Chapter Nine

My heart raced inside of my chest. I felt the blood rushing inside of my body causing my body heat to increase. The arrow was in between of mine and Ophelia's head. I looked into the distance and saw three centaurs standing there powerful with their bows in their hand.

"We need to run Ophelia", I whispered. "How do you want to run on a tree", she exclaimed. I looked around. Some tree branches were pretty thick and wide. We could easily run on them and jump from tree to tree. I grabbed Ophelia's hand and tugged her behind me as I began running on the tree branches. Ophelia screamed behind me loosing her balance sometimes. The centaurs shouted and galloped beneath us. An arrow shot up and I quickly stopped running. I looked behind and saw that Ophelia was still behind me.

I tugged her once again behind me and we jumped from one tree branch to another. As I landed on the other branch I felt a sting in my ankle. Harshly I breathed out but ignored the pain. I must've landed wrong. Another arrow flew past our bodies but we kept running. It hit another branch and as I ran past it I ripped the arrow out of the branch and kept it with me. We heard the thumping sounds of the centaurs under us. As we were about to jump onto another tree I quickly turned around and squinted my eyes. My focus was on one of the centaurs. I stuck my tongue out and calculated the way from the arrow. As I was sure of my next move I shot the arrow with all the force I had and briskly began to run again. A scream was heard and I smiled proudly knowing that I hit him.

We jumped onto another tree branch and Ophelia nearly slipped. I quickly grabbed her arm and she steadied herself. She gave me a short nod and ran once again. The thumping sounds were getting quieter. Suddenly I stopped running and wanted to look behind us but before I could do that Ophelia crashed with all her force into my body making us both fall. We fell onto the ground and Ophelia fell on top of me. I grunted and touched my head. On my finger tips was a purple liquid. My blood. "Get off of me", I grumbled and Ophelia quickly rolled off of me. The thumping sounds got louder again. "Ophelia we need to hide", I whispered towards her. She looked around and saw something that looked like a tiny cave. She stood up and jogged towards it. I still laid on the ground. I felt dizzy and my head was thumping. Slowly I scrambled myself up and walked towards her. Her eyes widened and she put her finger over her mouth, signaling me to be quiet. She then sneaked into the cave and hid there. Muffling sounds were heard and I knew that I was screwed. Quickly I went behind a tree that was wide enough and stopped breathing. Not wanting the centaurs to get me.

Leaves crunched beneath their hooves and they trotted towards the cave where Ophelia was hiding. The cave was too big for them to enter and they just whispered to each other. The third centaur was walking around the cave searching for another entrance. I saw blood trailing down his shoulder.

I startet climbing up the tree trying to hide there. As I reached for another branch the leaves on that branch fell down. The centaurs heads shot up and they stared into my direction. I held onto my dear life. Hoping that my muscles won't give up as I dangled from the tree branches. The crunching sound got louder. One of the centaurs was only a few meters away from the tree I was dangling off.

A howl pierced through the air. "The werewolves are here for the meeting", one of the centaurs grumbled. "You two go to the meeting. I'll stay here and search for those whores."

Two of those centaurs galloped away and the third one was still near my hiding spot. My heart race quickened and I tried to breath as silently as possible. Both my hands began hurting and sweating. Soon I would either slip from the branch or my hands would simply give up.

A crack echoed across the forest and a low growl was heard. I heard the centaur's hooves crushing leaves beneath him. "Who's here", he shouted into the forest. Another growl was heard and it was way louder this time. "Why are you here werewolf", the centaur shouted. "You can't walk on our property without an escort", he continued. The werewolf just growled in response. My muscles began to burn. "I smell blood", the werewolf grumbled. I felt my blood rushing through my body. He could easily find me due to the wound Ophelia has caused. The leaves rustled once again and I heard the centaur say some reliving words. "I got shot by an arrow from a fairy", he silently admitted. I peaked in between some branches and saw that he showed him his shoulder where his blood has already dried off. "No, I smell fresh blood", the werewolf said. Panic spread across my mind. I had a way more fresh wound than the centaur. "It's not fully healed", the centaur replied and the werewolf nodded.

"We should go", the centaur said and they both trotted towards the castle. As they were out of my sight I released my hold and slumped onto the ground. I stood up and dusted away the dirt on my nude body.

I walked over to the cave where Ophelia was hiding. "Ophelia", I called out. She slowly crawled out of the cave. Her whole body was shaking. "Come here", I said and grabbed her hand and tugged her into my embrace. She was very pale and her body temperature was icy. I rubbed her back with my slim hand and reassured her. "We should find some clothing", Ophelia murmured under her breath. I nodded and grabbed her hand. "We shouldn't go in this direction", I said pointing at the way the centaur and werewolf were heading towards. She let out a deep sigh and rubbed her face. "But where should we get clothes", she whined out. Shrugging my shoulders as a reply didn't help Ophelia. She wanted to sneak back into the castle and get some clothes. In some way she was right. The days were getting colder here up north. Soon it'll be unbearable to walk around without anything. We would freeze to death.

"Okay." Ophelia's head shot up and she had a wide smile. "But we need a plan", I continued. She hugged me tightly.

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We sneaked into a tiny guest house. It was near the castle and designed for visitors which weren't centaurs. It had a cozy living area and a big bedroom. I silently walked into the bedroom towards the wooden closet. It made a cracking sound as I opened the closet door. "Ophelia over here", I loudly whispered. She hushed into the room and sneaked to me. Her red curls were combed and she held the comb in her hand. "You should comb your hair too", she said. I rolled my eyes and took two gowns and as my hand wanted to grab the corset, Ophelia slapped my hand. "Ouch!"

"Do you really want to put on a corset?", she questioned me. I thought about her question but shook my head. It would be inconvenient. We both got dressed in our gowns which weren't puffy. They were made from a silky material.

The front door shrieked. Ophelia and me got startled and looked with horror at each other. Someone entered the guest house.