The Price of Blood

Chapter1: Lost and Found

Victoria grunted as her feet hit the ground. She steadied herself against her horse, glad to be out of the saddle. The ride back into town had been a long, slow, and bumpy trek through the forest. Riven snorted and nudged her impatiently towards the hitch outside the storefront near the water trough. She patted his flank, taking hold of his reins and tying him to the hitching post. While he drank, she unloaded the rabbits she had strung on the back of the saddle and headed into the butcher shop.

The bell on the door rang as Victoria entered the store. The butcher, a burly, straw-blond man named Louis, looked up from the chicken he was currently cutting up at the counter for a customer. He had blood spattered up his arms and in his thick mustache that hid half his mouth from view. He looked up at her and smiled.

"The huntress returns," He said, eying the string of rabbits that she had slung over her shoulder. "A good haul this time."

"There's a buck out on the horse for you as well. The forest was generous this go around," Victoria said.

Once the woman at the counter had collected her bird and gone, Victoria set the six rabbits on the counter. Louis wiped his hands on his blood-stained apron and took the skinned rabbits to the scale in the corner.

"How big's the buck?" He asked her as he placed each rabbit on the scale and wrote the weight down on a leather-bound notepad.

"Eight-pointer. He was a feisty one. Took me an hour to track him down after I shot the first time." Victoria peered out the window to keep an eye on her horse. She had several furs and the buck still on the saddle-an appealing target for a would-be thief. A few men were already eying her haul, talking amongst each other as they admired the pelts and stag.

"Bring the horse around back. I'll skin and weigh the buck on the hooks." Louis closed his notebook and tucked it into the pocket of his apron and headed into the back room.

Victoria stepped outside to unhitch Riven. The men had drawn closer to the big black stallion, much to his obvious displeasure. As the men spotted her reaching for his reins, one of them whistled, making her jaw clench. They were strangers--not from the area, as far as she could tell. No one in town would dare to be so crass with her.

"Mighty fine animal you've got there, Miss. Not every day you see such a fine Ruisian stallion." One of the men said. He, like his companions, wore a thick bearskin coat. They all smelled heavily of beer and sweat. "And a mighty fine buck, too."

One of the younger men, a lanky boy with rusty brown hair, took a step closer to touch the buck. Riven tossed his head, flattened his ears, and stomped his front foot in warning. When he did not back off, the horse turned and nipped at the man, sending him sprawling back on his haunches on the dirt road. His raccoon cap went tumbling into the mud.

"I'm so sorry, Sir. He doesn't like men very much, you see. Best to keep your distance." Victoria smiled innocently, patting Riven's neck in praise. She gave the reins a tug and started around the butcher's shop without another word. Riven, giving a final indignant swish of his tail, followed along quietly beside her, seeming perfectly well-behaved.

Louis was waiting by the backdoor to the butcher shop, where he brought in large livestock for slaughter and butchering. He pushed the doors open wider, giving her enough room to lead Riven through. The butcher whistled as he patted the buck on the haunch.

"Beautiful one you bagged this time," He said. "Where did you find him?"

"Just outside town a few hours ago. He appeared out of nowhere while I tracked a different buck and I chanced my shot. I got lucky."

"Lucky indeed. Are you sure you don't want to keep at least some of him for yourself? He'd feed you for quite some time if you store it here in my icebox. I wouldn't mind holding him for you."