Annabelle
The loud barking of the hunting dogs behind my back is getting closer, making my adrenaline levels spike, and my heart beat even faster than it already is.
I run through the dark, dense forest, my naked skin scraping against the branches, my bare feet already blood-smeared from the distance my body has already endured.
How long have I been running? I can't tell anymore. Nor do I care. All I care about is how to get away from the hunting dogs and finally find safety.
My right foot lands on something sharp, and I immediately scream from the unbearable pain that shoots through my leg all the way up to my thigh. The hunting trap!
I fall over. A sharp lightning bolt of pain shoots through my body as the cold, metal fangs of the wolf trap drag across my tender skin. I want to just die, right here, right now. I want this to be over.
The pain is already unbearable, but this is just too much. A wolf trap is something my family is the most familiar with and now, ironically, I am the one trapped in it.
Another cry escapes my heaving chest, my shoulders shaking as hot tears begin to roll down my flushed cheeks. I grit my teeth to the point that I fear my jaw will just burst, but my fingers are already moving.
Desperate and on the verge of fainting, I do my best to loosen the trap's grip as much as possible, and although the gap i manage to create is way too thin, I pull my foot out, groaning through my teeth as the trap's spikes shred my flesh like braised meat.
Why? Why does it have to be so hard?
All I have ever wanted was to be free, to be happy. All my life, I have endured nothing but continuous torment and abuse, and all for what? To have my life end like this? How is that fair, even one bit?
I hear a loud whistle and a cacophony of voices, my attention jolting back to the urgent task at hand. I have to escape. Even though deep in my heart, I know that I have nowhere to go.
Suddenly, his face flashes through my mind, and almost instantly, hot, heavy tears roll down my face.
I wish I could go with him when he asked me. I wish I could say yes. I could have been far away from this hell right now. I could have been safe...
I wipe my face as I continue running, hands turning into tight fists. I can't cry. I already don't know how to breathe anymore––there is no way I am giving in to my emotions.
He is gone. I was the one who pushed him away. I was the one who told him to leave. It's my fault. It's all my fault.
"The dogs caught onto something!"
I hear someone scream and my heart instantly drops to my stomach. No, they couldn't have gotten so close already!
I am shaking now, stumbling over the protruding roots of the imposing trees surrounding me, falling down, scrambling myself up, and darting forward again, as if I have any hope still left for me.
As if there is still someone waiting for me out there.
A subtle blue glow flashes ahead of me, and I know that I am dangerously close to the border. The magic net cast by the witch around the border of our kingdom is supposed to both protect our land and alert the patrolling knights about possible intruders.
I can see its faint glow, but it's still so unbelievably far away. And so what if I can see it? I won't be able to cross the border without getting killed anyway.
And still... will it really be worse than dying here, at the hands of the man who wants nothing but to destroy me anyway?
I don't know anything anymore, my life is over no matter what I do.
So I close my eyes and let my body do whatever it wants. If it wants to die, then be it––I'll fall to the ground and surrender to it. I want no more of this, I want this to be over.
And I do, I fall. But instead of hitting the cold forest floor, a pair of strong, warm arms wraps around me, pulling me closer in a tight, safe embrace.
My heartbeat quickens even more, my ragged breathing almost makes me choke. I am caught! He did it––he couldn't let me die on my own terms.
My body goes absolutely limp, surrendering to my final torment, but then, once again, instead of the final blow that ends my existence, I am swept off my feet and pressed against something sterdy, yet warm, and a calloused but gentle hand brushes over my face as a low, familiar voice sends my soulf flying.
"Belle?"
It can't be real. No, it must be some kind of delirium. They say you hallucinate before you die, so I guess this is just my mind playing one final trick on me.
"Ragnar..." I whisper the name I've grown to love so much, and the moment it leaves my trembling lips, my eyes snap open, a frightened gasp shaking my chest once again. "H-how?!"
No, it wasn't a hallucination. It was him. He was real––standing there amongst the tall, fragrant pine trees, his huge, muscular arms pressing me gently against his heaving chest.
His bright, orange eyes fixed intently on my flushed face, his lips trembling with all the words he clearly couldn't say.
"Ragnar," I whimper now, my mind reeling as I struggle to control my emotions. "How... why are you... back?"
A bitter smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he hugs me even closer, my chin resting heavily on his sturdy shoulder.
"I told you," I hear his low whisper as his hand strokes my messy, tangled hair. "I always take what is mine. And you are mine, Belle."