The Kings Mistress Chapter 111

[ … words ]

She did not know what game Sierra was playing at but she was not about to lose to her, that was for certain. Sierra took a closer look at the wild board. She walked all around it to examine it. She furrowed her eyebrows as she noticed something was amiss.

“Wild boar meat is really tasty, so I was thinking if you did not have any use of it, we can hand it to the kitchen to make good work of it,” Sierra replied as she continued.

No matter how hard she looked, she could not seem to find any fatal arrow wounds on the boar. However, she did notice that there were wounds on its back as if it had hit a hard surface. Sierra recalled that Cassandra had the favor of Twylight, the Pegasi.

It was likely, from her analysis that Cassandra used her powers to defeat the boar and not with her archery skills.

“Wild boar meat? If you think I would hand over my prize you are-”

Before she could finish speaking, two servants gasped in horror. The wild boar she had hunted flickered its eyes open and let out a blood-curdling squeal.

“Ah, looks like it’s not quite dead yet,” Sierra sighed as she took a few steps back.

“Everyone, move back and stay away!” she called out.

The boar was tied at its feet that were attached to two long poles being held by four servants. When the boar came back to life, everyone began to panic. They released the poles in their hands and moved away from the boar.

Cassandra, who was on her horse, was shocked by what was happening. Her mare was spooked by the squealing wild board and began thrashing. She lost her grip on the reins and could barely keep on.

The boar was still tied to the poles but the ropes were loosening. Sierra analysed the situation in a heartbeat. Though Cassandra had never been kind to her, she knew her life was in grave danger, both from her horse and the boar. First, she would need to calm her horse down.

While everyone else was frantically moving far away from the scene, Sierra stepped forward. She got as close as she could and beckoned Cassandra.

“Your Highness! You have to jump!” Sierra yelled from the side.

“Jump?” Cassandra was livid at her suggestion, “Are you mental?!”

Sierra reached out her hands, “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you! trust me!”

“I… I am not trusting you!” she yelled while still trying to hold onto her horse.

But the tighter her grip on her mare, the more she thrashed about. It was only a matter of time before she would be thrown off.

“I know we had our differences, but you don’t have any other choice. Unless you’re prepared to be trampled!”

Cassandra gulped. Trampled by a horse means death, or becoming a cripple. Neither of which she wanted. As such, begrudgingly, she did as Sierra asked. She let go of the reins of her mare and jumped.

As promised, Sierra caught her, using her body to break her fall. Sierra winced as she felt the pain shot through her back. She did not wait for Cassandra to come to her senses as now she had more pressing tasks at hand to take care of. It was clear no one was coming to help.

Not anytime soon anyway. The instructors, who were teaching the other princesses archery, heard the commotion but paid it no mind. Especially after what Sierra did to Victor, none of them were willing to do anything.

The other princesses got curious, due to the noise and commotion. All of them eventually stopped what they were doing to go and see what was happening.

Sierra got Cassandra off her and got back up to her feet, dusting her hands off. The mare was still thrashing about and had not calmed down. If that went on, someone was going to get hurt.

“Maybe the boar would be easier to handle first,” she mumbled to herself as she looked over.

It was almost free from the restraints, causing more terror amongst those who were watching from the side.

“The boar came back from the dead!”

“The boar was still alive? How was that possible?!”

“Help!”

Sierra sighed.

Did no one know what to do apart from her?

She glanced over to the side. Using a bow and arrows at such a short distance would be disadvantageous. So, she reached for her sword and made quick work of it with a stab to the throat.

She sighed as the blood splattered all over her. The blood-curdling screams rang loud throughout the lodge. It soon died down as the boar laid limp and was finally put to rest. Everyone gasped in horror when Sierra turned back to face them.

“What? It’s just a bit of blood,” she muttered in confusion.

Unfortunately, now that she was covered in animal blood this only made the mare even more frightened. She took a few steps back, unable to get close.

Sierra turned to Cassandra, “What’s her name, and what does she like?”

“What?”

“Your mare! What is her name and what does she like to eat?”

“P…Princess, her name is Princess. What does her favorite-”

“There’s no time to explain right now, just tell me what it is,” Sierra yelled without much thought.

“She… she likes apples.”

“Ida!” Sierra called for her maid.

As it so happened, she was in the crowd. Having heard all the commotion, she too came to see what was happening. She stepped forward as Sierra instructed her to get them some apples and apple juice.

Ida ran off to do so immediately. She returned moments later with the items Sierra asked for.

Sierra poured the apple juice onto the ground and placed a few apples there. Then, she called out the mare’s name in a soothing voice devoid of fear.

To everyone’s surprise, the mare eventually simmered down. She was no longer thrashing about. Seeing the apples in Sierra’s hands, she moved towards her step by step. Eventually, she stopped at the apples on the ground and began eating them calmly.

Sierra heaved a sigh of relief.