The Knight's Mysterious Maid
Chapter 201: The hunt (2)

Chapter 201: The hunt (2)

"I will carry this," Annalise said, picking you Rafael’s quiver to carry for him. "I will not drop it," she promised.

Rafael trusted she would not drop it since she had this look of anger whenever she saw anyone drop their weapons. "You are to stay close to me. I don’t care how good you are at protecting yourself. You must not go ahead or you might end up with an arrow stuck in your body."

"I know not to run off when the hunt starts. Only a fool would run right into a place where arrows are being fired," Annalise answered.

Two days after the competition, a hunt had started. The knights who wanted to take part carried arrows and headed behind the manor leading up the mountain to search for animals. All over the town, hunts had started. For some hunts animals were released and chased on private land while others had to track down animals in the woods.

Annalise walked behind Rafael toward the river they had to cross over to the other side. She had never seen the second training ground behind the manor so she was excited to take in everything while they passed through to get to where the hunt would be.

Other servants were walking in the same direction as they were assigned to a group of knights. Some carried water while others helped to carry arrows and bows. The servants were just as excited as the knights since the hunt meant there would be a feast tonight.

"How many animals are you looking to get today?" Annalise asked.

"Enough to feed the manor a good dinner tonight. We won’t be killing all the animals we catch right away. A few traps were placed last night so again, do not walk ahead of me. We’re going to keep a few of the animals here and feed them to be used for another day. You and I will be tracking rabbits," Rafael said, stepping down from a big rock, and then he turned to offer Annalise his hand.

Mindful of the servants around them, Annalise jumped down on her own. "There are too many eyes watching," she whispered. She cringed because her words made it sound like they were a secret couple.

"So I cannot be a gentleman and help you off a rock?" Rafael questioned, failing to see why it would be an issue. Did the town not want men to be gentlemen? "There’s going to be talk regardless of what I do. If I don’t help you, I’m a cruel employer."

"I know that, but I am becoming tired of hearing about you and women. There are still a few maids who think I seduced you and want to warm your bed. I would rather not put on a show for them to have anything to feed their assumptions, but now that I think about it, not accepting your hand might seem suspicious. Then, I will do what I want," Annalise decided.

The maids were going to talk and snoop around.

Annalise noticed that the evening she returned to the manor after the competition, her room felt like someone had gone through it. There was a silly goose who thought she would leave something important in her room. What were they expecting to find? Love letters from Rafael?

Annalise welcomed the fool trying to mess with her since life was boring. She would clap for them since they put almost everything back the way she left it, except for her pillow. It was too perfectly placed on the bed when she clearly remembered lifting it to move the knife she slept with under her pillow. She did not straighten it afterward, but she returned to it that way.

And there was a lingering smell of nuts in the air. She took notice of everything in the manor since the slightest change could mean danger for her.

When she reached the river with Rafael, Annalise bent down to take off her shoes to walk through the water.

Meanwhile, Rafael looked around at all the knights and the servants in the area. To have a moment alone with Annalise, they needed to drift away from where they were now. There was plenty of ground for them to cover to have some privacy from everyone else.

"Do not take off your shoes yet, Annalise. We are going further down the river to cross."

Annalise stood up straight and looked at where Rafael was walking in the opposite direction of where everyone else was going. She ran to catch up to him and asked, "Why aren’t we going with everyone?"

"Most of the servants have never taken part in a hunt and they will not be quiet as much as I would want them to be. The hunt will be more successful if we spread out to limit the noise," Rafael answered.

Annalise nodded her head, understanding his words. "That is a long way of saying you want to be alone with me. I am not a fool. It is not hard to put together why you are leading me away from everyone unless you want to kill me-"’

"You!" Rafael stopped. When was she going to get over thinking he wanted to kill her? It was never on his mind.

"I was joking. You are correct that they are too noisy. Most of those groups should be lucky if they catch a fly. Since we are going where no one might be watching us, can I fire an arrow? I know how to use one since I have hunted rabbits before," Annalise said.

"I don’t know if I trust you when it comes to holding an arrow," Rafael honestly answered.

After walking far away from where the others were crossing the river, Rafael decided it was time to cross since the river would get deeper if they walked any further.

Annalise placed the arrows on the ground and sat on the small patch of grass to take off her shoes. From where she sat, she could see rocks she wanted to keep, but she would have to return for them.

Rafael was already going into the water to toss the two bows and sacks he was carrying on the other side. It would have been better for him to lift Annalise over, but he doubted she would allow it so he was waiting for her in the middle of the river in case she would not be able to handle the water as it flowed.

Rafael silently watched Annalise try to hold onto her shoes and the quiver full of arrows. She swung the quiver over her shoulders, held her shoes in her right hand, and lifted her dress with her left hand.

As she entered the water and found that it was higher than she thought, she lifted her dress more.

Rafael looked away now that her legs were in view.

"This is a sign that there needs to be a bridge for us to cross over. It is also a sign that ladies should wear shorter dresses on occasions like this. That is a good one," Annalise said, looking into the water at a rock she wanted. "I will come back for you."

"Why do you like rocks?" Rafael asked, still avoiding her as he walked to the other side now that Annalise was coming.

"The shapes and the colours they sometimes have. I like to collect the ones that stand out. It is a strange hobby I have," Annalise answered. It puzzled many when she told them about her collection.

"It is not strange. I also like rocks. That is why there is a big one on my desk. Aside from their look, you can also use it as a good weapon when there are no swords around."

"I have had the same thought," Annalise agreed.

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