Til Kingdom Comes - The Banished Prince Vol 1: The Beginning

Living Off The Land

Frank looked at Gwen's hands that had some dried blood which was smeared on it and was slightly surprised when he immediately held it and inspected for any cuts or signs of trauma but found none of it at all.

"Hahaha... You worry too much, dear. If not for Sir Blackie, we would be ambushed by a pack of wolves earlier. They are the same as those scoundrels and I managed to bring down 3 of them. Come, help me to dress them up. I'm sure Sir Blackie is looking forward to a fine cuisine tonight." Gwen gestured to Frank as she explained the whole situation.

"Is it safe to eat? I mean wolves may have diseases on them right?" Frank quizzed Gwen who had a tendency of following a strict rule of  'we eat what we kill' kind of attitude and often threw caution into the wind when it comes to food.

During the times, she would bring back a badger, a hedgehog, a porcupine and an armadillo before. It was considered as an exotic ingredient and would only be served in a gourmet type of restaurant.

Besides, she always advised, "In order not to get sick, the meat had to be washed properly and cooked thoroughly. Any bacteria or germs, or even any creepy crawlies would die off in an intense heated environment. Same goes to pork, it had to be fully roasted and cooked, unlike beef, mutton or even chicken."

"Hehehe... You should be delighted at how it tastes like. It is full of protein and taste just like chicken and even much better than turkey or a pheasant." Gwen explained and was convinced that if these kind of meat were to be handled by Gwen and thoroughly prepared, it would be safe to eat.

"Then why are your hands so bloody?"

"Of course I would not want to waste my arrows, do I? Those wolves were simply not easy to be shot by using a flint head so I had to use my bronze ones. Luckily I did not hit any hard bone or else the arrowhead would be rendered as useless once it's bent out of shape."

"If old Jack do have his furnace, anvil and all his tools of his trade, fixing this arrowhead ja just a breeze to him. A few moments in the furnace and a few hard knocks with his hammer in the anvil and this arrowhead would be good as new."

"Come, our food is waiting... Hehe."

So when both of them reached the place where Gwen had killed the 3 wolves, and had laid their bodies together, Frank helped to skin them and immediately began to slice the meat off from the shoulders and the hind legs.

Their furs would get a good price in the market while their meat could be sold to those who are interested to buy. However, since the journey was still far ahead, they decided to make jerkies and smoked them.

Due to the interruption in their journey, they were literally delayed for about 3 hours and they decided to make camp near the carcases of the wolves. Soon, after the meat was thoroughly smoked while some were made into thinly sliced roast meat, the duo plus a dog were happily having wolf meat for dinner.

Soon, they made camp, laid a thick blanket in the ground and slept in the open under the starry skies that indicate fair and clear weather throughout the night and the day after.

Sir Blackie curled itself near the hearth after it had gnawed the tender knuckle bones that Gwen had personally prepared for it. The claws were clipped off and the skin was torn off to reveal a layer of tender meat underneath.

Other parts of the wolf would not be advisable to be consumed such as the stomach or the intestines. Even after the wolves had been skinned, the smell of the carcass was enough to put someone off and that's why certain parts of the meat could be used as consumption.

=*=

"Young Master, it would be best to strike when the iron is still hot. Both you and Heather seem rather compatible and I really approve both of you to get along as a young loving couple." Kayla advised me as we walked along inside the forest and identified those berries which was edible and which was not.

"But Kayla, I am only 18 and have yet to know the world. Although I am considered as a commoner right now having fallen from a royal bloodline, I do have some feeling for Heather."

"However, don't you think we should concentrate on how we would be able to survive in the days and weeks to come as a short term goal? Besides, there's a long way to go and so much for me to learn from you."

"Age is just a number, my Young Master. Most importantly is the maturity of one's mind and the responsibility ube is able to partake and shoulder. Just take a couple of months more to get to know one another and let the love slowly blossom like a rosebud."

"You are considered as a responsible man and I am sure you would be a great ruler when the time comes. I am not sure if I am able to witness that, but I have a strong feeling that it would come eventually."

Kayla mentioned to me in her most assuring way and I felt a sense of security being around with her. Not only was she an elder but she knew the ways of the world and I am sure she was able to prophesy the future as well.

"Oh look, we are sure in luck...! There's a cluster of banana trees and plantains here. It's not very common to find these here, especially in these wild forest."

"Let me remove the young shoot near its 'parent' and we could replant this back. All it needs is plenty of water and sunshine. You go and bring down the bunches of banana down and we could separate those that could be eaten from those stunted ones."

