Of Jesters and Kings

Part 4- The Royal Hunt

Kevin notched a feathered shaft. This time he would make it. He let go of the tense bow string and the arrow whizzed through the air.

It landed about five feet away from a Mulrich.

Fuck.

***

Julie let out a groan. Hunting just wasn't her thing. Cats were, Julie liked cats. They were adorable, soft, and gave great cooking advice. If only the Cook was a cat person. Charlie was just into monkeys for some odd reason.

The princess carried with her a long sleek katana, with an edge sharper than dragon teeth (to the Keeper's discontent). There was no guard on the blade, and end of the hilt had a round bronze cap. She twirled the blade casually, with one hand on the reins, as the horse trotted forward. Charlie accompanied her as well as two retainers, armed with short two handed axes.

Charlie had his monkey with him. Like always, it was perched on his shoulder nibbling on what looked like a chunk of granola. They had been riding for a while now. The woods several miles away from the palace was called The Angel's Cup.

There was a large mountain range, cutting through the let side of the woodland, that contained an enormous Rocky ledge that had an equally huge angel carved into it. It was a weeping angel. Two hands covered her face. The water that rushed through the gaps between her fingers created waterfalls, which cascaded down in a giant marble cup miles below. No one knew where the water came from or went. The angel was presumed to have been as old as time itself.

Julie tilted her head back and called out to the men behind her.
"You think we can find some of those tasty boars?"

"I don't recall the last time we ate boar.." Said Charlie as he scratched his stumble. "But I do remember what it tasted like. Nice thick slabs of meat, crispy on the outside, nice and juicy on the inside. Glazed in a nice herbal sauce and with a side of chunky mashed potatoes mixed with peppers jack cheese..."

"Man that makes my mouth water..." Said one of the soldiers.

"And a nice tall glass of crisp sparkling of Apcola." The other soldier added.

"Ap-what?" The princess asked.

"Brah." All three men answered in unison.

"It's like an apple flavor mixed with root beer." The Cook replied. "There's a faint lingering taste of vanilla and blueberries."

Julie shook her head.

"Frank, hit her up..." Called out one of the soldiers.

"Chill Tomus, The damn thing just snagged on my tunic!"

Frank unclipped a good sized flask, wrapped in leather, from his belt and tossed it to the Princess.

Julie caught it with a "Ummpfh". It was surprisingly heavy than she thought it would be.She popped open the cap and looked at the liquid below. It was a mix of blue and purplish color. It smelled sweet. Then she took a swig. It was good and refreshing at first; the concoction tasted of berries. But after awhile it started to burn in here stomach. It felt like there was molten lava floating in her belly. Though, strangely enough, here senses became sharper. Her eye sight spotted a hawk flying high above them. Its feathers were in high definition. She saw every inch of its body. The beak had a small chip on the right side.

"Alittle strong, eh?" Tomus chuckled.

"It's what keeps the Bryne Empire afloat.." Frank said with a nod. "Its what gives our soldiers the edge. This Apcola is only produced in the palace refineries."

"The Wine Man makes it." Tomus smiled. "He's an old creepy man that live in the basement of the castle. Some say- OW!"

Charlie whacked him on the head with a wooden staff. "Shut the fuck up you tard. She doesn't want to hear that shit." He glanced over at Julie.

Julie giggled.

***

Kevin screamed. Like a woman.

The Murich smashed through the under brush and went right for him. The horse reared up on its hind legs for a second and and clomped around.

"Woah....woah.." Kevin said unsteadily as he tried to calm his horse. The Mulrich was nearing now. Its two great horns jutted out from the sides of its head and the Mulrich's dark leathery skin was adorned with a good amount of battle scars. Kevin drew his long sword. A gleaming blade of steel and wrought iron. It's hilt wrapped in a dragon shaped strip of leather. A blade fit for a King.

The Mulrich smashed through a maple tree. Chunks of wood flew through the air and its roar bellowed everywhere. Kevin braced himself for the beast's attack. His sword held in a defensive position.

Suddenly a flaming ball of scarlet fire erupted on the side of the Mulrich. It was scorched instantly. To a medium rare crisp, so fine it made Kevin drool alittle.

Charile stepped out of the under brush smirking.

"Some times I forget your a fucking wizard Charlie." Kevin laughed as he slid down from his horse.

"I gotchu my brotha.." Charlie said with a wink. Julie walked out from behind Charlie and insepcted the dead Mulrich for a second. Then she pointed at her mouth.

"Well duh, we're gonna eat that..." Tomus says as he rolls his eyes. "We didn't catch jack shit today, besides this thing Charles barbecued."

Julie clapped her hands and patted her tummy.

***

As the group treked back to the kingdom they saw a large green object rocket through the sky. A small figure was seated on it's back.

"What the shit??" Charlie said.

"Dude, I think that's Emily!" Kevin replied as he shielded his eyes from the sun. The dragon disappeared as quickly as it came. A fleeting dot on the horizon.

"Wonder where Em is a going, mate." Tomus turns he head toward Frank.

"I dunno man..." Frank replies. "All I'm wondering is how can a person as small as she, ride a big ass dragon?"

"May be she sits on one of those...." Julie thinks for a second. " One of those baby seats.." The Princess says as she snaps her fingers.

Kevin chuckled and Frank and Tomus let out out a loud laugh.

***

The wind flew across Emily's face. She reached up to brush a strand of hair away from her eyes. Shaker was up ahead. The Sun blazed in all its glory behind her, and the clouds were a hue of cream orange.

But she had a weird feeling that somewhere, someone was talking about her height.

Signing out, Gin