Finally meeting you...

Helena's POV

"Thomas!!! Unbelievable! How does Thomas sound like Tithen??? " she questioned before muttering all kinds of curses. She was beyond furious stomping her way through the bushes. After walking for at least three hours straight, following Joe's directions to the tee, she had found this so-called cabin, only Thomas answered the door and he had never heard of Tithen. Not allowing herself to be derailed, she ended up continuing with her mission and spending the whole day searching  from door to door. 

"Ouch! "she suddenly stopped and focused her attention on her foot. Hopping on one leg, Helena took off her boot, held it upside down and began to shake it a little harder than necessary. Unlike on previous days this route had been mostly rocky with short dry patches of grass. She peaked closely inside the boot using her fingers to feel it's fluffy interior. The annoying pebble had disappeared.

 Having walked from door to door with no success, she had taken the wrong path on her way back, walked for hours, turned back again and retraced her steps, gotten completely lost then luckily found herself at the gas station that she had seen upon arrival in Eaglesdale. This had been the perfect opportunity to restock on food plus she was elated after a gulp of ice cold, refrigerated water. It had taken her a few minutes to get her bearings straight and began heading home but by that time, it was already dark outside. She was exhausted, in need of a bath and the thought of running into a pack of wolves or worse a bear did not sit well with her. If her calculations were correct then it would take her at most half an hour to get to the cabin. She dropped her shoe back on the ground then forced her foot back inside taking care not to overstretch her nearly torn sock. 

"You are nearly there Elle just a few more minutes", she urged herself onward. 

'Elle', only Aaron ever called her that. Why had she used that name at this moment? A deep disappointment settled within her and she swallowed hard to get rid of the clogged up feeling in her throat. Her memories of him had mostly been pleasant but she could not help but wonder if it was really love. Had she been just a meal waiting to be devoured or was he with her to satisfy his curiosity. After years of believing that you are happy with someone, planning a future together not knowing that every night spent was being done with a preditorial monster. The mere thought of it sent shivers up her spine and she was convinced that if he were to appear before her right now, she would not hesitate to drive a wooden steak right through his heart.  After carefully assessing her path ahead, she proceeded with her journey. The starless sky was dark but she could make out the trees in the distance and the odd shrubs here and there. Battling the wind, her pace quickened and she could barely hear the loud crackling sounds from snapping twigs that her boots were making as she trampled on them.  Her momentum would have kept going, had it not been for the awareness of another presence ahead, a few meters from her. The darkness made it difficult to tell what it was but from the size of the silhouette, it had to be her worst fear, a huge bear. She stopped in horror, her heart taking a leap out of her chest. There were no trees to hide behind and she was completely exposed. She slowly moved back fighting the urge to take off and run. The bear seemed to be motionless, facing the other direction and had not yet become aware of her, which made her feel a little confident. What to do? Her bear spray was inside her bag, but that didn't mean that she could proceed onwards and confront it head on. Why was it still not moving? Should she turn and run? There was no way she could outrun a wild animal. She finally decided to tiptoe back to the gas station where she would spend the night then walk back at daylight. Just when she was about to take action, she heard her bear muttering some words. Her hand quickly covered her mouth, stopping her from screaming with joy. It was a man! 

Xanders POV.. 

"Excuse me?" her sirenic voice vibrated from behind him. He inhaled then paused momentarily forgetting to exhale.  After waiting endlessly for her to walk through the door, he had grown impatient and headed out to find her. Instinct had told him which path to take and he had only walked  a short distance when he sensed her coming from the path to his left. The relief of feeling her was overshadowed by anxiety and he was almost afraid to turn and face her. What if it was his imagination playing tricks on him and she wasn't even there? 

He had dreamt of this moment for too long, imagined so many possible first meetings and even prepared the words he would say to her. During the first two years after all of this began, he thought he would meet her with a tight embrace and welcome her into his life but as time went by and she couldn't be found, he had begun to resent being tied to her. He now imagined tracking her down with his most skilled trackers, cornering her then capturing and locking her up in his room where he would make her beg for mercy. 

He took in a deep breath then exhaled before slowly turning around. Though it was dark he could see her fiesty red hair whipping her rosy cheek, covering her eyes then blowing up, scattering everywhere in a frenzy. The sudden gust of wind seemed to match his inner storm which blew his emotions all over the place. Here she was, the most beautiful perfection, his wife and future mother of his heir but most of all she was the one who had destroyed and taken 6years from him.

"You have no idea of how happy I am to see you. I could just hug you right now."

She was what? Happy to see him? After 6 years of being in hiding she was happy to get caught? Her facial expression and attitude beamed of absolute delight but what exactly did she mean by that? His mind suddenly went blank and for the first time in his life, he was really at a loss for words and couldn't respond. If she decided to throw herself into his arms at this moment should he return the gesture or push her away? He was happy to see her as well but he also felt hurt and disrespected. There was no way he was going to just allow her to waltz into his life as if nothing ever happened. 

"I think I'm lost. I could have sworn that my cabin was in this direction but now I'm seeing lights down there and I don't have any electricity. Could you help me?"

She was what? Teeth clenched tightly, He tilted his head slightly and observed her through squinted eyes. Needed his help? It was funny how she had quickly changed the subject from being happy to see him to suddenly needing his help.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked gently. The moment the question escaped his mouth, he regretted it. 

"Why am I doing this?"she paused as if surprised by the question. "Um, well I'm lost and I wouldn't be asking if I had a choice", she answered in axactly the way he had expected, pretending not to understand his question and making a fool out of him. As the monarchy, he was used to these power games but he had never imagined her as being his opponent. They were meant to be lovers, tied together by an eternal bond . When and why did she decide to discard what they had built for such a long time? He had insatiably longed for her everyday, spent sleepless nights trying to send her telepathic messages pleading with her to come to him and he had cursed at her for being so cruel and heartless. Now here  she was, blinking innocently at him and talking to him as if they had last seen each other a few hours ago. He took a deep breath, masking his emotions. If this was how she wanted to play, then he was going to play along. Eventually she would get tired. 

"I know I'm bothering you but I really, really need your help", she continued pleading probably because of his silence. 

He cleared his throat before answering, "Come with me, ". 

"Aw thank you so much!"

He ignored her wide smile, his temperament too chaotic to care and walked past her, headed for the cabin. She followed close behind him, increasing her strides to keep up with his pace. He had no intention of running away, in fact he was ready to grab her the moment she tried to flee. He may have sealed himself, making her stronger and faster but he prided in his natural agility and skill. She would have to think twice before trying anything funny. 

"You know this is actually my second time getting lost today, hence why I'm outside at this hour. I'm normally tucked in bed by this time",she tried to break the awkward silence. His head turned back to catch a glimpse of her and he was surprised by her closeness. Should he pause slightly, she would come crushing into him. He moved away, allowing her to walk next to him, not responding or offering any more conversation. She knew what he wanted to hear, not this small talk. 

A few minutes later they reached the cabin door. He pushed it open then entered before her, heading straight for the closet. When she didn't follow him, he turned, leaned back and saw her crouched down at the entrance, going through her backpack.