Mischief - Part 7

The next day, over breakfast, the King was in a glorious mood as he was going hunting that day.

"Perhaps I shall catch a fine wild boar today," he exclaimed with joy like a child on Christmas morning.

Mal turns to him from her seat and smiles sweetly, "I'm sure your Majesty is quite talented when it comes to the hunt. Might I be so bold as to request the privilege of accompanying you on your trip, Sire?"

He looks at her with astonishment written across his jolly old face,"Oh, Lady Malora, are you trained in the ways of hunting?"

If she's gonna be playing a part, she might as well make it an interesting one.

"Quite a few of the ladies from Ermosta are skilled at hunting. My father wanted a son and he got me instead. He never mentioned wanting a son again after training me."

"Well, you're a spirited young thing aren't you?" King Ashtar replies, "Of course, you may come with us my dear. I look forward to seeing how well you hunt."

Mal laughs and notices Riverqo's questioning look in her direction.

He didn't expect her to just sit in the castle all the time did he?

                                                                      -----

The arrow whizzes past the trees and hits the boar right in his sides. This causes it to land on the floor with a thud. Birds start flying off in whatever direction they could think of.

King Ashtar claps his hands, "My, my, you are indeed a fine hunter, Lady Malora."

She smiles in a pleasant manner as she gets off her horse, "Still not as good as you though I imagine, your Highness."

She takes out the arrow from the boar and puts it back into her case, still covered in blood and all.

"Shall we take a break at the lake nearby father?" Prince Riverqo pipes up.

"An excellent idea, my son."

Shortly, they found themselves all set up near the lake. Malora excuses herself to clean off her arrows. As she is looking at her reflection in the water, she can't help but think of what was going on and what she was actually doing. How long could this charade keep going on for? What would happen when they all find out the truth?

She hears footsteps approaching and immediately loads her bow in preparation.

"Who's there? If you mean to hurt me, I will shoot you," she told the approaching person.

"Calm down Mal, it's just me," Prince Riverqo exclaims as he emerges from the bushes.

"What do you want?" She asks him as she stands up properly from the ground.

He walks up closer to her, "I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I can take care of myself, Rivie. You know that."

"I do, of course," he replies and moves even closer to her. So close that she can easily examine the intense grey irises staring back at her.

He brushes a strand of hair away from her face, "I'm just concerned about you."