The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER THREE

Vernon swayed from side to side as the horse rode on. This wasn't his first time on a horse but he could count how many times he had gone horseback riding even though his father owned about two horses. His mother did want him to do any strenuous activities for fear that he might display his powers unknowingly.

He stared down at his legs where the blanket laid, he had no idea why his mother had given this to him but he was glad that she did. He gripped it with one hand so it wouldn't fall off while he held himself steady with his other hand.

The horse was going on full speed and the occasional bumps shook him so staying steady was a bit hard. He wondered where they were taking him and even though the urge to cry for his mother was strong, he held still and tried not to shed too many tears.

He had tried not to stare back as the horse drove him away, not that it would have been easy to. He had never left his little town before so he couldn't help but feel a little excited as he saw there was more than just the town.

As soon as they were out of his village, they came upon a large field of flowers, Vernon didn't think he had seen that amount of flowers in his life, and even in his sad state he couldn't help but think they were really pretty.

The field was bigger than he could ever imagine and they spent a lot of time riding through the flowers. There was a path in the middle while the flowers were on both sides with each side as big as the other. There wasn't just one kind of flower, there were sections of flowers, each was completely different from the last.

Some were a lot thorny but most were so huge it was ridiculous. It was like looking at tiny trees but Vernon knew they were flowers. The beauty of the flowers sort of calmed him down and he found that he was no longer crying nor did he have the urge to cry but he was still very sad. At that, one can't help but wonder if that was the sole purpose of going through the flowers.

Vernon soon saw an end to the flowers and he couldn't push away the thought that something new was coming. All of a sudden the horses came to an abrupt stop, all five of them together.

The first thing that Vernon noticed was that there was a strange carriage in the middle of nowhere, it was like it just appeared there, out of thin air. Someone stepped out of the carriage and began to approach them.

Vernon could barely make out the person's face even though it was daylight and his vision was second to none. However, that was because there was a hoodie over their head and they kept their head down. Their outfit also made it hard to tell what gender.

The figure was basically dressed like a mage hunter except without the mask. "Is this all?" The figure asked. Vernon thought the voice sounded like a really old man.

There wasn't any response but Vernon figured the mage hunter he was riding with must have nodded because the figure immediately strode to his side and picked him off the horse before he could access the situation or even understand what was going on.

He yelped as hands appeared under his armpits to lift him, they were pretty cold hands. He gripped his blanket tightly making sure they came down together. The figure dropped him down a little too forcefully and he had to stagger a little to get his balance.

"Follow me," the figure said but he barely heard, however, the rhythm gave him a clue to what was being said.

He gathered the blanket but his tiny hands were too small to hold every part of it so most of it dragged on the ground as he followed after the figure. "Wait!" He suddenly heard.

He turned to find the mage hunter he had ridden with jump down from the horse's back. The mage hunter landed with a loud thud. "What?" The figure screeched, sounding very annoyed to be delayed but they froze their movements.

The mage hunter approached him and Vernon felt his heartbeat quicken. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. The mage hunter stopped directly in front of him and pulled the blanket out of his hand but Vernon had not been expecting that so his hold on the blanket wasn't strong enough and even if it was, he was only five, he doubted it would make that much difference.

He wanted to protest but soon saw that the mage hunter was not trying to take his blanket away rather the mage hunter was folding it up. He stared intensely unsure of how to feel and therefore was slow to react when the mage hunter handed his blanket back to him.

"Take it," the voice cajoled and he just stared still. The voice still sounded emotionless and Vernon wondered what the secret to that was.

The Mage Hunter soon realized that Vernon was going to move and then proceeded to take his hands, then placed the blanket between them. Vernon held the blanket close while staring at the Mage Hunter as they walked away.

"Let's go," he heard and felt a tug on his head like someone pulled one of his locks. He looked back at the figure and saw that they had resumed walking. He followed after them, hugging the blanket close to avoid them touching the floor.

He heard the mage hunters ride away but didn't bother turning back to get a final look at them. His little mind wondered what was next and where he was going to be taken to.

"Get in!" The figure muttered. Lifting the piece of cloth covering the back of the carriage.

Vernon didn't know how he could possibly climb but he made an attempt. It immediately became obvious to the figure that there was no way the five-year-old child could climb the carriage and they did the needful.

Vernon felt himself get lifted off the ground and he held the blanket tighter, he doubted they were likely to pick it up for him if it fell and he didn't like the figure.

For some reason he braced himself and it was the right decision for the figure literally threw him into the carriage and Vernon hit his head on the side but it wasn't anything serious. "Ow!" He screamed and rubbed his head, half expecting to see blood but nothing showed.

"Shush!" The figure replied, bringing the cloth down.

The back of the carriage went dark and Vernon's eyes adjusted immediately. The carriage wasn't anything special and a lot of random items were scattered around. There was also this smell of dusty and dampness that didn't go away.

Vernon huddled up in a corner as there wasn't any chair therefore, he had no option but to sit on the ground. He pulled his legs to himself with the blanket in between and bent his head down. He felt the tears roll down his face and he sniffled to control them but it didn't stop the tears.

He held that position throughout the journey only unfolding whenever the carriage hit a bump or jerked and he had to fumble about for balance. Suddenly the carriage came to a stop after a while and Vernon immediately sat upright, his tears were dry from the journey and he was no longer crying.

He waited for the figure to return before making his way out of the carriage because he wasn't sure if this was his stop or something was wrong. The figure appeared a few minutes later, flipping the carriage covering up suddenly almost blinding Vernon as the bright light came rushing at him.

"Ahh!" He yelped, unable to help it as he put out a hand in front of him.

"Keep quiet." The figure said and grabbed his arm to pull him out, exerting a little too much force.

Vernon flinched but tried not to make a sound, afraid he would get treated even worse. The figure pulled him down and Vernon landed on his butt, it wasn't hurting but being manhandled like that didn't feel good.

"Get up!" The figure screeched but didn't wait for Vernon to do so, rather the figure walked over him and went ahead.

Vernon used his palms to push himself upwards by placing them on the ground. Once he was on his feet again, he picked the blanket that had fallen off his hands and he was manhandled and looked in the direction of the figure.

Vernon felt his mouth open on its own accord, standing a few feet away from him was the largest gate he had ever seen in his life. It was so huge that he had to bend his neck backward just so he could get enough view and still he could see the top.