Cracking twigs and faint footsteps—it’s what alerted Nicolas as she pulled Alisa away from the door. He raised his pointer finger in front of his lips, surveying the scenery outside with the two windows on either side. It was a small cabin; guarding it would be easy, but currently, only Alisa is the one who’s fit to fight.

The front porch creaked as an entity stepped on the old, deteriorating planks it was made out of. Out of instinct, he called for his blade and raised it, exchanging glances with Alisa as they both waited for the door to open. There’s so many things that happened already and he would not be surprised if Liam and Meriane came knocking, especially if they finally found out Matthew’s real identity.

All his nerves tensed up, prepared for the words when a familiar voice finally called.

“A— Alisa, the f— firewood you asked.”

Nicolas could finally breath when he confirmed it was Hunter as he silently peeked through the hole of the door.

The boy was holding both arm’s worth of firewood. Looking hesitantly as he stood on the porch, waiting for a reply. From what Nicolas could tell, he had no intention of entering. With a sigh of relief, he retreated back to the bed and let Alisa know that it was nothing to be worried about.

Hunter looked pale; his eyes could not focus in anything, glancing at the roof, then to the floor, then back to the door, all while his right leg was jiggling out of sheer anxiety. He was already planning to leave the firewood by the door without any intention on entering. His heart could not take the pressure of coming face-to-face with the person he pushed to her death.

Finally noticing the small hole on the door, he too took a peek. The inside of the cabin was small, ragged and old, similar to the wood used for the roof of the porch outside. Deer antlers decorates the walls as a bear’s fur lines the floor; it looked comfortable to live in and could still survive for a few more years.

He took note of the fireplace. Water boiling inside a cauldron, hanging over the lit fire as Alisa could be seen sitting on a small table in front of it. At the far side is a bench and a small sink, while the bed on the other side is barely visible. After putting too much pressure on the door, it suddenly opened and he was greeted by Nicolas, who’s sitting at the bed.

“Y— You’re awake, t— that’s great news”, he awkwardly cried before letting the firewood loose, scattering it to the floor. He tried picking them back up, but with his heart starting to rise, he quickly backed up, “I’m so sorry, your majesty,”, he added before closing the door.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Hunter, wait, I need to tell you something”, Nicolas said, his words muffled by the door.

“There’s no need. I know how heavy my crimes are; no need to remind me, your majesty.”

“That’s not what I want to talk about”, Nicolas looked at Alisa as if asking her approval.

“I really know how much I deserve death for my sins. You don’t need to remind me”, Hunter exclaimed as he gulped every drop of his saliva down his throat, trying not to croak.

“Like I said, I’m not going to talk about that”, Nicolas got off the bed and kneeled at the floor.

A loud thud coming from inside intrigued Hunter and forced him to open the door and go back inside.

“What are you doing?”, said Hunter as Nicolas glued his head to the floor.

“It’s already redundant by now but I could still not forget what happened that night, even now that we know that Alisa’s alive. I was scarred, that’s a fact, but there’s one thing I was wrong. I was wrong to think I was the only one who suffered, when in reality, there was someone who suffered more consequences than me”, Nicolas started.

“Raise your head, your majesty”, Hunter exclaimed, refusing to believe what he heard.

“Though we can’t forgive you just yet and these scars have not been fully healed, I would like to thank you for saving Alisa. I’m hoping that we can cooperate from here on out”.

“I said lift your head, you don’t need to do that!”, Hunter does not know what to do, his hands are stuck in the air, wanting to pull the prince up while at the same time scared to what might happen to him.

Alisa, on the other hand, came laughing at him, “Why are you looking tense? Would you prefer it if we punched you instead?”, she sarcastically sighed as she stood and washed and poured vegetables she just peeled to the small cauldron.

Hunter could not understand what’s happening, and he has no idea how to react. The prince, lowering his pride to the person he hated the most and the girl he did wrong finally interacting and looking at him as a person, is unsure whether to feel more guilt or be happy.

“I guess I’ll have to say thanks to you for saving my life, but don’t expect me to forgive what you did to me that easily”, Alisa blurted, placing the chopping board back to the table before picking up the firewood that Hunter unintentionally scattered to the floor, “Wha— Why are you crying?”

“I too would like to apologize!”, Hunter exclaimed as he copied Nicolas.

Tears kept pouring down the floor, saturating the bear fur, “I know what I did was unforgivable. I don’t even deserve any forgiveness from you two; that’s fine but I too hope that we can work together. I would like to help you with all my power and atone for my mistakes.”

“Fine fine, you’re still the crybaby since back then. Since you’re already here, why not join us for lunch?”, she asked while Hunter lifted his head and watched the two as he wiped his tears.

“Why do you look so worried? Don’t worry, we’ll not poison you or anything”, Nicolas sarcastically said before laughing, “If we wanted to kill, you’d have been dead before you entered that door.”

The prince meant it as a joke but Hunter’s already faint heart was too weak. He looked tenser than before, “N— No thank you”, he said, then got up. “I already ate with the other knights. B—Besides, you probably want to talk to the ones in command, right? I—I’ll do that instead”, he proposed before sprinting away like a reindeer being chased by poachers.

Nicolas and Alisa had just finished their meal when Hunter came back together with Anton, Alvor, and Donnor.