Questbound

Chapter 5

The stiff leaves covering Yusumi crunched as she rolled over on the ground, shaking the tiredness from her body. How long had she been asleep for?

She scanned the sky, but the sun seemed to be in the same place as when she’d settled down. She stretched, her joints stiff with the cold, then stood up and shivered. Was Jidan still away? There was no sign of him anywhere she looked.

Her stomach growled, and she clutched it through her thin nightclothes. Wandering through the trees in hope of discovering something edible, she turned to find a small blackberry bush, which despite it being winter, was still bearing fruit. Gleefully she picked a handful, but before she could eat them, she heard a distinct rustling close by. Shrinking back against the bush, she slowed her breath and covered herself in more leaf debris so that she was less visible.

Gradually, the rustling became louder. Her ears also picked up the sound of individual footsteps. They didn"t sound like the tread of an animal, more like a human.

No, not only one human, but a group of them. Instantly, her mind jumped to the idea that the Royal Guard had found her, and beads of sweat broke out on her brow.

onegroup ‘Quiet now, lads. I can see it just behind those trees. If we’re quick, we can catch it before it runs back to its mother.’

The blackberry bush moved as someone leant against the other side. Carefully turning her head, she peered through a gap in the branches, catching sight of a thick leather jerkin and a mass of tangled beard. A silvery glint caught in the light, and she heard the tension of an arrow being nocked to a bow. Hunters.

‘Easy,’ the archer said under his breath. ‘Easy, now, little beast. Stay still and you won’t feel a thing.’

The bow twanged as the archer released the arrow. There was a pause, and then a distant thud as his target fell to the ground. The other hunters hiding around him cheered, sending a flock of birds cascading up into the air, calling their shrill alarms.

‘Good shot, Berrand!’ one of them said, clapping his friend’s shoulder so hard that it shook the berry bush. Berries and leaves dropped all over Yusumi. ‘Lads, we’ll be feasting all week with the price this beauty will fetch!’

‘Where are we going to sell it? Over at Lake Lynn?’

‘Not so likely. We"re travelling by foot; it"d take too long to get there. The meat would spoil,’ someone scoffed. "Besides, if we want top price for this beast, we’ve got to take it to Xya. The nobles there love a good piece of deer. Who knows, maybe even the queen will put in a bid for it.’

‘The queen?’ Berrand said sharply. ‘Haven’t you heard?’

‘Heard what? You’re not going to tell me that she’s gone on some religious fast and refuses to eat meat for a month or something, are you?’

‘Worse, Artred. She’s dead,’ another man said. ‘Murdered by that so-called ward of hers, three days ago.’

‘Her ward? You mean the girl?’ Artred asked.

‘The very same. Have to admit, though, she seemed such a slight little thing when I glimpsed her in the last parade; it"s hard to believe she"s capable of such an act,’ Berrand said thoughtfully. ‘Then again, no one really knows where she came from. Not even Lord Razay let on, despite the fact that he clearly loathes her. For all we know, she could be a trained assassin.’

‘But that’s not even the interesting part!’ someone else broke in. ‘I heard that she escaped the guards and now there’s a price on her head, and one for that vicious creature she keeps with her. I heard Razay wants her found, alive or dead.’

or‘Does anyone know where she went?’ Artred said.

Berrand laughed. ‘If I knew where she’d gone, do you really think I’d be out here hunting deer with you lot?’

‘Hey!’

‘Come on, let’s get going. I’m cold sitting here,’ Berrand grumbled. The berry bush wobbled as he stood up.

‘Wait a second!’ Artred gasped. ‘What if she’s in here? I mean, it is fairly close to Xya.’

is‘No, she’s not here,’ Berrand said confidently.

‘How do you know?’ Artred pressed.

‘Did you ever see that beast of hers up close?’ Berrand asked.

‘Not really, no. Is it truly as ferocious as they say?’

‘Even more so. If she were here, that beast would have found us by now and ripped out our throats. I doubt even the most skilled hunter I know could take it down without suffering a fatal injury.’

Yusumi heard Artred gulp. Craning her neck, she caught a glimpse of him standing opposite Berrand. He was a young man, not much older that she was, and the mention of Jidan seemed to have made him very nervous. He kept looking from side to side, as if something might leap out at him.

The others chuckled, and they all made their way back into the trees, leaving her alone once more. So it"d been three days since Jidan had fled with her. Three days since her last words with Celeste.

Why couldn"t Lord Razay just leave her be? Surely he"d gotten what he wanted? He"d destroyed every bit of happiness Celeste had given her and driven her out of her home. How much of a threat to him could she still be?

