So since I had gotten a few people who were interested in the continuation of my huntress fic on Tumblr, I thought I would expand upon it. Now, I have a very loose outline of what I want happening, but if there's enough feedback, I'll probably be able to churn this out a bit quicker. On with the telling then.
The sounds of the forest echoed around her. For as long as she could remember, this is where she felt the most at ease. Living on the outskirts of humanity constantly, the green of the forest always held a tranquility that was never offered in the midst of a human crowd.
Unless her ears were deceiving her, what lay close would provide far more than what she carried on her presently. She paused, still but taut, ready to move when she needed to. The bodies of her hunt so far, a fat rabbit and a decent sized pheasant, swayed lightly against her belt.
Drawing an arrow from her sheath, she readied herself as she stealthily cut through the forest. Stopping before a clearing, her eyes caught onto a grazing deer. Its ears flicked back and forth, trying to pick her up but to no avail. The huntress shifted herself so that her bow would get a clear shot. Her breath held still as the deer froze, its head lifting as though it knew it had shifted into being prey. Predator and prey waited, perhaps for some divine sign telling them to move.
After an endless moment, the deer relaxed. As it took a step forward, a single breath was released from the huntress at the same time the arrow flew from the bow. A meaty thud echoed in the clearing as the arrow shot true and the animal dropped.
Approaching the fallen deer, the huntress pulled her knife and went to the arduous task of cleaning her kill and readying it for her to carry it back to the city butcher. A small smile graced her mouth beneath the hood of her cloak as satisfaction from her hunt warmed her chest.
She was lucky to have gotten that deer. Money was tight, and the thought of having to camp outside in the forest with the weather taking a bad turn was not something she had been looking forward to.
As she carried her bounty across her shoulders, she lightly kicked the door open to the careworn building.
"Godwin?" Her voice carried into the shop. Meats were hanging from wall to wall in various stages of preservation.
She had always liked Godwin's shop compared to the other butchers. The smell alone wasn't as bad, and he had a strict policy with the hunters he dealt with; no entrails no problems. He always said it was because he was lazy, but the huntress always thought it contributed to the higher quality meats he turned out.
"You've got meat for me?" A gruff voice sounded from behind the table as a stocky man straightened up, wiping his hands on a rag. He was rough around the edges, scruff on his neck and face with dark, wavy hair. Too rough to be considered classically handsome, but his eyes were kind as he recognized the huntress.
"Yea, I lucked out. Stumbled on a deer and figured you could sell it to the cows at the castle." Covering the distance to the table, she hefted the animal onto the space he waved to in front of him.
"Eh." He looked over the body, poking it in spots, inspecting how much he could trade for it. "It looks alright, not too heavy on the meat though," he said as he placed his hands on the table. "I'll give you four pieces for it."
Raising a blonde eyebrow, she shook her head. "At least seven. I know you'll get more than that from the nobles. Maybe even a gold piece."
Scoffing he growled, "As if those bastards would deal fairly with the likes of me. I'll probably get ten at the most for this bitty. I'll give you five and a few coppers. That's as low as I'll go, even for you."
Mulling it over, the huntress agreed. She wanted to keep her relationship with Godwin on good terms after all. "Deal."
"'Ere's the payment then." Pulling open his pouch, he drew out the coins and handed them over. He paused for a moment, looked at her belt and drew out a few more coins. "For the bird and the jumper. Just put them in the regular spots."
Pocketing the coins, the huntress untangled the other game she had and put them on an upturned crate in the corner.
Looking around the shop, her shaded eyes took on the amount of meat hanging on the walls.
"You've got quite a bit of meat here. More than usual."
Already working on the deer, Godwin glanced up. "You really haven't been around town recently have you?"
"You know me, never one to really chit chat with the people of the fair city," a wry grin on her mouth as she crossed her arms.
Godwin snorted as he skillfully cut. "Same. But you may as well hear about it. Our grand ol' King has sadly kicked the bucket. They're having a gathering of sorts, so me and a few of the other butchers have been asked to turn out quite a bit."
A small sound of surprise came from the huntress. "So who's in charge then, his kid?"
"That little boy? No, he doesn't come into power yet. I might've packed up and you would've found me gone already."
They shared a short laugh. "Well if not his son, then who?"
Pausing, Godwin glanced at the huntress incredulously. "Why, the Queen of course."
Hearing the wind howl outside, she was glad for the accommodations.
Dropping her bow to the side of the bed, she quickly shed her cloak and draped it over the single chair near the fire. Removing her knife and placing it underneath her pillow, she glanced at the door to double check the lock.
Satisfied, she sat on the reasonably comfortable bed and lifted her shirt to get ready for sleep. The coarse fabric caught slightly on raised skin, an odd sensation that she had grown used to over the years. The bindings on her chest separated some of her from the air as she threw the shirt to join her cloak on the chair.
Climbing under the covers, she rested her head on the pillow. A hand snuck under to curl assuredly around the knife handle.
As green eyes drifted shut, the huntress fell into warm sleep. The orange glow of the fire threw low light across her form, the crossed scars that adorned the exposed skin of her back in shadowed relief.
Lightning flashed while wind and rain battered against the window. The beautiful, dark-haired woman released a sigh and turned from the dreary picture.
"Your Majesty, please rest. I know that it has been a trying time as of late, but all the delegates will be here tomorrow. Now is not the time for weakness." The thin man in robes implored towards the brown eyed woman.
A flash of irritation colored her eyes, but only for a moment. Shaking her head, she drew a finger over the scar on her upper lip absentmindedly.
"Thank you for your services Sidney. I'll be sure to retire within the hour."
The relief in his face along with the frank admiration made her want to lash out, but she kept herself in check. With his departure she turned her attention to the little boy ensconced in a mountain of pillows.
There were many things that she could take grievance from her dearly departed husband. But this boy was not one of them. He had his moments of precociousness, but was a sweet child. One she would protect for as long as it was within her power to do so.
Brushing errant strands of hair back, she smiled as he huffed in his sleep and squirmed a bit from her attentions before settling down in his cocoon again.
Crossing the room to take her leave, she spared one more glance backwards before closing the door behind her.
Even within the depths of the castle she could hear the howl of the wind. Despite the walls of stone surrounding her, she couldn't escape that herald of change.