The Wilderness (GxG)

Chapter 1

Braelynn stumbled through the forest that seemed to go on forever. She could barely see through all the snow cascading from the sky since there was a snowstorm occurring at the time. She fell on her knees, becoming numb all over. Her cloak was soaked and frozen. Suddenly a huge timber wolf walked up. It was light gray and if she were standing it would probably be as tall as the height from the ground to her shoulders. Braelynn gazed up at the wolf, having a hard time breathing. The wolf just stared into her eyes, never budging. Braelynn's vision suddenly went blurry and she fell over to the side, everything turning black.

Braelynn gasped as she woke up, warmth surrounding her. She was in a huge cave, a small fire in front of her. The wolf from earlier was sitting across the fire from her, still staring at her intensely. Braelynn sat up, able to feel her arms and legs again. She had a blanket wrapped around her, and her shoes were gone. "Where am I...? Who are you...?" She shuttered, looking at the wolf's silver eyes. There was a suddenly a big flash of light and there was a beautiful woman sitting where the wolf was. She was wearing gray pants and a white sweatshirt. "You're in my cave. I'm Eva, the Druid of this forest." Eva answered. Her voice was appealing and somewhat soothing to Braelynn. "Why did you save me...?" Braelynn asked, her list of questions continuing to get longer in her head. "Because you looked like you needed assistance. Plus, I wasn't gonna leave you to die on the ground in the middle of a forest." Eva replied.
Eva couldn't stop staring at this girl she still didn't know the name of. She was beautiful, and Eva had to admit it. In her mind, of course.
"What's your name?" Eva inquired, throwing some sticks into the fire. "I'm Braelynn." She answered, leaning against the wall behind her. "I'm guessing you're from the nearby kingdom, Storin?" Eva asked, curious. "Yeah, my dad is the king..." Braelynn responded, starting to drift off. Eva stayed silent. "Do you want something to change into? Your clothes are covered in snow..." Eva finally spoke. "Yes, please." Braelynn set the blanket on the floor as Eva handed her a sweatshirt and shorts. Eva faced the other way as Braelynn changed. The sweatshirt went halfway down Braelynn's thighs, so the shorts were unseeable. Eva stared at Braelynn, who didn't notice. Eva didn't know why, but she had some awkward attraction to Braelynn in a way, but knew they couldn't get as close as she wanted to be. Braelynn was a princess, which meant she would be forced into marriage with some goody-goody prince from another country. While Eva was lost in though, Braelynn drifted off to sleep, curled up with the blanket. The fire died out short after, leaving Braelynn shivering in the dark. Eva sighed and turned into her wolf form, curling up around Braelynn to warm her.
Eva was awoken in the morning by a small sneeze. It almost sounded like a small kitten was in the cave until she discovered it was Braelynn. "Sorry!" Braelynn whispered, her voice raspy. Eva turned back into a human. "You must be sick from all the cold. I'll start a fire and get you some medicine." Eva replied, hurriedly starting a fire and reaching into a large bag near the wall, looking for something. She stood back up and handed Braelynn a small cup filled with medicine that tasted like cherries to Braelynn. "It's cold medicine, it's very effective but makes you a bit exhausted." She sighed, sitting beside Braelynn. "Thank you." Braelynn replied, already yawning.
They sat beside each other in silence, just the fire sounds echoing through the cave. Braelynn tried to think of things to say, but kept on drifting off, trying to stay awake. Then she finally dozed off, leaning against Eva for support. Her head rested on her shoulder, her hand on the ground. Eva sighed and picked up Braelynn, laying her against the wall and putting a blanket on her.

An hour passed and Eva was staring at Braelynn's peaceful face as she slept. She usually hated princesses because every one of them was the same. Stuck-up and annoying. But Braelynn was different. To Eva, at least. Different in a nice and lovable way. Eva knew that when she took Braelynn back, they probably would never see each other again, and Eva would live like she always did, alone. She had helped multiple people before, but Eva was going to have a hard time letting Braelynn go. Then she realized that in a week the huge kingdom ball was happening, and anyone was invited. So maybe they could see each other there.

A few more hours passed and Braelynn finally woke up, already seeming better. She sat up and stretched out. "How long did I sleep?" Braelynn asked Eva, who was sitting beside her still. "About 5 hours." Eva answered, smiling a little bit. "Thanks for that medicine, it helped a lot." Braelynn said, smiling and rubbing the back of her neck. "No problem. So, tell me a little bit about yourself. What's it like to be the princess?" Eva asked, leaning against the wall. "It's cool, I guess. My mom teaches me in the castle about things like history and manners, which I don't mind, but my least favorite thing is all the snarky princes I'm introduced to so I can find someone to marry." Braelynn responded, looking down. "That sucks. You should really tell them the truth on how you feel about being forced to marry certain people." Eva responded, looking at Braelynn with a small smile. Braelynn looked up at Eva, also smiling. Eva stared into her bright teal eyes, her face getting a little closer to Braelynn's. There was a low growl at the end of the cave, stopping Eva. "What was that...?" Braelynn questioned, looking a bit scared.