Chapter 16 • The Hunt -1
1356 Words
The gloomy sky growled, having the sun already set and the grey cloud collecting at an end for the upcoming storm.
"Athalia! I'm hungry", Owen cried, pushing aside a small shrub branch. He strode forward sluggishly, letting his eyes heave in exhaustion.
"So am I! Let us just keep walking!" Athalia sighed, holding unto her grumbling belly. Her bare feet padded on the dry twigs and leaves of the forest ground.
"Walk to where!? We have been walking for hours now!"
"Well, what do you expect us to do? Go back in the same direction the hunters are?"
"But what if we lost them already!?"
"We can not risk it, Owen. They could still be looking for us".
Owen sighed, looking back at the bushy path. Athalia sighed, pushing a branch away. "I wish I even knew where we are at the moment", she mumbled.
"Where do you think we will come out in?"
"Possibly a small town... Maybe", she whispered the last word.
The two continued to walk, hoping to soon find shelter. They then heard a crack sound of a broken twig. They halted, glancing over their shoulders.
"Wh– What was that?" Owen stuttered.
"Shh... Go down", she whispered, pulling his arm gently to lay on the ground.
They gulped quietly, narrowing their sights through the small spaces between the shrub branches. "Stay very quiet—" A swish sound prieced through the air, followed by a crack sound of the tree closest to them.
They snapped their eyes to the tree, sighting the needle like blade stabbed into the tree bark. The sounds of heavy boots came towards their direction.
They slowly turned.
Feet away from them, El and Don stepped forward with a scowl on their faces. They held their weapons over their shoulders.
El hissed, "You bastard, Don! You missed!"
"AHH!" Owen and Athalia jumped up, racing in the opposite direction.
"Get them!" El shouted, charging forward with Don.
The chase continued.
~
Meanwhile, down in the kingdom of Thembelo.
Lucien sat boredly in the royal dining hall, resting against his seat; directly opposite the throne seat for his father on the long golden table.
He sighed loudly, resting his fingers on the side of his temple—The kitchen doors then pushed open. In a quick pace, two servants rushed towards the table; each pushing a trolley.
The two girls halted next to his majesty prince—who remained unmoved, having his eyes shut. The maids hastily placed the fulled served meals on the table, filling about half the table with plates of delicacies.
All for the Prince.
"Your dinner, your majesty", the girls recited, bowing their heads. Lucien remained quiet, ignoring their presence while in deep thoughts.
He then exhaled softly, opening his eyes to the meal before him. He stared boredly at the almost raw meal, perfectly carved with special seasoning spices over it.
Accompanying his meal was a glass of freshly extracted blood. That from an old virgin. The older the pure, the tastier their blood.
He blinked lazily at the meal, stretching out his hand to lift one of the pieces of meat with a fork. He sighed, instantly losing his appitte.
"Take them, I am not hungry".
One of the girls then bowed, "But, your majesty, his kingship order to ensure you have your dinner, as you have not eaten anything the whole day".
Lucien's lips twitched. He gazed at the peasant girl. "And what gave you the audacity to talk back at my order?"
"But, your majesty, your father—"
"Will not be here to save you from me ripping out your tongue and devouring you this instant. Do you dare test me?"
"No, your majesty. My apologies, your majesty", they shook their heads immediately.
"So do as I say and take these s**t off this table", he snarled. The girls shivered, "Yes, your maj—"
Blood instantly gushed out in the air as one of the girls' body were pushed back—flying across the room and slamming into the wall.
Lucien kept on an unbothered look, glancing at the girl now tugged to the wall; with four long needle blades stabbed through her chest.
Blood bubbled out of the dying girl's mouth as she choked. The second girl immediately screamed in horror, stepping back to charge to the kitchen door.
Her body suddenly halted feet away from the door, widening her eyes. In less than a second, a swift thin line sliced across her neck—the line reddened, having blood leak out slowly.
Her head suddenly fall off as her body collapse to the floor.
Lucien continued to carry a stoic expression, gazing at the two bloody lifeless bodies through the corner of his eyes. He rolled his eyes, turning his face in the other direction.
"Have I not warned you not to kill in my dining room from now on? The stains do not look good on carpet and walls", he said nonchalantly at the person standing few feet away from him.
The person then stepped forward, "I will try to remember that before my next visit, cousin brother".
Lucien sighed, pushing his body forward. He sneeringly picked up the glass of blood, rising up to his lips.
"What brings you here uninvited, Lamia?" He takes a slow sip.
Lamia frowned, retracting in her blade-like nails. "I need your help".
Lucien didn't respond immediately, taking another long sip of his drink. He then tossed the half filled glass to the side. "And what in hell's and earth's name makes you think I will help you?" He lazily glanced at her.
"Because you still owe me a favour".
"Oh?" Lucien raised his brows, "I thought you had forgotten about that. Today is suppose to be the last day", he chuckled. "What do you want?"
Lamia furrowed her brows, "I need you to go hunting".
Lucien crooked his brows, "Hunt? What?"
"Humans", Lamia stepped forward, "I need you to hunt down two humans and kill them".
Lucien frowned, "Humans? Since when did humans become a problem for you to handle?"
"They are not! I just do not have time to cat and mouse".
Lucien chuckled, "You look free at the moment".
"Unfortunately I can not. I have already grown enough suspicion amongst the humans. If they happen to find a trace of me, I'd have more s**t to fix".
She crossed her arms, "Besides, Lyzebel has already assigned more duties to me and I am already losing enough time by being here, asking for your help".
Lucien scanned his cousin from head to toe. He looked away, facing his front. "And what makes you think I will waste my precious time as well?"
"Because you are bored. And you are also one of the best hunters in the five lands—"
"I am the only best hunter, Lamia", he corrected.
"Exactly. That is why I came to you immediately. I had made the mistake of heiring idiots to kill those peasants, but they still running free at this moment!"
"How sad", he begab to pick his nails. "Unfortunately, you are right about me being bored", he pushed himself from his seat. "So what are the tiny parasites I am to crush?"
"Well, they are two children running in the northern forest of Sunndrom".
"Children?" Lucien frowned.
"Calm down, they are slightly much older".
"Hm. How do they look like?"
Lamia cleared her throat nervously, "Well, unfortunately, I do not know how exactly they look like—"
"That is a pretty big waste of a brain, don't you think?"
Lamia hissed, "Oh shut up, I know how to describe them. They are practically the only ones running in the forest at the moment. The tallest is a young lady with extremely long black hair, running with a brown haired boy. All dressed in townfolk rags".
Lucien shook his head, smirking, "All that is not necessary. I always know a prey when I see one".
Lamia smiled, "I trust you do".
Without wasting any more seconds, Lamia's body dissolved into dust and diffused into thin air.
Lucien's smirk fell.
- Writer
