The Unknown Princess

Chapter Seven

I spent a week travelling up the western side of the Living Forest. It was my first foray into danger, and I didn't want to do anything too foolish, so I kept to the edge, and whenever I was nervous, I ran out into the plains of the Duchy of Heartrun. I didn't know much about them other than Jana telling me that they traded with them a lot, as they raised sheep, and the residents of Shroudwood made dyes even better than those of Pennington, but in smaller quantities.

But their plains weren't as dry as the ones in Pennington, and they also had tasty pachie, a small and nimble antelope with razor sharp horns that lived along the edge of the forest, eating the berries that grew in there. They were fast and elusive enough to flee the wyrms that would hunt them, but they weren't expecting my bow. I developed a good technique, where I would flush them from the forest making them run to the plains. At some point they would stop, feeling safe as I was far away, and then I could shoot them with the bow, knowing they were far enough from the forest that I could butcher them without the tendrils sniffing out their blood.

And my, were they yummy!

When I was growing up, I was fed a diet of chicken and fish with many vegetables and fruits that was designed to keep me looking trim and healthy for my ancient suitor's liking. In Shroudwood, it was more of the same, though that was by necessity, though there was also a lot of cheese and bread added to the diet. But the pachie, oh my, was that something new that I grew to love before I even tasted it. The scent alone as it cooked over an open flame had me ravenous.

I remember having some sort of red meat once when I was much younger. It was a special event for my father's birthday I believe, and it was so good. But the pachie was even better. Maybe it was because I hadn't had it in so long, or perhaps because I'd hunted it myself, but it was the best food I could remember eating in a very long time. It wasn't anything fancy, just roasted on a spit with a few potatoes that I'd brought with me from the village. I cooked all of the flesh, turned some of it into jerky, and then preserved the hide, antlers, and skin for later as well. I didn't love killing it, but I would make sure that every part of it was used in its memory.

I spent the night next to the warmth of the fire, letting it die out as I slept. I was far enough from the forest that nothing would bother me, but it was still a little unsettling to be sleeping out under the stars on my own. The only other time I'd done it, I had Imogen at my side, which made it easier to handle. But after a while, the breeze in the grass settled me down, and I slept pretty well.

The next morning, I ate more of the meat, and then got back on my journey, knowing that I was close to the northern edge of the Inner Sea, and hoping to perhaps see a small wyrm before I headed back home. Jana, Alba, and Imogen all told me not to get too close to them, but I had to admit that I kind of wanted to see one with my own eyes.

The land got hillier, with the forest getting even higher, and some larger pachie in the hills nearby. I could smell the water, and I knew I was getting close to the edge of the sea. The crude map that Jana had given me showed a little fishing village about a half day ride to the north along the coast, but I wasn't planning on going that way unless a pack of wyrms were chasing me. Belldale was on a large island off to the east too, but that was even worse, since that was a part of Pennington, and I doubted that they would forgive and forget me so easily.

At last, I crested one last hill and found myself upon the shore of the vast inland sea. It was another sight that I hadn't seen since I was a child, and I just plopped myself on the ground, looking out over the water for a moment as I savored the view. There was a light breeze in my face, and some little waves breaking on the shore in front of me, but otherwise the only sound was the distant chirping of birds from the forest a little way to the east. No, I wasn't sitting close enough to be in danger from the trees, but I was going to be heading in there soon and didn't want to be too far away.