Forget About Me (Knight!Tom AU)

Forget About Me (2)

The prince dismounted his horse as Tom ran off to the barn to tack up his own. As soon as Tom was out of earshot, the princess yanked the dark wooden bow and the quiver from the prince's outstretched hand and turned towards the steed that she was meant to ride.

"You're welcome," the prince grumbled, but she was having none of it. It was taking all of her strength not to put him in his place right then and there for talking to one of his knights like that, especially seeing that Tom was a clear gentleman who showed her the utmost respect. Her hand gripped tightly around the bow, but relaxed as she laid eyes on the horse in front of her. He was obviously a palfrey horse, which are smaller horses meant for ladies to ride. He was beautiful, clearly, but not the horse to go hunting with. She took in a deep sigh and she turned back to the prince in question. Her face was enough to elicit an explanation from him as he held onto the reins of his own horse, a beautiful bay destrier, a war horse. "I figured you'd want a smooth rider, being that you're in a dress and all," he remarked, shrugging his shoulders at her.

She huffed again at him before reaching for the side of her dress. She was able to remove the skirt, throwing it to the side and revealing a pair of tan leather pants before she climbed onto the back of the 'lady's horse'. The prince raised his brow as she strapped the quiver to her back and picked up the reins.

"You better hope that this horse hinders my hunting skills or you're going to be really embarrassed," she retorted irritably as she pulled the reins to the side, causing the horse to turn sharply so he was facing the open field to the south of the castle. She cued the horse to move forward slightly, wishing that she could make a break for it and head off into the woods, leaving the ever frustrating man behind, but alas, she knew that this deal with the Eastern Kingdom was inevitable and her father would disown her if she broke it.

"You're not going to be easy, are you?" Prince Sam spoke up, after settling himself back into his saddle.

"I am not some trophy wife, if that's what you're wanting. I will do what i want, when I want, so you better get used to it," her voice was unmatching of her words, the boarder-line insult crossing her lips with a smoothness, like butter.

Before the prince could retort, Tom reappeared from the barn, his black destrier trotting with its faithful knight on its back. Tom's sword was settled on the side of his saddle in a holster and, all except for the lack of armor, he looked like the was ready to ride into battle.

Although she could only see his eyes, she saw Tom's facial expression change when he laid eyes on her. The way she held her bow and straddled the horse was unbefitting of any other princess, but her? He was impressed to say the least.

Without a word, the princess cued her horse to move forward, quickly speeding up to a trot. Tom and the prince followed behind her, letting her lead the way into the wooded area that surrounded the king's land.

The ride was relatively silent, other than the occasional nicker from the horses. Adaline searched the crowded trees for anything worth shooting, but all she was able to see was small game, rabbits and birds mostly. She was hoping to catch some deer or a wild turkey to donate to a near by village. As a princess, she had always been well taken care of, so when she took up hunting to hone her archery skills, she would turn over all of her winnings to families that needed it.

After making it a few miles into the wilderness, she halted, putting her hand up to signal the two men behind her to stop as well. She reached to her back, pulling a single arrow from the quiver and taking aim as she heard the rustling of the bushes to her front. Just as she predicted, a small doe appeared out of the brush, grazing as it was unaware of any danger. Her arrow head followed it for a moment, being sure that its track was recorded in her muscles. Her right hand was anchored by her mouth, a soft breath leaving her lips as she released the projectile. Just as she released it, a loud thud from behind her echoed, followed by the crunching of leaves under tough riding boots. The doe leapt into action at the noise, causing the arrow to only graze the animal and find a home in a nearby tree trunk.