The air was chill and crisp, and the hooves of their horses left the faintest prints in the freshly fallen snow. They had only ridden a few miles into the woods, and already Eugene had decided that hunting was not for him. The endless searching and chasing. Over-rated, really. He was a man who enjoyed instant gratification. Although it was refreshing to be on the other end of the pursuit for once. When the King had gotten the itch for a spontaneous hunting trip (and was entirely convinced that his son-in-law to be needed to go with him) Eugene had barely uttered a syllable before he was drug along and thrown on horseback. Now here he was, freezing his ass off, the saddle beginning to rub the inside of his thighs raw. Since when did Corona ever get this cold? Not in all the years he could remember, at least. His Majesty was contently riding along beside him, silent, listening for any potential noises coming from the trees around them. Eugene noticed that the King's cheeks were flushed, much as his own probably were, but the cold didn't seem to bother him at all. He adjusted the crossbow that was digging into his back, not used to feeling of having one strapped to him rather than merely aimed at it. He still wasn't entirely sure why the King hadn't seen fit to take his own crossbow with him. But he didn't ask. He had just come to learn that with the King, it was sometimes better not to ask questions.
Suddenly the King came to a stop. Without a word he pressed a finger to his lips, listened for a moment, then gently guided his horse to the right and out of the clearing. Eugene soon followed suite, and they continued a bit deeper off the beaten path. He stopped again not even a mile later, a wry smile spreading across his face, and tapped his younger companion's shoulder. Eugene tracked his line of vision to the young buck standing no more than thirty feet away. Determined to be the first one to nail it and bring this sizeable prize home, he slowly began to pull out his weapon, right about the time the King was dismounting. With the speed of what Eugene assumed an antelope would run, he watched in bewilderment as his future father in law ran up to the helpless animal and tackled it to the ground. Poor thing didn't have a chance. It had looked scared as hell, and Eugene didn't blame him, he would be a bit frightened too if he saw that furiously running toward him.
"Eugene, my boy," he called over, wrapping his arms around the writhing buck's neck and squeezing tightly. "Grab his legs!"
He sat motionless upon his mare, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Did that really just happen? Was His Royal Highness, the King of Corona, the man who's daughter he was going to marry, really wrestling with a deer right now? There were no words.
Man and beast tangled up in an epic, awkward fight for dominance. The whole thing was terribly disturbing.
"I might regret I asked, but what is it that you're doing?"
The King continued to struggle, his opponent proving to be a worthy fight. "I'm strangling it, of course," he exclaimed, quite out of breath. "You can't appreciate it's life until you have wrestled with it, body and soul. Now stop sitting there like a bump on a log and come help!"
Just as His Highness was gaining the upper hand, a loud zing sounded through the air and the buck stopped struggling. Confused, the King looked over to the arrow now poking out of the side of his prey, and then glanced over to where his companion still sat atop his horse, crossbow in hand.
"Now why did you go and do that?" Disappointment in his voice, he picked up the crown that had fallen off during his charge and placed it absently back on his head.
"Because frankly, Sir," Eugene said, sliding the weapon back into it's holster, "I'm not really into wrestling with things that have bigger dicks than me."