Page 27 of Enchanted in Time
Hannah’s pulse gradually calmed, and she marched bravely onward through the forest. How long would she need to cross it? The carriage ride had taken half an hour at most. And theyhadn’t been going very fast with all the rocks and bumps along the way and the large roots extending far into the path.
Her mouth was dry, and her tongue was stuck to her hard palate. Something to drink would be great. But she was used to ignoring her own needs. How many times had she ducked into the children’s room on her way to the bathroom because of yet another emergency, only to remember hours later that her bladder needed relief? She was a mother, and a single mother at that. If anyone could ignore pain, it was her!
The hours passed, and still she was walking along the dusty path through the woods. The hem of her dress was covered with dirt and dust, and a few loose threads were dragging on the ground. And although her will was as strong as ever, her footsteps were slowing down. Behind her, the sun was already low in the sky. It would not be long before it vanished behind the highest treetops.
The light in the forest was changing. For just a moment, Hannah stopped and looked around. Trees and bushes, moss and lichens, beechnuts and acorns were scattered here and there, all bathed in the warm light of the sun’s last rays. Other than that, she saw nothing. The woods around the castle ruin were not especially deep—she knew that. Back when she had come with her children, she had driven to a nearby parking lot and walked to the ruin from there. And that was only because Leon and Emi had been far too small at the time for a long trek. She and Marco could have easily covered the distance from their home to the ruin on foot. But now, Hannah must have been underway for over two hours, and the forest still had not thinned out. She didn’t hear a single car or see the city lights that should have been twinkling in the twilight some time ago. How could that be?
She walked onward with a pounding heart. She couldn’t have gotten lost! There hadn’t been a single crossroads, and she waswalking along the exact same road by which she had come. Her heart was pounding faster. Why hadn’t she left this godforsaken forest long ago? She needed to go home! To Marco, Emi, and Leon!
It was growing darker by the minute. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the tops of the trees, and the last remaining strip of pink along the horizon barely pierced the darkness through the leaves. She pulled her cell phone out of the red pouch for the twentieth time and turned it on. No signal. But the light from the screen reassured her a bit. It gave her the illusion that civilization might be close at hand.
A loud howl echoed in the distance. Was that... a wolf?
Her heart beat faster. There were no wolves in this forest. There were no wolves in the whole region or in the whole damn country! She quickened her steps and pulled up her skirt, but she still couldn’t walk very fast in the dwindling light. She could barely make out the path anymore—all she could see were the silhouettes of the trees and shrubs. She could not stray from the little road! Whatever happened, she must not lose her way in this forest! Somehow, it had suddenly grown so vast that it was in fact possible to get lost...
Once again, a creature howled in the distance. It sounded a hell of a lot like a wolf. But how could she know what they really sounded like? All the howling wolves she had ever heard had been in the movies or radio plays or... for all she knew, maybe they sounded completely different in real life!
With the third howl, she heard two more creatures. They were answering. Weren’t there other animals that also responded like that? What about stray dogs? Yes, they had to be wild dogs! There must have been some of those. And they were far away!
“Ouch! Damn it!” She had run into a bush. She used her cell phone screen for light, but it did next to no good. The batteryhad gone down to less than twenty percent, and the light was growing dimmer and dimmer. The only thing she could still make out in the glimmer of the artificial light was the multitude of thorns on the undergrowth that were catching on her dress. If she didn’t want her phone to give up the ghost, she would have to turn it off. Or at least keep it in her bag. Sighing, she slid it into her little purse and took two steps back to get out of the bush, but the thorns would not let go. Once again, an animal howled. And it didn’t sound that far away. With one vigorous yank, she pulled her dress out of the bush, and the loud rattle pierced the silence of the night.
Hannah had to try really hard to see the little road. “Frieda, I’m going kill you when I get my hands on you!” Her fury gave her the strength to keep going.
