Game of Hearts (Original Version)

Chapter 5

You had run far into the Beanstalk Forest, trying to get away from the dangers that were behind you. The sun was fading fast, and you could hear thunder breaking over the high stalks. The magical shoes that granted you invisibility for near an hour had reached their limit and you became a target again. You slipped the shoes off and sighed, not sure how long it would take before you could use them again. There was no one else around, but you weren't going to be any less wary, especially with night falling, the sound of prowling animals nearby, and the threat of an oncoming storm. 

You heard the sound of a wolf howling and for a brief moment your heart jumped with joy, thinking it might be Fang with the huntsman. A familiar, friendly face would be a welcomed change from strangers in dark places with dark intentions.

There was another howl and you realized it wasn't your savoir, but the lunatic wolfman that broke into the goblin castle for...well, you weren't really sure why he did it. He claimed it was to rescue you, but he couldn't have known you. You certainly didn't recognize him, but then again people you didn't know had recognized you your whole life. There was an entire kingdom that could pick you out, and you didn't know a single soul outside of your castle until three days ago.

You remembered why you had set out on this journey in the first place, and found that you didn't regret leaving home. You needed to know more about this world. Your father was trying to get you to marry, but you had never actually seen a wedding. You weren't allowed to journey with the rest of the family to the Land of Beasts for Leblanc's wedding with prince Adam. You'd never even met him. Nor did you know where the Land of Beasts even was. They expected you to become a queen, and you didn't even know a thing about the lands you would be living in. You didn't even know your own lands.

You took in a sharp breath and decided that this was the right thing. Just as you got your confidence back up, a twig snapped to your right. You looked over cautiously, but saw nothing. You decided you would put on the shoes and leg it, going as far as you could before they ran out of juice again, and that's exactly what you did. You were off, and hopefully, whatever was there wouldn't be able to follow you as you ran aimlessly through the forest.

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Maleficent's huntsman was prowling the woodlands with a gray wolf of a humbling size at his side. He scanned the floor of the eerie marsh-like woods, looking for anything that might be a sign of his target. His eyes caught on a snapped twig and he whistled for the wolf to stop while he stood to investigate it. The twig wasn't snapped all the way through, suggesting a lighter than average foot fell upon it. It was possible that an animal had caused the break, and it was impossible to find more than the slightest hint of an outline of animal tracks or human footprints in the moss covered ground. He got the impression that the prints he found around the snapped twig were either the mark of a large deer, or the almost tear drop shaped imprint of a woman's high heeled shoe, though he saw no impression from the heel of the shoe.

"Fang, what do you think?" Zack asked, calling the wolf over and having him sniff the ground. The wolf smelled the ground, then whimpered a little.

"So it is her. You're certain?"
The wolf whimpered again, and he gave it a rub on the neck.

"I don't like tracking lost princesses anymore than you do, but you know our orders."

The wolf snapped a bark at him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, now you're a noble soul? How quaint."

The wolf snapped at him again, and he patted it on the head.

"We're the servants of the dark witch, you silly mutt. We hunt people, and we hurt people. That's our job. We're the villains of this world. We can only do as we're told, and we're only ever told to hurt others."