Daughter of Death and Bloodshed

⚔︎ Chapter Two ⚔︎

I sat perched on one of the lower hanging branches of a tree. I had been stalking this deer for nearly two hours now. I cursed again. I either couldn't get the angle needed or every time I got close enough something had spoked it away. I was utterly quiet, just as I had been taught to be. I knew how to make myself invisible. It was all about how and where you placed your feet. The forest floor had been riddled with crisp orange and yellow leaves, yet my steps were silent. You have to stay on the balls of your feet, taking long slow steps. Keep one eye on your prey and the other eye on anything that could trip you up. The hunt was a game and one that I had become fairly good at.

I had enough game in my pack to head back by now. I told Brynn to be ready by noon and by the time it'd take me to walk back to the cabin from here, I'd be late. I decided I'd try once more at the deer before I was to head home. I could see the buck through the trees, it had now wandered into a small opening within the forest. Most of its body had been hidden in the waist-high grass, its head completely disappearing in the trench of the weeds. I carefully climbed out of my tree, using my upper body to slowly lower my feet onto the ground. Once I found my footing I took my bow from around my shoulder, withdrawing an arrow from my quiver and nocking it into place. I bent my knees, softly side-stepping toward the opening in the treeline. I kept half of my body hidden behind an oak tree, watching as the clueless buck graze peacefully.

I hadn't completely thought out my plan if I had killed it. I was blinded by the idea that I could keep us fed for a week if I used half of the meat for a stew and dried the remainder of it to keep it fresh. Not to mention the pelt I could sell in the market for a good price. I had only ever killed a deer once before, nearly three years ago now. It was the most money I had my hands on in my lifetime. I was seventeen and used the coins to buy Brynn a new cloak, some new boots for myself, and a dainty silver necklace for my aunt Ornilla.

The deer count grew scarce around these woods now. I'd maybe see one or two once a year and it required venturing further out into the forest with each passing summer. That was the stupidity in my plan if I made the kill, the distance I would have to drag it back to the cabin. I'd be drawing any predator nearby straight to me with the trail of blood the animal would leave behind. It was stupid and dangerous and idiotic, but I didn't care. I wanted the kill. Every step I took was a reminder of the brand-new boots I would be able to buy. As I raised my bow I could only think of the lilac dress that Brynn would not so subtly stare at every time we would walk by the shops on the way to the fountain. With every steadying breath, I took all I could see were my aunt and uncle's face as I dragged that deer home for dinner. The relief in knowing they'd save money on groceries this week.

I loosely exhaled a breath, my hands steadying as I aimed my weapon. The afternoon breeze blew the loose strands of hair across my face. I pulled on the string of my bow, waiting for the deer to raise its head again. I needed the killing blow directly through the temple. I would be able to fatally injure it by hitting its body, but that would require tracking it another few miles before it bled out. I didn't have the time or strength for that. The deer popped its head up from the grass, alerted to something nearby. Although as it snapped its neck back, the whites of its eye protruding from its sockets I knew it was not me that made the noise. The deer stared off to the left, only giving me a view of the back of its head. Although, the once again lost opportunity is not what made me drop my bow back to my side.

It felt as if the air had changed, the wind completely switching course. Within seconds it seemed as if the forest had gone completely still. The birds stopped chirping, the rodents scurried back to their hiding places, and even the branches of the trees appeared unmoving. I ducted further behind the oak tree, all the hair on my arms standing upright. My chest began to tighten, that dull ache igniting in my lungs again. I was no longer alone. The deer took off in a dash, feeling it too. I cursed under my breath, regretting not bringing at least one of my blades with me. I still felt the presence there long after the deer had left. I slowly backed away from my hiding place, not taking even a second to break my stare from whatever lay beyond the treeline across the clearing, retreating further into the bush. It wasn't until the birds found their voice again that I turned on my heel and ran. I ran as fast as my burning legs would take me and didn't stop until I crossed the ravine near our house. As my shoes filled with water and I cleared the small river to safety, only then did I allow myself to look back. I sucked in a deep breath, my lungs aching as I heaved in as much air as they could take. Being only a short trail away from my house, it was only then that I allowed myself to acknowledge that it was not the deer that was being watched.