A lad putting on an oversized shirt and trouser, large enough to contain one more person, stared silently through the trees, at the small group moving towards the forest on horseback. He adjusted the base ball cap on his head and dodged back into the trees, waiting for the group to get closer.
The riders of about thirty - five men and fifteen women all dressed for the hunt, rode quietly through the path leading to the forest. There leader would sometimes whistle with his mouth, signaling for them to stop while he moves ahead to scout the surrounding area.
'He seem to be looking for a particular landmark ' The lad thought to himself and watched them with interest as they drew closer.
With the gait of a cat, he heaved himself up on the closest tree , and swung around to sit comfortably on the branch.
Whistling a silent tone under his breath, he took out his dagger and began filing his nails. He had been standing in this forest, waiting for the group. Few more minutes, won't harm him.
Every once in a while , he would raise his head up to stare off into the distance at the small group approaching and shake his head in disappointment.
'They ride like a snail ' He muttered under his breathe and snorted 'see them dally around as though they've got the control of time in their hands .'
He raised his two legs to rest it on the branch and closed his eyes. Learning back on the tree, he purred in satisfaction when a cool wind began to blow on his face.
"Heavenly ." He whispered under his breathe and allowed himself to bask in the moment, enjoying the the soft brush of the wind on his skin.
The wind flapped his oversized shirt and trouser, gently caressing his body as it checked out his cloth, looking for an opening . And when it saw the opening it seek for, it immediately rushed in and out of it with speed.
He could almost swear that the rustling sound of the wind in his shirt, sounded more like "Wow !" in his ears, as the wind played around with his Shirt.
He opened one eye and looked down, when the clip clop sound of several horses hooves sounded loud and close by in his ears.
The riders were almost close to the tree he sat on, he returned the dagger back to the small bag tied around his waist and straightened up to a sitting position.
Sighing, the lad folded his legs on the tree. He held unto the branches and peered out through the leaves to watch the riders approach . He stared for a while at the king before moving his eyes to stare at the guards flanking the king.
King Maverick on impulse turned around to search the trees and it branches . The lad withdrew himself from sight. He hid himself inside the branches, using the leaves as a coverage.
Through the opening of the leaves, the lad saw the King beckon to someone. He followed the king's hand gesture to see a rider galloping up to the king.
The king spoke something to the rider who turned around to look at the forest.
The rider nodded his head and turned his horse to start riding in his direction. The lad gasped and frowned, when he saw who it was.
"You.!" The lad whispered under his breathe, a mixed feeling appeared on his face. He tightened his hand into a ball and took several deep breathe, to calm his nerves.
"We should start hunting from here ." Prince Nicholas said to the group.
The airs at the back of his neck tingled, Nicholas turned his head back to look in the forest. He moved his horses closer to a tree and stopped. Raising his head up, he stared at the trees, thoughtfully.
The lad drew back, into the thick part of the leaves and stayed. From there, he watched the man. After a while, the man turned his horse away and rode back to the King.
He watched from his hiding place on the tree, and saw the man and the king holding a conversation with the King.
'What is your relationship with the king, blue ?' The lad thought to himself as he stared down at the men.
"We should start from here," Prince Nicholas turned to say to someone.
The lad peered out through the trees and saw that some group of men had drawn closer without him noticing. The group of men and women jumped down from their horses, and gathered together.
He snorted in derision when he saw the dark haired man with the blue eyes, instructing the group.
'Are you giving them instruction based on what you've read from a book ?' The lad chuckled to himself.
"We shall all gather back here in two hours time," Prince Nicholas said to them " don't forget to call out for help, if you encounter any danger. And don't forget this trail."
The men in the group whistled excitedly , and then everyone ran into the forest with their weapon. The sound of their boot made a thundering sound as they ran.
Nicholas nodded his head at the King who was about going into the forest. The look on his face was saying ," Go on, I'll be right behind you ."
The King nodded his head, he turned towards the forest and ventured in. Two of his personal guard followed suit , while the remaining stayed behind to watch the horses.
Nicholas gazed at his father's disappearing back before turning away to stare at the trees. He stooped over to peer at the trees , trying to see if there was anything hiding in the branches. Striding forward , he drew closer to the forest and stood still to watch out for any movement.
When he was convinced that there was no one watching him from the trees, he stepped foot into the forest and went hunting for his own game.
Below, the guards left behind to watch the horses, paced around with their weapons raised in full time security mode.
'The hunt begins' The lad said as he jumped down from the tree.
He sneaked away without the guards noticing his presence, and went deep into the forest to hunt.
Nicholas had been following the trail of an animal for close to an hour now, and he is yet to come across anyone from the group. He looked around and wondered if he had strayed too far away from the path.
