Page 44 of Her Highland Prophecy
He saw Bhaltair standing in a group of five or six other men by the stables, most of them on horses already. The other one or two were saddling their horses. Gordain greeted them and went into the stables to get Taranis ready.
His friend snickered loudly when he saw him and butted him on the chest with his head. Gordain chuckled and rubbed his snout affectionately. He retrieved his saddle and buckled it around him.
Soon after, the hunting party left the gates behind them walking into the shadowy forest ahead. Gordain breathed in deeply. The smell of pine was strong in the cool air and it was refreshing after being in the Castle. Even after only one day, he had missed the smell of nature.
“What do ye think? Deer or boar today?”
“Let’s try to look for deer,” he replied after a moment’s thought. Boars took longer to catch and eviscerate, and they were more dangerous than deer. They should probably save that for a different day.
“Deer it is. Ye hear that lads?” A rousing noise came from the company as they rode deeper into the forest.
They reached the meadow where they usually stopped and dismounted. One of the younger men was left to guard the horses while everyone else partnered up and spread out.
Gordain and Bhaltair were partnered together. They had been doing this for a long time together and had developed a way to work that was quick and efficient.
As Gordain immersed himself in the scents and sights around him, his anxiousness from earlier faded away. His ears strained for any noise that might indicate an animal was nearby, his eyes carefully assessing the ground for tracks.
They walked further and further away from the meadow. He couldn’t hear anyone else, but then again they were all trained hunters. He wouldn’t be able to hear or see them unless they wanted to be heard.
He took care to avoid the fallen leaves that would give away his position when he smelled it. The damp, earthy smell that all deer seemed to give off.
He froze, eyes searching for his cousin. He had noticed as well and was signaling to Gordain in the shorthand that they had developed for this exact purpose.
Two, ye go right, I’ll go left.
He nodded and carefully padded in the direction his cousin had indicated. He peeked through the dense foliage and spotted them. A large buck and a doe were standing in the middle of the tiny clearing, grazing on the grass.
He was standing closer to the buck so that would be his target. With Bhaltair heading around the left, he would be in a better position to shoot the doe.
Carefully, he pulled back on the string of his bow. The buck’s ears twitched. He had heard him. It was the moment and he hoped that Bhaltair was also in position because his arm was starting to ache from holding back the string.
He took aim and let loose his arrow, hitting the animal dead in the eye. It fell over instantly. Behind the buck, the doe took off in a sprint, Bhaltair’s arrow embedded in her throat. She did not have long or far to go. She would most likely seek a quiet place to die and then Bhaltair would be able to finish the job.
His cousin raced across the clearing with a quick gesture for Gordain to stay and then he was gone.
He moved through the grass to the buck, unsheathing his dirk as he reached it. He would have to start working quickly or the scent would attract predators. He leaned over the buck and grabbed its legs to turn it.
An arrow slammed into him out of nowhere, knocking him over with the force of the impact. The pain was agonizing, radiating through his right side. He breathed in sharply causing a stabbing pain to run through him.
He groaned and took a more shallow breath. His hand reached down to his side and felt for the arrow embedded there. His shirt was slick with the blood that he could feel flowing freely from the wound.
He looked around, but he was alone. Bhaltair had gone after the doe and would take a few minutes before he managed to kill her and return. He put pressure on the wound as much as he could, hoping to stem the flow, but darkness was already creeping into the sides of his vision.
He gritted his teeth and pulled his eyes open. He could not faint now. He called out, but even to him, his voice sounded weak. Determined, he tried again, the sound a little bit louder this time, but red hot pain tore through him.
He collapsed backward into the tall grass, breathing shallowly. Dark spots popped in his vision.
A few more minutes. Just hold on a few more minutes. Bhaltair will come back.
His last thought before he lost consciousness was, absurdly, that he would have been much safer showing Diana around the Castle.
16
Diana woke slowly to the sounds of a busy castle. She could hear the bustle of people in the courtyard as they went about their day doing their chores, the different animals making their presence known as well. She could hear the bleats of all the animals one would expect in a farm along with the occasional nickering of a horse coming from the stables.
She stretched, surprised that she was not more stiff. The bed was not uncomfortable — especially not after two nights spent in the open sleeping on the ground — but it was not like the luxurious mattress she had back at home either.
She stood slowly and then got herself into one of the dresses Gordain had purchased in Inverness. It was still a challenge to get everything on, but she was not as mystified now as she had been the first time.
