Chapter 114: Louder
Emira almost jumped out of her skin when a small voice broke the silence. A little boy stepped into her path, clutching something tightly in his chubby hands.
She blinked down at him, startled, before her eyes dropped to what he was holding-a small bunch of flowers, their petals slightly drooping. For a moment, she could only stare, confused at the sudden offering.
The boy shifted nervously under her gaze and quickly explained, words tumbling out in a rush. "I wanted to thank you for saving me. My father said if you hadn’t pushed me out of the way that night, I would have been really hurt. So I should give you a gift. At first, I wanted to give you my tooth, so that the tooth fairy would give you some gifts, but father said that would be inappropriate. So... I brought these flowers instead."
Emira’s lips parted, caught between laughter and surprise. A tooth as a thank-you gift would have been quite amusing. Hehe. Prince Kael had a whole lot of body parts on display around the house. And she could have started a collection of her own...
Before she could respond, though the boy frowned down at the little bouquet in his hands, his bottom lip jutting out. "But... you’re staying with His Highness. And Father said I shouldn’t disturb him, so... my flowers are all wilted now."
His voice dropped to a whisper, as if confessing a terrible failure and even somehow blaming her for staying with Prince Kael...
A giggle slipped past her lips before she could stop it. The flowers were indeed wilted, but the sight of the boy standing there, earnest and shy with his offering, was far too endearing. She crouched down and accepted the small bunch carefully, cradling it in her palms as if it were a priceless treasure. "Well," she said warmly, "I think they’re still very pretty. Thank you."
The boy’s face lit up at once, his eyes sparkling.
Emira’s heart tugged at the innocence in his expression. She leaned forward, balancing on her knees so her gaze met his. "Next time, be careful. Don’t run around so carelessly, all right? You gave everyone quite a scare."
Then, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret, she crooked a finger at him. The boy leaned in eagerly, curious. In one swift move, she caught his round little cheeks between her fingers and gave them a playful pinch.
"And tell me," she teased softly, her eyes dancing, "were you really waiting here because you didn’t want to disturb His Highness... or was it because you were actually scared of him?"
The boy’s eyes widened like saucers, the truth written all over his startled face. His mouth opened and closed, caught in the lie he hadn’t expected her to uncover.
Emira chuckled, patted his cheeks once again, looked down at the flowers and stood up," Thank you again for these pretty flowers. You are the first one to give me a gift... I am... quite thankful."
And that was the truth. Her mother might have brought her gifts or flowers, she did not remember. But this was indeed the first time she had received a gift... She looked at the little boy, trying to suppress her tears. She was quite sure that if she cried, he would be even more disappointed about his wilted flowers.
Hugging the little bunch of flowers closer to her, she thanked the boy again and was about to walk away when the little boy called out, "Jasper is not scared of His Highness!"
Emira paused and turned around. The boy looked too cute with his lower lip jutting out in a pout as he glared at her and repeated, "Jasper is not scared of anyone."
"Really? And who is Jasper?"
The boy scowled, "I is Jasper."
Emira laughed, "I am Jasper."
"You are Jasper too?" The boy asked with wide eyes...
Emira laughed at that and shook her head, "No no. I am Emira."
The boy nodded but then, in the next minute, his eyes widened in fear. Emira frowned as she too felt someone approaching from behind her.
Emira’s laughter faded the instant her instincts flared. A sharp scent hit her nose, foreign and wrong. Her body stiffened, and her eyes darted up.
Two wolves stood at the edge of the path, their gazes locked on her and the boy. Their eyes glowed faintly. It took her a moment to realise that they were not Stormhold Wolves.
But they were on Stormhold Territory. Why?
Her heart sank.
Without hesitation, Emira reached back and pushed Jasper behind her, her hand firm on his small shoulder. "Stay behind me," she whispered, never taking her eyes off the strangers.
Slowly, she straightened to her full height, squaring her shoulders, though her pulse was hammering in her throat.
Trying to keep herself calm, she asked in a normal voice, "Who are you? What do you want?"
The two wolves seemed not to understand her, as they continued to stand there and stare at her. Emira frowned. Were they planning to attack directly? Why else would they...Slowly, she patted her lower back, where she had tucked the little dagger that Prince Zen had just given her.
"Next time, you encounter a hostile wolf, use this instead of rubble."
Emira’s hand closed around the hilt, her palm slick with nervous sweat, yet her grip was steady. Who would have thought she would need it so soon? A dagger had felt heavy and unnecessary when Zen had given it to her, but now it was her only assurance of safety. She even wondered for a moment if he could predict the future.
But mostly, she was quite thankful for it.
As her hand tightened around the dagger’s handle, Emira suddenly saw something else. Standing behind the wolves was someone else. Her eyes widened, even as relief hit her.
The two wolves seemed to have sensed the other person behind her as well.