Both Meleneche and Prince David made ready, although neither knew the other was doing so. Their eyes looked deep into the shadows from where the wolf was sure to come. They waited, trying to calm their dancing steeds, but for many long minutes no threat showed itself. Everyone managed to get their horses under control and the crowd began to edge towards the boundary between the Deep Woods and the mountain.
Now the ground was hard and dusty, and the sun beat down, for it was nearly midday. The party was chatty, but signs of boredom were coming through. They had not spotted any game, nor had they had a good chase over hill and dale. They let comments about "the end of the season" drop. They let their mounts stray from the crowd to snatch up succulent mouthfuls of short grass. They did not notice that the Huntmaker did not notice. Soon enough, they were all weary for a little shade, and a small stand of trees, close together like a tiny forest all on its own, called to the hunting party. As they neared it, Prince David became anxious, not because of anything about the trees, but something inside told him not to rest. His horse could still stand some work, it was snorting and jigging and sweating only lightly.
"Huntmaker!" he said in his most regal voice, "Do you plan to send a scout while the main party rests? I fear my horse is nervous, and he would do better to keep moving." Meleneche was not pleased; she had planned to scout herself, under the pretext of checking the trail for fallen trees or new hollows in the tough earth. She could not tell the Prince what exactly she would have scouted for in front of the others, nor could she reject his offer without sounding strange. She eased her calm dark gray up to the Prince's bright bay, as if to merely keep the exact details of the trail ahead from the rest of the party, keeping a surprise for them in the end.
"I thought to follow the Cracked Oak Trail to the cliffs in the east. Mark where large jumps and tight turns are," then she moved even closer and said in a low voice, "Maybe you will find signs of a wolf. I hear one is prowling these parts. I'm sure you've heard the rumors, you being the Prince, but maybe not those of his latest haunts."
The Prince raised his eyebrows, hoping to convey only mild surprise, and said, "Indeed, I had heard there was a beast about, but I thought he was scavenging closer to the goat villages."
"Well, there are only rumors, my lord."
"Yes, of course. I will be prepared." Prince David tapped his horse's sides and they trotted off briskly, to the trail and the cliffs.
Meleneche watched them go, uneasy. She returned to the resting party, in the shade of the trees, and said, "I do not like the air here. Something is amiss." The party was instantly invigorated. Whether they thought she was acting for the sake of creating a sense of adventure or actually concerned did not matter. The important thing was they were on the move. They gathered up what had been left loose, remounted their unperturbed horses, and went off cautiously to the trail their Prince was scouting for them.
Up ahead, David was moving at a good pace on the back of his nervous steed, but still taking in the lay of the land. No obstacles or holes waited in the party's way. No signs of large wolves were to be seen either, just the typical shivering branches disturbed by an escaping startled rabbit. He slowed his horse when they came near to the cliffs and finally stopped when they had a nice view over the valley below. This part of the land was wild and green always, even in the winter. The valley was a wide boundary between the Prince's domain and the territory of the Duchess of Sotelo. "A better thing for it," David often thought. He had no warm feelings for the proud Duchess. All appeared as peaceful as a wild place could be, and he turned back to assure the party there was no danger.
Of course, he ran into them much sooner than he expected, as they had left the resting place so soon after he had, and he delivered his analysis of the trail ahead to the cliffs with confidence. The party was disappointed. They had hoped to at least some signs of large game. They hadn't even let their horses have a good run yet. "We will continue to the cliffs with care," announced the Huntmaker, "And if no signs of game can be found, we will go on to the Pine Rose Trail to return." The Pine Rose Trail was a challenge, even downhill. It was twisty and shrubs had a habit of falling onto it, making small jumps to keep horses on their toes. At least they would have a good race on the way home.
Everyone was looking forward to a rough-and-tumble ride and not paying very much attention to the surroundings, except the cliffs themselves, so the mighty leaps the horses suddenly took nearly unseated the majority of the party. Voices rose and heads whirled and hearts nearly stopped to see the grinning wolf. He had come up the trail behind them, it seemed, and was now sitting calmly with a gleeful smile, blocking the Cracked Oak Trail off completely.
