Chapter 10: The Wall

“Then let us be off!”

The group surges forward towards the forest, and I nudge my horse to follow.

I stay perched firmly in the saddle as we thunder across the clearing and towards the forest. My heart is already pounding in my ears, and my shoulders tense, as my eyes dart around under the mask. What if my dad sees me?! My mum? She was to help prepare the horses…what if she saw me back there? What if she tells my father? What will he do?

The horse snorts under me, his stride becoming sloppy and his head beginning to toss as he picks up on my stress.

“Watch it!” A woman snaps at me from atop her horse when my horse lurches do the side and towards them. I give an apologetic wave and yank on the reins, steering the horse away from them. I force myself to loosen up; there’s no use me stressing myself out.

“You good?” A voice calls out above the thundering hoofs and the jingle of the tack. I glance to my right to see Thyra nudging her horse to catch up to me. By now I’ve managed to even my breathing, and my horse is slowly settling down. I kind of forgot for a second that Thyra was there.

Nodding, I grip the reins in one hand as I stretch forward to slap my horse partly on the neck. “Just overthinking,” I explain. We’re mere meters from the forest now.

”The usual, ” Thyra replies and I can practically hear her smirk. I shake my head at her in amusement, a small smile tugging at my lips as I role my shoulders to try and release some tension.

The horse’s hoofs leave the stones ground and land on grass as we cross over into the shadow of tall trees. I urge my horse, now calmed down, to go a little faster.

Thyra sticks by my side as the men and women holler and whoop around us. I let a small smile emerge on my lips, enjoying the atmosphere as we quickly leave the village behind. This is the fifth hunt I have participated in without people knowing.

Soon enough we cross onto a large dirt path, sheltered by trees. We ride along it at a steady pace, Thyra and I are towards the back of the group.

“How’s your side?” She calls out to me. I glance at her.

“Fine, ” I lie. It hasn’t stopped aching. “How are you?”

“Fine, ” she replies casually, moving her right wrist out of view. I raise my eyebrows user the mask but choose to say nothing. I can interrogate her later.

After a few minutes, everyone around us starts slowing down, so I pull back on the reins and ease my horse into a trot. Not too far in front of us, a large wooden wall rises high above us: we’re at the border. This is as far as normal citizens are allowed to go. Beyond the wall, it is too dangerous for those who are unable to defend themselves.

The wall is very tall, higher than some of the trees. It’s made of quality wood but is reinforced by metal in many places. On top of it, there is enough space to walk over it, with archers positions marked out behind pillars. It has ropes, rope ladders, and vines hanging off it to allow for easy access for the guards. A few small fires burn at the top in designated areas, eliminating human figures moving below it. I often wonder what it’s like to be one of them; to be up there and looking down on everyone. Must be fun.

A man on one of the front horses raises his hand, indicating for us to stop behind him, so we do. He dismounts and hands his horse’s reins to the rider next to him, before walking up to the bottom of the wall where a group of guards await him.

I shift nervously in the saddle, hoping they’re not going to ask questions or make a headcount. They don't usually, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying. To add to my worry, they're too far away for me to listen to their conversation.

I glance at Thyra. She shrugs.

“What’s taking so long?” someone wonders aloud.

”Yeah, hurry up!” A man shouts a hint of amusement in his voice.

“We don’t got all day!” A woman laughs, joining in on the fun.

“Shut up, the lot of ya!” A guard shouts back from a position on the wall. Yep, you can walk along it.

“Or what?!”

I blink in surprise at Thyra, who has her arms crossed over her chest, and despite the mask, I can tell shes grinning by the way her shoulders shake lightly.

“I’ll stick an arrow in your head!” The guard snaps.

Thyra scoffs. “I’d like to see you try!”

“You couldn’t hit a target if it were right in front of your eyes!” A woman adds, reaching over to high-five Thyra. They both snicker at the guard’s obvious fury.

Before the guard can reply, the man walks back over to us and remounts his horse. He turns to nod at us. Several men and women in the group cheer loudly as we move towards the wall, a large gate opening up for us to trot through. As we pass through, I see Thyra turn and smirk at the guard tauntingly.

Once we’re all through the gate, we once again pick up the pace, more whooping and cheering arising. As we canter along, I reach into my bag and pull out a bow and a dozen arrows already in a quiver. Dropping the reins, I steer with my knees as I strap the quiver on over my shoulder. I grip the bow in my hands, tracking the delicate designs slightly. Sure, I’m not as accurate as Thyra is, but I’m skilled enough to trust myself.

We travel along a path for a while; It feels like ages. But eventually, a thick tree rises in the distance and the front people slow their pace, forcing the rest of us to slow down as well.

“Alright, boys and girls, this way!” Someone shouts in an unusually hyper voice, hollering in delight as he pulls pass the large tree –it has half a dozen X’s marked into it– immediately banking right to go towards the southern pastures. The pastures are most known for the deer that graze there, so, understandably, we start here. I smile slightly. This means I might be able to get a catch early.