A Duty Fulfilled

Chapter 1

              Late Summer, Isle of Holt, just off the coast of Medieval England 

Steady fingers reap a steady kill, and a good eye brings plenty.

Ah, but Father was wise. Avelina shifted her tightened bow ever so slightly and exhaled before releasing the string. In a split second, Avelina could hear the faint ''whoosh'' of the arrow piercing through the air. And then the sound of the blade hitting her target.

The deer jerked and then fell onto the damp earth. A clean shot to the head. Avelina stood from her perch behind a rock where she'd been sitting for the past two hours. Since the morning sky had been dark.

Avelina nearly bounded across the twenty paces where the white-tailed deer lay. A quick inspection proved it to be a young male. Two stubs stuck out of his forehead, and his pink tongue had fallen out of his mouth. Avelina tried to ignore the feeling of remorse that crept across her soul at killing such a young thing. But she had learned long ago that one had to do to survive. And since Father had passed, that seemed to be all that Avelina, her sisters and mother, had done.

Avelina made sure the animal was dead, and pulled a braided rope from her belt and tied the hind legs together. The plan was to take the deer to a nearby cave, and cut it into smaller pieces so she wouldn't be dragging a mess around the woods. She tried to be quick and silent. No one was supposed to be in the forests Lord Richard had declared to be his hunting grounds. The punishment was days in the stocks, and the perpetrator's hand sliced off.

Just the thought made Avelina's stomach churn. She'd once seen a woodcutter experience just that once. Only it was from stealing from Lord Richard's garden. Grunts, screams, and blood. Avelina took a quick glance over her shoulder just to be sure she was alone.

The forest was dark and a light mist covered the wooded area. A hooded crow sounded somewhere from a distant tree. The sound eased some tension in Avelina's shoulders. Bird calls meant nothing was amiss within the woods. 

                  Avelina always listened for the birds and other sounds of nature. It was her way of knowing what else was happening around her. But maybe she was becoming too comfortable because she was slow to react when a twig snapped behind her back. 

Avelina reached for the dagger hanging in a sheath at her belt and turned to the side. Turning around completely would leave her torso and chest exposed for any fired arrows heading her way. 

But the sight that greeted her wasn't one she expected. 

''It's just me,'' Adam Mason, her cousin, and closest friend held up his hands. 

Avelina lowered her dagger, sighed, and shook her head. ''You scared me.'' 

Adam approached her and motioned to her kill, ''most of those are down by the south end of the isle.'' 

''I ran into a herd, took this one with one shot,'' Avelina continued to fasten the rope around the deer's legs. 

                     Adam ran a hand through his unruly brown hair. He truly looked like a huntsman with his strong build, beard, and a dark green tunic that reached just above his knees with brown wool hose and goatskin boots. 

''We shouldn't hunt so much anymore. He's starting to notice a decrease in the game population.'' Adam picked up the front legs and the hind legs and slung the animal over his back. ''We need to clean up our work, you leave drag marks whenever you shoot something.'' 

Avelina nodded, she didn't often argue with Adam. He was just two years older than her seventeen years, but worked as a stable boy in Lord Richard's castle and knew details that had often saved their lives several times while hunting.