Meredith’s eyes widened as she heard the word "prince." She then turned to look at Chase, who smiled at her innocently. That’s why he had been taken aback when Meredith became wary of him. As a prince, people in this world probably knew who he was.
“You’re a prince?” she asked quietly, covering her mouth as if she had just been caught doing something wrong.
Chase nodded and dismissed the other man.
She thought princes were supposed to stay in castles and do prince things, not run around the forest, heavily armed and ready to fight.
Meredith looked around. A large, ornate yellow tent caught her attention, looking as though two tents were connected to make one big room. The drapes were black, covering the entrance. Surrounding it were smaller tents with pointed roofs, and men in different types of armor sat around, most of them gathered around a campfire.
The temperature had suddenly dropped, and Meredith felt herself grow cold. She rubbed her exposed arms in a futile attempt to warm herself.
It seemed as though they had made this little space outside the forest their base of operations. Meredith carefully walked around, following Chase, who was heading toward the large yellow tent. He moved the black drapes open and led Meredith inside.
The tent was enormous, dimly lit by a lamp. It even had a four-poster bed on one side, and a circular table adorned the center of the tent with chairs around it. Maps were scattered on top of the table, marked in ways Meredith refused to comprehend.
“You must be cold and tired.” Chase pulled out one of the chairs and offered Meredith a seat.
Meredith allowed herself to take his offer. Suddenly, she felt her feet sting; she had been running and walking around the forest in nothing but her stockings. She saw how dirty they had become, and the rips in her stockings made her grimace. She probably looked awful right now.
She set her stilettos down and sighed as she hugged herself.
Chase then came back with a blanket and covered Meredith’s shivering body.
He took one of the chairs and sat next to her.
“You’re dressed quite peculiarly,” Chase said, placing his arm on the table and resting his head on his hand, as if inspecting Meredith.
Meredith had woken up with nothing but her company uniform: a red pencil skirt paired with black stockings and dark red stilettos, and a black short-sleeved blouse, along with her company identity card hanging from her neck.
She subconsciously took hold of her identity card; it had always comforted her in situations where she didn’t know what to say.
Meredith leaned back in her chair and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket. She could tell Chase that she had no idea where she was, but she was afraid she would look like a crazy woman. She raised her legs up and tucked them under her chin. Too much had happened.
It seemed as though Chase noticed Meredith’s refusal to reveal more about herself. He smiled at her, that kind smile that he had been directing at Meredith the whole time, his green eyes twinkling under the gentle glow of the lamp. Gently, he moved a strand of her hair covering her face and tucked it behind her ear.
Meredith welcomed the touch. She didn’t flinch, unlike how she usually reacted to other men who had forcibly touched her. This time, it was different. Chase looked and acted like he cared for Meredith’s feelings.
“I’m sorry for prying too much,” Chase said as he stood up, but Meredith stopped him from leaving the tent. She held his sleeve with her fingers, afraid that the sudden contact might scare away Chase’s kindness.
He looked at her in surprise as she said, “Thanks a lot for your help.”
“I’m just doing my job,” Chase replied and added, “You can take my bed for the night.” He gestured at the four-poster bed in the corner.
Meredith was still holding Chase’s sleeve. “Where will you sleep?” she asked.
“With my soldiers,” came Chase’s reply, as if it was normal for a prince to just give up his bed to a random woman he had found in the forest.
“You’re a prince…” Meredith trailed off, suddenly embarrassed as she let go of his sleeve. She still couldn’t believe a prince had rescued her from the forest; it was like she was in a fairy tale.
Chase just smiled at her. “It’s not a big deal.”
Prince Charming.
He then left the tent, leaving Meredith alone with her thoughts.
She stood up and went straight to bed. She could feel the toll of the day on her body, and all of a sudden, she felt exhausted, the adrenaline rush from earlier had left her. She sat on the bed and was surprised by how soft it was. It was a plain color, a mix of green with yellow trims, and the wood around it was mahogany-colored. It was such a fancy bed inside a tent.
Meredith removed her stockings, and the cold air hit her bare legs. She shivered and quickly tucked her legs under the blanket. She would have preferred to shower first before sleeping, but right now, it wasn’t like she had a choice. A prince had already given up his bed for her, it was more than she could ask for. She took off her ID from her neck and put it on the side table next to the bed. A yawn escaped her, and Meredith stretched before falling onto the bed.
Meredith woke up to a sudden, loud noise. She sat up as fast as she could, on high alert. She looked around to see where she was and found Chase sitting on one of the chairs at the circular table, deep in thought as he looked at the papers spread out before him.
He noticed Meredith sitting up and greeted her, “I apologize for the noise. I hope you slept well.”
Meredith nodded as she desperately tried to flatten her unruly, wavy hair. She already missed her old life, not that it had been much better than her current situation, but at least she had been able to take care of her appearance. It was vain of her, but it was something that brought her joy.
Chase then approached her. “Do you want me to bring you home?”
Meredith wished she could go home, but it was clear that she wasn't in her world. There were no humans who could turn into wolves in her world, and while royalty existed, it wasn’t like the way Chase was.
She folded her legs and hugged the comfortable blanket. She had to tell him about her situation.
“I’m not from here,” Meredith stated. She refused to make eye contact with Chase, afraid that he would throw her out.
“You’re not from Fablemarch?” Chase asked, sitting on the bed as he carefully examined Meredith.
