The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1683

"Don't run," Arabella cautioned, well aware that predators like felid had an instinct to pounce on anything that moved quickly. Standing still might be safe, but the moment you bolted, you were pretty much asking to be chased.

Horace ground to a halt, his knees wobbly with fear, "So, boss, what do we do now?"

Wait around to be tiger chow? Hardly an option. If only they had thought to bring some meat from the market earlier. That might have spared them this terrible dilemma.

He spotted a rock on the ground and was about to reach for it when Arabella interjected, "Don't crouch down."

In the eyes of a tiger, making yourself smaller only increased its urge to attack.

"I saw some stones over there. We could throw them at it," Horace explained.

"Don't provoke it. If that tiger had wanted to eat us, it would've pounced the moment we set foot on this island. It's got plenty of ways to take us down without warning. We're in its territory now, and its appearance is more of a warning than an attack."

"So what's our move?"

"Stay put for now."

Despite his fear, Horace stood still.

"Follow my lead. We're going to back away slowly. Take the path through the weeds."

Horace didn't understand the logic, but he mimicked Arabella, stepping backward, one cautious step at a time, towards the overgrown shrubbery.

The tiger watched them retreat, yawning before turning and sauntering away.

"Boss, this place is so eerie." Horace shivered as he stayed close to Arabella, "How do you stay so cool?"