Katherine woke with the birds just before dawn. Hastily tiptoeing out of bed to dress herself in breeches and a man’s blouse, she pulled on thick stockings and boots specially made for her small feet. Quickly she pulled her hair back tying it with a leather thong only to have a few curling red strands escape to tickle her cheeks. She ignored the feeling and went to her armoire. Rummaging through its contents she pulled out her long bow and quiver. Grabbing a small satchel out of the chest at the foot of her bed she tied it round her waist brusquely. With the bow over one shoulder and the quiver over the other she slipped out her bedchamber closing the door softly behind her.

Moments later she came to light outside the manors entrance to the kitchen. It was only ever used by the servants but, having known Her Ladyship since her childhood, the kitchen staff was quite used to Katherine’s outlandish ways and ignored her presence this fine morning as she skipped out past them. Pausing on the stone steps, she drew in a deep lungful of air shoulders arched back in an unladylike posture. A mix of gold and red was just peaking over the mountain dying the forest surrounding the fields of her stepfathers land a sumptuous pink. She felt her eyelids droop in a deep satisfaction from the beauty. Sighing she jumped lightly from the top step to the dusty courtyard and trotted towards the waist high stone wall surrounding the manors main building. Vaulting over this with the ease of a lanky lad, she loped through her stepfathers’ fields, the tall wild grass brushing her waist as she went.

When Katherine reached the forests edge her breath came in easy pulls and a light sweat swept her brow. She slowed slightly and was more cautious as she entered the hidden shadows beneath the large trees. The way became more difficult and she had to use more control of muscles as she climbed over massive tree roots, stepped beneath low hanging leafy branches, and bounded over sweetly tinkling creeks. She climbed higher and higher up the gently sloping mountain that acted as the boundary between Her Majesty’s country and the barbarians land to the west. Hours passed and the forest became less dark with streaks of light filtering between leaves, dust motes floating past her as she stepped from gloom to brilliance and back again. She felt the warm light reflect on her hair and was obscurely relieved that the morning’s chilliness was waning. Circling a particularly large specimen of a centenarian tree she came upon a small protuberance. She paused to gaze at this familiar sight, standing on a massive root that had separated itself from the soil and risen in a high arch. She rested her palm against the trunk as she stood and it was then that she became aware of a presence other than her own watching her from somewhere close by.


She did not freeze up nor make any other sign that she had discovered her stalker. Instead she took cleansing breaths and continued to stare at the ivy covered cliff while concentrating all her senses on that alien existence. This was not an animal awareness but human, Katherine realized after a few moments of scanning. She meditated on this information grimly and abruptly threw away her previous plans for the morning. Gripping her bow tightly she laid out a scheme to catch an entirely different type of prey, prey that was as intelligent as her, maybe more so. She smiled coldly to herself. Let the hunt begin.

Languidly she stretched her arms above her head relieving the stress in her back, and then she hopped from the root. Coming to the foot of the cliff she began her ascent up its vast side. The way up was almost perfectly vertical and she had no rope or pulley to help her from falling but she knew every nook and cranny on this precipice just like she knew all the secret spots of the mountain. Ever since that momentous night long ago in her childhood the mountain had been hers. No stranger could hope to keep up with her. At this thought she felt her lips stretch in a feral smile and she realized that it was excitement that made her heart pump so. Maybe the changes in her plans were not such an inconvenience after all.

Later she came to regret this foolish thought. It was more than two hours past and the sun had reached its zenith. The air beneath the canopy had become hot and stifled making her quite exhausted. After ascending the cliff, Katherine had made a lazy weave up the increasingly steep mountainside teasing her stalker by slipping in and out of his range. For her pursuer was a man. She could smell his musky scent on the occasional breeze and felt his singularly masculine aura hunting her. She was somewhat surprised at her pursuant sticking with her so closely. Her surprise soon turned to irritation though and then dismay. No matter how much she picked up her pace, or how she twisted and weaved her way through the forest, her stalker kept his stride and, however much she wanted to deny it, was even gaining on her. Now, nearing the end of this long and odious hunt, Katherine’s dismay had turned to desperation.


Her shirt and hair clung damply to her skin and her legs quivered from overuse. Katherine had not had a chance to stop and scavenge for anything to eat during the day and her stomach gnawed at her for this abuse. Lips pursed she ignored it and pushed on. Walking around a medium sized oak she clumsily stumbled over its roots, just managing not to fall to the ground. She paused gasping for breath and an idea struck her. Not listening to the nagging doubts her mind threw at her, she headed forward casting about until she spotted the perfect specimen. Standing with legs splayed and hands on hips, she perused the tree she had chosen for her trap. It was large with grand twisting branches that turned every which way. Shadows, black as night, hovered near the top of the canopy. She hoisted the bow and quiver higher on her shoulders, making her way up the trunk towards those hidden branches. It took Katherine a few breathless moments for her to find the perfect spot and she almost sighed in relief when she found it. She crouched close to the trunk her booted feet clinging firmly to bark as she slowly pulled an arrow and latched it to her bow. Smoothly with not a hint of shaking she stretched the bow and arrow and took aim down below. And thus she waited patiently for her pursuer to appear.

