For the next hours before evening, Belle said nothing to anyone. She followed her group members, clutching her crossbow to herself in a subconscious, defensive way that had come to her after hearing that scream. It was like she was walking on the edge of thin ice, as any movement in the forest alarmed her. She feared someone might choose to pick on them.
She could not remove the unsettling scream from her head and the fear that many might die before the hunt ended—at this rate, since there were no guards watching over them. How could the king allow such things to happen? And how could anyone be heartless enough to kill another person?
"You should loosen up," came Evenly's voice from her side, who noticed how Belle was silent the whole time with a wary look on her pale face.
