Misha the Beast Tamer.

Aqila and Todd left for the closest village just as the soft light of dawn touched the tips of the tall trees that surrounded the small cabin. I remained in bed until later that morning. I was awoken by the tantalising smell of toast as it filled the cabin, my stomach growled in response. I stretched and crawled out of the bed. Erik was bent in front of the fire.

"Ahh! Morning Princess, perfect timing. Ive just finished toasting some bread and I've also boiled some eggs. Go sit at the table, everything is there."

My face burned,

"Thank you Erik." I said before I took a place at the table.

Erik soon joined me, and we ate breakfast in silence, other than an occasional clank of utensils and crunch of us eating our toast.

Once breakfast was finished, Erik took everything and washed it up, while I got ready for the day.

I went through all of my outfits, they were plain, everyday clothes. I got dressed and fiddled with my hair in front of a small tarnished mirror that was hanging on the wall of the bedroom. I wondered what Erik had planned for us today.

Surprisingly, the day consisted of chores. Erik chopped wood, I tidied the cabin and fed the chooks and the various mismatched variety of animals that Todd kept. I didn't shy away from work. I had my Mother and Lord Elbi to thank for that. I often helped out on their sheep farm and loved it.

Hardly anyone knew of this, they all assumed that I acted like any other spoiled Princess and refuse any type of hard work. That was not me, I never asked to be Royalty and despised any assumptions that implied it.

As the day dragged on and afternoon finally arrived. Erik approached me as I was checking the surrounding area for eggs.

"Princess, do you know how to cook?"

That was the one question I was hoping would never be asked. My cooking skills were limited, and when I did cook, it would always end in disaster. As a Princess living in a castle, I was not taught how to cook. I requested lessons but my requests were always denied.

"A princess would never need to cook in her lifetime, so there was no point in learning", was always the answer I received. But supposedly knowing how to drink tea properly was a skill that I couldn't go without.

"Uhhhh! Not well, Erik. Why do you ask?" I questioned.

He smiled and rested his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, I better teach you than, Your Highness. A beast tamer must know how to cook for themselves, as most of their time will be spent travelling long distances between destinations. Many a night will be spent under the stars with food that only nature can provide. Follow me."

I nodded and followed Erik into the forest, we hadn't gone very far when I heard screaming. It wasn't the screams of a human, it was the screams of an animal in distress. Erik found the animal, it was a rabbit, it's foot caught in a trap. Erik smiled,

"This is our dinner, Your Highness."

He untied some rope that was attached to his belt. He hit the rabbit in the back of the head, he then tied the rope around the back legs, he hung it from a tree, upside down. The rabbit was unconscious, He took a knife, and with one swift movement, he slit the rabbit's throat.

"We'll let it bleed out, then we will take it home, skin it, gut it and cook it in a stew with some vegetables."

My face was pale and I wanted to vomit. That was the first time I'd seen a rabbit let alone any animal being slaughtered.

Once the rabbit was skinned, gutted, and cleaned Erik showed me how to prepare it. I peeled some potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, and various otter herbs all freshly harvested from the garden. I threw it all in the pot and hung it over the low burning fire.

"Leave it in there to cook and we'll eat it later on. So what else would you like to do Princess?"

I didn't know how to answer Eriks question. My face burned.

Erik saw me struggling and in the most confident but also creepy tone he said.

"I think I know what you want to do, your highness but imagine the scandal and the trouble I'd get into. You're underage and you shouldn't be thinking such thoughts about your teacher. Just remember, there's a boy who thinks the world of you out there waiting to see you again. Remember that, your highness."

Erik smiled cheekily and winked at me. I swear if embarrassment could kill, I'd have dropped dead right there in front of him. I ran out of the cabin. I was so stupid letting Erik get to me like that. I hated myself, because what Erik said was true to a point. I found him quite handsome and I'd often day dream about kissing his lips. But that's as far as it would go, nothing more.

I remained outside the cabin for a good two hours. I couldn't face him, I couldn't be in his presence, but I also couldn't remain outside for the rest of the day and I certainly couldn't stay outside all night either. I took in a deep breath, held my head high and entered the cabin. I made a bee line for the bedroom and hid under the covers. I eventually fell asleep. I was awakened by Erik entering the bedroom and in his loudest voice he proclaimed dinner to be ready.

I stirred and untangled myself from the covers. I didn't even preen myself before joining Erik at the table. Erik saw me and started laughing.

"Well good afternoon Princess. You didn't happen to bring some birds in with you. By the look of your hair they tried and failed to make a nest in it."

I rolled my eyes and ate the stew that Erik had placed in a bowl for me. Erik was still smiling at his joke as he returned to eating his stew. There was no further mention of the conversation we had earlier that day.

However, the conversation that we did have was going over the plans for tomorrow.

"We need to get you to walk back to your room at the inn by yourself, tomorrow night preferably. This will be when the Ogre is most likely to strike, as they hunt under the cover of darkness. I'll have Aqila trail you, she'll hide in the shadows. Once you've been captured, she'll light a candle signalling to us that the second part of our plan is starting. You need to trust all of us, Princess for this plan to work."

I nodded in acknowledgement.

I hardly slept that night, I tried, but I would find my mind wandering back to the doubts that plagued me. I went over the two worst possible scenarios, death and marriage to the ogre. I really hoped that Erik's plan would work.

I had barely closed my eyes and finally started to drift to sleep when Erik burst into my room and shook me awake.

"Rise and Shine, Princess. We leave very soon."

My eyes were sore and felt as though sand had gotten into them overnight. I rubbed at them and splashed water upon my face. It seemed to work, but I felt as though my head was heavy as I went to the kitchen to eat breakfast that Erik had prepared once again.

We were ready. We got the carriage ready, Erik drove while I sat inside. Erik made sure that I was dressed in one of my better dresses.

"You need to look and act like a Princess once again."

I sighed and begrudgingly agreed. I hated pretending to be someone I was not. I was only a Princess because my Father made sure everyone believed David and myself were of his blood. When in reality, we were the bastard offspring of a guard and my mother, no relation to my Dad's family.

I watched the scenery as it passed me by, I was once again left to my own thoughts and not all thoughts that entered my mind were positive or reassuring, mostly they were dark and full of doubt.