Ashelia and her pet wolf, Meryl, had to sneak quietly around the guards patrolling on their way to their secret escape route. She knew that if any of her father's men found out about it, that would be it.
No more freedom and she would be in the manor until her father remembered that she didn't need to be trapped in one place for too long.
After a few minutes, they got to a small garden at the back of the building. The tall flowers and brushes lined the high fence.
Ashelia hurried to a corner where the shrubs were thickest, with Meryl close on her heels. She crouched, scanned the area carefully to make sure no one was watching them and parted the plants gently to reveal a hole in the wall big enough for one average human to pass through.
Her eyes darted to her pet wolf and it quickly understood what she was trying to say.
Meryl went ahead to crawl into the opening, and just when her large canine body was halfway through, she got stuck.
Ashelia stifled the urge to groan. This was the part she hated the most whenever they wanted to sneak out.
"I think I will have to start feeding you less, Meryl." She whispered as she placed her hand with most of her weight on Meryl's bottom and pushed with all her might.
'Or maybe I should consider making the hole bigger.' She thought.
But that was too risky. The shrubs on the other side wouldn't be able to hide it if it increased in size.
With a few more seconds of struggling and shoving, Meryl's remaining half popped out free to the other side and Ashelia crawled out after her panting.
"Hah!" She huffed dejectedly. "Even after all this I'm still going hunting for you."
The wolf only stared at her owner with a wagging tail and excited blue eyes.
Ashelia could only shake her head as she got up to dust herself. "At least for the next few minutes, you will be the one doing all the work."
She added, climbing Meryl's back and holding onto her fur expertly like she had done many times before.
"Alright, giddy up."
The forest on the southern outskirts of the border city of Lavim was their destination. It was the only place in the Duchy of Wynford that had a decent game to hunt, and the place closest to the neighboring Empire.
The Dominion of Galimenea.
The constant fights between House Orlan and the neighboring Empire had eventually driven many of the animals to go extinct. So most Nobles in the territory didn't engage in hunting activities any more.
Even Ashelia's Father, the Duke, would only go there once in a while to spend time with her, not because he enjoyed it.
It had taken them forty minutes to get to the outskirts of the forest. Still, it was fast compared to going on a carriage.
Ashelia carefully dismounted and walked a few meters alongside her wolf, in search of game but even after many minutes had passed, neither of them spotted a single animal in sight.
It was strange.
"What's going on?" She muttered. "Did something scare them all away?"
Her grip tightened around her bow. 'I don't have a good feeling about this.'
Ashelia glanced at Meryl from the corner of her eye to see that the wolf didn't seem bothered at all.
She let out a sigh. 'I suppose there is no danger then.' She concluded. 'It must be my imagination…'
Just then, a brush a few feet away from them rustled and Ashelia tensed. She quickly pulled an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it to her bow, drawing it to shoot at any moment.
Suddenly, a large white rabbit hopped out of the bush and Ashelia fought the urge to laugh in relief.
She sighed again. 'You are just being overly sensitive, Shelia.' She mused, releasing the arrow and impaling the rabbit. 'Look, Meryl isn't even bothered. She just wants food!'
'Pfft!' She couldn't help but chuckle at her thought process as she watched Meryl sprint over to the dead animal, pick it up with her teeth and bring it over.
"Let me skin it for you." Ashelia told her, taking out a small knife hidden under her dress.. "Then I'll roast it over a fire. It will take a while, so you have to be patient since you don't like raw meat."
Ashelia collected the animal and made her way to a nearby lake. Meryl quietly lay down on the grass and watched her work.
After about twenty minutes had passed, she was done with preparations. Then she and Meryl took a critical look at the roasted rabbit meat for seconds before she wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"This rabbit just had a lot of fur, it's all bones!" She muttered in disappointment, making Meryl huff in agreement.
"Ah, it doesn't matter." Ashelia concluded as she stood up and stretched. "You will be fine with just this for now. It will be lunch time soon anyway."
The wolf huffed nonchalantly and started to scarf down its meal. Ashelia sat back down on the grass and watched it eat with satisfaction.
She looked up at the bright blue sky and rubbed the bottom of her nose with an index finger. "The smell here is familiar somehow…" She muttered. "But it's peaceful."
Her eyes then moved to the lake after a while and she stared at it longingly. Thinking whether or not to dive in.
She sniffed herself, realizing she smelled slightly of blood and raw meat from all the cutting and slicing she had done earlier.
Ashelia got up from where she was sitting and looked down at Meryl who had just finished her meal. "Keep watch for me, alright?"
As if it already knew what she was about to do, the wolf merely grunted, closed her eyes and laid her head down on her front paws.
Ashelia scanned the surroundings before she started to take off her clothes. Her sleek white dress pooled at her feet, joining her other equipment on the ground, along with the rest of her undergarments.
She gently slipped into the water and sighed in satisfaction as it enveloped her skin. Times like these were when she felt free.
She cupped water with both hands and gently splashed it on her face and hair, enjoying the cooling sensation. She let out another relaxed sigh and swam farther in, the water level now nearly over her shoulders.
She looked down at the water to take in her pale reflection. Hanging from her neck was a brilliant blue pendant in the shape of a fang, which seemed to emit a glow, even in daylight.
Ashelia clutched the pendant fondly… then her eyebrows furrowed.
It was the first time she was taking a good look at this lake and it was completely empty! She had never seen a body of water so utterly devoid of life before.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, carrying with it a very faint intoxicating scent. The same one she had noticed earlier.
'I have met someone that smelled like that before… who is it?'
Ashelia looked around, something was definitely off. The lack of animals in the woods, the empty lake and now this scent…
A shiver went up her spine.
Her eyes quickly moved to the riverbank, where she expected to find her pet wolf dozing off but the spot was just what it was... a spot.
Meryl was missing.