It did not take the dogs long to find game once they had slipped back into the forest. A huge stag careened out of the trees, eyes as big as saucers, the hounds in hot pursuit. The nobles rode hard after it, Sadaiyo and Misune leading the charge. Jelena and the rest of the mounted commoners held back a few moments, then followed at a slightly slower pace. Out of the corner of her eye, Jelena could see the people on foot cutting across at a diagonal to the stag’s flight, as if they instinctively knew which way he would run. She bent low over Willow’s neck and galloped on, exhilarated.
The stag pounded across an open meadow, trying desperately to loop back toward the shelter of the trees. The dogs leapt and snapped relentlessly at his heels until he abruptly turned and rushed them, head down, in an attempt to sweep them aside with his antlers. The dogs fell back, barking furiously, but they continued to keep the stag encircled, holding him for the hunters.
It ended quickly. Misune had the honor of the killing shot-a single, perfectly placed arrow that pierced the stag’s lungs and heart. The beast fell to his knees, gouts of bloody froth dripping from nose and mouth. With a groan, he slumped to his side and lay still. The field let out a great cheer.
Jelena rode up just as Misune took her shot, enabling her to witness the kill at close range. She admired the newest Sakehera’s skill with the bow, but at the same time, she felt a twinge of sadness for the death of a noble creature. The stag had run well, and Misune had granted him a speedy, dignified end.
Jelena waited quietly, along with the rest of the common folk, while the nobles discussed where the hunt would ride next. Lord Sen suggested that they continue east to try the woods further on, and the rest agreed. Several servants were assigned to dress the carcass and carry it back to the castle.
The hunt resumed. The hounds soon caught a fresh scent and followed it into the trees. The hunt mistress cautiously went in after them, signaling to her assistants to hang back outside on the forest’s edge.
Jelena held her breath, afraid that even the softest of exhalations would break the concentration of dogs and hunters. Willow shifted beneath her with a creak of joint and muscle. The only other sound she could hear was the whisper of the wind in the treetops.
The blat-blat of the hunt mistress’s horn, along with the explosive barking of the hounds, alerted the waiting field that the game had been flushed.
“ Here they come!” someone shouted. Jelena saw a flash of brown and white just within the trees-a doe on the run. Instead of making a break for it out in the open, however, the terrified animal turned at the last moment and headed back into the forest. The hunt mistress’s horn sounded again, and her two assistants spurred their horses into the trees.
Jelena could see that the nobles really didn’t want to ride among the trees in pursuit. She surmised that they would much rather give chase out in the open where they could have clear lines of sight for shooting.
The barking of the hounds grew fainter as the quarry moved deeper into cover.
Sadaiyo cursed and shouted, “Come on! It’s getting away!” He spurred his horse forward and quickly disappeared from view. Like water through a breached dam, the field surged after the Heir, guiding their mounts as quickly as they could between the boles of the trees. Jelena started to follow, then realized that the common people were all hanging back. She turned to Aneko with a questioning look.
“ They’ll never catch that doe in those trees, not as long as they stay a-horse,” Aneko commented. “None of this lot…” she indicated the walkers with a flick of her hand, “…feel like getting trampled while the noble folk blunder about in there. Naw, we’ll just wait right here ‘til they get tired and come out.”
Jelena fidgeted in her saddle, anxious not to miss out on a single moment of this, her first hunt. She made a decision. “I go in after, “she announced. Aneko shrugged and smiled lopsidedly, as if to say that it was no use, but Jelena could do as she liked.
Jelena drummed her heels into Willow’s sturdy flanks, and the horse plunged eagerly into the cool shadows beneath the forest canopy. Shouts and whistles echoed among the trees, making it difficult to discern which way the hunt had gone. She decided to let Willow choose the path, for the mare strode along with purpose, as if she knew exactly where to go.
Jelena could hear the dogs now, howling joyfully. They must be closing in on the doe , she thought.
Without warning, Willow shied violently. Only sheer luck kept Jelena from being thrown. As she fought to control the mare, she caught a glimpse of a heavy, dark shape in the undergrowth. Bushes shook and leaves flew as an enormous gray-black beast exploded from a thicket beneath Willow’s nose and hurtled forward past the plunging horse. An ear-piercing squeal tore at Jelena’s ears.
A wild boar!
She and Willow had inadvertently blundered into its hiding place and flushed it out, but the tusker appeared more interested in escape than confrontation. It tore off through the trees and disappeared from sight, leaving both horse and girl shaking with reaction.
Having regained control, Jelena urged Willow forward, now more anxious than ever to catch up to the rest of the hunt. Off to her right, she heard a man call out and decided to head in that general direction. Perhaps she would run into Ashinji. Her heart, having just slowed down, sped up again at the thought of seeing the man she loved.
A man astride a big bay horse came into view-Lord Sen. He sat gazing ahead into the trees, his expression thoughtful, as if trying to decide whether to ride on or stay put. Jelena opened her mouth to call out to him, but he kicked the bay and trotted off. She urged Willow to follow.
Suddenly, the thicket ahead erupted with a furious squeal. Lord Sen’s horse screamed in panic and reared, hurling the Lord of Kerala from the saddle. Jelena watched in horror as Lord Sen hit the ground with bone-breaking force and lay unmoving. The horse bolted away into the trees.
The boar stood poised, his small black eyes glittering with porcine fury. His massive head, adorned with a pair of wickedly curved tusks, swung from side to side, snout twitching. Jelena could feel Willow preparing to bolt. Just then, Lord Sen stirred and groaned. With a snort, the boar charged.
Later, Jelena would have no explanation for what happened next; perhaps the One Goddess guided her hands, perhaps the magic within her aided the deed.
She felt her consciousness tear loose from her body and float free to hover above the scene now unfolding in slow motion below her. She watched as, seemingly without enough time to make a shot, she raised her bow, withdrew an arrow from the quiver at her knee, nocked, drew, and fired. The arrow ignited in a flash of blue flame and impaled the boar through its right eye, killing it instantly. The beast crashed to the ground and slid forward in a tangle of limbs to fetch up against the semi-conscious Lord Sen.
Jelena’s mind slammed back into her body with such force that she nearly tumbled from her saddle. Shaking her head dizzily, she scrambled off the trembling Willow and ran over to crouch beside Lord Sen.
“ My lord! Can you speak? Are you hurt?” she cried, struggling not to gag on the rank aroma of the dead boar. Lord Sen’s eyes fluttered open and for one terrible moment, Jelena saw only blankness, then a heartbeat later, a glimmer of recognition.
“ My messenger. Where did you come from?” Sen asked. He sounded genuinely puzzled.
Jelena sighed with heartfelt relief. “Do you know what now just happened, my lord?” she asked. He struggled to sit up, and Jelena gladly lent her shoulder for assistance. She peered intently into his face. He looked pale and shaky but seemed more or less intact.
“ I startled a boar. My horse threw me. The last thing I remember is thinking that I was going to be very sore tomorrow after taking such a fall.” He let out a small chuckle, then gasped and clutched at his side.