Five fledgling priests awaited them, no doubt having heard the commotion their return had caused. The Huntress had been good to them this day, supplying two deer and six rabbits to ensure they could provide for the less fortunate of their small town. Each of the seven huntresses gathered their bounty, dismounting to gift it to the Temple. Mavka handed Aloisia a pair of rabbits before aiding Dhara in carrying the doe.
Among the line-up of priests, Aloisia spotted her friend Tristan. She presented the two rabbits to him. If she hadn’t known him so well, she would have missed the way he flinched as he took them.
“Set one of those aside for me,” she said, slipping him a silver coin.
“The high priest would have our heads.”
“Not if he doesn’t know.” Aloisia winked. “Anyway, it’s someone’s Name Day today. And I had hoped to make a pie for that someone’s Name Day…”
Tristan sighed. “I do like rabbit pie.”
“Good lad. Put the coin in the donations.”
“They’re right, you know. You are a bad influence.”
“I have you to keep me right.”
The priest beside them cleared his throat.
“Oh, right.” Tristan bowed to Aloisia. “Blessed be. The Huntress shines her light on you this day. May her light shine for many more moons to come.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“Not a Father.” He shook his head.
The other huntresses retreated to their horses, already done with their blessings. Aloisia was last in line again.
She backed up to her mare. “I’ll see you for your first sermon as a fully fledged priest.”
“You’re coming?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Oh, gosh.”
“Don’t be nervous!” She swung up onto her horse, trailing behind the other huntresses as they rode out of the green. Aloisia waved over her shoulder. Tristan appeared a couple shades paler than when she had arrived.
She swallowed back the shame which threatened to rise again at Tristan’s words, reminding herself the hunt was not about her. The Huntress may not have blessed her with a kill of her own, but their bounty had been plentiful.
Cobbles gave way to fields where their home lay at the outskirts of town. The expanse owned by the Hunting Guild comprised eight wooden structures, all belonging to the two lead huntresses. Only seven huntresses were permitted in the guild at one time, so Aloisia knew her luck at securing a spot.
Beyond the Hunting Guild, the gnarled trees of the Dead Woods creaked. The twisted branches reached out like broken fingers, each one leafless and cankerous. Wolves and worse haunted those woods. Not that she had ever ventured far within.
Aloisia dismounted, guiding her mare to the stables. “Good job, Jem,” she cooed, patting the mare’s side.
Stable hands took the horses, leading each to its stall for a well-earned rest, gathering fresh hay and water.
Lead Huntress Mavka clapped twice, silencing their chatter. “Come, let us convene in the hall.”
Aloisia gave Jem a final pat on the nose and filed out to Mavka’s home with the other huntresses. It was the closest building to the stables, with Dhara’s placed beside it. Both structures were the grandest of the guild, as befitting the lead huntresses.
Large double doors opened on to a vast hall. Staircases wound up to galleries on either side. Two antler chandeliers hung from the high-set ceiling, either side of a hole which served as an escape for smoke from the firepit directly beneath it. The huntresses settled onto the fur-covered benches surrounding the fire. Mavka’s household staff darted around them, stoking the flames, filling horns with ale, and plating up food to pass around the huntresses. Aloisia sank onto a bench and Kaja flopped down beside her, handing her an ale.
Lead Huntresses Mavka and Dhara occupied the top bench. The pair were like night and day; Mavka with her kind russet eyes and Dhara with her cold pale blue gaze, Mavka’s hair as black as slate and Dhara’s as red as fire, Mavka’s skin a deep mahogany and Dhara’s a pale alabaster. As was tradition, each of them wore their hair in braids decorated with iron beads. Each victory was signified by beads, and their braids were heavily laden.
“We have done well this day, huntresses,” Dhara said.
They all banged their plates and cups in agreement.
