2.
In the country home of King
Egan, Helene was then an older lady with her attention on focus on the young
lady in her care. The Princess was called by her nickname then, Clare, as not
to complicate her upbringing. She was not alone, but with two servants; one was
a huntsman and the other a maid for the Princess. By then, Clare had grown to
become a beautiful lady, with her dark hair flowing to her back, and her skin
was as clear as the water in the stream during autumn. She was unlike any other
ladies, while her home was a simple country house, and her spare time was in
the forest. She had followed the huntsman on his regular checks to inspect the
traps or on the trail with him for the meat on the table.
"That's not the way to
hold a bow, my Princess." Alan Bates, the huntsman had previously served
with King Egan' as a marksman in the archery team, was then the protector of
the Princess. He was in his middle ages, but he kept a well built frame. He was
dressed in his kill leather skin, and carried a long bow favored by the
archers. He also favored to call Clare the Princess as that was what he
addressed every young girl he met.
"You are holding it
wrong." Alan stepped up to Clare and adjusted her hold on the bow. He had
fashioned a shorter bow for her, with the weight adjusted for her height.
"Hold it upright and pulled the string back."
Clare did as he asked, with
the strength of her right arm; she pulled hard at the string. The bow ends
curved to her command and was held in position while she aimed at her quarry.
It was a tree trunk at fifty paces; a fine distance for one so young. She
released the string and the arrow notched to it went across the distance like
lightning. It struck at the grass blades at the foot of the tree trunk, and she
sighed.
"Do not fear, my
Princess. You would make it one day." Alan gave her his words of
encouragement. "You may one day out distance me with the bow."
Clare lowered the bow, and
smiled. She had been practicing for over eight seasons then; the day she
started was on her twelfth birthday when she got Helene' permission to learned.
Alan had placed in a good word for her; that she was a Princess and would one
day need to defend her land. Helene reluctantly agreed, for the young girl then
was unlike any she had taken care of. Clare was a wild one, far from her
inherited qualities as a Princess, but she was more of a tomboy; refusing to
wear the dress, but clad herself like a boy. She would have sheared off her
long dark locks, if not for the authority of Helene against it. She kept that,
but her daily rituals were hunting and fighting with weapons; be it against
Alan or an imaginary foe. She had taken to carry a dagger on her waist, much to
the dismay of the caretaker.
"It’s a dagger, Helene.
I may need it to protect me from the bears." Princess Clarity or Clare as
she was known to be called by Helene.
"Aye and the wolves
would be the small cubs that you had played with." Helene replied. During
her younger age, Clare found a weak wolf cub. There were wolves in the forest,
but they never approached the house. She had nurtured it back to health and
grew with it for a while, against the advice of Alan. He had sought the wolf
for he was concern that a cub would bring its mother, but the young lady was
adamant on the pet. The wolf grew up and was soon an adult creature but would
stick close to Clare.
On the final and strong
advice of Alan, Helene allowed the huntsman to remove the creature from the
care of the Princess. The wolf was taken away to the forest, but Clare soon
became sick for a few nights with raging fever. She kept on calling for her
wolf pet, but with the patience of a concerned mother, Helene soon cured her of
the ailment. Somehow after her recovery. Clare never mentioned about the wolf.
Helene thought no more of the wolf, but on some nights, she had premonition
that the wolf was nearby; guarding the young mistress from danger.
Dangers were never far from
them, being a house in the forest then, long ignored by the King for its
occupants. The annual trip of the King for the country home to do his hunting
was over since the Princess was sent there. Thus the forest freed of its
tormentor, soon grew back its own stock of creatures, both predators and preys.
It would have been a grand hunting ground, but the King had given the edict
that forest section was to be freed of hunting. So the only intruders to the
forest were the rogue bears or the hungry predators.
Alan was always there with
his bow and arrows, never a threat was to harm the occupants inside. He had
never mentioned it to the ladies, but he had done a few adventures of his own
in the forest with bandits or fugitives which had taken a wrong turn. He had
tracked and removed the ones which would not budge from his threats. For some
dangers, they would need more deterrent measures.
It was the series of dangers
that shaped the characters of the Princess.
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