After that Anastasia ran to her tent, Valdimir finished his food, then he headed back toward his tent.
Sergio was watching him for a bit:
- Did something good happen?
- What do you mean?
- You smiled...You rarely smile...
- It is nothing.
- Come on, tell me, I saw you earlier with the lady. Did you too make up?
- What nonsense are you saying? Why would I make up with her? Are we some kind of kids?
- I mean, since that incident she has been avoiding you, and you have been in a very bad mood.
Valdimir became pissed that Sergio figure it out. He tried to act normal as much as he could.
- If you want to see me in a very bad mood again, keep going with that nonsense.
- Alright...Alright, I get it. I just hope that you and the lady will be on good terms, that's all.
- Did you find anything about the stepmother?
- Not that much...Her name is Agatha she was born as a commoner. Her family was very poor, but she managed to change all of that using her beauty. She approached the nobles and managed to get married to one of them, but she couldn't give birth to a child so she was thrown away. After that, she approached the Count and made him fall in love with her. And that's how she changed her status and her family conditions.
- So, she is a gold digger. What about Anastasia? Why does she want to harm her?
- Anastasia is the only heir of the Count. She will inherit all of her father's fortune and Agatha will have nothing. I think she is trying somehow to take control over her without killing her because then, she will be the first suspect. There are a lot of bad rumors about the lady in the noble society and I think it is all the stepmother's doing.
Valdimir felt very angry. Anastasia's innocent smile kept flashing in his memory.
" She surely suffered a lot because of that winch. "
- Good job...I want you to dig deeper. There must be something else that we can use.
- Can use? What do you mean?
- Never mind, just keep digging after her.
- Alright, but I need more time.
- It's okay, you have a whole year, but in the end, I want something useful.
- As you wish.
In the morning, another training day began. Valdimir went to the training ground and then he saw Anastasia standing in the front line.
" She won't avoid me"
At first, his heart fluttered, but then he became pissed when he saw her talking and smiling at Zachary.
" That bastard again."
He got closer to them, then he glared at Zachary with burning eyes.
- Your name is Zachary, right?
- Y...Yes...
- Prepare yourself, I will watch you today.
Zachary's heart was about to stop.
" Did I do something wrong?"
Valdimir stepped back then he yelled:
- TODAY, WILL BE A HUNTING DAY.
Anastasia became confused, that was the first time she heard about such a thing, but she noticed that everyone's face turned pale. She looked at Zachary:
- What is this hunting day?
Valdimir got closer to her which made Zachary back off.
- If you have any questions, you can ask me.
- Oh, um,...What do we do on the hunting day?
Valdimir smiled while looking at the soldiers' faces:
- You will be hunting the entire day.
- We will hunt animals?
- No, You will hunt yourselves.
Anastasia became even more confused:
- We will hunt ourselves? How?
- Soldiers will hunt other soldiers. In other words, the strongest will hunt the weakest. The one who hunts more soldiers will have a prize, and the one being hunted, will go through hellish training.
Anastasia was listening without believing what she was hearing...
- Do you have any other questions?
- N...No
- Good...You have only an hour to prepare yourselves.
As soon as Valdimir left, the place became in chaos. The soldiers ran to their tents to prepare themselves and their weapons.
During all of that, Anastasia was still dazed. She still didn't understand what was going on.
- What is happening?
Zachary suddenly yelled:
- WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE?
- What should I do?
- After about an hour, a lot of soldiers will come after you to catch you. You must prepare your weapons and put a strategy to get away from them and to catch at least one or two soldiers. That's how you can get away from the punishment.
- But what is the purpose of all of this?
- To make us ready if the enemy suddenly invaded us. This kind of training will make us ready for any kind of surprises. We must learn how to get away and plan our attack at the same time.
- What if someone gets hurt during this hunting day?
- There will be injuries, but not major ones. Be careful, the soldiers will do anything to capture at least one soldier and you will be their first target so you must move right now...
Anastasia went back to her tent.
" So, I must hide very well then I must catch someone. I can do this. I will consider it as a game...a dangerous game that I must participate in. "
She took her sword and her bow, then she immediately headed toward the forest...
Valdimir was waiting for the hour to end so he could announce the beginning of the hunting day. Sergio didn't seem pleased with this sudden event.
- Commander, why did you suddenly announce such a thing? The soldiers are not ready yet.
- That's the purpose. No one knows when the next war will break out.
- But lady Anastasia has never experienced it. She will be at a disadvantage.
- Don't worry, even if she loses and gets captured, I won't punish her. She must see the soldiers how they will behave in such a situation. Even if they seem friendly they won't hesitate to crush her for their benefit.
- You will make her scared and maybe she will leave after what she will witness today.
- I don't think so, that girl witnessed what was worse.
The commander went back to the training ground, then he blew a trumpet to announce the beginning of the hunt.....