Demonic Feathers 2

As the months passed, the only one to keep me company was Jay. At least, I think that it is Jay because the raven has bright blue eyes like him. Even though they were gone all day, they would fly in with rabbits for me to eat.

One morning, I heard horses outside of the hideout. I was about to go outside to check, but Jay threw a hairbrush to my face. I patted his head before fixing my hair. When I finally looked outside, I was surprised to see another kingdom's prince on a horse.

"Hello there! Could you help us? I got lost and I cannot find my way out of this forest." He called out as soon as he saw me in the window.

I took a deep breath before walking outside. He got off his horse as I closed the door. I pointed to the direction that I knew that he might be going towards.

"Can you talk?" I shook my head. "Do you know any sign language?" I shook my head again. "As a thank you, I shall come here tomorrow to teach you. You said straight this way." I nodded my head and made some leaping motions with my hands. "The road is also bumpy. Thank you again."

He got back onto his horse and waved me goodbye. I waved him off until I could not see him anymore, then I walked inside. Jay started croaking in a way that sounded like laughter. So, I threw the hairbrush at him and missed him. Then, I started working on the third shirt as he was still laughing.

I was doubting that the prince was ever going to come back. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of knocking. I opened the door and saw the prince with a gigantic smile on his face. Seeing him close up, I was able to see his bright brown eyes with a hint of green that reminded me of a forest.

"I said that I would be coming back." He held up two dead pheasants. "I even brought lunch and dinner."

I looked behind him and noticed the dead deer tied to the back of his horse. I gave him a smile and a bow to show him 'thank you'.

"You have a pretty smile."

My face must have turned from rose red to blood red from how hard I was blushing. He helped me drag a table and some chairs outside for us. Then Roman showed me how to spell using my fingers.

'My name is Prince Grant.' He told me as he fingerspelled it. 'What is your name?'

'My name is Arthur.' I replied in fingerspelling to him.

"Good job! It was almost perfect first try!" He shouted and I jumped in surprise.

We spent most of the day together as he worked on helping me bend my finger correctly.

"This was fun! I will try to come back later this week to teach you how to sign full words." He told me as we finished the food he brought here.

'I cannot wait.'

He smiled at me as he rode off. As the first-year mark hit, he would come by at least twice a week. I was able to finish up to the sixth shirt at that time. I never spoke a word as he taught me how to use my hands. The next time he came over, he had a somber look on his face.

'What is wrong?'

"My mother became sick so I might have trouble seeing you." Jay picked that moment to start pecking at the door and it somehow; sparked an idea in Grant's eyes. "You could come live in the castle with us!"

I glared at Jay and he just croaked at me. Then, Grant gave me puppy eyes to get me to agree. The longer that I did not answer him, the stronger the eyes got. Jay started to croak louder so it sounded like his own version of laughing.

'Okay, just give me a few days to pack.' Jay decided to croak loudly in my ear. 'Is it okay if he comes with me?'

"Yeah! Since you can't exactly shout for help without him."

As Grant left, Jay flew outside to alert our brothers. I started packing and I worked on the shirts as I took short breaks. Then, I carefully packed the completed shirts so that they do not get destroyed on the ride to the castle.

Jay flew back and helped me by pecking the window close with his beak. As I was finishing up, someone knocked on the door. Before I had a chance to reach the door, it opened on its own and the old man walked in.

"I wanted to check on you before you leave." I tilted my head in confusion. "This is my forest, and nothing can get past me. I just wanted to explain about the enchantment before you left."

It turns out that the roses were supposed to protect my brothers from danger. When I pulled out the roses, it activated the protection spell. I had to prove my love for them to show that they are safe and away from danger. After I gave the old man some tea, he left me alone to put the last items away.