"You should behave more appropriately! Dressing like that...really! And running around the mountains!" Kate Viengre spat.
I picked up the rabbits I had been cleaning by the stream and sighed at the irritating woman who stalked away with her laundry basket. For some reason the pushy blond middle-aged harridan thought she was the moral compass of the entire village. Therefore, even my existence seemed to offend her. Let alone the fact that I wore pants instead of dresses and spent my days in the forest hunting for food with a bow and arrow. After all, it wasn't like she or anyone else in the village were going to feed me and my brother after our parents' demise. Of course, that didn't stop her tirades.
"Sister!" Rehid smiled as I neared the cabin, and I ruffled his long gray hair as I entered. Even though we were nearly 10 years apart in age, we were as close as siblings could be, a bond which only grew tighter upon our father's death four years ago. Our mother having died giving birth to Rehid, it was up to me at the age of fifteen to ensure our survival. Which I had successfully done for four years.
Although I was a girl, I was a capable hunter, and while food was sometimes scarce, we never starved. Rehid, although still a child, saw to most of the household chores in an attempt to make my life easier. However, I could see from the books our parents left behind that he was much better suited to academic pursuits, and it burdened me that I could not afford to send him to school. Nevertheless, he was a mature boy and never complained.
**********
The unseasonable weather had pushed game further from the village. I usually did not venture so deep into the wilds, but I trailed a deer that seemed slightly lame by the tracks. Big game was never easy to bring down with just a bow and arrow, but if it was already weakened, I could not pass up the chance.
Something rustled in the brush, and I crouched beside a log, hoping I had finally found my quarry. I reached for an arrow in my quiver, but before I could nock it, a huge, stocky mass that definitely was not a deer came crashing through the underbrush. With barely any time to react, I leaped out of its path, but I gasped as I felt myself land wrong, my ankle twisting. Looking behind me, I realized my attacker was an enormous maddened boar, and cursed. I was in no shape to escape, and I had nothing to defend myself with. Out of options, I gritted my teeth as the creature turned to charge at me again, and just as I braced for impact--
CRASH!
"Are you injured?" a deep voice asked, and I opened my squinted eyes. The boar was lying on its side a few feet away, a spear thrust deep into its carcass. Considering the speed at which the pig had approached me, the amount of strength required to move it that far in a single throw would be incredible. I looked up to see a man in black leather armor and cloak dismount a large, black, feisty horse. He did not look like a noble, but his handsome, pale face was set off by his dark hair, and the spear itself appeared quite sturdy. Not to mention the care for such a horse could not be cheap. Even if he was not a noble, he was well-off. Better to keep my distance.
"Thank you for your assistance, sir" I replied respectfully, and rose to try to leave quickly. However, no sooner did I try to take a step than my ankle buckled under me. I didn't think it was broken, but the sprain was no small matter. Reaching for a fallen tree limb, I tried to make my way back up to my feet.
"Wait, it appears you are injured," the man stepped forward, his golden eyes seeming to glow in the dark of the forest.
"Sir, it is of no consequence--" I tried to protest, but ignoring my words, he knelt down to remove my boot, where my ankle was already starting to swell. Tearing a strip from the bottom of his cloak, he gently wrapped my ankle.
"You cannot traverse the forest in this condition," the man stated. "Where is your home?"
I hesitated. It went against the grain to accept help from strangers, especially ones that were more powerful than I. However, I knew that what he said was true. I had ventured too deep into the forest, and even if I tried to limp my way out, it was doubtful I would reach home intact, given the amount of time it would take, and Rehid would be sick with worry.