Chapter 12 On The Run Part 1

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"Umm… Sir, this might not work out…." Alice called out to Vance, who turned around and walked into the hut. He saw Alice standing there, her bare feet visible under the rolled-up pant legs as she held the waist of her pants to keep them from falling down. Her Pink hair cascaded down over her shoulder, and her slightly blushed cheeks really pulled at a man's heartstrings. She was definitely a beauty.

"That is easily fixed." Vance walked over to the door and undid the entire vine he had set up and then walked over to Alice, who quickly went on guard. But Vance did not try anything. He just held out the vine to her and said: "Use what you need to hold the pants up. If you have trouble, just ask, and I will help you. As for shoes…." He looked around and realized she had not been wearing any this entire time and even her feet were quite scratched up and even bleeding. He looked in his inventory but had nothing he could use. He scratched his head and looked around, but there was nothing.

"When we get ready to leave, I will carry you on my back. When we get to the next village, I will buy some shoes for you." Vance had no other choice. It's one thing to run barefoot through the forest when you are in danger, the adrenaline will keep the feeling of pain at bay, but when you are without that adrenaline that is keeping you going, you will eventually begin to feel the pain.

Alice stared at Vance with a complicated expression as she followed his gaze that was looking at her feet. She clenched the pants and curled up her toes, trying to hide them from sight. She did not understand. Why was this man she had never met before willing to help her so much? Why was he being so generous to a person he had just met? He did not look rich, but he was willing to help her to the point of giving her clothes and even offering to buy her shoes. These kinds of things she did not understand. The castle only had people kissing up to her because of her status. But this man only thinks she is some kind of noble and doesn't even seem to care about her status but is still willing to help her. She wondered what his motive was.

Vance scratched his head once more. He was never good at talking with others. Once he saw her being so distant, drawing an invisible barrier, he knew not to push too much. "If you are uncomfortable with me carrying you. Then I can let you borrow my boots until we reach the next town."

With that, he began taking off his boots which caused Alice to be even more surprised. "Wait!" She found herself feeling sorry for the young man. "It's fine… You do not need to give me your boots. If you are willing to carry me, then I will accept your offer."

"Alright." Vance nodded and re-tied his boot. "Secure your pants with the vine and hand me your dress. I will store them away. Then we will need to hurry."

"Alright." Alice nodded and was about to turn around when she heard Vance call back out to her.

"I should introduce myself. My name is Vance Freeman." Vance did not say anything more, nor did he wait for her to introduce herself. He began to sweep away the footprints outside and only left boot prints. He then looked for the best path that would not leave too many markings. He knew whoever was chasing Alice would soon be here.

Alice was quick and did as she was told and tied up her pants so they would not slip down. She then climbed on Vance's back after handing him her dress. Vance stored it and then swept away any footprints Alice had left inside before darting out of the old hut and racing deep into the forest in a direction that would not lead them out of the forest but parallel to the road.

Alice began to panic as she asked: "Why are we going this way? The road is in the opposite direction!"

"I know. But you are being chased. There is no way we can head towards the road at this time. It is better to run parallel to it and connect back up with it when we have traveled a ways away. You do not want to get caught, right?" Vance asked, causing Alice's eyes to open wide.

"You know I am being chased?" Alice asked in surprise. She did not think he would be able to tell.

"Miss, it is not that hard to figure out. A tattered dress, feet full of wounds from running. Not to mention the grand entrance into the old hut. It is clear as day that you were being chased." Vance teased, causing Alice to blush from ear to ear. She started to regret barging into that hut!

"You can call me Alice." Alice suddenly said. She disliked being called Miss this or Miss that.

"Then Alice, let's get you to town so you can get some proper shoes." Vance continued forward as he reset his grip on Alice's legs.

Alice felt guilty that Vance was carrying her all because she had no shoes, and even on top of that, the high and mighty princess that she was had to also borrow money for shoes. She even borrowed clothes from this young man. She didn't know his motive for helping her, but she did know one thing. For the time being, she could trust him.

[ Life Quest]

[You have chosen to help Alice Findale, the only princess of the Findale Kingdom. You must now protect her and allow her to send a message to the King. Only then will Edward Findale's scheme be revealed, and her young brother, Henry Findale, can take the throne.]

[Life Quest has been updated.]

Seeing the life quest update, Vance was surprised that Alice still would not take the throne but instead her younger brother. He found it quite intriguing. He only knew that Edward had taken the throne and nothing else. He had never heard of a younger brother. He could only guess that during the battle for succession, the younger brother lost.

But now he was curious as to just what will happen to Alice. Would she venture out into the unknown and forge a new path, or will she become a commoner living her life in the capital as she saw fit? Each path was quite good, but he wondered what she would pick. At this thought, he could only shrug. What happened after the quest was over was not his problem. He was only helping her now because, well, he hated helping guys unless there was no other choice.

With both thinking different things. Behind him at the old hut, ten minutes after they left, a group of bandit-like men arrived. "Sir, I am not sure the princess came this way."

"She had to have!" The leader of the bandit-like men yelled out.

"Sir, there are only men's footprints here but no signs of any bare-footed prints. The princess had long kicked off her shoes." Bandit-like man number one pointed to the many footprints on the ground and in the room.

"We found tracks leading up to this point not far from here, so unless she vanished, she must have been taken away!" The leader of the bandit-like men shouted as he kicked the ground. "Spread out. We will split up. If the prince finds out that we failed the task he gave to us, he will have our heads!"

"Yes, sir!" The bandit-like men replied in unison.

As the bandit-like men were busy trying to find at least a trail of the princess, Vance was already a good twenty minutes ahead of them. It would be impossible for them to catch up now. And if they did, as long as it was only one, he would still have a good chance of fighting them off.