Five creatures were howling now. Hannah stopped and looked around. Were the creatures nearby? Her heart was pounding, and she placed her hand on her chest to calm herself down. Panicking wouldn’t help right now! She had to use what light remained to finally leave the forest behind. She started jogging slowly at just the right pace to keep following the path.
She heard a rustling sound to her right, and something scurried through the underbrush. It had to be a mouse! Or a squirrel! They had those here as well. No need to panic! Hannah kept running, undeterred, but on hearing more rustling to her side, she turned her head to the right for a moment—and up on a rise at far too short a distance, she saw the glow of yellow eyes. At least three pairs of them.
Her heart sank. She gathered up her skirt and took off, running farther and farther down the small road as she searched between the trees for the lights of the city that would signal her salvation. But nowhere could she detect any light from humans. She could hear the creatures creeping closer, the leaves rustling beneath their paws, the snapping twigs...
What could she do? How could she defend herself? Running was her only chance! She hurried onward, as fast as she could in the dusky light. Again and again, she would hit a tree with her shoulder or brush against a shrub with her full skirt. But still she hurried onward, never stopping once. The creatures were following along to the side. Another glance, and Hannah knew there were more.
Oh, God in heaven, or Andrew in heaven, do something! Don’t let the kids become orphans!She wanted to run even faster, but it was just too dark.
Right at that moment, the wolves attacked. They jumped down from the rise and straight toward her. Hannah let out a scream as she rushed off the path and through the forest. She had to escape these creatures! She couldn’t let the wolves get her!
The next moment, more yellow eyes appeared before her, right in the direction where she was headed. The animals had her surrounded. Hannah stopped dead in her tracks and looked around frantically. At least seven creatures were coming toward her from every direction. There was no escape. She bent down and searched for a branch. Grabbing the first she could find, she swung it through the air and screamed as loudly as possible: “Get—get away from me! Get out!”
The wolves circled her, coming closer and closer. Not for an instant did they take their eyes off her. Hannah slowly turned around and looked each animal in the eye. She could not show any fear—no weakness! She had to get back home! She pulled herself up to her full height of nearly five feet seven inches. “Get away from me, damn critters, get! Get out!” she screamed.
The first wolf jumped. Hannah fended him off with a well-aimed blow, though it was more a matter of luck since she could barely make out the creatures’ contours. All that shone in the darkness were the wolves’ yellow eyes, as if they were the savinglight in the night. Yowling, the animal fell to the ground. The rest of them growled and bared their teeth, and one of them took a bite out of her dress. The ripping sound of the fabric pierced the quiet of the night. Hannah screamed and whacked the animal’s head as hard as she could with the branch. But another wolf grabbed her dress from behind and jerked it wildly about.
“Help!” she screamed, though no one could hear. “HEEEEELP!”
She swung the branch at the wild animals, which were acting more and more aggressive. Then, as one of the wolves snapped at her leg and another prepared to pounce, a large figure swept in, grabbed the creature by the neck, and threw it against a tree. Looking next to her, Hannah spotted a brown bear. One after the other, he seized each wolf and flung it to the side. His roar was so loud that Hannah’s arms were suddenly covered with goosebumps.
One of the wolves tried to grab her foot. She stepped back and swung the branch at the creature as the bear hurled two more wolves into the dark. The animals yowled and growled while circling Hannah and the bear as if they belonged together. Was this the prince? Hannah glanced at him briefly, but she could hardly make anything out in the darkness. It had to be the prince. Had he come to rescue her?
The bear let out a loud roar and, rising to his full height, he stomped toward the wolves, who stuck their tails between their legs and ran.
Hannah watched the fleeing creatures in disbelief and peered to either side. Was there not a single wolf left? Or could one be lurking behind a tree?
“What are you doing in the forest at night?” the bear roared.
At least, now there was no doubt that this was the transformed prince.
“I’m trying to go home!” All of a sudden, Hannah started to shake uncontrollably, and her teeth were chattering loudly as it began to sink in that she had just had a brush with death.
“So you’re trekking through this dangerous forest at night? Are you mad?”
