Finally, I’m going hunting today! I thought as I walked toward the stables, that’s where Alaya had told me I should be. Thinking back on it, It had actually been rather quick, how soon father managed to organize a hunt with me in it.
Stepping out into the stables, I saw a group of knights preparing their horses, That must be my team. Walking closer, I saw 5 knights of the mansion, including Reinhardt!
Right as I had been about to greet them, my sister stepped out of the stable, fully dressed in leather armor and a sword hanging from her hip. My eyes widened, “Sis? What are you doing here!” I rushed towards her.
Realizing that it’s me she smiled, “Surprise!” she shouted, “Guess who was allowed to join in as well.” She gave me a smug look.
“But why would father let you join as well?” I asked in confusion, I was only allowed to go as an exchange for performing at the banquet, “it makes no sense?”
“Well, I was able to convince him. Since one of us is going already, why not both? He just needs to add one more knight to guard us and it’ll be fine. Though I may have had to bargain with him for a bit, using a certain engagement as leverage” She stated, smirking.
My eyebrows shot up at that, Damn, she has some guts, I would never be able to do that. “You sure are brave sis, I would never dare to play games with father.” I gave a rueful smile.
She chuckled at that, “I know, but now you don’t have to worry,” she hugged me with one arm, “Your big sis is here to protect you from dangers.”
My heart warmed at that, “Surely you meant that I will protect you?” I raised one eyebrow, looking at her in jest. We held the position and broke into laughs.
“Having fun aren’t we?” came the booming voice of Reinhardt. He looked at me, “Greetings young lady,” He smiled, “Are you two ready?”.
After we both gave affirmation that we were ready, he showed me to the other knights. “You should know who is on our team this hunt. It’s important to know who has your back after all.” He said.
He pointed his finger towards a knight with a buzz cut and sharp brown eyes wearing a sword on the hip and a bunch of throwing knives on his knife holster. “This right here is Albrecht, our scout. He is going to be responsible for finding the beasts location and giving support in the fight.”
“Greetings young lady.” Albrecht gave me an exaggerated deep bow, a mischievous smile on his face. I returned his greeting with a curtsy.
“Next is Balmund.” he showed me a huge, probably 2m tall man. He looks like one of those Gymbros from earth. “He will be our frontline, taking the brunt of the beasts attention with his great shield.” The big guy nodded, giving a grunt in greeting. I nodded back.
“Thirdly is Erenwald,” a young man drawing the string of his bow, checking his weapon, “He will be our Archer, he has a talent for imbuing his arrows with his magic,” Reinhardt looked in respect, “I’m glad he’s on our side.”
“And lastly is Gwen,” a kind looking woman in her thirties waved at me, “She will be our caster,” he nodded at her, “specializing in healing magic, she will be the lifeline in our group.”
“You forgot someone.” Albrecht said, throwing his arm around Reinhardt, “Your bodyguard, the good old trusty Reinhardt,” he smirked, “Why, he practically begged to join in the hunt, speaking about his duty to protect the young ladies.”
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Reinhardt grumbled something, getting out of Albrechts grasp. “Indeed, he’s not wrong. If possible, I’m not going to join in on the fighting today.” He explained, “My priority is to keep you two safe and sound.” He ended calmly.
“Anyways, let’s not keep everyone waiting.” He said, gesturing toward the knights, “Come, we’ll get you a horse, your sister has one already.” I followed him to the stable.
Walking around in the stable, I inspected the different horses. Then I came up on a majestic black stallion, with a shiny coat and piercing eyes. I stopped to admire it for a moment. “That,” Reinhardt started, “is your fathers horse, “It’s name is shadow, same as your fathers specialization. Come, I’ll show you your horse.”
He led me toward the back, to a teenage white horse with silky blond hair. “Her name is Light. Go on, give her a caress to see if she likes you.” He opened the door, letting the horse out.
I stood in front of the horse as it was looking at me. I went on my tiptoes and tried to caress the horses snout. The horse is way too big for me! I thought, barely able to reach her. Thankfully, she understood what I was trying to do and lowered her head for me.
Reinhardt chuckled from behind me, “Don’t worry, I’m sure you will hit your growth spurt soon enough,” he said, “It seems she likes you, that’s good. You go on out now, I’ll throw a saddle on her and we’ll be good to go.”
As I stepped out sister asked me from the top of her brown horse, “So, did you get your horse?”.
“Yes, her name is Light, she’s really majestic. Reinhardt is just saddling her up right now and then we can go.” I said, feeling bad for holding up the operation.
“Don’t worry young lady, we don’t mind the few minutes of wait.” Gwen told me right as Reinhardt walked out, guiding my horse.
I walked towards my horse, “Come, I’ll help you get on.” Reinhardt said nicely.
He grabbed my waist and placed me on the saddle, “Remember to keep your back straight when you ride, we will be on our way for some time, you don’t want it to hurt.” He advised me.
Reinhardt got on his own horse, “Alright everyone, brace yourselves and let’s go hunt that beast!” And we started riding.
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As we rode through the city, my sister and i in the middle surrounded by the knights, we made our way towards the northern city gate. The people of the city looked at us with curiosity and some children with awe.
As we came up on the gate, we had to ride through the slums of the city first. Seeing the slums for the first time in my life, I was struck by the overwhelming poverty that surrounded me. Never had I seen a sight like this, not even in my past life. The streets were lined with ramshackle buildings made of old, crumbling brick and wooden planks. The air was disgusting, thick with human waste and the smell of garbage mixed together.
I could feel the tension in the air, the anger and jealousy directed towards me simply for having a horse and a bit of privilege. I tried to hide under the cloak Reinhardt gave me, not wanting to draw any more attention to myself, but I could feel the hostile gazes burning into me. They watched our every move and I was sure, if it wasn’t for the knights surrounding my sister and i, we would have been easy pickings.
The harsh reality of life hit me and I wondered how the living conditions could fall so low around here. Surely there is work for everyone? I had no idea how it could stoop so low, so I tried not to judge.
Despite all of this, we pressed on, heading towards the northern city gate. Thinking back on the Operation, where are we going? I turned to Reinhardt, “Hey Reinhardt, I forgot to ask,” I rode closer to him, “but where are we going anyways?”
He snorted at my carelessness, “It’s quite some way from here, that’s why I told you to buckle up,” he said, “We’re heading towards the north-east along the path towards Elorim, it’s a city close to the border. We more or less know that the beast is somewhere along the middle of the path, that’s where it hit the caravan.”
Getting a foreboding feeling concerning my posterior, “So far?,” I scrunched my face in annoyance, “You wouldn’t happen to know how long we will be riding?”.
He gave me a sarcastic bright smile, “If everything goes perfectly, we won’t be back before the sun is down,” he said, “In fact, we might even spend the night camping. That’s why the horses are carrying so much gear.”
I slumped my shoulders, Ugh, great. If I had known I would have joined the next hunt. “See it as an opportunity to get more practical experience,” he told me, “learning how to survive in the wild is an essential skill that should be taught to anyone. You never know when you will need it.”