Kitanna
Chapter 51: THE WOODS

Chapter 51: THE WOODS

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: HOME ~ SUIN]

Nix ignored the girlish giggling sounds Kitanna was making, continuing to ride his horse and leaving her behind.

Larel and Khelan were riding on the other side of the forest, enjoying the natural scenery. They attempted to name the different birds that flew past them, sharing a laugh whenever one of them failed to identify a bird correctly.

"Morado is so blessed; I see why other kingdoms try so hard to claim this land," Larel said with a small smile.

"Not just blessed with nature but also our warriors. We’ve never lost a battle," Khelan said with pride, subtly puffing his chest.

The queen dowager and her cousin regrouped with the rest of the party after taking their separate walks.

"Are we tired already?" Khelan asked, savoring the moment with Larel. He didn’t often get the opportunity to spend time with her. So it was a great opportunity for him.

"Are you suggesting we do something else?" Kitanna asked as she leaned forward to pet her horse gently.

Khelan shook his head. He did want to spend more time with Larel, but he didn’t have any other fun activities in mind.

"What about a game of tag?" Larel suggested softly.

"A game of tag? Too basic I must say. What about the game of Hungers? I hear it’s quite fun and popular among the commoners," Lady Deonisia chimed in.

A hush fell over the group as they considered her proposal. The Game of Hungers was a game known for being extremely dangerous and gruesome, banned in all the kingdoms due to high casualties. However, noble individuals occasionally played it in secret, targeting commoners who did whatever it took to survive.

"Lady Deonisia, that game has been banned. We are the royal family; we should set an example," Kitanna said with a look of disdain.

"Yes, Lady Deonisia. We won’t engage in such a lowly game," Khelan added.

Lady Deonisia, in turn, cast her gaze toward Almaria, hoping for her cousin’s support.

"Oh, come on now. Kitanna, don’t tell me you’re afraid. Don’t worry, the game won’t be too extreme, and I’m sure nobody will know about it. It’s just us here," Almaria reassured, pushing for the game to continue.

"Yes, it’s all family. Except....for your personal guard; maybe he should go back. Where is he?" Lady Deonisia said, her eyes filled with mischief.

"If we are deciding who should leave, Lady Deonisia, it should be you. You are only our mother’s cousin. There is no family relationship with the royal family, and you’ve only been with us for a few days. What makes you think we’ll trust your cousinhood over a guard who even dines with us?" Kitanna retorted. Anger was already beginning to boil in her chest, because it was just obvious the way Lady Deonisia wanted her to be cornered.

"Very well, let’s play the game. Remember we won’t use extreme measure like the real game," Khelan finally spoke up to ease the tension that was rising.

"Let the game begin!" Almaria shouted happily.

Kitanna looked around, the game was about to start and Nix was not yet back. Was he lost in the wood? Kitanna asked herself, her face creasing due to worry.

"You don’t seem enthusiastic about the game, and I don’t see your guard. Did he scurry away in fear?" Lady Deonisia taunted Kitanna in a soft tone.

The game of Hungers was a game where everyone hid in the woods without making a sound. A wild boar was released to chase and feed on losers.

The problem with the game was that only one person is supposed to survive and that is winner. So basically the game meant there would be a great deal of betrayal.

There needs to be a sabotage of other people’s hide out so that while the boar is feasting on them, the winner can emerge by running to the starting ground or rather the point of safety.

Larel, who was beside Khelan, began to tremble. She had a bad feeling about the game and wanted to avoid it.

"We shouldn’t use a boar, should we?" Larel asked in a small voice.

"Queen Larel, don’t spoil the fun. We are out in the woods; there should be nothing to fear. Okay, to make it better, let’s form teams," Almaria suggested, in a very sweet tone.

"Yes, teams would be ideal. We are all complete, in pairs. Kitanna, you are with your guard, the queen with the king, and I am with my sister," Lady Deonisia announced.

Larel turned to look at Kitanna and began to say, "But Princess Kitanna’s guard is..."

"Larel, hush now....the problem now is the price. Khelan what is the price?" Almaria turned to her son with a twisted smile.

Larel backed away immediately, she was not as powerful as the women around her, it was evident that there was a feud and it was the elderly women against the princess. Larel felt pity for Kitanna but she was unsure how she could be of help in the situation.

"Let’s say for the price, we go with twenty boxes of Gold, and a land in any village of your choice" Khelan said the price as enticing as it could be, only for him to receive a look of distaste from his mother.

"No no, we are all wealthy. We are the royal family, we don’t need to waste our time with wealth again, give something much more enticing. Something worth it" Almaria suggested, while she received a back up nod from Deonisia.

"Let’s say, winners get to decide two important cases of their selection in the court, and then losers get to be stripped of their title for let’s say three days" Almaria called out the rules, her face looking so bright.

Kitanna knew very well, they were out for her, she came down from her horse and gently touched it.

"Mother, it seems you want to really try to be a maid, but I guess your wish will be granted today"

Almaria wanted to respond to this, but was pulled back by Lady Deonisia.

Lady Deonisia interjected, "Let’s make the game even better, as we cannot let the king participate. Let the king and the queen be our lookouts. Queen Larel doesn’t seem to like the game that much."

Larel smiled awkwardly, relieved to have an excuse to avoid the game because the atmosphere was not pleasing.

"Alright, alright let the game begin!" Khelan shouted.

Kitanna, already down from her horse, ran into the woods. Lady Deonisia and Almaria dismounted their horses and followed in the opposite direction.

Inside the forest, Kitanna continued running, attempting to keep her footsteps as silent as possible. The rule of the game was altered, so she was to walk to the far end of the woods and then return to the starting point without a single scratch.

But Kitanna couldn’t shake the feeling that she was set up to lose the game, and that the other women had no intention of playing fairly.

She didn’t stop, running deep into the woods. She momentarily paused to check if Nix was following, but there was no sign of him.

Kitanna heard a sharp sound coming from her side, she turned and dodged the first arrow, then numerous arrows started flying towards her. She began to run again, but this time she ran in a zigzag manner trying to dodge the arrows.

When she was finally at a place that seemed to be safe, Kitanna squinted her eyes to see if she would catch the archers. For all she could remember the queen dowager had no knowledge of archery or even swordsmanship, except it was her cousin sister, but her hands did not look like it either.

"Have they planned this out in advance? To what extent will these women stoop just to see me humiliated? I can’t believe the lengths they would go to just see me lose," Kitanna muttered to herself.

She sighed in frustration, her anger was especially because Nix was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he whenever I need him the most?" Kitanna wondered, her face creasing with worry.

Just then, she heard another sound, and when she turned, she saw in front of her. A wild boar!.

Kitanna widened her eyes in shock, they all agreed to exclude the boar part of the game. She started running to escape from the boar’s charge, she only came out of the palace with the dagger which was on her shoe. She thought it was just a casual walk, so there was no need for serious weapons. Who would have known that she would be running in woods for her life?.

Kitanna frantically searched for a spot where she might gain an advantage, so she could create an opening and attack the wild animal.

Kitanna finally found a spot, she took out her dagger and positioned herself waiting for the boar to attack first.

"Come on, you ugly beast!" Kitanna called out to the boar.

The wild animal finally found it’s prey, it watched Kitanna as if also waiting for an opening to devour her. Then immediately it rushed towards Kitanna with full speed.

Kitanna also launched her attack immediately, she raised her hand to use the dagger on the boar, just then her dagger broke into pieces on the boar’s body without even causing a scratch on it.

Someone switched her weapon! At that moment, warning bells rang in Kitanna’s head. She saw the wild boar jump to pounce on her.

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