“Thank you Ad’je.”
Ad’jeoma grinned back rakishly.
“Never thank me for the truth, my love.”
She chuckled and rose up, body arched backwards like a gently bent bow as she stretched, arms above her head.
“Time to head back?”
Keela had already turned away from her.
“Yes, prep for the morning-after luncheon later. May try to get a quick nap before that battle.”
“Do that, sleep can help smooth out some of those frazzled nerves.”
She hummed in assent and then glanced at the rock with the blanket she was laying on as well as the wineskin and an opened paper bag half filled with pastries.
“You’ll clean up here?”
“Yes my Queen,” Ad’jeoma also rose up, ending her response with an overly extravagant curtsey.
More laughter.
“Little fool.”
Keela started jogging in place, she felt lighter, calmer, more determined.
Yes, I’ll find a way.
She stretched her long legs and ran off, locks bouncing.
“Keelz, send Ez over to help!”
A lifted hand indicated her agreement.
The petite archer smiled, bow in hand and watched her friend disappear in the distance.
Her smile slowly grew hard and ugly to the point of malevolence. And then….
She spun, faster than the eye could grasp, gracefully twisting her exquisitely shaped body like a dancer. Four arrows left her bow. Four targets fell, three with loud thuds, to the forest floor.
Three sharp whistles were heard in the distance.
The wait was not a long one; they were never far from their mistress. She heard them rustling through the underbrush towards her then they sped past, rapid blurs of grey, black and white went searching. One excited fellow danced around her, front paws reaching her shoulders, tail wagging wildly. It took her two head pats, a chin scratch and a few “good boys” for him to dart off to join his friends.
She heard heavier, slower steps behind her.
“Why…..good morning Ezra.”
She turned and grinned cheekily, meeting the gaze of a titanic hound covered in grey, wiry fur. One pitch black eye and one milky white stared at the little archer, simply oozing disdain.
“Still THE most arrogant bitch I’ve ever come across.”
She received a short huff in response.
The hound glanced forward and let out four throaty growls and a heavy “whuff”.
A chorus of excited yips was the response. The canine huffed again, glanced at Ad’jeoma in disgust then padded off to the now unoccupied rock. She leapt up, circled and settled down on the blanket that Keela was laying on, she sniffed at it, nuzzling the fabric with her snout and huffed contentedly, eyes closed.
Ad’jeoma strode over and sat down on the rock’s edge.
“Ever going to tell me why you dislike me so much Ezra?”
The hound opened her working eye and peered at her, bored, as if this human was not worth an iota of her time. She shut it and snorted.
“Guess not.”
Minutes later all of the smaller dogs returned, they dragged over the four targets; three human and one a bird.
“Dead, dead and damn, dead?”
She exhaled in frustration, while the first two human targets were taken down with arrows through their throats, the third should have been incapacitated only with an arrowhead lodged in his lower back. However the purple face and disgustingly bloated tongue pointed to another cause of death.
“Shit,” she toed the corpse, “poison.”
Ezra lept down and glanced at the poisoned man, then at Ad’jeoma; a glance full of blame and derision.
“Don’t look at me like that, why don’t you be in charge of the shooting next time and I deal with the clean up? Hmmm?”
She swore the bitch rolled her eyes at her.
One of the pups pranced over, a snow white hawk held in its jaw. Ad’jeoma took the bird over gingerly, the arrow had broken one wing. It lay in her hands quietly shivering, mouth opened and gasping.
She smiled at the marvelously beautiful creature in her hands. Eyes dancing with fascination.
“Ohhh….I am going to keep you my gorgeous darling.”
She removed one of her gloves and tenderly stroked the silken feathers. She detached the tube attached to its leg and kept stroking its body.
“There, there, little one. Sorry about the wing but I will patch you up and take good care of you. You won’t be hurt agai…..”
She was abruptly cut off as Ezra had leaned over, grasped the bird in her mouth and pulled it out of her hands.
“HEY!”
The hawk started struggling, letting out soft, little “chwirps” of distress. Ezra then dropped it to the ground, placed one gargantuan paw on its body to pin it down, then….
Bent over and wrenched its head off with its great jaws.
She then spat it out.
“Ezra! Dammit you heartless bitch!”
Another disdainful look and then the dog bent over, picked up the now wildly flapping body with her teeth and tossed it to the pups who immediately tore it to shreds.
Ad’jeoma, crossed her hands before her chest and glared at the hound.
“Was that really necessary!?!”
The dog grunted as if to say, “an enemy is an enemy and enemies must be destroyed.”
“Argh!”
She tugged at her braids and growled in frustration.
Sighing, she then extracted the note encased in the tube in her hand. She read it and frowned.
Damn.
She crumpled the paper and stared in the direction her friend and queen previously headed off to.
The woods were once again silent.
Keela lengthened her strides, seeming to glide through the quiet wood. She kept that same, even pace as she entered a hidden entrance within a cluster of rocks. Through damp tunnels of earth and old stone, hidden channels behind the busy kitchen and quiet chambers. She only halted when she stood in front of her bed and then allowed her muscles to loosen, falling face first into the soft fluff of her bed, boot clad feet dangling over the edge. She shut her eyes, breathing slowly, emptying her mind of all distractions and then drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Again she was awakened by a gentle nudging on her shoulder. She sat up and righted herself to see her chambermaids about her, tentative smiles on their faces and a mixture of unknown emotion in their eyes. Her lips curled upward slightly, her eyes soft with warmth. They all seemed to let out a pent up breath and smiled genuinely in return.
After that came another flurry of action. A quick, perfumed bath, her locks were weaved into a beautiful crown atop her head, gorgeously decorated with jewelled flowers. Her garments were slipped on in layers, all in the King’s colours, the material and cut dulling the hard edges of her body. After a tint of coloured wax was added to her lips and cheeks the maids gathered around her, grinning in satisfaction. The head-maid stepped forward
“It’s time, my queen.”
Keela nodded and stood up, posture proud.
“Yes it is. Let’s go.”
She was surrounded and guided to the King who was waiting to enter the Great Hall in which the morning after luncheon was being held. Most guests were already seated, awaiting the expectedly late entrance of the newlyweds.
Keela’s steps did admittedly slow for half a heartbeat when she saw him standing before her, but in all daunting things that have ever required her extra courage, she dug deep within her reserves and mustered onward.