Escape

Grookk

Grookk

Gilda opened both eyes slowly. She won't know where the noise that was so disturbing came from that it woke Gilda up from her conscious nature. The girl rubbed her eyes with her hands because her vision blurred. It tried to look around where it was lying at the moment.

"Aahh... where am I?"

Gilda complained of pain and then held her head while watching around. At first glance, the place looks damp, with minimal lighting, and the air is cold.

Grokk

the voice sounded once again. It was difficult for Gilda to figure out because her body still felt weak and sore in some parts, especially the hip area. Slowly, Gilda tried to brace herself to walk over to find out what had happened.

"He-hello?" she said softly.

After almost a few minutes of waiting, it turned out that no one answered her remarks. She walked back down the place even with a limping step. Nearly ten steps walked, and suddenly her actions stopped because of hitting something. Something felt dense but didn't cause any pain in her legs. There was a little bit of a clumsy part when her feet came into contact with the thing. Gilda moved her gaze closer to ascertain what object was blocking her path.

The intention of heart wanted to make sure what she saw by touching it, but suddenly something moved towards Gilda like a half-roll and made a sound that she had heard.

Grookkk

Shocked by what she saw, Gilda pulled off something in front of her using both hands quite hard. But, of course, she already knew what was in front of her.

Slap!

"You?! What are you doing here?!" Gilda explained to Arthur, upset.

Although Gilda's punch was not too hard for Arthur, the beat was enough to make the Jotun startled until he came to his senses from his sleep. His yellowish eyes opened wide in annoyance at Gilda's actions.

"You've gone crazy? How dare you do that to me?! Didn't you see that I was sleeping?!" concluded Arthur.

"You're the crazy one! What are you doing here? And, what have you done to me? Why can I be here with a creature like you?!" said Gilda. The panic was very obvious on the girl's face. Not having had time for Arthur to answer Gilda's question, the girl ran slowly to various sides of the place to find a way out. However, it didn't go well due to Gilda's weak condition and the lack of lighting. It also made Gilda's head hit the side of the cave quite hard. Cave? Yes, they are indeed in a place that looks like a cave. Even so, Gilda does not yet know where this cave is located.

"What are you doing?" asked Arthur in astonishment at Gilda's strange behaviour.

"Ah, I understand. So I'm in Howa cave. And you deliberately brought me here to kidnap and eat me? Don't dream too much, Jotun! You won't be able to do that because I'm not stupid!"

"Have you always been like this? Scolding someone blindly? I can't believe the villagers of Tanee chose an arrogant leader like you," Arthur retorted, yawning occasionally.

Hearing Arthur's remarks that did not answer her question, Gilda was even more annoyed by the monster. Her two eyeballs rounded, and wrinkles grew more and more on her forehead.

Gilda did not give up because it was useless to talk to the Jotun. Then she looked for a way out on her own even though she still endured the pain in the dark. Looking at the cave's dark surroundings, finding a way out is quite challenging. She needs a little light to illuminate his path. Only one thing is most radiant in the cave: Arthur's two eyeballs. That's why Gilda immediately knew that what she was in front of was a Jotun she hated so much. Arthur slept with his eyes half-open while snoring to shock the girl.

"How dare that creature bring me here! Who do you think you are, monster?!" muttered Gilda irritably.

She keeps walking to look for a way out. Arthur noticed the girl's behaviour with a smile of his own without Gilda's knowing.

"What you did was in vain, Gilda? You won't find a way out of here. It was already dark. The only way to get out was when the sunlight came to be able to look around," Arthur exclaimed from a distance. His voice echoed throughout the cave.

"Don't you dare to repeat my name! Anyway, I'm not going to believe what you're saying. How could you not know the way out here while this is where you live?!" replied Gilda, still with limp footsteps.

"Then, what should I call you? Stupid human beings? Or, weak humans? Those calls are you creating on the Jotuns including me?" said Arthur.

