"Pick up the pace Rose! We'll never catch him at this rate!" Barn is always impatient when it comes to hunts, not to mention competitive. It's the first time we have been able to do something on our own since becoming squires,and since our lives have been perpetually hectic as of late, all of our Knights had allowed us the day off to compete in the hunt. Sam is only two feet in front of me, but I'm the one Barn yells at. Figures. I shake my head, knee Jack onward, and breeze passed Sam. Seeing this, he gives me a playful glare and leans into his mare, Sandy's, neck. We laugh and race for a time before we notice that Barneys no longer with us. We stop, panting along with our horses before we look back at the path.
"Oops…" I'm not overly concerned, but if Barn found the pig and took it down it alone, we'd never hear the end of it. We backtrack to a path about thirty yards back and follow the hoofprints to a clearing. Barn is off to the right, leaning on his horse, Apple, and munching on a srtip of deer jerky. The two hounds we had brought from the castle are sitting at his feet, impatient to get on with the hunt. As we near, Barn raises his eyebrows at us.
"You two lovebirds finished goofing off?" Sam and I glance at each other, each the color of a crab in the pot, before turning back to his knowing face. I stick my tongue out at Barn and he releases his usual great, barking laugh. He mounts and points off to the far right, into the bushes. We continue on, silent now that the beast is near; the only sound is the snuffling of the dogs as they lead us further off the trail, white tipped tails wagging in anticipation. We follow for a time before my mind begins to drift.
Barn Discovered my secret about a year and a half ago, and we had been inseparable ever since. He had joined us in our quest to keep my ever growing lie from surfacing, getting himself into the infinite trouble that seemed to follow me like an angry swarm of bees. Sam and I had started being more than best friends about a month ago. He had caught a suitor, who happened to be Alban from our year and a well known bully, trying to get handsy with me after our dinner with Aunt, and although I could more take care of it myself, I was hesitant about attracting attention, a lady that can fight is a rarity indeed. Sam had swooped in, even punched the guy. I now had to be careful to avoid Alban when I was in a dress, but he left us alone otherwise.
Barn's hand comes up, signaling a stop. I jerked out of my mind and looked ahead to see the Boar's den sitting against the base of a cliff. We dismount, grabbing our spears; Barn leads us to the den where we form a circle around the mouth. Sam and I glance at Barn and he holds up three fingers, silently counting down. At the drop of the last finger, he gives the command, and the dogs are off. They rush into the den, baying at full volume. An enraged squeal soon follows.
Barn calls the dogs to fall back, and they join our circle, snarling at the creature. A pig, larger than a pony, streaks out of the hole; his eyes are blood red and crazed. He whips his head around, glaring at each of us in turn. As his gaze turns to me, I can't help the cold shiver that runs down my spine. This isn't a mindless animal. It's smart, strong, and it's pissed, if we aren't careful, this won't end well.
"Sam, get em'!" Barn is yelling at Sam, trying to get him to react, but he's is in a daze staring at the sizable monster before him. At Barn's call, I snap to attention and lunge clumsily at the pig that has yet to stop staring at me. It dodges and I am almost skewered on a tusk, when a yank accompanied by Sam's frenzied exclamation of "Rose!" pulls me out of harm's way. Barely.
I glance at Barney who released my tunic and returned to his position, making a jab at the boar in the process. My near impalement seems to have woken Sam up, I nod at him, assuring him I'm alright before returning my attention to the task at hand.
Sam makes an attempt and only scrapes the beast's back, only managing to make it madder. The pig circles around to me again, and I see a clear opening to its chest, below the chin. I yell, trying to distract it and run as fast as I can, spearing it right below the sternum. The pig squeals and thrashes around, but Barney and Sam are at my side, keeping it from getting at me with its tusks. The dogs are wildly circling the scene, anticipating their share in the kill. The cross on my spear's handle is straining under the pressure of the giant thing. It snaps as the beast dies, all its weight falling toward us. We fall to the ground, pinned by the hunk of meat.
We sit and pant for a moment, the sweaty hog's flesh and its salty blood fill my senses. I gag a bit, and we heave the thing off.
"I think this'll win us the night." Sam gasps, a grin splitting his face in two. "I've lived at King Richard's court all my life, and I've never seen a pig of this size." I nod and attempt to calm my racing heart. Sam reaches out and grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze. I squeeze his in gratitude and pull him up after me.
We load the boar onto Apple, and head out; Sam leading with Apple's halter tied to Sandy's saddle, and Barn and I following on Black Jack. We spend the hour long ride back loudly singing tavern hunting songs, accompanied by the haunting howls of the dogs. I can just imagine Aunt swoon and faint at the tale of today's events, topped with sailor-worthy songs, and I laugh myself silly at the imagined horror of her face.