The Hunter's Game

Chapter 3 - Jartol

"You have an immediate assignment, Dawn."

Dawn blinked, startled at the rushed announcement from the teacher as they walked into the courtyard outside.

"An assignment this early?" She asked, turning to the teacher.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with this?" The woman answered testily, watching her from the corner of her eye.

Dawn realized immediately that she couldn't challenge what was possibly a direct order from the matriarch. Besides, she couldn't imagine waiting at the castle after already being Tested.

"No. I have no problem at all." She answered, though her mind caught on the thought that she would be in the black forest soon enough. She kicked the thought out of her head.

"Good. Your group is waiting for you outside the castle walls. You are to make your way immediately to Jartol, six miles to the north. When you get there, request horses and a messenger dove from the caretaker there. Make your way west to the border of the black forest. Send a message with the dove to captain Ferik. He will send back coordinates to you where you are to meet.

"You and the others will join his hunter pack." The teacher finished, her gaze asking if Dawn had any questions. Dawn did, but those were details she could sort out on her own.

"This is for you." The teacher said when Dawn asked no questions. Dawn looked to the side to see the teacher holding a folded piece of red cloth towards her.

Red for the Flame.

Dawn gaped in disbelief at it. The hunter's cloak. It was something only hunters wore; a sign of their status. It was hard believing it was rightfully hers now, after so many years spent waiting for it.

She took it from the teacher and unfolded it, slipping it on. The thick cloak was snug and warm, fitting perfectly to her body. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered how she looked with it on.

The teacher walked her to the gate, stopping there with a clipped goodbye before immediately turning to return to the castle. Dawn watched her go for a few seconds before turning around and walking through the arch out of the courtyard.

The world outside was a mass of grassy hills and few trees, stretching out for several miles in all directions. A large road, grassy with disuse, stretched from the gates of the castle northward, disappearing behind the hills.

Dawn could see the group she was to be traveling with ahead of her, all facing north as though impatient to leave. She wondered who they would be, whether she knew them.

She jogged up to them, blinking in surprise when she finally recognized one of the figures as she neared them. "Alex?" She asked in surprise, slowing down. Was there a mistake?

"Dawn?" Alex whirled around at her voice, blinking in surprise as well. The person beside him stiffened, not turning around. The fourth person turned, a smile and a raised eyebrow his only facial expressions.

"Gideon?" She asked in surprise, recognizing the hulking dark-skinned man and his roguish expression. He had a large brown coat on, and it took her a moment to realize it was a hunter like hers. Alex was wearing a grey one that streamed almost to the floor, seemingly too large for him. It made him look comical and she would have laughed had she not been so confused.

What was he doing in the selected group? She'd expected the matriarch to separate them. Even she would have done so; they were a bit close to working directly with one another without their friendship disturbing their duties.

Alex looked about to say something, but he stopped, eyeing her coat. "You look good in that. I knew it'd be red."

"You sure you did not beat up whoever was supposed to accompany me and take his place?" Dawn managed to joke, her attention flickering to Gideon, who was glancing at the third person. She followed his gaze and her eyes narrowed with predatory intensity as she recognized the flowing blonde hair trailing behind the person's cyan coat.