He twirled around with his rifle raised, checking the branches and the thicket for any hidden threat. Creeping forward slowly, he went through the thick dense trees .
There was a path in the forest that was blocked by the lowered branches of trees , whose leaves look like a long thread. He roved his eyes around the trees, looking for a way to pass. He continued down the forest path when he didn't see a way to go through the trees.
The branches of the trees behind him rustled, and a flutter of wings started flapping. He flung quickly around to look in the direction of the noise.
Staring around, he wondered what had startled the birds. He crept cautiously towards the tree and looked around, there was a fresh print of an animal paw.
"So, this is the direction you went?" He muttered under his breathe.
He began to creep towards the path, following the trail. He got to a path where he had to crawl, to be able to squeeze his way through the tiny path.
Nicholas went down on his knees and began to crawl, he pushed his body through the small opening and scrambled up. Dusting himself, he peered around at the environment and frowned when he could no longer see the trail.
"Don't tell me, I have lost you so soon," He muttered in disappointment " Not when I have crept my way out of the oddest place imaginable."
He turned in circles , trying to think of the next route the animal was likely to take. From his rear view, he saw something flash pass with speed.
" What was that?"
He became alert, raising his riffle up, he hurried quickly in the direction he had seen the thing run.
The lad ran in hot pursuit of the deer, he kept veering left and right, jumping fallen trees to hunt the deer. He giggled excitedly, loving the way the wild made him feel very alive after weeks of being holed up in the palace.
He skidded to a stop, and looked for the path the deer had taken. He saw the black tail of the deer just disappearing through the trees by his left.
Adjusting the cap on his head and checking to be sure it was still tightly hooked in place, he veered towards the direction .Every minutes and hour drew him closer to his game.
He tightened his grip on his arrow , and increased his speed when he saw the effort the animal was making to pull him off it trail.
He had almost gotten to the tree where he had last seen the deer disappear , when he felt something tackle him to the ground.
"What the fuck !" He exclaimed and winced when he hit the ground.
"I don't remember seeing you in the group, lad ." A voice spoke in his ear, as the person pinned him down.
He struggled to get who ever it is off him "I don't remember anyone asking you to keep a watchful eyes on me, mister."
The man flipped him over and stared down at his face. The lad gasped at the force the man used on him, he was just about to retort when he stared into the blue eyes of the man.
"It is you, Mr Blue eye." The lad muttered.
Nicholas squinted his eyes " What are you doing out here, alone?" He asked the lad.
"Duh, what does it looks like I am doing out here in the forest ?" The lad barked out in laughter " Fooling around or following you like a love sick bird . Come on, you are not my type ." He stop to say, snorting.
Nicholas had the incredible urge then to smack his sassy lips. He adjusted himself to a comfortable position, leaning more on his hand than on the lad. When he looked down at the silent lad under him, he saw him ogling his face.
"Stop staring at me with so much love in your eyes , I am not a faggot." He hissed at the lad.
The lad winced inwardly at being caught, staring. " You wish. I was only staring at the cross bag around your neck."
Nicholas tilted his head to the side to study the face in front of him. The more he stare at the lad, the more he is convinced he had seen this face before. He frowned when a face flashed in his mind. He tried bringing their looks together, and saw a great resemblance between them.
'How possible !' He shook away the thought from his mind. Of course, she was still in the palace kitchen.
He lowered his eyes to gaze at the place in the chest where there was supposed to be a bulge, he found the spot, flat.
"And why would you be staring at my cross bag with that loving look in your eyes, if i may ask ? Sorry to disappoint you, I have no money in it." He said, lifting his eyes up to stare at the face.
"Ha, ha , ha . Very funny ! " The lad said " I was only wondering if you perchance put in a pillow in your cross bag."
"Why should I put a pillow in my cross bag at the first place ?" He moved his head back, to stare at the lad with an incredulous look on his face.
The lad raised his feminine hand to touch the bag, Nicholas quickly move the bag away from lad's hand. .
The lad began to laugh, Nicholas frowned and wondered what was funny.
"What is so funny?" He asked curiously.
"You. You are so funny, mister."
"Thank you for thinking so, lad." Nicholas replied with a distant look on his face.
"I don't mean it as a complement but as an insult." The lad said buntly.
Nicholas frowned.
The lad ignored the face staring down at him angrily " I was about to tell you that, you need to get a pillow in order to feel completely comfortable in your human acquired bed."
"You remind me a lot of someone." Nicholas whispered with a strange look on his face.
Violet frowned 'Didn't he just hear what she said? '
She took her eyes up to frown at him and became lost in his gaze. Her heart started pounding hard in her chest, when she saw him lowering his head to give her a kiss.
