Chapter 129: Wildflowers
Moana
Later that morning, after enjoying breakfast in the garden in the fresh air with Ella and Edrick, Ella reminded Edrick that she wanted to go for a hike. Edrick of course agreed, as it was nice outside.
“Go put your shoes on,” he said. “And pants, too. I don’t want you falling down in a dress.”
“Okay!” Ella exclaimed as she sprinted off to her room to get changed.
Edrick stood and stretched, accidentally revealing the lower portion of his abs as he did so. He was dressed casually in a simple polo shirt and trousers, which was strange to see as I had grown so accustomed to seeing him only dressed in business attire. He must have forgotten that he wasn’t wearing his shirt tucked in when he stretched, and seeing even just a small portion of his abs made me blush a deep shade of red.
“We won’t be out for too long,” Edrick said then. “Feel free to explore anywhere you want in the mansion or the gardens while we’re out.”
Although the thought of exploring the mansion sounded fun, I furrowed my brow. It was too beautiful outside, and I had been looking forward to going on a nice walk.
“I was thinking I would go with you, actually,” I said, standing from the table.
Edrick pursed his lips and looked at me. His eyes traveled down to my belly; he seemed hesitant.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” he asked. “I don’t want you to get sick or get hurt if it’s too much exertion.”
I put my hands on my hips and frowned. “I’m only a few months pregnant. I’m not a complete invalid just yet. Besides, it’s only a walk.”
Edrick paused and chewed the inside of his lower lip for a few moments before finally nodding. “Alright,” he replied. “I guess some exercise could be good for you and the baby.”
I couldn’t help but grin. I thought it was sweet that Edrick was so concerned about our baby, but I knew that he worried too much when it came to certain things. I had always been somewhat athletic, and never had any problems with exercising. Being a few months pregnant may have stopped me from doing crazy things like rock climbing or downhill skiing, but a nice hike through the forest was something that I knew I could handle. Besides, the doctor told me that exercise was extremely healthy for the baby, and I had done enough research of my own to learn that many women could do all sorts of athletic things, even while they were eight or nine months pregnant. Once, I even read about a woman who was a marathon runner and kept winning marathons up until her water broke!
Now that Edrick agreed to let me go with them, I quickly ran upstairs and changed out of my dress and into something more suitable for a hike. Once I was ready, I headed back downstairs with Ella’s hand in mine and met Edrick outside.
As we began to follow the path that led into the woods, I couldn’t help but notice that Edrick kept glancing at me on occasion while we walked. He seemed to be looking at my outfit, and I didn’t realize it until a while later that he had never seen me in anything that wasn’t purely professional. Now, I was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans with boots and a zip-up hoodie on top, with my hair up in a bun, and he almost seemed fascinated by it. Seeing the way he looked at me made me blush and feel a bit embarrassed until I realized that I had looked at him the same way earlier. In a strange way, seeing each other in casual clothing almost felt like another layer of the barrier between us being peeled away.
While we walked, I couldn’t help but feel relaxed. The cool mountain air smelled sweetly of pine trees as we walked further into the forest, and the quiet sound of the forest around us was extremely relaxing. Every so often, Ella would run ahead with a flower or a cool rock or anything else that she would demand for Edrick to keep in his pocket, and soon enough his pockets were bursting with rocks and acorns.
Eventually, however, Edrick’s phone rang. I tried not to look as he pulled it out of his back pocket, but I couldn’t keep myself and took a quick peek, only to see that it was none other than his father.
As soon as Edrick saw his father’s name on the screen, his face went dark. Before, he had been smiling and chatting happily, but now he was sullen and gloomy like the flick of a switch.
“I’ll be right back,” he growled. Before I could answer, he stormed off a ways into the woods to answer the phone.
Meanwhile, Ella ran in circles around me, picking little wildflowers. I stayed where I was and sat down on a large boulder to rest my feet, keeping an eye on Ella while Edrick was busy. I hoped that his father wasn’t berating him for announcing our “relationship”, but I knew that that was probably exactly what was happening.
“Here, Moana!” Ella said, running up to me. Her fist was full of wildflowers and she shoved it in my face to show me all of the delicate petals and muted colors. “It’s for the baby!”
I couldn’t help but tear up as I took the flowers from Ella. “Aww, love,” I said, touching the flowers gently, “is it really?”
Ella nodded vigorously. “Mhm,” she said. “I picked lots of daisies, see? And Selina once told me that those flowers are called… Hmm…” She pointed thoughtfully at one of the flowers. It was a cluster of white flowers that were spread out on their stem in an umbrella-like shape, causing the petals to look almost like lace.
“Those are called Queen Anne’s Lace,” I said.
Ella’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Queen Anne’s Lace!” she exclaimed. “If the baby’s a girl, I think you should name her after the flowers… Daisy Anne!”
I smiled. It was a name that I hadn’t thought of yet, but it was sweet, and I knew that I wouldn’t forget it. Daisy Anne… I liked that name.
But then, suddenly, this sweet moment with Ella was suddenly broken when she gasped and pointed out at something in the distance, her eyes wide. “M-Moana,” she said, taking a few steps backwards. “W-Wolf!”
I quickly jumped up and stood in front of her, looking out toward where she was pointing.
Just as Ella said, there was a wolf out there… And it was stalking toward us. It was large and gray, with bright yellow eyes that were fixed directly on the both of us. I accidentally dropped the flowers as I quickly grabbed Ella’s hand and backed away, keeping her behind me.
“Stay behind me, Ella,” I said, feeling a knot form in my throat. The wolf was coming straight for us as though it had a mission to come for us.
And the closer the wolf got, the more I could hear its low, threatening growls rumbling in its throat.
If this wolf decided to attack us, Ella and I would be defenseless. As I opened my mouth, I only hoped that Edrick was still close enough to hear me when I called his name.
“Edrick! Help!”
