Arthur stood in his place for a long time, his eyes following Adrian’s back until he disappeared among the dense trees with the search team.
Little by little…
calm returned to the gate, but that calm wasn’t reassuring.
Soldiers were entering and leaving in haste, horses dashing in every direction, while orders echoed among the team leaders who had begun combing the forest.
At the front of the search teams, Rosie was rushing through the forest at astonishing speed, until it seemed as if she were challenging the speed of the horses themselves.
She leaped between rocks and tree trunks with the lightness of a knight accustomed to fighting in the wilderness, while her strands of silver hair fluttered behind her with every dash.
She only stopped for a few seconds, sweeping her golden eyes over every corner, then dashed off again before anyone could catch up to her.
She searched the place with extreme precision; looking beneath the shrubs, behind the rocks, and among the dense branches, watching for any movement no matter how small.
Behind her, the guard teams spread out on horseback, leading combing operations along different paths, while some of them sounded audio signals to alert the other teams whenever they finished searching a sector of the forest.
But…
everything they’d found so far was nothing but frightened deer fleeing the sound of footsteps, rabbits hiding among the grass, and birds flying startled from the trees whenever the search teams drew near.
No trace of Aria.
And no trace of that shadow Rosie had chased.
And with every passing minute, Rosie’s features grew more tense, and her gaze sharper, until her breathing grew heavy from the intensity of her worry, but she didn’t allow herself to stop even for a single moment.
Inside herself, she kept repeating silently:
“Please…
be okay.”
And while the search teams continued combing the forest, their calm was suddenly broken by the sound of a deep roar that shook the trees.
The shrubs shook violently, then a massive black bear burst out from among the trees, far exceeding the size of ordinary bears.
Its thick fur flew with its movement, and its eyes blazed with anger after the noise that had filled its habitat startled it.
It wasn’t a beast…
but merely a wild animal that had woken up terrified, and rushed to defend its territory with fierce instinct.
“Watch out!”
One of the guards screamed, but it was too late.
The bear brought its enormous claws down on one of the horses, tearing a deep wound into its side.
“Aaagh!”
The guard rolled on the ground several times, until he hit a tree trunk, while his sword flew away from him.
He raised his head with difficulty…
and saw the bear standing directly before him.
It stood tall on its hind legs, its shadow filling the place, while its long claws rose in preparation to pounce.
The guard froze in his place.
His hands trembled, and he retreated slowly on the ground, but found nowhere to flee to.
“N…
no…”
His voice came out trembling, his eyes fixed on that massive beast that had begun leaning its body forward, ready to tear him apart.
And in the moment the bear lunged with all its weight toward the guard…
Shhhk!
A sharp cutting sound rang out, so swift that no one realized what had happened.
The movement stopped…
then the bear’s head separated from its body in one clean strike.
The head shot several meters before hitting the ground, while the body remained standing for a fraction of a second, then collapsed with force, causing a light tremor in the ground.
Silence fell.
The guards’ eyes widened, and everyone froze in their places at the horror of what they’d seen.
And amid the rising dust…
Adrian stood behind the bear’s corpse, holding his sword, on whose blade nothing remained but a thin thread of blood.
With complete calm, he swung the sword lightly, and drops of blood flew off it.
Then he slowly returned it to its sheath.
The sword settled in its place, and Adrian raised his gaze to the guards standing before him.
“Be more careful.”
He looked at the guard who had nearly lost his life, then added:
“Our mission is to search for the princess…
not to turn the forest into chaos where animals attack us.”
The guard swallowed hard, then rose with the help of his comrades, and bowed to Adrian with respect and gratitude.
“Thank you for saving me, Your Highness.”
Adrian nodded a simple nod, then turned toward the depths of the forest, seriousness having returned to his features.
The hours passed slowly…
The sun had risen to the middle of the sky, then began gradually tilting toward the west, while dozens of search teams continued combing the forest without stopping.
Guards spread in every direction, and horses crossed the narrow paths between the trees, while some guards climbed the rocky heights to observe the area from above, and others entered small caves and dense thickets.
But…
they found nothing.
No footprints.
No piece of clothing.
Not even a trace of that little squirrel Aria had gone out searching for.
All their eyes caught was the endlessly stretching trees, the sound of wind sweeping through the branches, and birdsong gradually returning after the noise had ended.
And as time passed…
exhaustion began showing on everyone.
The guards’ armor was stained with dirt, their foreheads soaked with sweat, and the horses had begun breathing with difficulty after long hours of running.
As for Adrian…
he didn’t stop for a single moment.
He moved from one team to another, asking them about any clues, then redistributing them to new areas whenever they finished searching a sector.
Rosie was still searching almost entirely alone, refusing to rest or stop, until her steps grew slower from the intensity of exhaustion, but her eyes kept scanning the forest with an unwavering resolve.