The air hung around her heavily while she concentrated on breathing in and out through her nose. Time passed slowly as she listened for a telltale sound or scent and even though she watched for him with a hawk’s eye she was still startled when a lean dark shape appeared in her line of vision. She drew in her breath sharply and held it. Her fingers tightened and she twitched the bow farther. Later as Katherine thought back on this moment, she wondered if that small movement had warned her prey of her presence for, in the instant before she loosed her arrow, the man had looked up straight into her flashing blue eyes. Looking directly into his salient olive skinned face she realized that he was a barbarian. Shocked, Katherine’s fingers slipped slightly and the arrow made a dull thwack as it pierced the man’s shoulder right above his heart, an inch above where the arrow should have landed.

The man grunted in surprise and looked down at the arrows shaft sticking out beside his collar bone. His face was strangely passive, almost stone like as he raised his eyes, just his eyes, to stare accusingly at her. Katherine felt her shoulders stiffen in indignation at that. He was the one who had been hunting her! He deserved getting shot and was lucky she had been clumsy enough to miss his vital organ. She scowled and watched without pity as the man staggered where he stood and then slowly sank to the ground. Even though his upper body swayed, he continued to stare at her steadfastly, apparently ignoring the blood soaking through his shirt. She sighed with exasperation and with no little admiration as well. The poison from the arrowhead should have sent him into a sweet swoon by now but the stubborn man seemed far from giving into this weakness. Katherine had to admit that the western lands grew their menfolk pretty strong. Swiftly she dropped her bow and quiver to the ground then swung from her branch to land directly in front of him. His eyes widened slightly but that was the only reaction she received for, what she thought, an impressive show of her abilities especially considering the state her body was in. Even now her body berated her loudly for her harsh treatment but she tamped down on it. She would not show any weakness while those hard brown eyes continued to gaze at her.


Once again Katherine stood with feet spread and hands on hips and while perusing her victim, considered the situation she found herself in. After a moment she sighed again and with far more revealing a result. Her shoulders sagged slightly as she knelt before the man, and ignoring his inscrutable eyes broke the arrows shaft so that only a small amount of wood poked from his skin. With small quick fingers she tore his shirt slightly to see his wound better. Under her hands Katherine felt him jerk slightly at the damage done to his garment. She smiled coolly at this and continued working. Holding the man straight with one hand, she reached behind him with the other and found the arrows head protruding starkly. As her fingers brushed the arrowhead the man inhaled sharply and leaned more heavily against her. She frowned at this. The poison should have left him feeling numb. Katherine used it when she hunted so that in case she missed her mark, as unlikely it would be, the animal would not suffer. He really was made of sterner stuff if he could feel the pain already.

With the same hand she opened her satchel and rummaging through it pulled out a roll of suave and a small pouch. Katherine placed these close at hand and quickly before the man could know what she was about jerked the arrow from his shoulder. He stiffened and then plowed into her as he fell into a dead faint. She grunted in effort as she held him up with difficulty. Huffing slightly she lay the man down on his side that was not injured and tore his shirt sleeve clean away. She spotted a kidney pouch at the man’s waist and opened it sniffing at the spout. Satisfied, she poured the water onto the hole in his shoulder both in front and back clearing away the blood and debris. Katherine took a couple pulls from the leather container swallowing thirstily before corking it. She picked the little pouch up and, inserting two fingers, pinched a small amount of dark green powder and sprinkled it on the circular wound. Then she wrapped the suave tightly over the hole and around his armpit until the suave was used up and all she had to do was tie it with a knot.

While she worked Katherine thought to herself that if it had only been a year earlier she could have left the half-breed to his death. But now that an uneasy truce had been placed between Her Majesty the Queen and the mysterious war lord of the western lands it was preemptive that no harm come to any barbarian within their country, no matter their rank. And considering the clothes she walked around in herself the man she nursed could very well be that infamous war lord. Katherine knew very well that clothes could hide ones status and wealth easily. So it was with weary and cold patriotic loyalty that she gave this man the time of day. She would not be the one to blame if the land fell into war again, not with her actions at any rate. Treating this stranger was her duty, she was just grateful she hadn’t killed the bastard. It was during this thought that the stranger came to and cursed quietly, almost eloquently in his own tongue. At least she thought it was cursing, she knew she would be cursing if she found herself in the same situation.
“Can you speak English?” Katherine asked the barbarian.


Under her hands he stilled noticeably. She was kneeling behind him and so could not see his face or the expression that lay there. The air hung with a charged silence while she waited patiently.

“Yes,” he murmured after hesitating slightly. Katherine noticed his strong accent which made her language sound quite out of the ordinary, almost exotic. The tone of his voice was also unusual, smoky and dry. It reminded her of the deserts described in her geography lessons from long ago and she had the sudden urge to ask him more questions just so she could listen to that soothing voice. She crushed the urge down and said a tad brusquely,

“Good. It is better that we understand each other in order to get through this mishap without further ordeal. Can you stand?”

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.06.2012

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