22. Chapter 20 Arden

Chapter twenty-two

Chapter 20: Arden

A week into our obedience training, and I'm over the early mornings and the bullshit. But today is different. Today in the neverending quest of the Solardinites to be obstinate in their patriarchal ways, We have to forage for food that we will then cook and feed to the males so they can determine if we are capable of being good little house wives for them.

As gross as I think this tradition is, I am extremely excited to not be stuck in the castle learning about the varying social faux pas that I could commit by simply standing three steps too far to the left.

For some bizarre reason, we still have to have hair and make up done, and wear dresses and heels until we get to the forest. Ursa keeps repeating some bullshit line about ‘keeping up appearances,' but I think that she and Cyndair just want to keep us miserable.

As we walk through the halls of the castle, Ursa insists on quizzing us on what we've learned so far as we go, and when we begin our descent down the stairs, she instructs her minions to keep score of how many questions we each get correct.

Which is some feat because navigating the stairs in these heels is torture, and I fear I'm going to snap my ankle with every single step. I hold onto the railing praying to whatever beings can hear me not to let me fall and break my neck.

When we reach the bottom she takes us through another door that leads down a long hallway with enormous windows overlooking the courtyard. The top of each window is an intricate stained glass section depicting a different plant or animal. The way the light is filtering through, they look like they're made of gemstones.

Finally, Ursa opens a door that leads to the rear part of the castle, facing the gardens and the woods. Just a few more stairs to navigate in these ridiculous shoes, and I'll be safe. Except these steps have no railing, and I'm not convinced I can handle that.

I stand awkwardly at the top with Dira as the others walk down the stairs with grace that I could only ever dream of having. I take a deep breath, hike up the skirt of my dress so I don't fall over it, and step down. Okay, only three more to go .

I take them one at a time, wobbling on each one, until finally I'm at the bottom. Dira sighs and attempts to step down the first one, but I watch in horror as she does exactly what I expected I would do and tumbles face first down the giant stone steps.

She manages to throw her hands out in front of her, but it doesn't matter much. She still smacks her nose off of one of the steps, and it instantly gushes blood.

"Christ, Dira!" I shout, and kick my shoes off to go help her.

"I'm fine!" She snaps, pushing herself up and brushing herself off. "Not the first time I've had an accident since coming to Sangaris."

Ursa approaches but keeps her distance. "You need to see the healer. Delma!"

The female assigned to Dira hurries forward. "Be back as soon as we can, Ma'am," she says, then loops her arm in Dira's and pulls her along.

Ursa lets out a loud sigh and says, "Moving along," before turning on her heel and continuing toward the treeline.

"We're not waiting for her?" I ask, after I scramble to put my shoes back on and half jog to catch up.

"She'll just have to meet us out there. Part of this is maneuvering with grace–grace that she does not have, yet. A little bit of a disadvantage will teach her to mind her feet better in the future."

"That's really unfair," I say. "Solina and I have both had more time in proper fae courts than Dira, and I've only been here for a few months. She's already so behind."

With a heavy sigh Ursa says, "Things are not always fair. Especially in Sangaris. Considering everything you've been through, I would expect that you of all people know that. She will get healed, she'll meet us out here, and she will either sink or swim. For now, you need to be focusing on yourself, because without magic or knowledge of the wildlife, this test is practically impossible."

As she finishes her monologue we come to a halt in front of a large shed at the edge of the woods. It's nearly the size of Rupert's cottage, and is sealed with a large green wooden door.

Ursa pulls a key out of her pocket and unlocks it. Inside is every manner of gardening tool you could imagine, as well as hatchets, machetes, and survivalist tools. We step inside and she and the two remaining helpers set to work gathering tools, I'm assuming for me and Solina.

"Ladies!" a booming male voice comes from the door.

I jump and spin in my spot, my gaze landing on an impossibly large man with grey-blue skin and tusks jutting up from his bottom jaw. I quirk my head to the side.

"Half-orc?" I ask.

He gives me a beaming smile. "Quarter." He steps forward and takes my hand in his and presses my knuckles to his lips. "Name's Umurn. Pleasure to meet you, miss..."

"Arden."

"Well, Arden. I'm here to escort you through the woods." He looks to Ursa. "Wasn't there supposed to be another magicless fae with us? My brother's runnin' a bit late, but he should be here any second."

