my knife with raised hands. His emerald green eyes were staring at the knife in my hand while his mouth was slightly open.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. "Why did you follow me?"

"I...I..." he averted his gaze to me and stared at me speechless.

"Why did you follow me?" I repeated my question, thinking that he didn't hear me.

"I...," he started still a bit dazes. "I was just making sure that you were alright."

"What makes you think that I wasn't?" I asked him, not sure if he was telling the truth.

He stared at me for a moment before answering. "The forest is a pretty dangerous place for a young woman."

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. In all those years I had lived in the forest I had never met another person beside my father and my three aunts. I had heard stories about damsels in distress being saved by the knight in shining armor. But to me these stories just seemed wrong, why didn't they just try to find a way out themselves.

As I was standing in front of this man now, these stories suddenly came back to my mind. "I am perfectly fine on my own."

"I can see that," the man said with an amused smile on his face.

"What where you doing in this part of the forest?" I asked him with slightly narrowed eyes. "No one comes this far."

"I was exploring the forest with my horse, but unfortunately I got lost. I am not from around here," he explained. "I heard a voice, your voice, and that's how I ran into you."

I eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean with 'here'?"

"The Kingdom of Gilion," he told me while staring at the knife in my hand. "Look, I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. So, could you please put the knife away before someone gets hurt?"

I hesitate for a moment, he seemed to be telling the truth. Aunt Kara had told me about the Kingdom of Gilion. It was on the south side of the forest, but I didn't know that we lived so close to it. I let out a sigh and put down my knife.

"Where is your horse?" I asked him.

"I tied him to a tree not far away from the place where I saw you."

"If you want to get back to the Kingdom of Gilion you have to follow the stream down till you get to a large clearing from that way you can probably find your way back," I told him, ready to turn around and leave.

"Wait!" I looked at him with a raised brow. "What is your name?"

"Adelaide," I told him hesitantly.

A smile appeared on his face. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Adelaide. My name is Philip."

I nodded in response and was about to walk away when he once more stopped me.

"Wait, will you be here tomorrow?" he asked me, hope flickering in his eyes.

"I am not sure, why?" I asked him back curiously.

"I will be at this clearing you mentioned tommorow at the same time," he explained without really answering my question. "Goodbye, Adelaide, and I hope I will see you soon."

I nodded and walked away, the basket and the knife securely held in my hands. When I was sure that I was far away from the man, I turned around one more time. He was still standing at the same spot I had left him. He stared into my direction, a smile tugging at his lips.

I quickly turned around and hurried back home, the stranger never once leaving my mind.

Hey guys! Hope you liked the chapter! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment and don't forget to vote! Thank you!

~Tessa