Meredith lifted her head and stared into Chase’s kind green eyes. “I’m not from this world.”
He raised an eyebrow at her statement and looked deep in thought, but he didn’t react as badly as Meredith had expected. She had thought he would immediately call for his soldiers and throw her back into the forest, but instead, Chase seemed to be considering the possibility of her situation.
“Alright,” came his reply after a long stretch of silence. “Let’s get some food, and I’ll bring you to the nearest city.”
They ate in silence inside the tent. Chase had given Meredith his green cloak to shield her from the cold.
Meredith then found herself face to face with a white horse. She had never ridden a real horse in her life, only those plastic mechanical ones you find in arcades. She gulped as she stared back at it, then looked at Chase, who was talking to some of his men.
Chase approached her and smiled reassuringly. “Are you ready?”
Meredith shook her head.
“Don’t worry, I will be with you.” He then placed his hands on Meredith’s waist and carefully and effortlessly lifted her onto the horse.
Meredith yelped, but she was now sitting on top of the horse, and the animal didn’t seem to mind. Chase then followed, lifting himself up and sitting in front of Meredith.
“You can hold onto me,” he said.
Meredith hugged his back, and she felt Chase’s laugh vibrate through her body. She was afraid of falling off, and she was glad to have his cloak over her, as her skirt was riding up.
It wasn’t bad, the wind blew through her hair, and the sun, now rising, cast a warm glow on her skin. But still, Meredith refused to loosen her grip on Chase.
“It’s going to take at least an hour to get to Moonreach City,” Chase stated.
Meredith nodded. She didn’t know if Chase noticed, but she was still nervous, and speaking wasn’t really at the top of her priority list at the moment.
It felt like an eternity before they reached the city. For the most part, Meredith had kept her eyes closed, afraid to see how fast they were going. But judging by the wind she felt, it seemed quite fast.
She heard men greeting Chase as they passed through the city gate. People seemed to welcome the presence of their prince as their horse trotted into the city.
They stopped in front of a building that read Moonreach Inn.
Chase dismounted and assisted Meredith as she got down. He caught her in his arms and chuckled as Meredith did her best not to yelp.
Someone took Chase’s horse away as they went inside the inn.
“Let’s stay here for the day, and then we will go to the royal palace,” Chase announced as he opened the door to the inn.
They were warmly greeted by the innkeeper, and Chase asked for two rooms. Meredith also heard him ask for someone to bring her new clothes.
She looked down at herself and then at how the other people were dressed, and sure enough, Chase had been correct, she was dressed peculiarly. She shrank into herself, self-conscious and unsure.
Meredith then asked about the royal palace. “Why are we going to the palace?”
Chase started walking upstairs to their rooms. He looked back at Meredith and replied, “We might have an answer to your situation.”
Meredith beamed. She couldn’t thank Chase enough, from saving her in the forest to now possibly having an answer to her situation.
She ran up to catch up with Chase’s strides. “Really?” she asked.
Chase nodded; he seemed delighted to see Meredith come out of her gloomy mood.
They arrived at their separate rooms on the second floor of the inn.
“Someone will bring you a fresh change of clothes. You can relax in your room until then,” Chase reassured her.
Sure enough, somebody knocked on Meredith’s door with a fresh change of clothes. And not only that, they had even brought her shoes and accessories. Meredith thanked the person as she gladly took the clothing from their arms.
She immediately went to shower, slowly savoring the warm water flowing over her body as she scrubbed the grime and dirt away from her tanned skin. She felt like a brand-new person.
Meredith put on the clothes that had been given to her. It was a long red dress that stopped just below her knees. It cinched her waist and accentuated her chest, it had a square neckline which showed a bit of her chest. The shoulders were made of black mesh fabric, and at the hem of the dress, frilly mesh extended its length slightly.
She was also given tall black boots to wear, along with a black choker necklace with a heart pendant. A red hairband was included as well, and she happily wore it to tame her wavy hair.
Lastly, there was also a dark red cloak for when nighttime came.
It seemed as though the person who bought her clothes had taken one good look at her and decided to copy the color scheme of what she was wearing. She wasn’t complaining, though, it looked good.
As Meredith explored her room, she found it simple. A small bookshelf stood in the corner beside a study table, while the bed was positioned in the opposite corner. A humble bathroom was connected to the room. There was only one window, which cast a warm glow across the space.
Meredith sat on the bed. It wasn’t as soft as Chase’s, but it was good enough. The room reminded her of her apartment, small and compact. The only thing missing was the kitchen, which she had loved. She missed baking.
Before she could be consumed by thoughts of her old life, a knock echoed through the room, and Chase announced his presence.
She opened the door to find that Chase had changed out of his combat clothes. He now wore a linen shirt with long bell sleeves, the neckline of his shirt was deep and he didn’t tie the lace of it, and his pants were hiked high on his waist, proudly showcasing his lean physique.
Now, he looked casually regal, with his golden-brown hair brushed to the side.
He leaned against the doorframe and said, “I wanted to know more about where you came from.”
Meredith felt relaxed around Chase. Everything he had done for her was something she had agreed to, well, except for the horse ride, but she hadn’t really had a choice in that. She knew that if she refused now, he wouldn’t press her further. But if he was willing to help her, the least she could do was tell him what had happened to her.
ns18.222.25.32da2