She tried to find the strength to fight him off, but the attraction she was feeling for this man was just too strong for her.
"Grrrrhhh..."
She tore her eyes to the side to stare in the direction of the sound and saw the deer she had been chasing slowly approaching them.
Quickly, she hooked one of his leg and used the other leg to hit him at the side with her knee and when he lost balance, she pushed up to throw him off her and rolled away.
Without thinking twice, she grabbed her bow and withdrew an arrow from the back. She set the arrow in the bow, with the flex of a pro and loosed the arrow in the air.
The arrow sped down towards the deer, who had began pouncing with speed towards them when he saw the threat in her hand.
The deer cried out when the arrow impeded itself on the deer's skull.
The deer staggered and looked angrily at them, refusing to die alone, it kept pouncing blindly in their direction.
A dagger flew in the air and landed on the deer's back. She gave the man an appreciative look as her hand flew at her back to withdraw another arrow .
The deer's pouncing reduced , it was loosing a lot of blood.
She fixed a second arrow in her bow and got ready to shoot the deer. With the calm that she wasn't really feeling, she stared the spot where she knew the deer's wind pipe would be and shot.
The arrow met it target.
She withdrew a third arrow and was getting ready to shoot that one too, when she saw the deer pause and fall dead beside the man.
Sighing in relieve, she turned her gaze towards the man and saw him staring at her in awe.
"Where did you learn out to shoot? Weren't you afraid you would miss?"
She ignored him and scrambled up "I never miss."
Nicholas snorted. He scrambled up and stared down at the beast , lying dead at his feet. How close he had come to being torn to pieces by this dead beast in front of him.
They both turned, when they heard the sound of running feet , drawing closer to their direction. Nicholas turned his eyes to stare at the lad , who suddenly started screaming and jumping in excitement.
" I'm so glad for you, you just killed a deer." She smiled up at the Man's curious gaze.
When he looked in the direction of the approaching foot step, she sneaked out of sight and disappeared through the trees.
He saw the men from the other group approach him carefully, they stared down at the dead deer on the ground before taking their gaze up to look at him.
"Are you alright, Your Highness? We heard the bell of a deer coming from this direction."
Nicholas stared at the faces of the nobles, he recognised but couldn't place a name to it .
"I'm very much, alright ," He said striding away with a determined look on his face .
One of the men carried the deer, and they hurried after him . When they got to the others, Nicholas hurried quickly towards his horse, he got up on it and rode away. Speeding down, towards the palace .
The back gate was flung open the moment the guards spotted him coming. They bowed in greeting and turned to watch him when he rode in. They were surprised to see him return alone.
Nicholas jumped down from the horse and hurried quickly to the kitchen.
He paused at the entrance of the Kitchen and looked around.
"Your Highness, do you need anything in particular?" The cook asked , when she saw him in the kitchen.
Nicholas ignored the cook. He strode over to the maid who bore the same resemblance to the lad in the forest and stopped in front of her, frowning.
Violet raised her head up to stare nervously at the man standing in front of her. She curtsied quickly and lowered her eyes, feeling shy. She was surprised to hear that he was royalty.
Every nerves in her body jump, when the prince raised her head up with his thumb.
"Explain yourself." He said, staring at her face.
"I'm sorry , Your Highness ," Violet's lips quivered in fear " I wasn't able to come in to work early . I woke up feeling ill. But I can reassure you that my room mate , took permission on my behalf."
'This wasn't the explanation he was expecting to hear .' He frowned and stared down at the fragile lady in front of him, who looks like she was on the verge of crying.
."Yes, Your Highness. She is right."
He turned around to stare at the chubby lady, hurrying over to them.
Carmen ran quickly to her room mate and pulled her away from the prince. She wrapped a comforting arms around her room mate and stared up apologetically at the prince.
"Please Your Highness, forgive my room mate." Carmen said curtsying.
Nicholas stared at the two ladies in front of him, his frown still in place. He focused his gaze on the lady quivering with fear.
'Of course, how could she have made it back here so quickly. He had made a mistake to think that this person quivering with fear at his presence was the same bold and sassy lad he had seen in the forest .'
He tilted his head, and stared at them for a while before turning away. He threw a last look at the lady still quivering and strode out.
'Was he so attracted to her that he was beginning to see her face on every person with the same eye coloring ? ' He thought to himself.
He hadn't gone far when he over heard the cook instructing the Kitchen staffs to return back to work. He sighed and turned towards the staircase.
He had just climbed the last stairs when he heard voices downstairs. The others have arrived. He sneaked a look and hurried quickly to his bed chamber.