2 Chapter 01 (Part Two)
NOTE: Text surrounded by asterisks (*) is supposed to be italicized. This includes thoughts of the protagonist, the names of species, certain parts of speech (akin to background noise), and will also be used to put emphasis on certain words. The "✦✦✦" will act as dividers given the lack of formating.
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« With rogues he must be a rogue; with thieves let him filch whatever he can.
It befits him who is truly wise, to be a person that can shift his very skin.
Good with the good let him be, bad with the bad: just as things are,
So let him ever frame his state of mind. »
— Bacchides (Act IV, Scene 4), Plautus.
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I left the forest with a deer draped over my shoulders like a scarf made of fur. My fingers felt numb in the cold air, lips unable to move, for mother winter kept them shut. I expected him to follow me after I had escaped the tension of our conversation but instead lost the man to the depths of the forest. He had left me no name, only a face to remember, and I couldn't help but continuously throw glances behind me in hopes of catching his shadow; alas, he was truly nowhere to be found and I soon reached the Kingdom's welcoming gates.
Once I was stripped off prey, congratulated by elders whose bodies were already six feet under, and rushed to the corners of the Northern Kingdom's castle to where my bedroom was, it was almost time for the royal dinner.
The dinner existed to worship the *Iussus*, fair Goddesses who have graced our race with enchanted weaponry and shed light when there is darkness; to remind ourselves to whom the Kingdom's throne belonged, and to proclaim the first night of revitalizing the huntsmanship. Only those proven worthy could sit at the same table as the royal family, and being the Northern Huntsmen Chief's son as well as an uprising huntsman, I was one whose arrival was most expected this evening.
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The last few lances of light fell in a holy line of fire and the day was swallowed whole. The night, an unbreakable curse, was upon us and the velvet sky was tainted by darkness. It hugged the castle, painting its large windows black.
In the meantime, the grand interior had made itself ready for dinner. A long, dark wood table freckled with candelabras and laden with delicacies: honey-roasted ducks, goats turning on spits, pigs stuffed with savory fruit and nuts, marinated chicken, baked trout with garlic and lemon, smoked sausages, dumplings, thick slices of beef tongues, and countless cheeses, breads, vegetables, potatoes. Waterfalls of red wine contrasted mounds of fragrant wild rice. A whole roast deer with sprigs of rosemary threaded through its antlers sat in the center.
The sight of so much food dazzled me, but I remained polite and resisted falling to the bread and meat like a wild thing.
I took the seat beside my father, feeling eyes bore into me and they were not my father's. They belonged to the man I had met in the forest, *he* with no name but dressed in skin of darkened gold. His gaze was unwavering and unabashed, and his playful eyes moved over my face possessively to meet mine. He was watching a seat not far from me and I tried to ignore the hunger that stretched his lips into a sadistic smile.
"Seems like you've caught our special guest's eye," the Prince whispered suddenly beside my ear with his upper-body bent over slightly and hand resting on the back of my chair. Sarahin was not much taller than I, with dark hair to frame his somewhat pale but feminine face, and a body most women would consider ideal: lean and not too muscular.
I shot him a side-glare, and yet, was interested to hear more. "Who is he?"
"A leader of a moving hunters' tribe. If I haven't misheard, his name is Romanus." He deliberately kept his head where it was: so near, our noses would meet if I turned, and I realized his scandalous intent. "I've never cared to ask for the details, but father said he is here for a reason."
In the background of Sarahin's voice, the King was starting to request his presence.
"You should join the King, your Highness," I dared to remind him and earned a devious smirk in return. "The ceremony cannot start without a prince."
"We'll talk after."
"Tomorrow."
"You are cruel, Kalypso," Sarahin shook his head with a husky chuckle as he began to move away. His fingers slid leisurely off my chair. "If I didn't know you since we were children, I would condemn you."
"How selfish," I remarked, challenging his frisky mien.
"I will walk over others to satisfy my needs, but you are in no place to complain. I've been very kind to you thus far." His whimsy unharmed, Sarahin finally left to take his seat beside the King.
All conversations faded into silence as the King rose from his satin-burgundy chair. Sarahin, wearing more diamonds than men could count, and seated with his back arched like a good pupil, raised his glass. The guests raised theirs silently, even the man whose eyes kept returning to me.
"Today we celebrate the tradition of our huntsmen," the King began, his voice as powerful as a lion's call, "especially Kalypso, who has shed his childskin upon sunrise to become a man."