She clenched her teeth, so furious that she wanted to smash every tree in sight. Something popped in her hand and she glanced down to see that she’d accidently squeezed the berries she was holding. The juice oozing out of them looked like blood, bringing the full horror of that night back to her.

Suddenly dizzy, she leant over and retched under the berry bush, her empty stomach giving up nothing but bile, and then weakly ambled back to her bed of leaves, clinging onto nearby trees and branches as she went. Collapsing onto the ground, she stared blankly at the bushes in front of her, her thoughts a whirlwind of chaos.

Hours later, a soft padding reached her ears. It was slow and there was a jolt to it, as though whatever creature it belonged to had been injured on one side.

‘Princess...I have returned.’

With difficulty, Yusumi focused her eyes up at Jidan. He had a large bundle in his mouth, and as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, she saw two arrows poking out of his side.

‘You’re hurt,’ she croaked, her throat sore and dry.

‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘but it was necessary.’

‘What do you mean, necessary? You...didn’t let yourself be seen on purpose, did you?’ He avoided her gaze. ‘Why would you do such a thing?’ she murmured, leaning over to examine his wounds. The arrows were crude, shaped roughly with a knife and fletched with goose feathers. ‘These aren’t the arrows of the Royal Guard. Or even a hunter’s arrows, are they?’ she asked.

‘No. They were shot by the farmer who I stole these from,’ he replied, nodding to the bundle. ‘I had to let him see me, to throw the Royal Guard off our scent. The farm is out to the west, twenty leagues away. They should not suspect that we are here.’ He gazed at her, hesitating. ‘Princess, there is something I must tell you. Lord Razay has—"

‘Put a bounty on our heads?’ she finished.

‘You were already aware of this?’ Jidan said, surprised.

‘There were hunters in here earlier. I overheard them talking about it,’ she explained. His eyes narrowed, so she hastily added, ‘Don’t worry, I wasn’t seen. One of them said that if I were hiding here, then you"d already have killed them.’

‘And he would have been right, had I have been here,’ he growled. Then he sighed and sat down tenderly. ‘I have more news, princess. Her Majesty is set to be buried next week, and it is Lord Razay’s intention to take up the role of steward until the council can decide who should inherit the throne. Apparently, Her Majesty’s cousin, Etchos, mysteriously disappeared before he could make his claim. Rather convenient, I thought.’

‘Lord Razay’s in control of Xya?’ Yusumi slumped over, drawing her knees in close. ‘Then we won’t ever be going back, will we?’

‘No, princess. There is no future there for us. I am unsure of where we should go, but for now, we should lie low in here until we have enough strength to move on.’ He adjusted his position, wincing as he did so.

‘Let me help you. I can take them out,’ she said, gesturing to the arrows in his side.

‘First change into the clothes I have brought for you. You will be much warmer. There is also a small stream beyond those trees if you would like to wash. I shall keep my ears open, so if anything happens, call for me,’ he said.

She gave a slight nod, still eyeing up his wounds, and after removing an armful of clothes from the bundle, headed off to where he’d indicated the stream was. It didn’t take her long to find it; the bubbling and splashing of water over rough pebbles guided her straight there.

No more than three feet wide, it flowed gently, occasionally lapping against the bushes and young saplings that grew alongside it. Kneeling down, she cupped a handful of the cool water and drank deeply until she"d satisfied her thirst. Then, too glad to be free of them to be embarrassed by her nakedness, she stripped off her nightclothes and gingerly walked in.

The stream was like ice against the more tender parts of her body, but it was so refreshing that she quickly set to work scrubbing away all traces of dirt, berry juice and blood from her skin. She tried to wash her nightclothes too, but the dark red stains held fast. It didn’t matter, she had no use for them now, anyway.

Instead, she dug a small hole with her hands by one of the saplings and buried them there, topping the mound with a small rock to mark its place. ‘Forgive me, Celeste," she said, them mouthed, "Forgive me, mother.’

motherDressing herself in the thick woollen hose and soft leather tunic Jidan had found for her, she then tugged a pair of leather boots over her chilled feet. Adding the long cloak that pooled around her heels, she made her way back to where he was waiting for her.

He was resting with his eyes closed, but as she approached, one of them slowly opened. His breathing was shallow, and when she placed a hand tenderly on his side, his wounds were burning hot.

‘I think your wounds are infected,’ she said, panic clear in her voice.

