The Huntress {On Hold}

The Huntress

{A/N: I would very much like to get this published, so please give me feedback. There are still uncertain aspects that may just come along as I write, so bear with me! I may take a while to upload, as I'll try to make the chapters longer than those of my other books, and good. The way it's written is a bit difficult to write, but I find it necessary and I like it. 

Please, if you have any questions, just let me know and I'll be glad to answer them! Vote/Comment/Add to Reading List. Whatever. Thanks!}

The Huntress

Chapter One

The huntress slid through the trees with obvious ease. The trees were still, no noise was made except that of the birds singing. The bow was in the huntress's hand before a person could blink. An arrow nocked before another blink could pass. Her stoic brown eyes slid over the trees, searching the underbrush that littered the ground. She stopped in an instant, and it seemed as though she'd been standing in that place forever as a statue. Her face was calm, emotionless.

The black shape slid through the trees with the same ease as the huntress, if not less. The padded paws carefully avoided sharp sticks that would easily snap and make a noise. He stayed to the shadows, making sure the silver streaks in his black pelt didn't glint in the light. 

The huntress heard the shifts in the leaf litter, and her eyes were instantly on the spot it had come from. She kept her gaze open, drifting over the ground. She froze and darted forward, her arms up and the arrow was on its path, arcing through the air toward the moving shape.

The wolf was too fast for the petty huntress. He knew he was better, knew he was winning their game. He flashed forward to the next tree, then the next. 

The huntress nearly growled to herself under her breath. Almost. She was too good to lose the game because of a silly sound of frustration.  She resumed her expression of peace.

The wolf felt the huntress hesitate. He took advantage of the moment and sprinted away from the scene. 

The huntress let out the growl of frustration. Every time the wolf was within her grasp, she managed to let him slip away. Artemis had allowed her to go on this mission alone, to protect her village. If she didn't kill the beast, she would lose her chance. The chance to once again prove her worth to Artemis as her head Huntress. 

The wolf was gone. He was no longer in danger from the incompetent Huntress. His thoguhts drifted away, but he shifted them back to the task at hand. Return to the village.

The huntress quietly cursed herself and began her silent sprint to the village. How could she have let this happen? The wolf had escaped again. The villagers would be unprotected without her there.

The young girl laughed, the sound like music to the ear. Her head tilted back, her long, soft, brown hair cascading down her back. Her fair skin near-glowed in the early morning's sunlight. The pouch at her waist was heavy with coins from the morning's sales at the market stall. Her green eyes glowed with delight as she ran amongst the people bare-footed. Her cotton skirt  was held up in one hand as she ran. The heavy pendant about her neck thumped against her chest. 

The huntress arrived at the edge of the village, her breathing even and her pretty features composed. Her gaze drifted between the houses, searching for the one figure that was significant. Searching for the dark brown hair so like her own, the fair skin like her own- the young girl who could have been her own twin if she had been that age, except for the eyes. The green eyes that so contrasted her own deep brown ones.

The wolf looked for the same thing. The hair. The skin. The eyes. The pendant. Yes... the pendant. His thoughts focused on that one thing before broadening to the previous subject. The hair. The skin. The eyes. The pendant. The...scent. He caught it as it drifted through the air, most likely blown his way by a careless little girl running through the streets with nothing to worry of. 

The huntress's fair hand found its way to the pendant around her neck. The flat-blue, nearly black, stone shaped like a tear drop, carved with a simple swirled pattern and a single dot. The sign of a huntress.

The girl stopped behind a home, near the forest. She stared longingly into it before sitting and leaning against the house, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her little fingers wrapped around the pendant around her neck; a single curving line with a dot. 

The huntress felt a tug in her stomach, toward the village. Contrarily, she froze. She knew that feeling; that of finding another huntress. When she held her pendant and was within range, any other huntress would know. 

The wolf continued to lope steadily toward the buildings of the little village. He could scent her. He could almost taste her, almost see her. His tongue darted across his lips. He knew he couldn't, knew he must bring her back. 

 {A/N: Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you'd like me to write more. 

Once again, Vote/Comment/Add.

Tip of the Chapter: Green tea in the morning boosts metabolism! (Adding honey makes it yummy, too. Or sugar!)

Mwah.

xxJae}