[Two days before the trip]
Winter was baring its fangs and was almost upon us; small amounts of snow had become a routine sight. We were hunting more than usual as animals typically hibernated during winter, therefore, it would be much harder to find prey.
We were on one of those longer hunts and were killing wild boars; even though I was slaughtering them with relative ease, their speed was an issue as I had to prevent them from running away. My dagger pierced through the pigskin and blood began oozing out, but, it was not going to die without a fight.
My body was thrown off-balance as the animal made a last-ditch effort to escape. I ran after it with all of my might through the dense vegetation for twenty minutes, when suddenly, a helpless growl echoed throughout the forest.
I trod carefully towards a clearing but it seemed like I was not vigilant enough.
"Come out of hiding you rat."
The loud voice pierced my eardrums and nearly deafened me. I stopped dead in my tracks; walking towards the voice would surely lead to my doom so I turned around and ran towards my hunting party.
A hand suddenly grasped my shoulder and threw me on the ground. I stared up, but my view of the sky was blocked by a viciously grinning orc.
"Why didn't you listen to the captain? Are you deaf?" he yelled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear him well enough," I sarcastically replied.
If I was going to perish, it was better to do so in style.
"What are you? A human?"
"Uhm are you blind on top of being stupid?" I jokingly asked.
I did not have the time to react as he swung my body into a tree trunk; blood spewed from my orifices as the wind was knocked out of me. As he approached me, I kicked him on the knee with all of my might, but it was as if a bug had bitten him.
"Be a good little child or else you'll get seriously hurt," he said while holding on to my foot and dragging me into the clearing.
My back scraped against the sharp rocks, leaving countless cuts and bruises. I lifted my head sightly and saw a group of ten orcs in a pool of blood; it seemed like they were also boar hunting and my prey had become theirs.
The leader was sitting in the middle of the chaos; he donned a black robe and was covered in scars. His image was truly intimidating. The orc threw me like a ball right in the center of the group. All of the members wore sick grins as they unsheathed their blades.
"Wait what are you doing?" I asked.
"We're merely having some fun," the leader said.
"You're only a human who managed to venture a bit into the beast lands, so no one will have anything to say," he added.
"No it's not what you think-"
I did not have the time to explain myself before a blade pierced my hand, triggering a blood curdling scream.
"Stop being so loud," one of them said as she placed a wooden branch between my jaws.
My muffled screams continued as they began slashing my back. Blood trickled down my torso with every strike; tears dripped down my face as the ordeal persisted. The feeling of desperation took over my body as I felt like I was in the same situation my father was in. Even being beaten by Henry was not as bad because I knew that there was no risk of death, but this was totally different.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING."
A familiar voice resounded throughout the forest; I looked up and even through the tears, I could see Jasper's face amongst the other members of my party. I knew that I was saved.
"Well we were-" the orc's sentence was interrupted as Hunter's fist landed flush against the side of her face. The sound of bones cracking could be heard as the miscreant's body thumped the ground.
"Who are-" the leader stopped mid-sentence as he recognised Hunter's face.
"Y-Your highness."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Hunter pointed his sword towards me and asked with a stern face.
"What's going on?"
"Oh we were simply disciplining this mere human," the leader replied.
"That mere human is part of my hunting party," Hunter replied.
The orcs' faces went blank and were void of colour as they were visibly shaken.
"Ple-please forgive us-"
"SHOW NO MERCY," Jasper yelled.
What occurred was not a battle but a one-sided beat down. Bodies flew everywhere as my hunting party ran through the entire group. Even though they were all enraged, Jasper seemed even more infuriated as he could not stop hitting them even when they were knocked out.
"Stop now dude, let's check the little one," Stephen said.
Xavier and Andreas ran up to me to verify my health; after suturing my hand and back, they bandaged my wounds and applied a paste to seal the cloth to prevent moisture from reaching the injuries.
"What do we do with them?" Xavier asked.
"I'll bring them to the guards. They'll deal with them."
Using thick ropes, the ruffians were tied together in a line.
"Jasper accompany Jett back to your house," Hunter said which prompted a nod from Jasper.
I was being carried in the orc's arms as he sped across the forest; the trees resembled green and brown streaks and even though we were moving at such high speeds, I was not uncomfortable at all. The putrid smell of flesh bombarded my nostrils as he was carrying a bag of boar meat on his back.
"I'm sorry I left you alone."
"It's not your fault. I was the one who ran off without warning anyone. I should have also been stronger to defend myself," I said.
Even though I went through a world of pain, something clicked after I saw both the good side and evil side of the orcs. I was on the verge of making a breakthrough!