"Those calls are indeed suitable for the Jotuns. So, you don't have to feel hurt the most while you hurt others. But, hey, keep one thing in mind, huh? Don't dare to mess with me! Because soon, my father and the villagers of Tanee will come to pick me up and kill the Jotuns mercilessly!" said Gilda. Gilda's remarks sounded like a threat. However, Arthur still responded casually and barely even cared.

"Really? So, where is your father? You walked deep into the Dark forest alone; it had taken a lot of time, and you had just befriended a rabbit. And even funnier, the animal left you, hahaha. Ah, never mind. I'm not in the mood to argue with a stubborn human like you. I'm still sleepy! Believe it or not, it's up to you alone! And one more thing, this is not where I live. Please don't disturb my sleep anymore, otherwise... you're the one who'll regret it!"

Gilda snorted irritably and was embarrassed that Arthur's remarks had some truth. This was her third day outside the territory of Tanee village, and no one from her village came to the rescue. Even so, her annoyance at Arthur outweighed her embarrassment. She wanted to stick her sword in the monster's body. But, gosh, she just realized something. Where is the sword that she carries? At this time, only the clothes were attached to her body. The supplies she brought from the village seemed to have disappeared without her knowing.

"If my sword is gone, how can I finish the Jotun? Aargh! This must all be that Jotun's plan!"

Although Arthur had made it more accessible, Gilda still didn't care. She insists on finding a way out of the cave and doesn't even believe Arthur's statement saying that this is not Howa's cave. However, she kept a doubt: if this was indeed the cave of Howa, where did the other Jotuns go? And why this cave is so different from the fairy tale. She heard about the appearance of the Howa cave.

"Gilda, you can't believe him! Isn't it all this time that he has been kidnapping your citizens? Creatures seem unbelievable!" said Gilda, a monologue.

After nearly an hour of searching in the dark, Gilda's efforts were useless. She found no way out even though he had circled the cave. Over time, Gia became tired and could no longer bear the pain. She also decided to rest for a while at the place where she woke up the first time. At this time, she was only about five meters away from Arthur, who was fast asleep. Arthur's loud and annoying snoring made it difficult for her to sleep. She had planned to escape early in the morning while Arthur was still asleep. She endured sleepiness as hard as she could, but eventually, she fell asleep.

The following day, Gilda woke up from a small light penetrating the cave shining into her eyes. She looked around to make sure it was safe for her to escape. She did not see any presence of Arthur around the cave. This was a good time for her to run without the monster knowing. Without lingering, she looked for a way out by sneaking around so as not to be discovered. Luckily, she now found a large hole at the end of the cave.

"Finally, I can be free!" she muttered in excitement.

She then ran very excitedly to the light she found earlier. However, when she reached the hole just now, she stopped her footsteps suddenly, making her body fall down the abyss at the end of the hole. Gilda just realized that the cave was on the side of a cliff, which made it impossible for humans to get out of this cave.

"Oh Lord, where else can I find a way out? Did the Jotun deliberately do this so I couldn't escape?" muttered Gilda starting to panic.

She then returned to the cave to find another way out. But, the deeper she searched, the more sunlight disappeared from it. As it turned out, the hole she found just now was the only way out she found. After realizing it, Gilda's legs felt weak. Gilda relaxed his body and pale face in almost despair. She leaned his body against the side of the cave, crying bitterly.

"How can I be in this kind of place together with that creature? Why can't anyone save me?" she said with tears shed.

"Ah! What is this?!" exclaimed Gilda. A small stone hit her forehead to the point of causing a wound that was enough to make Gilda feel pain. She turned her head around but didn't see anyone there.

For the second time, a stone came to her as if being thrown by someone deliberately from a distance. Still, with tears in her eyes, Gilda then didn't care about what had just happened to her because of the disappointment she was currently feeling.

"Shhh! Princess Gilda! It's me, Pipi!"