Chapter 201: The hunt (2)
"I will carry this," Annalise said, picking you Rafael’s quiver to carry for him. "I will not drop it," she promised.
Rafael trusted she would not drop it since she had this look of anger whenever she saw anyone drop their weapons. "You are to stay close to me. I don’t care how good you are at protecting yourself. You must not go ahead or you might end up with an arrow stuck in your body."
"I know not to run off when the hunt starts. Only a fool would run right into a place where arrows are being fired," Annalise answered.
Two days after the competition, a hunt had started. The knights who wanted to take part carried arrows and headed behind the manor leading up the mountain to search for animals. All over the town, hunts had started. For some hunts animals were released and chased on private land while others had to track down animals in the woods.
Annalise walked behind Rafael toward the river they had to cross over to the other side. She had never seen the second training ground behind the manor so she was excited to take in everything while they passed through to get to where the hunt would be.
Other servants were walking in the same direction as they were assigned to a group of knights. Some carried water while others helped to carry arrows and bows. The servants were just as excited as the knights since the hunt meant there would be a feast tonight.
"How many animals are you looking to get today?" Annalise asked.
"Enough to feed the manor a good dinner tonight. We won’t be killing all the animals we catch right away. A few traps were placed last night so again, do not walk ahead of me. We’re going to keep a few of the animals here and feed them to be used for another day. You and I will be tracking rabbits," Rafael said, stepping down from a big rock, and then he turned to offer Annalise his hand.
Mindful of the servants around them, Annalise jumped down on her own. "There are too many eyes watching," she whispered. She cringed because her words made it sound like they were a secret couple.