Land Of Giants (Discontinued)

Chapter 3

Malissa

I clenched my teeth together as my mother ran a brush through my tangled blonde mess, trying to make it as decent as possible for my meeting.

"What were you doing last night?" she asked, yanking down. "You have leaves and mud all through your hair."

"Sorry," I apologized, digging my hands into my dress. "I fell from a tree."

She stopped brushing for moment. "What were you doing in a tree?"

"Well as I got deeper into the forest, things started to change quickly," I muttered. "Then I got lost because I couldn't see and decided that climbing a tree would be best."

She sighed and shook her head. "You really shouldn't be going out there. It's dangerous and I know you know that, but I don't see why you keep doing it."

"Well, imagine if something bad happened to this kingdom and we had to escape or leave. We wouldn't know how to survive in the wild. But, if someone took the time to know how to survive out there, then we'd have a more likely chance to live in those woods. Because if we don't treat it like our friend, then it could end up being our biggest enemy."

"Do you doubt our law?" she questioned.

"I doubt our king." I felt a little aggravated. "He has been gone for several decades and we have yet to hear from him."

"You believe he has run away from his duty?"

"Yes!"

She shook her head at me and put the brush down. "Turn around and let me do your hair."

I huffed and turned back around as she pulled my hair back into a small bun, clipping it down with pins. She took some flowers that she had pulled from our flower garden and delicately placed them in my hair.

"There we are," she said, heading to the stairs. "I will leave you to put on your dress."

When she disappeared down the stairs, I let out a sigh and pulled my dress from the white box that sat on my bed. I looked it over, running my hands over the pink design before pulling it on. I tightened the laces and adjusted the sleeves before straightening out the skirt, watching as it flowed down to the floor.

"Malissa?" my mother shouted impatiently from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm coming!" I shouted, quickly checking myself in the mirror before heading down the steps.

As I made my way down the stairs, I was able to look out the window and see the carriage pulled up to our house. Jacky was standing right next to the carriage, talking with someone who I was not able to make out. Although, she seemed quite happy.

When I reached the door, I hesitated for a moment, contemplating if I should run from this place, but I only shook away the thoughts and opened the door. It prevented me from taking a step back and slowly I headed towards the carriage.

I made sure to lift my dress from the mud, avoiding any disasters at all cost. But, I still tripped.

I gasped as two large arms reached out and grabbed hold of me. I stumbled into the man's chest and felt paralyzed as he struggled to keep his own balance in the mud.

"Are you alright?" he asked, helping me back to my feet.

I looked up at him and instantly cringed when I noticed who it was. I pulled my arms from him and straightened myself out as Prince Matthew gave me a smile. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Malissa."