Heads turned as one to look at me, but my demeanor betrayed no emotion and I simply waited for the King to continue. Even the N. Huntsmen Chief gave me a nod, despite having trained me like he had forgotten that I was his son.
"One after another, our young rogues will become warriors, guarding the North against the *Versipellis*. You will learn to cut the beasts' heads, remove their skin, and burn their bodies, for their beauty and intelligence comes with a curse we shall outlive. Shall *Iussus* guide you, *Crepusculumni* cast luck upon your soul, and *Iunctio* have the keys to the doors you dare to open. To our huntsmen," the King said, and drank his wine down in a long swallow.
*To our huntsmen,* the guests repeated in unison before they could taste the red which adorned their glasses.
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In this way, over hours, everyone ate until their bellies ached with fullness and felt as though they had never eaten before. The guests drank continuously, refilled their silver plates, and drunkenly stumbled away from the table, but closer to the merchants' music. Feet tapped to the rhythm; some even sang along, while others spun each other with a chicken leg in hand.
Sarahin threw his legs over the table, ankles crossed, with a hand waving to the rhythm, while the King spoke to his marchioness. My father bid me a good night and left my side to join their conversation.
Aware of the trial awaiting me tomorrow, I had no intention to indulge in the wine. Instead, the drowsy, easy pleasure of eating overwhelmed me. I began to seek the exit and the music fell on deaf ears. *He*, whose name I secretly knew, caught the last trace of my attention, devouring me with his unrelenting stare. The closer I got to the door, the more he moved, and I feared he would chase me down and seize me if I looked away.
Temptation plagued my mind as it chattered away, awaking heat and the desire to play: *What kind of man are you really, under your skin? I have to, I have to know, or else you will just rule me until the end of everything because my knowledge of you is unmatched. What will you do with me?*
My curiosity piqued the moment that I returned his stare, and I opened the door to slip out of his sight. I had initiated a game and he would follow me into the maze of the Northern Castle as a villain I feared to lose against. A beast, whose sadism told him not to kill at once.
Taking a sharp turn, I was greeted by an ominous silence and felt him watch, trail me. The walk to my room stretched with each step. My pulse intruded my mind, but I couldn't tell if it were because of fear or something else.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his silhouette come towards me. His shadow sprawled over the carpeted floor like a puddle of ink in front of my feet, and I held my breath.
*Who are you really?* A quick turn revealed no one and the shadow was gone. I waited. Looked. Listened. To no avail.
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In my room, I neared a tall, bronze mirror that leaned against the wall. Piece by piece, I stripped out of my clothes and observed the door behind my back. Instead of cleaning up my garments, I leisurely pulled a plain night-robe over my skin and allowed its loose sleeves to roll off my shoulders until they fell over my forearms. Heavy footfalls echoed outside of my room and I caught a familiar shadow stretch from under the door. Next came three knocks, but no voice asked for permission.
My body grew warm against the blade that I had tucked into the garter around my upper-thigh.
"Come in," I ordered boldly and was, in return, greeted by yet another tense silence, before a man entered hesitantly. Our gazes met through the mirror; shivers ran down my spine like a stream of frightened bugs. I couldn't fathom what had possessed my body, why I was suddenly craving to break all rules and entertain a complete, or partially-complete, stranger.
He could've been a witch, but male witches didn't look or behave the way he did.
Walking closer, he savored me with his eyes and I questioned him without giving my words thought, "Why did you follow me?" My fingers coiled around my hidden blade and I was ready to strike.
"Why did you lead me here?" Romanus whispered once he was right behind me as if I had lost track of time in the blink of an eye, and his hand was on my hip while the other slipped into my robe. His dark reflection gave me a mellow smile once I shuddered.
The moonlight dazzled me, Romanus' presence made me drunk, and his low, inexorable voice rose and fell like a ballad, lulling me, pulling at me. "Could it be…," his touch rolled down my torso like melting ice, "You planned to seduce and kill me?" There was no worry in his voice; he was perfectly controlled with his hand at my abdomen, so close, I was at his mercy. Breathless.
Weak.
"Who are you?" I mewled.
"You learn that you are in a world full of creatures, not just humans, and you still ask who?" He gently kissed my shoulder to hide his sudden malevolence, but I tore my knife out as soon as his lips parted to reveal his pearl-white, long and thin teeth, and ripped free from his hold to turn around and slice his face in half.
Yet he was no longer there.
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✧ End of Chapter One The Hunter and The Beast. ✧