‘Berries,’ he said weakly. ‘Blackwort berries will heal them. There should be some close by. They resemble blackberries, but have white spots near the stalk. Do not touch your face if the juice spills on your hands, it is deadly poisonous to humans.’

Yusumi gulped and went over to what she’d thought was the blackberry bush. Sure enough, as she examined the berries properly, she saw the white spots near the stalk. Perhaps she should keep the fact that she’d nearly eaten some to herself.

Taking another handful, she rushed back over to Jidan. He looked at her quizzically, wondering how she’d found them so quickly. ‘I saw them while I was gathering leaves to keep warm,’ she said, keeping her face neutral. ‘What should I do with them?’

‘Take the arrows out first. The heads are only sharp points, so do not worry about tearing my skin any further. Do it quickly, if you can.’

‘I’ll…I’ll try,’ she said, taking the first arrow firmly in her grip. She pulled; Jidan roared, but stayed still, and it came out in one piece. Blood seeped from the wound along with a foul-smelling yellow pus, but at least she hadn’t made it any bigger. More confident, she did the same with the second arrow, dropping it by her feet. ‘There,’ she said. ‘What should I do now?’

‘Crush the berries and rub the juice into the wounds. Make sure that the skin is covered in it.’

‘What about the blood? How do I stop that?’ Yusumi asked, watching as it stained his tan coloured fur.

‘There is no need. It will stop on its own as soon as you apply the berry juice,’ he said.

‘Very well, then.’ Taking a breath, she crushed the berries in her hands and rubbed the juice into his wounds. The skin around them fizzled, sending trails of grey smoke into the air, and turned white. It was like they had been seared shut by a hot poker. ‘Is that it?’ she asked nervously.

‘For now, yes. Though perhaps you could give me some water and food,’ he murmured. ‘There is some at the bottom of the bundle. It is not much, but it will do for now.’

After visiting the stream once again to free her hands of the berry juice, Yusumi removed a loaf of bread and several large vegetables from the bundle. There was also some dried meat and a rind of cheese. She gave Jidan most of the meat, knowing that was what he preferred, and found a large, waxy leaf that she could catch some water in.

She went back to the stream a third time and filled the leaf full, trying not to spill any on her way. He drank from it gratefully, and then passed out. After eating some food herself, she curled up next to him and let her weariness take her.

Three days came and went before Jidan was able to stand properly, even with Yusumi applying the berry juice twice a day. By that time, the food he’d brought had long been eaten, and Yusumi had taken to foraging about the small area he’d marked as his territory.

She’d found scores of mushrooms, nuts and other kinds of berries, but every one she brought to him turned out to be poisonous to humans. When he was able to get up, he decided there was only one way for her to survive. She would have to learn to hunt for herself.

‘You mean...I have to kill animals?’ she said, going pale. ‘Surely there must be some sort of vegetation here that I can live on. It can’t all be poisonous, can it?’

‘No, not all of it is, but you must be able to identify those that are safe correctly. You do not have enough knowledge yet to do so, and even if I teach you, you are likely to starve to death before you can learn even the basics. But you already know how to cook and prepare meat. You have observed the chefs at the palace do so a hundred times before,’ Jidan stated.

‘But I’ve never had to kill anything. The royal huntsmen always brought in the meat...and I suppose I never considered what they had to do to get it,’ she said.

‘Then consider it now. I am sorry, princess. This is the only way you will survive out here. I know I can hunt for you, but if anything were to happen to me, you would be on your own.’

‘Are you sure there isn"t another way?’ she pleaded, although she already knew his answer.

‘I am. And the first thing I must teach you is how to move silently through the trees. Every animal in here is listening out for predators at all times, so even the slightest noise – the crunching of a leaf, or the snap of a twig – will alert them to your presence. They also have keen noses that can sniff out danger, so we must take note of the way the wind blows so it does not pass on our scent.’

He strode over to her. ‘Here, climb on my back and I shall take you to the stream. Animals will be heading over there to drink at this time of day. I want you to watch them from the shadows. You must see how their eyes constantly search for movement, how their ears twitch back and forth picking up foreign sounds. Observe how quickly they realise we are there.’

‘But you’re only just able to stand. You can’t possibly take my weight yet,’ she protested.

‘Nonsense. I have recovered fully, thanks to your care. Quickly now, we must go or we shall miss them.’

Reluctantly, she climbed onto his back, his lean muscles moving underneath her as he walked silently through the forest. Even though he was treading on dried leaves and loose stones, he seemed to be spreading his weight in such a way that he didn’t make a sound.

It was impressive, but doubt spread through her as she wondered if she would ever be able to do the same.