Shirayukihime and The Lost Fox

Chapter 23: Fear, Anger, and Sleep

Akira POV

We ran down the open corridors, stopping to look around the corner. There in another hallway stood several guards, all equipped with spears. I observe Shirayuki, watching how she gazed at the guards worriedly before her expression sets into determination.

She sets the brisk, almost jogging pace and I follow her past the guards a step behind. As expected, the guards take notice of us and quickly stop us. "Halt!" one of the guards calls out. She stops with a wince, and I could tell she thinks we were already caught before we could begin.

We don't turn around to the guards as he studies us from behind. He hums in thought. "That's quite the peculiar hair color you have," he muses. "Are you perhaps Shirayuki?" She grimaces but sighs quietly in defeat. "I am."

He shifts on his feet. "And you must be Akira. Turn around, will you?" I turn slightly enough to where I could see the guards in their flat topped hats. The middle aged guard stares intently at me, then looks to Shirayuki. "We've been informed of the prince's special request for you," he said at last. He turns back around and motions his companions to follow back to their post. "Nothing to see here, just a false alarm. Carry on."

We stand in the hall with a stunned silence only broken when Shirayuki lets out a shaky breath. "Let's go, Akira," she says, spinning on her heel and walking away quickly. "I still need to hear it from Zen." She mumbles the last part mostly to herself, but I caught what she said anyway.

I run to catch up, syncing in beside her. She stays silent as I follow her through the castle, leading the way back to Zen's office. We reach a set of stairs that twist around the rounded side of the castle, large arched windows giving a view of who was walking. It made me feel exposed, vulnerable in some way, but I didn't voice my thoughts.

As we began to ascend the stairs, I couldn't shake the nagging voice in my head. We're being watched, followed, it said. We're not safe. I purse my lips, trying to force a snarl away. Finally, I give in to the voice and push my senses, trying to sense something, anything that might prove my thoughts right.

My body tense with unease, I watch Shirayuki's back as she rushes up the stairs. She pauses to regain her breath, panting slightly as she holds a hand out to the smooth stone wall. After a moment, she rights herself and began to walk further up the stairs.

A sickening moment of dread fills my stomach when I hear the faintest snapping noise and the whistle of air being cut through. As quickly as I could I run to Shirayuki, grabbing the collar of her shirt roughly and pulling her into my chest. "Hey! What was tha-" The protest dies on her tongue as an arrow flies straight into the stone wall, the sharp tip firmly wedged between the stonework. Tied at the end of the long wooden shaft was a deep green ribbon, which tangled with the feathers slightly as it settled.

"This..." Shirayuki mumbles, pulling away from me and reading the inscription on the ribbon. I stand near the opening of the wall, glancing at the angle the arrow was shot and tracing it back to the rooftop. I lean against the low wall, gripping it to stop the shaking in my hands. I scan the rooftop of the opposite buildings, and catch the glare of metal behind a circular extra level on the roof. A spyglass.

Might as well have a little fun and let them know they can't mess around with us. The arrow was a warning, that much was clear. So why not have a warning of my own? I glare into the spyglass, knowing that they could see me clearly, and slowly let a menacing grin pull at my lips, showing off my sharp canines. I silently mouth the words, game on, bastard, then turn my back like nothing had happened.

I walk over to Shirayuki and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't listen to the message, Shirayuki," I say. "If they resort to tactics like this, then they're just cowards." She stares at the arrow for a moment longer before she yanks it out in one swift motion. I nod my head in approval and we continue to run up the stairs.