Chapter Thirty-three
“Where are you going?” she asked, eyeing him.
“To hunt,” Calemir said, strapping the quiver over his chest. He lifted his head, eyes fastening on her face. He studied the black strands which managed to escape the coffins of her plaited long braid and fell on her temples. He had not seen her let her hair loose since the evening in Vessener, she has had it braided or tied ever since that day. Her clothes were also the same, long tunic and trousers dyed in Forod vibrant colors. He mused if she hated any other form of clothes that wasn’t some tunic and pants. His eyes lingered on the hair again, marveling how black it was like raven wings then moved to her hazelnut eyes that stared him back with little fear and challenge. She braved up before him even when he felt his gaze was beginning to unsettle her. He was tempted to let her curious eyes see everything that lurked beneath his green ones, deep down into the core. He would pour everything into her… the good, the bad, she would feel it, be consumed by it, driven insane until she became terrified down to the depth of her soul to be near him. Then, she might learn to have a hard skin and not easily be susceptible to emotions and tempt him.
He hated her for making him a mess of contradictions.
Indistinct voices coming from the entrance hall had his thoughts halting.
“Hunt what?” Nara asked.
“Hunt game” he replied before twisting his body half way to see Finn.
“Are you ready?” Finn asked him in elvish as he halted a foot away from him and Nara.
“Yes, where is Leena?” asked Calemir, rolling one wrist then the other before dropping his hands to his side.
“She will meet us at butterfly tree” Finn replied in elvish, his eyes going to Nara. His lips curled up and switched to Nyr. “I haven’t seen you in a while, hope you are well.”
Nara nodded and said in elvish, “I am great and what about you?”
Finn’s smirk spread into a full smile, eyes twinkling as he rested his hand on the butt of his sword hanging on hips. “Do you speak Elvish??”
“I’m learning” his wife answered back in Nyr.
Finn nodded slowly. Calemir had discovered Izza was teaching her elvish two days ago when he had heard and found both the women in the dining room speaking. He thought it was a right choice for the servant to teach her instead of him since he wasn’t around the house very much. She was learning alright. Still, much work was needed with her pronunciation.
“May I join you?” her eyes bored into his, holding her breath. She kept her expression neutral, but Calemir could see past it, her anticipation and fear of him rejecting. She begged with those brown eyes to let her go with him or another day inside the house was going to tear her.
“Have you ever hunted before?” he asked seriously, ignoring Finn’s gaze on him. Calemir was sure to find questions in his friend’s eyes if he turned to him. Was he seriously considering her to join them?
“I have” her reply was confident. Calemir searched her eyes for lies, and he got none. The girl must have hunted here and there, but they weren’t just going to hunt rabbits to skew later as they sat around a friendly fire. Besides, he wanted to see if she really had skills and the dagger she carried wasn’t only for show.
“Fine. Go choose your weapon. You have one minute” Calemir said finally. His reply was met with a wide smile. He couldn’t help feeling a little proud of himself for putting that beautiful smile on her face.
“Thank you,” Nara said before twisting on her heels and racing to the weaponry room.
“Don’t worry, I have my eyes on her” Calemir beat Finn to it before he voiced his concern. Finn walked beside him as he went to get his horse. Shortly after, Nara barged in the stables, breathing heavily.
That was quite fast, Calemir mused, his gaze drifting to the quiver in her hand and bow.
“I am ready” Nara panted.
“Saddle up” Calemir mounted his horse. Nara strapped the quiver unto her chest, holding the bow tightly she swung on the horse. Finn followed suit, and soon they were racing down the hill to the middle of the town.
Nara’s eyes wandered briefly over the stilted houses with flowers winding around their stairs windows and rooves. They carried a charm to them, looking cozy and warm just from the exterior.
Apparently, they weren’t the only ones going for a hunt, elves some on foot and others on horses carried spears, bows and swords and huddled into various teams. Their eyes raised to her entourage as she rode in the middle between her husband and Finn. Calemir titled his head toward them as they rode past them. They continued farther, leaving houses in their rear. Nara’s eyes twinkled when she noted the blue tree several feet in front of them. Beside it, lady Leena posed, seated on her ride. Nara stared with amazement when they drew near it. From the highest branch to its roots meeting the ground, it was covered by large blue moths, their wings fluttering and glowing.
“We ride north” Calemir’s instructed after greeting Leena. Leena glanced over at Nara, their eyes meeting briefly and then pulled the reins, maneuvering her horse.