"You are bold, my friends, you risk much on a wild mountain," he chuckled, "Huntmaker!" he barked, "You are the boldest of all. Leading wild rides over brush and timber like a warrior of yore. The gods must have smiled upon you indeed." Both Meleneche and Prince David had turned their horses to cut off the others from the wolf, and they faced him, hiding their fear deep down. Meleneche waved the party down the path, sure that they could find the way down the mountain on their own, or at least their horses could. She, the Prince, and the wolf faced each other for long silent minutes. Finally he spoke again, "You nobles always cause such problems. You oppress the poor and act surprised when they rise to cut their chains. You cry bitter tears when they trample your fine trinkets, which they have never seen the like of and have no use for. You force the little people to defend themselves and are offended that they take the only path you have left open." Now he was creeping toward them, teeth bared, voice growling. But still his lips were a stiff smile and his eyes gleeful slits.
"My people do not suffer," said David uncertainly, "My Advisor would tell me if they had pressing needs."
"You do not understand what needs are pressing to others," hissed the wolf, quickening his pace. The horses were backing away, but were too afraid to run as they would have liked. "You assume those who are not starving have good lives, you allow their dreams to die and their paths to be closed off to them. For what? You do not even benefit. Every wasted life is a waste to you as well." The wolf was almost roaring now, his eyes rolling suns, his teeth were lightning. He lept - and Meleneche lept also. They both flew over the edge of the cliff as the Count's daughter's horse found its terror and spun around to flee down the path, and Prince David jumped from his own horse as it panicked and ran blindly into the mountainside.
David looked over the edge of the cliff, shouting, "Meleneche!" and she was there, on a small ledge, and there was no wolf to be seen.
"He laughed," she gasped," and was gone in a puff of smoke!" Prince David stretched his hands out to her and she took them. Between the two of them, she made it to the top of the cliff, and they both took a rein of Prince David's horse, who was still there, stunned after running into the rock. They led him down the trails and back to the palace in silent thought.
When they reached the palace, Edmund the Advisor was waiting for the Prince with a terse note from the Duchess of Sotelo about possible conspirators against her hiding on the mountain. Prince David sighed and tore the note into little pieces.
Hunts were stopped for a few months while rangers scoured the woods looking for the conspirators and any sign of the wolf. A few dirty, starved folk were rounded up, but they seemed too frightened and hungry to be conspiring against anybody, so the Prince sent them to labor in one of the goat villages. There they could eat and gain strength, as well as pay for their trespassing. They refused to explain where they had come from and why they were there and how they came to such a pitiful state, and after the winter had passed they disappeared without a word to anybody. They didn't even steal any goats. For that reason, most likely, nobody felt like looking for them. Prince David had put off going back to the Seer, but after declaring non-intervention in the Duchess' war with her people, he felt like he had made enough decisions for the stones. And yet, the result was the same. "You have made important decisions recently, and I told you to stick to unimportant ones," was the Seer's explanation.
"Oh, for Vulk's sake!" shouted David on his way to the door.
"Why do you even need my advice?" the Seer called after him, "You've been making good decisions when they count. That sniffy Edmund of yours is no fool, he tells you what you need to hear. I'm just an old woman telling tales to simple folk." With that she waved and winked, and shut the door quietly.
Prince David frowned and thought about her words, sitting on his horse in the middle of the road. Meleneche rode up to him, on her handomest hunting horse, catching him a bit off-guard.
"Don't you think it's time to start the hunts again, my lord? There have been no discoveries of any new intrusions for months. It's just time for the Spiny Deer to be at their most active, and you know how people love to chase them over the high meadows. Especially that middle-Count Josias. I think a hunt would put him in a mood to discuss the bridge over the Cloudy River that he has been refusing to contribute to."
"Well, if he comes to court we can certainly have that discussion," mused Prince David, "and a good hunt would make him more flexible when it comes to working with his neighbors. But you are the Huntmaker. It's your decision."
And as he said the last words he couldn't help but smile.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment