Aftermath

William stayed in the tent until the next day; he did not come out just because his body still needed to heal, but also because he just wanted to be left alone for a while. He thankfully found out after moving around a bit that he had SOMEHOW broken neither bones nor suffered any heavy injuries; to say it was a surprise was an understatement.

The morning of the next day William finally made his way out of the tent, the first thing he saw was the hide of the colossal bear he had "defeated" laying in the middle of the camp; probably so as to dry.

William understandably almost jumped away in fright, surprised by the sight in front of him.

As William had exited his tent, all those around the camp turned around to stare at him as they whispered among themselves, even the guards were no exception.

William was very perplexed by their behavior trying to figure out the motive behind it, "Why are they staring at me like that? Are they mad because you had to look for me and lost some sleep? COME ON, it was just an all-night rescue mission in a forest in which roamed a bear the size of a shack and capable of ripping you to shreds in seconds." He thought sarcastically in his mind.

"You like it?" Before he could make his way to the bear hide, lord Ulric had "sneaked" behind William without him noticing and spoke; this time once again William almost jump from the surprise.

"What the hell?" he thought.

"What do you mean I like it? That thing is going to give me nightmares." William answered.

"It is your prey son, you had done the impossible and killed the beast that even an expert hunter could not, that hide is your trophy, your badge of honor." The marquess replied.

William was speechless; "Do the people of this world no know what trauma is? I bet he wants me to display it in my room or something of the sort; which is a fast way to suffering nightmares for the rest of my life with a lifetime assured guarantee on top." He thought.

"I will have it treated and sent to your room, you can also think of it as you conquering your fears son." Lord Ulric added.

"HEEEEELL NOO!!!!" William almost blurted out in response.

"Anyways, why do I feel like they are looking at me differently?" he asked the marquess as he nodded towards the "crowd" in an attempt to change the subject.

"Is it not obvious?" The marquess questioned, a bit perplexed.

William simply shook his head.

The marquis sighed as he asked, "Did you not survive almost an entire day and night in the forest?"

William nodded.

"Have you not done so almost entirely alone?"

William nodded again.

"Have you not left clues for potential rescuers to follow?"

William nodded once more.

"Have you not done all of this while being followed by a bear that can rip a horse's head with a single bite as well as killed it, all without having any prior experience?"

This time William did not nod, it had finally hit him; as he looked at the men's eyes now, he understood what the feeling in them was.

It was respect, plain and simple. He had not realized it but, what he had done was a herculean achievement considering the circumstances; maybe they thought that the credit for killing the beast was actually his instead of the rock, none the less the decisions, the quick thinking and the cool-headedness were all his.

"No wonder they look at me like that, I thought that what I had done was nothing more than mostly luck smiling at a desperate man." William smiled a bit at this realization, feeling a bit proud of himself.

As he did so, he remembered the dead soldiers without whom he would have definitely been bear poop by now.

"Where are the dead guard's bodies, father" William asked with a bit of a gloomy expression.

"They have been buried near the camp, I will send some men to fetch their bodies later and bring them back to the castle to be buried properly and with honors. Want to see them?" lord Uric responded.

William nodded and followed his father to a clearing near the camp; there they arrived at two makeshift graves with nothing but sticks to mark them for now.

He stood In front of them with his father in silence for a few minutes before asked "what happens to their families? Will they get some help from us?

Lord Ulric sighed a bit at their loss, "Don't worry William, the Blackwell's always take care of their own. We ask of these guards loyalty, bravery, ability and much more, and though it is an honor to be one of them, it is also a dangerous job. Their families will receive enough money for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives."

"When the time comes to inform them, can I be the one to break the news?" he asked.

Lord Ulric simply nodded and put his right hand on William's shoulder.

William placed some flowers on the graves and returned with his father back to the camp.

Lord Uric wanted to announce the end of the hunting expedition in consideration of all that had happened; William on the other hand disagreed, he pushed the lord to stay and have his "vacation" while he could just stay in the camp for now.

After some back and forth the lord finally relented, helped by the fact that his son did not receive a severe injury that required him to see a doctor.

And just like that the hunting trip continued, led by the marquess and with the help of the experienced hunters as well as a bit more caution, everything went well and no further surprises headed their way.

The marquess decreed that they made feasts with the games they brought back from the hunts every night, making great bonfires and roasting the meat until it became crisp. This was done as a celebration of William's survival.

These "parties" presented great opportunities to socialize between the members of the group, which heavily diminished the gloomy air that came to be caused by all that has happened and instead brought back some sense of joy, warmth and pleasantness.

William quickly started to enjoy himself as the days rolled by, talking to the hunters and even drinking a bit with the guards.

On the last night of the hunt the next day of which they were to make their way back, an especially large feast was taking place to commemorate this hunting trip's conclusion.

William was sitting next to the bone fire having a chat as usual when he suddenly stood up on top of one of the logs they were using as chairs.

"Can I have your attention everyone!!!"

He shouted a bit to make himself heard in the middle of all the conversations that were taking place, which worked as all eyes turned towards him.

"This hunting trip was quite unordinary I am sure all of you here can agree to that. On this last day, I just wanted to say a word of thanks to you all for going above and beyond to rescue me. I know some of you have been promised gold in exchange."

He looked at the hunters who felt a bit embarrassed for pointing it out " I know some of you did it for duty" this time he looked at the guards some of whom puffed out their chests.

"And finally one for love." William looked at his father this time, who simply smiled.

"The reasons may be different, yet the result was the same; you had all risked your lives coming after me and for that, I am grateful to you all" he picked up his cup of ale, raised up and shouted. "Here to you all, to those who charged defiantly against the night!!!."

The others rose their cups as well and shouted as one "TO THOSE WHO CHARGED AGAINST THE NIGHT!!!!"

As they all emptied their cups they drank once more for the fallen and continued the feast.