I took hold of the bunch of banana and pulled it down closer to the ground while I chopped the top part with my short sword. Since the short sword was pretty blunt, it took several swipes before u could even chop the part clean off. Next, I held my dagger and separated the combs of beautifully green bananas and place them in the basket. The rest of the stunted bananas were left at the base of the plant.

"Hahaha... A job well done, young master. I'm not sure the family of this banana because one version can be eaten while most have to wait till it is ripe enough."

"It's a blessing to be able to find these in the wild. We would check them out when we reach the encampment. If this bunch of bananas turned yellow and soft, it means it's ripe to be eaten."

I saw her place about 5 young shoots inside her basket after she had extricated them from its 'parents'. From her share of knowledge, banana produced fruits once and then they start to wither and die. Furthermore, a single banana plant would reproduce these shoots and they could be extricated the same manner and replant again as a solitary plant.

In this way, we would have an unlimited supply of bananas and it is an all-season plant and was hardy enough to withstand the harsh conditions of winters and snow. With constant supply of water, these banana plants would be able to grow faster and produce a bountiful yield.

We discovered several fruit shrubs and plants and decided to bring them back to our camp. Some could be germinated by its seeds while some could be planted directly into the ground.

I was shown to a mulberry plant and was advised that the leaves can be made into crackers after a deep-fry with a batter of flour and the fruits can be eaten as it is once it had turned to dark and almost blackish red in colour.

"Just chop off a few of these branches and stick them into the ground. Soon you would have a row of mulberry that could provide tea, and treat these leaves just like spinach as well."

"Thank you, Kayla, you had really opened up my eyes. I would help you to prepare the planting beds when we return. At least we would be able to start planting them in an orderly fashion."

Kayla waved her hand in acknowledgement as she continued in searching for other herbs and edible plants that could be harvested and replanted. In fact, I gained valuable knowledge on replanting those vegetables and other herbs after we had made use of them for cooking such as onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme.

We reached back at our tiny settlement when the sky turned slightly red indicating that dusk would be approaching soon. There was no need to make any special preparations to replant those banana shoots and each of them was being planted 3 feet apart from one another next to the riverbank.

In this way, those shoots and roots would be constantly moistened by the river. Kayla pointed to a spot near the riverbank and showed me the way in how to make a proper line planting bed of at least 10 feet in length and 1 foot apart.

With her guidance, I was able to make 3 parallel planting beds and after loosening the soil with a piece of wood, the mulberry branches were cut according to a length of 6 inches and then was planted at a 45 degrees angle.

Kayla explained to me that the reason it was planted in this manner and I can't wait to discover it with my own eyes.

"Young Master, could you assist me in bringing up these soil from the sides of the river banks up so that we could use them as fertilisers as well? Ah yes, and these fish entrails too... It may stink abit but these are good as well." Heather approached me and requested for my assistance as Jack was still tending to a part of the wall as he was nearly completing the task.

Besides, everyone had their own tasks to perform and that leaves Heather and I to tie up the rest of the loose ends together. "Oh alright, I would be there in a sec," I replied as I stood up after tending to the mini garden (I had to refer it to as a mini garden and not a piece of farmland because of its size) and walked towards Heather while I brushed the dirt off using the sides of my tunic.

As I approached her, I was suddenly bombarded with questions pertaining any kinds of conversations that I may have with Kayla earlier on when the latter had shown me on how to identify some fruits and other edible plants.

"Heather, are you feeling alright? You looked a bit hot today. Would you like to take a rest while I helped you out?" I inquired since Heather's face seemed to be blushed as I answered her to all her questions.

Finding that she might not be feeling well, I decided to volunteer to do all the work instead while she does her at a minimum rate instead.

"No... I feel fine, young master. Its that I never knew that you would be answering to all of Kayla's questions directly without much hesitation. I... I feel very honoured if the young master has placed a desire to get along with me... Hmm, thank you very much, young master."

Heather sheepishly replied as she hauled in some soil from the riverbank into a gathering basket that serves as a carry-all.

"Ah... In that's the case, let us start from the beginning then." I stood up and she observed me with her brown eyes. I brushed my hands on my tunic after washing them in the water and extended my hand out to her.

"Hi... My name is Audemars Macleod. I am honoured to be your acquaintance." Heather looked at me with a quizzical look before she understood what I meant and she extended hers into mine and she replied, "H... Hello. It's my honour too, to be of your acquaintance. My name is Heather Landford."

Watching the two teenagers shaking their hands at the riverbank, Kayla let out a chuckle and continued with the preparations for dinner. "Not bad kid. I knew you have a soft spot for her..." as she continued her task with a beaming smile on her face.

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