The Villianess story: A 100 ways to kill your husband-Chapter 357: Hide and seek

Cedric’s words were encouraging, but they didn’t help much with her esteem. She guessed before him she was still the harmless girl he could not bother about the danger she possessed.

Abrielle glanced away from him. "That doesn’t help much." Abrielle got on her glad that her leg was feeling better now. She brushed past him and started walking away when she heard him speak again, halting her movement.

"What about we carry out a training exercise under the rain, something that involves running, but I have an idea to make you run faster," Cedric suggested, drawing her attention to him.

She turned around with her brows furrowed. Cedric approached her, pulling out a dagger; he turned, handing the handle towards her. "Why don’t we test your stamina with a crazy game of hide and seek?"

She was more puzzled because how was that going to help her.

"A game of hide and seek. How will that be of any help?" The clouds rumbled with the cold winds blowing carrying leaves that flew by them

"I feel regular methods might not work on you and since it seems you can draw out your potential under pressure." He started to explain. A cold drop of water fell on her shoulder, followed by several other drops before the rain started pouring heavily.

She swallowed nervously; a part of her didn’t like where this was going, but it was worth the try. "It is simple, I will give you the chance to run and hide while I find you. The dagger in your hand is your weapon you are free to use to attack me."

The loud rain sounds made it hard for her to hear him but she was getting the gist of the situation.

Abrielle clenched the dagger in her hand. It was expert craftsmanship, it was his personal dagger and she was certain it was very sharp.

"It’s not a fair fight. You can easily track me down," Abrielle complained; the rain had gotten heavier, stray strands of her hair stuck to her face, and she was completely drenched now.

"I won’t be using a weapon and will give you a head start. I promise not to use any magic either." Cedric assured her. Abrielle felt like there was something more to this game.

The thought of being chased under the rain with her visibility impaired didn’t sound too pleasing to her.

Her head tilted to look directly into her eyes; she was going to give it a try.

"What happens when you catch me?" She asked.

Cedric tilted his head with an amused smile. "You will find out when I do. Imagine this as a game of culling. The goal is to see how far you will go before I catch you. The earlier you are found the more difficult the punishment."

With the mischief twinkling in his eyes, she was secretly elated, wondering what the punishment might be.

"What if you don’t find me?" Her voice drew. Cedric bent over to her, their noses almost brushing as his rich scent engrossed her.

"I will find you Abrielle. Now run, little ginger, ’cause the wolf is coming."

On his command, she backed away and ran into the forest.

******

The rain poured hard, soaking Abrielle as she ran through the forest, her feet splashing in the wet leaves and muddy earth. Her breath came out fast and shaky, clouds of it mixing with the mist rising off the ground. She clutched a small dagger tightly in her hand, her fingers trembling from the cold or maybe from fear but something else excitement and thrill.

Branches whipped at her face and arms as she pushed forward, weaving between the trees, the thrill surging in her veins. She was still a bit tired from her earlier run; her feet should have given up, but the thrill didn’t let her stop.

She could feel him close by lurking like a predator but she wasn’t going to let him catch her easily

This was never a game, it seemed like a test. He was testing her limits. The heavy rain made it hard for her to find her way; she wasn’t familiar with the route, nor did she know how far she had run, but she wasn’t stopping.

She tripped on a branch, almost losing her balance. Her fingers dug into a nearby tree she used as an anchor. A scream had threatened to leave her lips, her teeth dung into her lips to stop in.

"Relax, Abrielle, you can do this." She gasped, Her heart was beating erratically. The princess turned around sensing a presence nearby as her back leaned against a tree trunk.

A branch snapped; she froze her eyes, searching for the source. Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it over the rain. The wind howled through the trees like a warning, but she couldn’t tell where the sound came from. Was it the forest, or was it him?

He was close, running was useless now.

Her hand tightened around the dagger, her last line of defence. After waiting for close to a minute nothing happened.

She moved again, slower now, trying not to make noise. The trees above gave little shelter, and water dripped down her neck, cold as ice. Her legs ached, and every step felt heavier than the last. She didn’t even know where she was anymore.

Then she heard it again, footsteps. Slow and calculated.

Drawing in a deep breath, she bolted again, ignoring the burning in her legs or her lungs that had grown heavy. The footsteps echoed again; this time, they were fast; he was running.

She nervously glanced behind to find no one, Abrielle turned back to continue running. Then, out of nowhere, a blurry black figure stopped in front of her.

She tried to stop in time but it was in vain. Abrielle ended up running straight into his arms slamming on her hard chest. Cedric’s arms wrapped around her immediately, but she wasn’t giving up too easily...

She stumped on his feet and then slashed the dagger at him, only for Cedric to disappear. Her eyes darted around, her grip on the dagger tightening. He was still close.

A strong force struck her against a tree trunk then he appeared in front of her. Pinning her against the trunk with his hand gripping her wrist to force the dagger into her hand.

The dagger fell on the floor and a smug smile graced his lips. "You cheated and used magic." She argued.

Cedric scoffed, "I promised not to chase you with magic. You really can run when you are scared."

She gritted her teeth at him, he tricked her