He Might be Still Alive

Holly gasped and woke up startled. Her eyes were wide open, and she sat on the bed. Her breath was racing against her sweaty body. Again, she dreamt about Arthur.

She looked around. The room was dark, lit only by a candle on the table and the light from the window. Holly squinted her eyes at the figure sitting in front of the window. His silhouette looked beautiful, accompanied by the full moon shining brightly outside.

"Felix," Holly called out to the figure in a low voice. But she knew that Felix could still hear no matter how soft her voice was.

Felix turned. His face was lit by the moonlight, radiant and shimmering beautifully.

"We're staying here tonight. Carrying a fainted girl through the village is too risky," he said with his soft voice.

Holly blinked to accustomed her eyes to the light. She looked around again and realized she was in her room. Yes, her room! Her old room in the Reloux mansion.

"How..." Holly gaped. How did they get here?

This room was as intact as it had been when Holly had left it five years ago. Some of the furniture was still covered in dust, but Holly's bed seemed to have been cleaned by Felix.

"I need to gather my knights, and I can't do that in the inn. This is the only safe place for us."

"How did you get in here?"

Felix walked over to Holly. His figure was now lit by the dim candlelight. He looked majestic with his sharp eyes fixed on her.

"Jump the fence."

Holly couldn't recall what happened. Her last memory was of a man with golden hair. Holly looked at Felix doubtfully. She squeezed the blanket to cover her nervousness.

"Did you find them? The men I met. You told your knights to look for them, didn't you?"

Felix sighed loudly. That was enough to be an answer for Holly. They failed to find those men.

"I will find them. Could you tell me about them?"

Holly gulped. She began to shiver at the thought of the red-eyed figure. "There was a man with black hair and red eyes. He looked scary. He didn't do anything, but he scared me."

Felix nodded. "He must be a wolf," he said with a calm tone.

Holly held her breath as she remembered the other man. The golden-haired man reminded her of Arthur. But it was not possible. Moreover, Holly remembered hearing Felix say that he smelled Justin's scent. That would be more reasonable if the man was Justin.

"The other one? I believe I smelled two person in there." Felix waited patiently for Holly's answer. His ability to smell something was stronger than humans.

"I didn't see his face," Holly said weakly. Her voice sounded very regretful. If only she saw his face, maybe she could help Felix.

Felix wasn't angry. There was no reason to be angry. He was already worried enough to see Holly passed out. He didn't want to force Holly to remember further, even though he was curious about what made her like that.

"Could it be that golden-haired man was Justin?" Holly asked doubtfully. She had never heard of what Justin looked like.

Felix raised his eyebrows. His forehead furrowed in confusion. "Golden hair?"

"Yes. I can't see his face, but he has golden hair. And he knows you!"

Felix thought harder and tried to remember who his acquaintances had such characteristics. "Justin's hair was dark brown."

Holly stiffened. Then who was that man? Could it be Arthur? But people said Arthur was dead and his corpse was dumped in the dark forest to be eaten by the beast.

Wait... Holly just noticed. The beast was right in front of her, and he had just woken up a couple of weeks ago. Not only that, she had been wandering Dark Forest with Felix and had never seen human skeletons or human remains.

"Have you ever seen a golden-haired man in the Dark Forest? He has green eyes like me and pale skin." This sudden realization made her panic. She began to doubt if Arthur had really been dumped there.

Felix was confused by Holly's sudden reaction. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask Gilbert. He just got here."

Holly got out of bed in a hurry and stepped on her own dress. Felix didn't have time to help her because Holly was already up and running towards the door. Gilbert, who was guarding behind the door, jumped in surprise.

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

"Have you ever seen a blonde-haired man with green eyes and pale skin in Dark Forest? He looks like me."

Gilbert didn't answer right away. He looked at Felix, who was standing behind Holly as if to ask what really happened. Felix nodded, giving Gilbert permission to respond.

"I've never met a human like that," Gilbert replied, looking down regretfully.

Holly was disappointed but relieved at the same time. There was a possibility that Arthur was still alive, and it could be that the man was Arthur. But how did he know about Felix? And where is he now?

"The man you mentioned earlier, was he Arthur?"

Felix helped Holly to get back to her bed. She was like a body without energy. She wanted to cry, but for what? If Arthur was still alive, she should be happy. Oh, Holly didn't even know what emotion to let out now. Everything seemed wrong.

"I thought he was Arthur. But there is no way he knew about you." After a long silence, Holly finally answered.

"Everything is possible." His calm deep voice gave a strange swish in Holly's chest. The burden on her shoulders instantly felt lighter.

"He is a Reloux, remember?" Felix touched Holly's hand. Just a light touch but managed to make Holly feel stronger.

Felix was right. Holly didn't know about Felix, but that didn't mean Arthur never knew either. He was the first son and meant to be the successor to Reloux. Father probably told him more things than Holly.

Holly was afraid to hope. But she began to believe that Arthur might survive.

"I promise to find your brother." Felix made a promise he wouldn't break. If that could make Holly smile like before, he would do everything.

The door suddenly opened and Gilbert went inside in a rush. "We have a guest."

"Who?" Felix wanted to curse anyone who came and interfered his time with Holly.

Gilbert looked at Holly for a moment and said, "A blonde-haired man."