The Lost Girl

Chapter Four

Luna's Perspective
My head was filled with the past. I felt like something was coming, but I wasn't sure what. I didn't miss the castle. I hated it. I recalled one sunny afternoon when my life had been ruined. I tried to push the thought away. I walked through the clearing in the woods and tried to focus on hunting. I heard a rustle in the leaves and looked back. It was my lover. He stood elegantly tall in the sunlight.
"Luna, what's wrong?" He said, "Are you upset? You look forlorn."
"I just feel bad. I can't forget that I ran away from an arranged marriage."
"I did too. I understand how you feel." He sighed.
"Roka. I'm sorry. I didn't know." I replied.
His elegant name rolled off my tongue. Roka. I could repeat it forever. I looked up at his deep brown eyes. He smiled kindly and took my hands.
"Do you want to tell me about it, beautiful?" He asked.
"Sure." I said and then I began, "When I was six I remember another one of the worst days of my life. I had just been playing outside with my friends William and Lily when my mother had a guard sent for me. The guard brought me to the Great Hall. I was confused and worried. I thought I was in trouble. Then I realized I was. My parents had brought six year old Prince James over. His parents and mine arranged for our marriage in front of our young eyes and ears. Something inside of me had always told me he had loved Skylar. He had always blushed and tried to impress her at our birthdays, but she never noticed. Love did not matter, despite our religion being Christian. I knew then that my life was over. When I turned sixteen I knew that I had to run away. I waited until the wedding was about to happen in a week and then I ran away. I feel awful for doing that to James. He's a person too."
"Are you suggesting I'm not a person too?" Roka teased me to get my mind off of it.
He stroked his pointy elf ears and grinned. I pushed him playfully. He knew how to get my spirits higher. He wrapped me up in a hug.
"That's not what I meant." I laughed at my silly elf.
He set me back down gently. I pulled my bow up to my face and surveyed the woods. I heard birds chirping, but no animals. I kept still and silent. We needed food. We had mouths to feed.
There was a rush to the hunt. The sense of taking down something to sustain yourself.
"Did you go on hunting trips as a prince?" I asked Roka.
"Yes. All the time." He smiled. "That's why I'm so good at it."
"Are you suggesting I'm bad at it?" I laughed.
"I would never suggest that my princess warrior." He said.
We marched onwards into the deep woods. I spotted a deer. It tensed up. I stealthy pulled an arrow out and put it against my bow. I pulled back and let it fly. It zipped through the air until it plunged into the deer's eye. It flopped over in its moments of death. I prayed for it's reincarnation to be blessed as I did for every animal I killed.
"That was a good shot." Roka whistled.