The Bell of Freedom (King and human romance)✔

Chapter Fifty

Six Months Later

"Do you think they'd try and eat us if we threw rocks at them?" Christian whispers fearfully as the small army of wolves surround us in the rainforest.

"I think they're just curious," I say, turning to walk away. "They haven't seen humans in years and then we turn up."

"But are they animal-eaters or real wolves?" he says.

"Animal-eaters," I say. "Didn't you see their eyes?"

Christian looks over his shoulder and stares back at the creatures in wolf forms that are standing in a formation line, watching us walk away. "Creepy."

"We've been here months and that's the first time they've come this close to the village," I say. "Should I tell Marina?"

"Uh. . . yes," Christian mutters. "Not only are they creatures but they are creatures with sharp teeth."

I look back over my shoulder but the wolves have vanished. Real wolves wouldn't have left us alive. Animal-eaters are so bizarre. At first it was subtle. I woke up one morning in my cabin to see an eagle with red eyes staring at me. It flew off straight after. Then, Jackson found a snake. The humans were curious and tried to capture it but then it turned into a large bat and flew off. That was the first real indication that this village was anything but ordinary.

However, those creatures were harmless. The wolf-creatures are something else. They don't come close to the village and all the humans are terrified of them doing so. We often hear them howling at night like they are communicating with all the other animal-eaters. Like they are the ones in charge.

Marina's presence is probably the only thing that keeps them away. Though she assured us that they aren't interested in humans surely they'd also count humans as animals? It's strange to all of us that they've never tried it.

Marina has been with us since the beginning. She is the go-between for us and the rest of the world. She brings us food and water, makes sure that we have enough games or books to stimulate our minds during the day. Herself and Blake are the only ones—apart from the animal eaters—that know we are here. Even the creatures that brought the humans here weren't told of what happened to them. Blake visits occasionally but he never stays long and he only ever mentions the palace, not the King.

Things are back to normal there. Humans are living there again, being fed on again, having weekly funerals again. Once a month we hold a vigil in the village to remember and honour those that have lost their lives. It was Christian's idea and for the first couple of months it was sad but then it became an act of celebration. I have to keep reminding myself that they are still young, that we all are, and being saved has brought so much life back to them.

There are twelve of us all together. The four that I saved, that Saffron honoured, and eight others that Blake managed to help escape. For the first week I hardly spoke to anyone, it was a lot to process and being away from the palace broke me in so many ways. Christian and Jackson pulled me out of the darkness and opened my eyes to freedom. Real freedom. It was a new feeling; one we are still learning to accept.

Seeing the same faces every day was strange at first but now we're all used to it. We're almost like a family.

We live in a small village on the edge of the forest. It's magical and colourful. There are fifteen cabins, some huts, some sheds, and we've even started farming some hens for eggs. Watching Marina carry them through the sky was hilarious. There are no real animals around here because the creatures have all consumed them so we rely on Marina to do our shopping. The cabins were slightly modernized, we have toilets and bathtubs and even kitchens, but we don't have electricity. It was difficult to adjust to at first but we've adapted now.