After the announcement, the forest began to change. The foliage of the trees became denser, and the environment grew darker. The sounds of the animals became more wild and even frightening.

"Evade the rabbit, but complete the first activity? Are they serious?" Annabell looked at the forest with an irritated gaze.

The princess glanced at Ezariel, surprised that he was still there. The redhead seemed more agitated than usual, his red eyes had a different gleam. Annabell took two steps back, distancing herself from him.

"It would be best for the princess to find a place to hide. We don't want any more royal blood to be spilled." Ezariel pointed to his own cheek and laughed. "Dominick should still be in the forest; you can go after him."

The blood on the princess's cheek had already dried, leaving only a small mark. The skin around the wound was red.

"I don't need your advice." She couldn't stand to hear any more comments from him. The anger of being hit by that arrow returned, and the princess's gaze became irritated. "You should worry about yourself." Annabell turned to leave. She would find her own way.

She didn't care about the activity; she just wanted to stay away from Ezariel. The longer she spent near him, the more irritated she became.

"Don't go around as if it's a walk in the park." Ezariel's voice sounded serious as he grabbed Annabell's arm and pulled her back.

"As if I were the dumb and defenseless princess." The platinum-haired girl forcefully pulled her arm away and walked off.

Annabell glanced at Ezariel from the corner of her eye. For a few seconds, she thought he might genuinely be concerned, but upon seeing the smile on his lips, she changed her mind and started walking faster. The princess grumbled as she walked, mimicking Ezariel's words and making faces.

The forest had completely changed, and Annabell couldn't find her way back. The forest must have turned into a maze, but one without any exits—a way for the Academy to force the students to participate in the activities.

"When you get there, you'll understand, and you'll start to enjoy it. Of course, it's not like I have many choices! Evade the rabbit and earn points. To hell with the points and Ezariel!" Annabell grumbled to herself.

Annabell had hoped that at least the first week would be somewhat normal. To her dismay, the "friendly" competition had started early.

She could feel small cuts opening on her skin as the tree branches grew larger, always causing her to bump into them. Her white dress was torn and completely dirty. Annabell was starting to consider sitting on the ground and waiting for the activity to end. Then she heard a noise—it sounded like people running.

She searched for the source of the sound and began running away from it, but it seemed futile as the footsteps grew closer. The princess started hearing voices; those people must have been hunting something.

"Shit!" The last thing she wanted was to encounter more people from the hunting class.

Annabell hid in a bush with dense and large leaves, luckily without thorns. She curled up and prayed that no one would see her there.

The students were just a few meters away from Annabell's hiding spot, and she couldn't see clearly what they were doing. She imagined they were trying to catch the rabbit, even though the rabbit was somewhat angry, slightly larger, and even aggressive. It didn't make sense to have so many students after just one rabbit.

A bestial roar echoed through the forest. Annabell covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from screaming. That roar didn't seem to belong to a rabbit or any small animal. Annabell looked around, trying to spot the creature responsible for that roar, but the leaves of the bush prevented her from getting a clear view.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The princess wasn't accustomed to seeing creatures of that kind, so she could only imagine what kind of animal it might be.

Annabell decided to step out of the bush. With her limited vision, if that creature appeared, she would only know when it was trampling her. She got a better view of the hunting students; they seemed to be surrounding a beast.

In the midst of the encirclement, a massive beast growled at the boys. It threatened to attack but backed away whenever one of them aimed their bows at it. The creature resembled a rabbit, but a giant rabbit with red eyes, bristling fur, and enormous teeth.

"They can deal with killing that thing; it's their problem. But now I'm supposed to calm that beast? That creature that's almost the size of a tree?" Annabell started nervously laughing; she felt like she was being sent to her death.

Annabell watched as the boys tried to attack the giant rabbit, but the arrows didn't even tickle it. Its white fur acted as armor, preventing anything from penetrating its skin. The beast seemed to realize that the weapons had no effect and charged at the students.

The rabbit lunged, throwing the students backward, causing some to collide with trees. The beast attacked without hesitation, driven by rage. The boys began running out of the rabbit's sight, and a small group of students remained. Annabell recognized one of them.

The princess couldn't let the rabbit be killed, as long as Dominick was there, the chances of that rabbit surviving were minimal.

Annabell snapped her fingers, and threads of energy flew towards the rabbit and the three students, wrapping around their bodies and preventing them from making any movements. The princess clenched her hand, and the threads tightened their grip on the students.

"Annabell!" The princess frowned upon hearing Dominick's shout. His voice didn't sound like a request; it sounded like an order.

Annabell could see the anger in Dominick's expression as he locked eyes with her. The princess tried to think of a way to explain the situation, but she couldn't come up with an acceptable explanation. She settled for waving at her friend and ignoring him.

"Apologize?! Look, I know you're a little angry, but it's necessary!" Annabell smiled and began walking towards the rabbit.

The situation with the giant rabbit was somewhat comical. The threads wrapped around its entire body, allowing only its head to move. The rabbit attempted to bite the threads, but they evaded the animal's bites and flicked its nose.

"Hey! No hitting!" Annabell looked at the thread that was about to strike the animal again.

"Annabell! Get away from there!" The concern in Dominick's voice became more evident. "Release us, and we'll handle it. Get out of there!"

The princess continued to ignore Dominick's voice. With a hand movement, the white thread widened and covered his mouth. The more noise there was, the higher the chances of the beast becoming agitated. Annabell tried to think of a way to calm the creature. After all, she had never done something like this before. Calming a nervous animal was one thing, but calming a creature that had turned into a beast was different.

"Princess, Dominick is concerned about your safety. Listen to him." one of the students said, worried evident on his face. Dominick's face was turning red, as if he was about to explode.

Annabell paid no attention to the student; she began walking closer to the rabbit, just an arm's length away from it. She reached out and touched its white fur, which, contrary to her expectations, was soft. She could have laid down and fallen asleep right there. The rabbit seemed to calm down, no longer attempting to bite the thread.

The princess didn't pay attention to what was happening around her. If the students said anything, she wouldn't hear them. If someone approached her, she wouldn't notice. Her entire focus was on the rabbit.

The creature was starting to calm down, and small changes became noticeable, such as the size of its teeth decreasing.

"Annabell!" The shout came loudly. All those men shouted together, but the princess didn't hear.

Annabell was so distracted and relieved that the rabbit was calming down that she didn't hear the sound of the arrow slicing through the air, nor did she hear the students' warnings. She only realized something was wrong when the rabbit was struck by the arrow.

The rabbit roared in pain and tried to move, running towards the person who had shot the arrow. Annabell was startled by the roar, and the threads of energy released their grip. The rabbit began thrashing around, hitting everything in its vicinity. The arrow had struck its eye, impairing its vision. Annabell narrowly avoided being hit by the rabbit. She felt something pulling her by the waist, dragging her away from the rabbit.

The princess was still in shock, blinking repeatedly as she processed the situation. Unfortunately, the ground didn't give her time to catch her breath. As soon as her body hit the ground, a hole opened up. Darkness engulfed everything around her. She searched for something to hold onto, but all she could see were dirt and roots in front of her. Her body collided with the walls of the hole, causing scratches all over her skin.

A cannon was heard, indicating the end of the activity. The Academy's announcement followed soon after, and Annabell knew who had hit the rabbit. But hearing the announcement only fueled her anger.

"Black Rose Dormitory, 1400 points earned. Congratulations, Ezariel, on the achievement. Scored activities: Escape the Rabbit and Hunt the Rabbit."