The Huntress || Gaston

Prologue

There was a certain stillness in the woods that made it peaceful and easy to hear the beautiful sounds that nature had to offer: the chirping of the birds, the swaying of the leaves in the breeze, and the faint trickling of a river not too far from the entrance of the woods. However, there are times when the stillness is broken. Broken now by the thundering of hooves, crunching through the leaves on the ground, and flying through the woods where the sun had just peeked through the trees to shine a light on the horse and his rider. Ada, the rider, stood in the stirrups but kept low to her steed to avoid branches, and shouted encouragement as the black stallion picked up speed on the way back home. "C'mon Bandit! Just a little further!" Ada cried out over the wind that blew her ashy, blonde hair behind her and out of her striking green eyes.

Home in a jiffy, Ada guided Bandit the black horse to the stables behind her cottage and rewarded him with an apple before going into the house to find it empty. She often lived with her mum, Agatha, but despite the good income from her daughter, she still begged for money in the village where she grew up. Ada had argued before that it was unnecessary but Agatha wouldn't budge, saying that once Ada found something she believed in deeply that she too would be stubborn...more than she already was, that is. "Mum?" Ada called from the kitchen when she heard the door.

"No, it's your fellow huntsmen." Agatha smiled and Ada rolled her eyes at her mum's playful behavior; something must've happened in the village.

"Mum, you know they wouldn't let me back after the accident." Ada said with a soft sigh, wrapping her mother in a hug from behind before taking her cloak from her shoulders and placing it on the rack.

"They feel badly, my dear. They were kind enough to let you go with them." Agatha said, taking over the pot on the stove while Ada sat at the table, subconsciously beginning to rub her right leg. Their conversation was put on pause as a happy barking followed by the trot of paws on the wooden floors ran excitedly to greet the two women. Bailey, the pup of the house, had been napping and smelled food from her owners, happy to see them as well. "Hello, Bailey," Agatha knelt to scratch the pooch's head then went back to dinner while Bailey laid her head across Ada's lap, content when she began to scratch her head.

"Went with them then worked with them for a year. The accident wasn't my fault, the wolves caught us by surprise." Ada said, looking at the back of her mum. "I am going to need to find work soon though, their generous rations are running out."

"Perhaps you could come into town with me? You could work with the blacksmith, or at the bakery, or in the tavern." Agatha suggested, pouring the broth into two bowls and then putting a thin slab of meat on a plate for Bailey. She set the bowls down on the table then took a seat as her daughter began to speak,

"The tavern? Mum, I'm a huntress. I don't want to serve old men drinks with my shirt cut low." Ada recoiled from the suggestion, dipping her spoon in the bowl, and confused as her mother began to laugh.

"Oh, dear, not all are old men. Some are quite young and spiffy, with tales of their hunting days being boasted left and right. I think you'd enjoy getting ideas for your next run because if I am correct, you've searched almost every inch of those woods." Agatha gave her daughter a look that made her blush, sipping the contents of her dish, then sending her mum a smile.

"I am looking for another adventure. Perhaps the mountains?" Ada daydreamed for a moment, looking at the range of beautifully crafted mountains through the window behind her mother. "Except, no wolves this time." She smiled, looking back into her mum's kind, old eyes as the two shared a laugh. Ada gave her mum a glance before straightening and leaning forward to ask, "Did something happen today in the village? You walked in acting like you had seen a bit of magic." Agatha looked up at her daughter's wording,

"Well, I can't say for certain, but I do have a feeling that small village with those small minded people are in for a not so small surprise soon." Ada laughed softly. "Come to the village tomorrow, please."

"Alright, alright, but you are going to clean up that beggar look." Ada wagered and Agatha gave her a sad smile to which Ada picked up on, "I'm not going to be with you, am I?"

"No one knows I have a daughter."

"No one asks." Ada shot back quickly.

"It's all right, my dear. We'll go our separate ways to the village, myself on foot while you ride in gallantly on Bandit. You'll enjoy what the village has to offer and meet the kind folks who live there, not worrying your pretty little head off about me. I'm well fed, am I not? I have clothes and a place to live, don't I? I have the most beautiful and brave daughter whom I am so proud of. Don't you worry about me." Agatha went on and Ada smiled at her touching words, nodding. "Though I must warn you, they don't take kindly to unfamiliar doings. So be wary of reading, teaching, sounding smarter than they are-which you are, and especially hunting."

"Mum!" Ada gasped, shocked.

"They don't like women who are different, who can think. It's a threat to their beings and how the town is run." Agatha explained then softened, resting a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "I never said don't, I just said be wary."

"Right," Ada nodded, silently eating the rest of her supper before gathering all the dishes and cleaning them up right, giving her mother a kiss before going to let Bailey out for their nightly stroll. Ada walked slowly behind Bailey, who just had to sniff every single thing they passed, her fair skin shining in the moon and eyes twinkling with the reflection of the stars. Bailey barked a few times and Ada walked over to her dog, laughing when she found the pooch was barking at a squirrel in the tree. "I wish you would have told me I'd be needing my bow, I could have caught that squirrel for you in no time at all." Ada told her dog, stepping closer to the tree and resting a hand on its smooth bark. She looked up and smiled childishly, hiking up the skirt of her dusty-rose dress and putting her foot in one of the pockets in the tree, jumping up to grab a branch above her head. Ada climbed until she could climb no more, smiling to herself as Bailey waited patiently at the base of the tree, and took in the clear sky from above.

Bailey decided it was time for them to leave so she began to bark and whine until Ada climbed down completely, brushing off the leaves that came down with her. "Alright, alright, we're leaving." Ada said as Bailey ran ahead, "Silly dog." Once home, Bailey laid in front of the fire to sleep while Ada went into her room, removed her boots, and climbed into bed, sleep overtaking her as she thought of the adventure awaiting come morning.