THREAT

Albert awoke to the loud barking of a dog behind his tent. The galloping of horses stomped the ground where he and Annabelle lay. Annabelle also woke up when she heard the crowd.

"Why so noisy? What happened?" asked Annabelle in her hoarse voice. Her face was still hiding in Albert's chest.

"Looks like our hunting ground has been taken by another hunter. They know if our path is the right path to get the stag, "Albert replied. Annabelle immediately sat up hearing her husband's words.

"Then why are you still here, let's get ready immediately" asked Annabelle who didn't want to lose to the other hunters.

"How am I going to prepare, if you're still in my arms?" said Albert casually as if he didn't care if he won the game or not.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I'll get ready soon, "said Annabelle who immediately opened her warm blanket, intending to get out of bed. The cold air instantly brushed against his skin, but he didn't care.

Albert's hand immediately held Annabelle's hand with angry eyes glaring at his wife. Annabelle grimaced, staring at the open front of her body, revealing the beautiful hill. No wonder his chest felt so cold. Albert carried Annabelle into his lap and fixed the dress Annabelle was wearing. Tie back the straps of her dress so that Annabelle's beautiful body is not exposed.

"I will pluck out the eyes of anyone who sees your body other than mine," Albert said possessively.

"My apologies, My Lord. I forgot that last night you opened my dress and didn't close it again," Annabelle quipped in her formal language, making Albert's face suppress a smile and turn into a cheerful one again.

"Your body is very beautiful, My Lady. It would be a shame to leave it closed," said Albert, teasing Annabelle.

Annabelle's face flushed with embarrassment, remembering what they had done last night. How Albert kept moving in it and his lips didn't stop licking his body. Slowly, Annabelle's body inched down from Albert's lap. Before leaving the tent, Albert again held Annabelle and kissed his wife's sweet lips.

It only took a minute to prepare the horses and their equipment. The servants were ready to continue their hunt. After Albert and Annabelle put on their hunting outfits, they approached Thunder and Diamond. Albert lifted Annabelle's body and helped her up the Diamond.

"Be careful, My Lady! We will work hard today because the other hunters are already a few steps ahead of us," said Albert

"I will not slow down your run, My Lord. Don't mind me, set your horse, and I'll follow you from behind. I may not be a good hunter, but I am a good horseman."

"I will remember, My Lady."

After making sure Annabelle was safe on the Diamond, Albert rode the Thunder very agile. Albert stomped his feet into Thunder's stomach, making Thunder start to move forward and run following Albert's direction. Albert quickly spurred his horse, Annabelle followed her husband without fear. Annabelle with a good response, can always dodge when there is a tree trunk in front of her.

Albert, who knew how Annabelle rode a horse, was always amazed. Annabelle's balance is very good, her waist always looks beautiful when controlling her horse. Not long after, they were able to catch up with the other hunters who had passed by their tent.

Knowing that there were too many hunters and the competition was fierce, Albert took another route. The road is more steep and challenging. He knew if his wife would have no trouble, going down that road. The flat road that had been wide, became increasingly narrow. The forest they went through was getting quieter, the sound of horses galloping and the barking of dogs was getting further and further away.

"Are we really on the right path?" Annabelle asked.

"Yes, we have crossed the right path, this is the shortcut and the shortest path we can take. In a few more miles, we will be out of this dense forest and in front of the other hunters," replied Albert.

The forest is getting darker because the trees are thick and cover the sun, the ground is wet and damp. The rocks on either side of them are smooth and full of green moss. Their noses started to run because of the high humidity in the forest. Albert didn't spur Thunder to run again, he just ran slowly to avoid the slippery rocks. He also didn't want his wife to fall because she was going through terrain she had never been through before.

I don't know how long, they entered the dark forest, there wasn't even an animal to hunt. There were only leeches and worms there. Annabelle was relieved when in front of them a white light awaited them, the light was like a gate that would lead them out of the forest.

The ground they passed began to dry up, the rocks had turned black, revealing their true form. Birds chirping began to sound above their heads. Albert stomped his feet back into Thunder's stomach and started to increase his running speed towards the light.

A few more miles, they were about to come out of the forest, suddenly an arrow shot straight at Albert. The corner of Albert's eyes caught the glint, he immediately lowered his head so that the arrow went past him and stuck in the tree beside him.

At first, Albert thought that the arrows belonged to the wrong hunter. But Albert's body was immediately alert as several arrows shot back towards him.

"ANNABELLE BACK TO THE FOREST!" shouted Albert to his wife behind him.

Annabelle's body trembled as the arrow continued to chase Albert. Quickly, Annabelle steered her horse to turn and into the dark forest they had just passed. Albert also spurred his horse quickly following Annabelle from behind.

The maid who had been behind, passed Annabelle and approached Albert. They started to open their bows and fired their arrows at several people who were seen chasing Albert and Annabelle.

Those people, were seen wearing black robes with their faces covered by black cloth as well. Seeing him, Albert began to release his arrows to protect himself and Annabelle. With Thunder continuing to run, Albert fired his arrows several times. One person fell off his horse, when Albert's arrow hit him.

Albert didn't know how many people were following him. He started picking up more arrows and kept releasing them from his bow. Several times, Albert brought down his opponent. An arrow shot at him and hit his servant. The servant fell and rolled into a hole in the forest. Albert couldn't help it because the people in black robes were increasing in number.

"RUN FAST DON'T LOOK BACK!" Albert reminded Annabelle who had looked back because she was worried about her husband.

Hearing the scream, Annabelle continued to spur the diamond. It was very scary, when several times the arrow almost hit Annabelle, Annabelle was lucky to be able to avoid it by lowering her head and taking cover in Diamond's body. He kept on galloping fast, no matter which road he took. He only hoped that the arrow would not pierce his body.

Albert's eyes were focused on the people chasing him and behind him. He didn't realize that from the side, there was one person aiming at him. The moment that person had locked onto Albert's movement, an arrow shot straight at him.

Late...

Albert could not completely avoid the arrows shot. Albert shouted when the arrow stuck in his body, Albert's body immediately swayed and fell from above Thunder.

Annabelle's heart seemed to stop beating when she heard Albert's scream. She couldn't just leave her husband. Not thinking about her safety, Annabelle turned and galloped towards Albert's place.

When she saw Albert lying on the ground, Annabelle quickly got off her horse. Albert cursed loudly when his wife came back to get him. Their servants immediately protected Albert and Annabelle by putting up walls with their bodies, while continuing to shoot their arrows from their bows.

"Go Annabelle, you will not survive here, follow the path we have taken earlier and make sure you are safe. I'm sure we'll survive, you're a smart woman, and I've always admired your intelligence. You can definitely get away from those people and survive," said Albert with a heavy breath. Red liquid continued to flow from his shoulders. That arrow, stuck in there. If Annabelle let Albert here, her husband would surely die.

"We'll be safe Albert," Annabelle said. After that, Annabelle said to her maid, "get Albert on my horse and tie him to my body, I'll take him!"

"Do not! It will slow you down, we will both die if you do that," Albert argued.

"We will both survive or die together. I will never leave you, Albert."

After saying that, Annabelle ordered her maid to quickly get Albert's body onto his horse. The maid swiftly did as Annabelle ordered. Annabelle then sped off with Diamond and Albert, into the dark forest.

***