"She was delayed. You'll go ahead with Arden. Solina, you're on your own since you have your magic. Umurn is just here to make sure that Arden doesn't meet with an untimely death." Her gaze locks on Umurn's. "You are not to assist her unless it's a matter of life and death. No hints, no suggestions, no moving things or using your magic to make things easy for her. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

I turn back to Ursa. "Am I really supposed to go traipsing around in the woods in this?" I gesture to my dress."

"Of course not, silly girl."

My assistant steps forward and hands me a pile of folded clothes and a pair of boots.

My brow furrows. "Where the fuck do you keep getting these things?" I ask, glancing around for her fancy clipboard.

She snorts and pulls a small velvet pouch off of her belt. She spreads it open and reaches her hand out toward my feet. "May I have those back?"

I slip them off of my feet and they shrink back down to their original size as I hand them to her. She takes the first one and moves it toward the pouch.

"You've gotta be joking. That's never gonna—"

I watch in amazement as the shoe slips effortlessly into the pouch, then she reaches for the second one and does the same thing.

"How I existed for thirty-four years without magic is a mystery. I can't wait to actually have access to it," I say with with a pout.

"Well, no time to waste then. Get dressed and meet us outside."

Ursa, her girls, and Umurn leave the shed, and Solina and I stand there just staring at each other for a minute. Being alone with the closest thing I have to a friend in this kingdom, even if only for a second, is a comfort. I breathe out a long breath, and set my pile of clothes on a shelf.

"Can you help me with my zipper?" I ask, spinning so my back is to Solina.

"Only if you help me with mine," she says as her gentle fingers slide the zipper down the back of my dress.

I turn to face her and she's already facing away from me. Sliding the zipper down the back of her dress, and keeping my voice low I say, "There's no reason we can't stick together out there; work as a team?"

She steps away and grabs the shirt that was provided for her as she lets her dress drop to the ground. If I weren't already up to my eyeballs in mates ... Focus! Flustered, I return to my clothes and begin pulling them on after removing my own dress.

"I think that we can probably stick close to each other, but I don't know much about Umurn. He's one of the groundskeepers, and an avid hunter for the crown, but I'm not sure where exactly his loyalties lie."

I nod, even though I'm not sure if she's facing me. I would feel much more comfortable out in the woods with Umurn if at least one other person were with me. I didn't get any bad vibes from him, but the books in Feldorn I'd read about Orcs said they were cruel fae.

The pants that were provided are made of leather, and are wildly uncomfortable. I only hope it doesn't get too hot or I'll end up getting stuck in them from the sweat. The tunic is a nice cottony fabric and is cooling at least.

Finally, I slip on the boots which are enchanted like the shoes, and toss my hair back so it all cascades down my shoulder blades. What I wouldn't give for a hair tie right now.

I turn back to Solina, and her gaze sweeps over me. "Looking good beast girl."

"Beast girl?" I asked with raised brow.

"Yeah, don't you turn into some horrific beast?" she asks with a snort. "That's what we've been told anyway."

"I wouldn't know, but let's let that rumor soar. The more people that are afraid of me, the better."

"Rumors run amok here. I'm honestly surprised that my father hasn't chewed me out about our clandestine garden meeting the other day."

The door to the shed swings open.

"Are you two just going to dally in here all day?" Ursa snaps.

"Nope, we're ready," I say and pick my dress up off the ground, and drape it over my forearm.

Reemerging into the bright, cool day, my 'assistant' takes my dress off of my arm and stuffs it into her little Mary Poppins sack. I want to make a joke about not needing a nanny, but not a soul here will get it. I should probably ask her name, but she seems to lack any hint of a personality.

"Here you go," she says, reaching around me with a leather belt fitted with a small hatchet and a machete. "And this," she says as she drapes a leather-lined suede messenger bag over my shoulder so the bag settles on my right hip, "is for whatever you gather. And finally, a quiver and a bow."

Staring down at the bow in my hands, I let out a sigh. I've used one before. I used to go bow hunting with my dad, and I did some archery in high school. I was actually pretty good at it. But I haven't held a bow in almost a decade. I just have to hope that it's like riding a bike. That's assuming I end up with a reason to need it. Looping the strap of the quiver across my body so I can reach for the arrows with my right arm, I turn to face Ursa.

"I don't get a...field guide or something to tell me what's poisonous?" I ask

"Nope. Just use your better judgment. Queen Cyndair said I was forbidden from giving you any help. The only reason that Urman is permitted to accompany you is because it would be bad form to allow you to die on your first day."

