Rabbit and Evan waited outside of the gatehouse for the lords who were currently overseeing the supplies for the journey which was pretty awkward and gave Rabbit some time to think.

Rabbit began to wonder what the other beast-men would think of his disappearance. Part of him didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye, but Rabbit decided to leave because they could look after themselves, and if what Worchester said was true then they weren’t in any real danger because they made Worchester money.

As his conscience was cleared Rabbit sniffed the air with his button nose and felt the wind rustling his new tunic which hung from his shoulders.

However, he kicked up dust with his long feet the next moment, for he had not asked Doctor Worchester some of the questions he needed the answers to like, where exactly did the beast-men come from? Why not let the beast-men live in the keep with luxury and experimentation? And how did Worchester get a hold of the beast-men in the first place? Perhaps Worchester would have answered those questions at all, but Rabbit still would have loved to have tried.

Evan refused to speak to Rabbit during and after the time the assistant was helping Rabbit with his human clothes, and Worchester wasn’t making another appearance to give out information, so the only option left was to silently enjoy the fresh air while the lords got their carriage packed.

The sound of rolling wheels echoed from inside the castle and Rabbit’s head shot up in anticipation.

A buggy style carriage, drawn by four horses, came to stop inches away from Rabbit’s feet. As Rabbit stepped aboard Evan gave Rabbit one final pat on the shoulder which caused Rabbit to scowl. Once Rabbit saw the helpful expression of the lords he couldn’t help but forget everything behind him.

All four lords rearranged themselves and let Rabbit through so Rabbit could have a window seat.

When Rabbit sat, he sank into the white seat cushion and rested his back against the back which was also cushioned. The carriage had black curtains which were tied so that they bunched up and allowed the passengers to view the scenery outside.

After a bit of riding the lords began talking of the land, “That doctor sure owns his fair share of land, and most of these parts go un-hunted. By word, we could have a great hunting expedition on these lands.”

“Ah, but they’re off bounds, you know how great a secret the beast-drug is, and how much land we’ve come into lately. I think it was right for the king to call these woods as his own personal hunting ground, for there needs to be a forest where no man but the king may hunt.”

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“Indeed, and perhaps we can become part of his hunting party now that we know of this land’s secrets.”

“With all the land we’ve conquered these past three years, there are many exotic places to hunt. We hardly need the king’s land.”

“I went down to Crenborough last month to hunt. It was absolutely crawling with an animal the locals called zebra, a mystic animal with…”

Rabbit waited four hours for this conversation of hunting to end, all the while pretending to look out the window to see the nature. The truth was that he didn’t care much for either nature or hunting. He slowly grew bored of the path and its passing trees which at first sight were so breathtaking, for they soon became repetitive. Rabbit felt the same way of the talk of hunting that the lords each partook in, location, animals, and score of their bucks, repeat.

Contrarily, Rabbit thought to himself that he had missed finding information from Worchester, and now that he was stuck in the carriage with the lords, he couldn’t let any more information slip by him. Even still, with all his motivation to speak up, he found it difficult to break into the conversation. Rabbit grew more and more frustrated until he was about to interrupt the conversation no matter what the lords were talking about but he was flung against the wall of the carriage as the driver swerved, lifted the horses reins  and yelled, “Were-beasts!”

The lords jumped into action, reaching under the seat and behind seats to retrieve four rectangular cases. They opened the cases and revealed battle bows strung and ready for battle with full quivers beside them.

“Should we do this while we ride?” One of the Lords asked.

“It is good practice.” The other replied.

The tailboard flipped down and one of the lords climbed up to the top of the carriage while the second set up aiming out of the tailboard. The third set himself on the front seat with the driver and the fourth pushed Rabbit back so he could see out both windows. They each had arrows drawn.

“Six!”

Rabbit heard the scream from above and he looked behind him to see an arrow flow directly out the back and hit a charging stag in the shoulder. The Stag tripped and fell.

Rabbit felt bad for the stag which reminded him so much of his friend still locked up back in Bestia.

“Three!”

Rabbit looked to his left and saw a charging stag take an arrow to the forehead. After seeing this Rabbit closed his eyes shut with all his strength.

Nothing could stop more numbers being called out from above and twangs from bowstrings being released, but when Rabbit heard, “Five!” there was urgency in the call.

He opened his eyes to see a feral horse jump at the rear of the carriage, open his monstrous mouth and chomp down on the tailboard lord’s arm, dragging him out with a jerk of the horse’s neck. Three more were-stags and one more were-horses gathered around the screaming lord and ate.

Rabbit began to feel queasy as the other three lords settled back in and solemnly packed their bows. This was a silence that Rabbit didn’t feel comfortable breaking, and the rest of the ride was quiet.