A Crown and A Curse

Chapter 4

Kian

Ensio and Joni were a quiet pair, both of them walking soundlessly through the brittle fallen leaves scattered across the ground. I, however, had all the grace of a newborn fawn when it came to walking in the woods. My boots crunched against the ground loudly, and twigs snapped beneath my weight all too often. I reminded myself that Ensio was a hunter and Joni had been trained as an assassin and spy, both men around a year older than me, which meant that I shouldn't feel all that clumsy. But then again, I could see Ensio wince subtly everytime my foot made contact with the ground.

"So," I broke the somewhat awkward silence, "What do you think we'll find?"

The pair remained quiet for a moment before Ensio spoke, "It's hard to tell, but from what Santeri told us, it will most definitely be lethal."

"Sounds like reaper magic to me," Added Joni.

My brows knit together, "Reaper magic?" I asked.

"A type of magic that allows one to essentially wield death. Never heard of anything else causing a visible burst that large. Let's just hope whoever is on the other end of it is friendly."

"How friendly can they be?" Retorted Ensio, "They're literally named after a skeleton freak that carries a scythe around as an accessory."

We continued the hike southeast smoothly for three days, stopping periodically for rest. However, on the fourth day tensions began to run high as food began to run low. Ensio had set snares and gone off to hunt the night before, but returned with nothing but a handful of berries.

"Woods aren't as fruitful around here. Somebody must've already been hunting in this area," was all the explanation he gave.

"We need to just take a day to find food. We won't make it anywhere useful if we don't," Joni said the next morning, the low rumble of his stomach made the point all the more valid.

Ensio sighed, "We'd have more luck if we split up, but..." Both men looked over at me with grimaces.

"What?" I frowned, "I'm not completely useless."

"No offense, but do you even know what a buck looks like?"

I laughed, "Of course I've seen a buck," a pause, "In pictures."

Joni looked at me dead pan for a moment, before turning to his counterpart in their assault against me and my shelteredness, "He can stay here and watch our camp. You and I can each take a thousand paces so we won't be too far to come help."

Ensio shrugged. I was tempted to do the same, after all, I was getting no say in the matter. Before I knew it, I was all alone sitting on a stump and contemplating how little I knew of anything other than how the court worked. Kallio had taught me much, but it seemed not enough of what really mattered about the world around me.

After about fifteen minutes, I stood up with a huff. I knew I could contribute something. And I was going to prove it by finding some food. So I took off into the woods, counting my steps and scouring the trees for any sign of life. At about 750 steps I was about to give up, tired and even more insecure, when I finally found a stroke of luck. A hare, hopping along leisurely only a few steps ahead of me. I not-so-gracefully chased after in excitement at my find. This, however, seemed to be my most foolish move yet, as it caused the hare to notice me and take off through the trees.

Deciding that I absolutely would not come out of this empty-handed, I dashed after it, willing my legs to take me faster and faster. Suddenly, though, I came to a stop as I reached a clearing and saw the very hare I was just chasing seemingly floating in the air before me. Then I realized, As I saw it struggling to release itself from a rope, that it had been snared. It was my lucky day! I had known my persistence would pay off.