Calemir broke from her side and rode ahead of them. They galloped away from the town, through the long green grass and into the woodlands. A cool breeze whispered over Nara’s face, causing her skin to break with goosebumps. They rode stealthily, ears and eyes sharp to their surroundings. Nara was going to ask what they are hunting when a thick bush not more than three paces away from her rustled. She turned her head toward it, her fingers gripping around the curve of her bow. She withdrew an arrow and strung it when the bush shook and rustled again. A very large white hare sprung forth from the bush. She shot, the arrow flew toward the furry creature and missed it by few inches. Terrified, the creature hopped away quickly and disappeared into the woods.
That would have made a good stew, Nara thought ruefully. She dismounted and picked up the arrow the ground. She didn’t know the three elves were watching her until she saddled back up.
“What, you don’t hunt rabbits?” she asked when they stared at her.
“No, we don’t eat such vermin” Leena replied and made a face. “They taste terrible.”
Nara huffed with surprise. “Impossible” How could a rabbit taste awful.
“Humans eat the weirdest things” Finn added, his shoulders shuddering.
Nara lifted her chin, affronted a little with his comment. “Actually, it tastes fantastic when cooked well with spices.”
Finn shuddered again, imagining what she just said. Nara turned to the prince, finding the same look of unpleasantness on his face.
Nara shook her head with disbelief.
The party resumed the search. The air grew quieter, as they delved deeper into the woods. They continued with the same stealthy pace. Other rabbits, squirrels popped up at a point, but she restrained herself from shooting them in consideration of their eating choices. At another point, weird little creatures with scaly red skin, big eyes and pointy horns scurried past them. Even a hog barreled behind a fallen tree and Leena just chased it away.
Nara was beginning to wonder in frustration what exactly they were hunting when Calemir spoke low. “Halt.”
Including himself, Nara, Leena and Finn stopped. There, not more than twenty paces in the clearing, two large mammals grazed. The two wild creatures were big and large as a stag if not more, yet had no fur but their tight gray skin against thick muscles had violet stripes that run across their faces to their backs, shoulders and ribs. The structure of their faces broad and angular, boring long majestic antlers shaped like uneven spades.
“What are they?” Nara whispered.
“Ireklus” Calemir replied.
“Are those our target?” she asked again, feeling her heart picking up and nerves twisting her gut.
“Yes,” Calemir took an arrow from his quiver and cocked it on his bow. “We do this fast. Be careful.” He said the last two words in elvish and sent her a warning look over his shoulder then looked back forward.
“Now!” Calemir shouted, digging his heels and galloping toward the two beasts while firing on one arrow after another in their direction. The two ireklus reared back when some of the arrows sank into their skin. Lifting their heads, the two creatures gnarled loudly and charged. Drawing her bow, Nara shot fiercely toward them. Her fingers never slowing, reached for one arrow after another from the quiver on her hip, cocking it on the string then releasing to find its target. Nara found herself with Calemir shooting at one of the beasts as the other one kept Leena and Finn busy. The animals cleverly divided them to the opposite sides of the woods.
“Why isn’t it dying?” Nara yelled over the fierce grunts of the beast. They had shot it multiple times, arrows protruding forth from various places of its body, its blood pouring from wounds her arrows and Calemir’s had inflicted yet the beast was still standing, looking much alive and very angry.
“It has two hearts,” Calemir shouted as he dodged the beast’s attack. “Aim for its neck middle of his chest, it is where the hearts lie.”
What?? Nara licked her drying lips. She reigned her horse to a sharp halt. As the beast focused on Calemir, Nara aimed steadily at the soft spot between its chest. She waited for the creature to turn then shot two arrows together. The creature grunted and whined as the sharp points sank into its flesh and pierced its hearts. The ireklus collapsed to the ground.
Her eyes locked unto his for a short, intense moment. Everything else faded as they shared a look. Calemir’s lips curved into a proud smile, “Good aim.” Nara smiled back.
One beast dead, it was easy for the team to bring down the other one. It was Leena who snuffed the life out of the last beast.
“Lucky bastards aren’t we” Finn grinned as he stared at the two creatures they had dragged back to the clearing, “How are we going to eat all this meat?” Finn helped Leena wrap a rope around their kill and onto one of the coarse pallets they just assembled from using the thick branches.
Nara looked at the dead ireklus. One kill was more than enough for the four them, it could feed them for several weeks.
“We will share one with some people in the town” Calemir suggested.
Whilst they discussed, Nara worked quietly in securing the rope from the pallet to her horse.
“Now this is the most delicious meat” Calemir muttered quietly beside her as he knotted the end of his rope to the horse harness.
“My mouth will be the judge of that once I eat it” Nara replied in a little sassy kind of way.
“I guarantee it,” Calemir said confidently.
“Yeah, and what if I distaste it?” she asked, turning to him.
“You won’t” his look was smug. “, and you won’t lie that you hate when you love it later.”
“We’ll see” Nara quipped and mounted her horse.