Noel didn't need anyone to tell him who that scream belonged to.
It was the princess.
He started running. He didn't know which way to go. The paths twisted and split every few steps... left, right, straight.
He cursed under his breath, low enough that no one could hear over his own ragged breathing.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck—"
He didn't stop running. She was royalty.
If something happened to her, Arthur would be blamed. Noel would be blamed. They'd both be dragged in front of the king, the court, maybe worse... chains, trials, execution.
He ran harder as his legs were starting to ache.
He turned left and it was a dead end. Backtracked right, there was another split.
He picked one at random and just continued moving.
The scream had come from somewhere ahead.
He kept running quickly, branches scraping his sleeves.
Suddenly, he bumped hard into someone. The impact knocked the breath out of him.
