Sneaking into trouble

Ashley could be seen trotting in the woods with Claire in her hands. She had succeeded in sneaking out and was headed to the spot where she could see the city from and was glad that she at least got some company.

Being the child she was, she occasionally stopped whenever something intriguing or beautiful came into view.

Even though she was impressed with the city, she still found the forest more beautiful and now, she had stopped to look at some flowers which had a mixture of violet, indigo, and blue.

“Aren't they pretty?” she said leaning forward and it seemed that Claire agreed as she purred as well.

She plucked two of these flowers putting one on the left side of her hair and luckily, Claire had enough fur for one to also be stuck to the left side of her head.

Satisfied, Ashley continued her journey, and after some minutes, she finally got to her destination.

She was on top of a high cliff and when she looked straight ahead, a large city could be seen.

Several hundred feet away, there were many tall and beautiful buildings along with smaller ones and she could still see the little humans as they seemed from a distance, who surrounded the gate which led into the city.

According to what her mother had told her, the name of this city is Liv located in a kingdom called Viron.

Liv was a boundary city which meant where she lived was a different country even though the distance was just a few kilometers away.

The name of the kingdom she lived was called Elsas and these two neighbouring kingdoms were in an alliance which was why the security of Liv wasn’t so tight despite it having a boundary with another kingdom.

Her mother told her that the capital of Viron and Elsas were even more beautiful and promised to take her there someday.

She laid on the ground which was covered in grass with her chin resting on her hands while staring at the city. Claire also laid down lazily while cuddling with her.

She watched as a chariot was being pulled across the street. She had always dreamt of riding in one of those and even though it looked tiny, she was pretty sure she could fit in.

She could also see some people walking about casually, doing their daily activities. Some people stopped for a brief or lengthy conversation when they met each other.

She hasn’t had much conversations with people except from her mother, Mrs Hailey who was the midwife during her delivery, and Mrs Hailey’s daughter who was a few years older than her.

Her mother occasionally took her to some settlements here in Elsas so it didn’t mean that she hasn’t seen any other human up close before but her interaction was really limited and even though she didn’t like this, she was sure that her mother had her reasons.

After some moments of staring at the city, it was time to go as her mother would be up anytime soon according to her calculation.

She turned to Claire to see her already asleep. Even she would have ended up asleep if it wasn’t for her constantly reminding herself that she couldn’t.

It was just so peaceful here along with the cool and pure breeze which gently smooched her skin. Without a doubt, this was her favourite spot.

“We need to go,” she said waking up Claire who stood up groggily. She picked up the cat before standing and walking away.

She wished that she would be able to sleep here maybe even once but that was too risky as her mother would immediately find out what she’s been up to, which wouldn’t end well.

She walked back to her house through the many trees and bushes. Even though she saw more pretty flowers, she refrained from getting distracted by them, totally focusing on getting home.

Well that was until she started hearing some noises coming from behind her which made her to turn around. And what came into view was a wolf which began to growl at her.

Two more wolves also emerged from the bushes, growling as saliva dropped from their mouths.

Without a doubt they weren't friendly so she instinctively took a few steps backwards as they also advanced.

Claire lazily opened her eyes glancing at them before going back to sleep. Ashley was a little bit annoyed by this action as she wondered if her kitten knew the kind of situation they were in but it was still a child so it was probably oblivious.

Well, not that she was expecting to be saved by her cat, rather it was quite the opposite and she began thinking hard about what to do.

Most children her age would be running while crying but she knew that it would be useless as the animals in front of her were very much faster.

If she was with a weapon……….yes, a knife, then she would have a chance to come out alive but alas, she had nothing.

She wondered why they were yet to attack and the answer to that came shortly after.

A wolf, about three times the size of the others walked out from the bushes which made her realize that they were most probably waiting for the orders of this wolf who seemed to be the alpha.

This was the biggest wolf she had ever seen and now she was certain that she would lose her life.

Despite knowing this, with tears that were now beginning to roll down from her cheeks, she wasn't willing to give up.

She picked up a thick tree branch, ready to defend herself and Claire.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not but she believed the alpha wolf smirked.

If only her mother was here, this would've been a piece of cake.

The Alpha finally made a noise, which she believed was some sort of signal and this was confirmed as one of the three lackeys ran towards her. She waited for the perfect time, which presented itself as the wolf leaped forward.

Using all the strength she could muster, she swung the tree branch right into its face and it was surprising how much force it packed as the wolf was sent flying several feet away with a head injury.

After doing this, she quickly looked sideways but she was already too late, as the jaws of another wolf was already upon her.

But suddenly, a splatter of blood fell to the ground along with the lifeless body of the wolf, causing her to blink several times in surprise.