"Right," I mutter. "Ready, Umurn?"

"Indeed, I am miss," he says and holds out his elbow for me to take.

I loop my arm through his and he leads me toward the woods. Glancing over my shoulder I note that Ursa has a look on her face that is something akin to concern. She's not evil. Just stern—likely misunderstood.

"I'll be fine," I say, just loud enough so she can hear it and she nods.

"You will be," Umurn says and smiles down at me. "I got a sense about people, y'know?"

Maybe the books in Feldorn were wrong. Maybe there's nothing inherently scary about the orcs.

"So what has you living in the city?" I ask him.

"Whatchya mean?"

"Oh, just the books in Feldorn said that all the Orcs typically kept to the mountains."

"Yeah, I s'pose that's mostly true. I did live there for a while, myself. But weren't meant to be my life."

I look up at him expectantly, hoping he'll explain. He glances down at me, his big chartreuse eyes sorrowful.

"King Esrend and his men were after a pack of beasts that had attacked the city. They had hunted them out through the woods and up the mountain. When they came upon my village they killed our people. Weren't the king's fault. And he did alright by me and Maknok—my brother.

"We were just wee boys at the time. My mother managed to save us by covering us with her body. Since she was half-orc she was a very large female. Unfortunately one of the beasts ran her through with one of their tusks. It barely missed me and my brother."

I frown. "Esrend just let you come live at the castle?"

Umurn nods. "The shed where you got your things? That used to be our cabin. We had a house mother stay with us for a while, then when we were old enough, she moved out. He gave us the option of leaving once we could fend for ourselves, but we chose to stay on and work the grounds."

"The stories I've heard of Esrend—he doesn't sound as...intense as Cyndair."

Umurn glances over his shoulder. We're a ways away from Ursa and the others. The trees begin to get more dense around us. Solina is following about ten feet behind and twenty feet to the left of where we're walking.

"Cyndair is a mean old bitch. When he first brought us back, she wanted to have us 'put down like the beasts we were,' but Esrend put his foot down. Eventually she realized our worth, but it took a while."

Small specs of vermillion become visible through the ground coverage. They look like mushrooms. I pause and pull my arm away from Umurn and crouch down next to one.

"I recognize these," I say. "Couldn't tell you the name of them, but they taste good with fowl, right?"

I glance up at Umurn through my lashes, and he stands tall over me with his large arms crossed over his broad chest. A smirk dances across his face.

"You're not completely inept, then. Good eye. They're belally buds; they're kind of tangy." It's not a direct 'yes' or 'no'. He seems to be doing his best to not give me straight answers that might help me.

I look to Solina. "Will we be given meat to cook with?"

"No. We're expected to make food from whatever we find in the forest. Believe me, there are plants out here that provide resources big enough to make full meals out of them. You just need to know where to look."

"But if I found an animal to hunt, and gutted and skinned it myself, I could use that?" I look back and forth between Solina and Umurn waiting for an answer.

"You...could..." Solina says, hesitantly.

After picking a few more of the mushrooms, I stand and brush my hands off on my tunic. "No time to waste then," I say and begin walking again.

After thirty or forty minutes of not finding anything but some flowers I recognize as being edible as salad garnish, and Solina pointing out a tree with roots that can be cooked in place of meat, I'm beginning to feel that it's hopeless.

I pause and put my hands on my hips and stare up at the clear blue sky. I've worked up a sweat despite the coolness of the forest air.

Then, a branch cracks in the distance. Then another. Then another. Either one very big animal or a herd of smaller ones. I hold my finger up to my lips, urging the others to be silent, then I creep forward toward the sound.

Ahead of me there's a clearing. I'm guessing it's a path for deer. Tiptoeing, thankful for the soft leather of the bottoms of my boots.

Quietly as I can I pull an arrow from my quiver and lightly notch it on the bow string. Movement catches my eye as I prowl toward my prey. Then it comes into view. A beautiful, enormous buck. Its silvery fur, and white antlers make it look positively ethereal.

Pulling back on the bow, I take my aim. Once it's in the right position, giving me just the correct angle—"Arden! Wait!" Umurn calls—I loose the arrow. It finds its mark just behind the shoulder of the beast. The rest of its herd scatter into the wood, and leave the wounded creature behind.

It staggers a few steps, then falls with a thud on the ground. I jump straight up into the air and let out a whoop ! My celebration is short-lived when the sound of thundering hooves, and flashes of movement through the trees.

Centaurs.