Birds chirped their songs in the trees of the forest, squirrels scavenged for food, while larger animals, deer mostly, moved about, searching for a patch of tender spring grass to fill their stomachs.
Mother Nature had blessed this forest; fruits grew in abundance, trees stood straighter, and wildlife prospered. Edwin had counted six deer since he had entered the forest thirty minutes ago. Ancient laws forbade the peasants of the village from hunting these woods.
"Wasteful," Edwin whispered
Nature could be beautiful, yes; however, the people of Sonder Village, the one below his father's keep, were poor and lacked sufficient food. Nobody hunted these woods; therefore, no money could be extracted.
"When I become lord of this land, I will remember to hire hunters to cull some of the deer population here." Effort would be put into preserving the landscape, of course, but priority should be given to the empty coffers at the moment. "Timber could feed the trade of this land, too." The Sonder was a calm, peaceful river, easy to navigate, and teeming with fish ready to be eaten.
Generations ago, it was a vital trade artery connecting many regions of the Island together. Three hundred years later, it was a husk of itself. Some former members of the family had an appetite for gold. Tax hikes followed the greed, now all trade flows to the twin towns of Arkley and Orkney. A reversal of the tariffs came too late; few traders returned, and now the village shrank to a quarter of its size.
For another hour, Edwin explored the woods. He would have chosen the village, but the serf would have turned him into his parents before he had a chance to see anything.
Edwin whistled a tune his mother had taught him. Having no friends to keep him company was a bore. "I should be grateful," Edwin reminded himself. A branch snapped ahead of him, footsteps, someone was here who shouldn't be. Low to the ground now, his eyes saw through the trees ahead of him, but nothing revealed itself.
Quietly, with his hand gripping the hilt of his dagger, he moved from tree to tree, staying low and using overgrown shrubbery to stay hidden.
Following the continuous snapping of twigs, Edwin came across a clearing in the woods, illuminated by the fading light of the dying sun. A sudden snap to his right startled him; whoever was out here stood on the opposite side of the overturned tree where Edwin had hidden himself. No attack came as Edwin expected; the person had not seen him where the uprooted trunk was at its widest.
Edwin held his breath, shrinking himself as small as possible.
"Stop gawking at me, Mathias. I got to take a leak." Whoever was on the opposite side of the trunk spoke unaware that someone was right by their feet.
"Well, hurry up, I'm starving, and the sun is almost down." Responded one of the men, Mathias, by a guess.
"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch," Otto mocked
The sound of wet urine hitting against wood was almost as disgusting as the smell that followed.
"This guy really needs to clean up his diet."
Awkwardly, Edwin had no choice but to lie still as Otto took a lengthy period of time to relieve himself.
After a shake, Otto finally moved off the spot, thankfully, as a centipede crawled up Edwin's shoulder, almost making him freak out. The two intruders walked towards the clearing in the woods, closely followed by Edwin, who jumped from tree to tree to keep hidden.
Through the forest the pair went, each carrying a bow with a quiver full of arrows. Mathias walked to the left of Otto. He was a squat man, shorter, with an odd walk. A slight limp that caused him to drag his left foot. Otto was tall, much taller than Mathias, though not nearly as tall as Robert was. Together, the pair made a funny look; Otto was tall and unnaturally slender, Mathias short and fat.
Carried by Otto, a grouping of deceased rabbits tied together at their feet by a long, thick string.
"Poachers." That was what they were, illegal huntsmen breaking the law of the forests. Criminal punishment was death; to avoid that, Edwin knew he was dead if they caught him.
Edwin turned to leave. If he returned to his father, he could turn in the poachers. Despite wanting to see the forest hunted in again, laws must be followed.
"Move, and you're dead," voiced someone from behind Edwin. Pressure pricked into his back, where his heart would be. It would be a weapon of some kind, perhaps a knife; no simple poacher could afford a good sword. "Turn slowly, no sudden movements," the voice was clearly feminine.
Slowly, as the woman commanded, Edwin turned to face his captor. She was beautiful.
Red hair fell down in locks around her face; the remaining sunlight made the curly hair glow like a fire. Freckles filled her face, which was sharp but not too sharp. Piercing blue eyes stung him almost as much as the dagger point, she held at his stomach now. She was young, "Sixteen." Edwin decided. His heart pounded more from the sight of the beautiful lady than from the circumstances of their meeting.
Her plump, perfect lips puckered, whistling to her two companions.
"Oh hells, this is bad." Otto cursed from his seat by their fire.
Three tents circled the ashen remains of a day-old fire; it was pitiful. Bits of kit were strewn about here or there. No semblance of order was on display; even identifying the leader of the trio was proving difficult. Otto spoke over Mathias, Mathias spoke over Otto, and both spoke over the woman, Serena.
"What is your name?" Otto asked.
"Edw..."
"Why does it matter? Let's just kill him." Mathias interrupted; he was in the process of sharpening a woodsman's axe on his lap.
Serena stayed silent, content to observe the situation.
Edwin wanted desperately to go for his dagger. It was currently tucked under his shirt, where he had managed to hide it before Serena saw it.
Edwin tried to plan an escape, "With surprise, I could get one, Otto maybe, he was the closest, and he looks like the fastest runner. Two, however, would be too much for me; they would butcher me." Edwin glanced around the clearing, "Running would be risky too, a single well-placed arrow and I'm dead."
"Maybe we could ransom the boy, not like our current haul of rabbits and squirrels is going to fetch a good price." Serena interrupted the bickering men.
"Do you think his family has the money for the ransom?" Otto stood and walked over to where Edwin sat on the dry grass.
Serena, pointing a menacing finger at Edwin, said, "Take a good, long look at him." All three drew close to Edwin. Mathias grabbed Edwin by the mouth and turned Edwin's head left and right as if something might reveal itself.
Seeing nothing, Matthias skulked away, "Not a damn thing, I'm telling you, let's just kill him."
Otto didn't move from his position above Edwin, not seeing anything, either; he looked to Serena expectantly
"Enlighten us as to what you're seeing that we don't."
"The broach," she scoffed.
Edwin's thoughts once again went to the hidden knife. The brooch was shaped like a large horned bull; he always wore it on his clothes.
Around him, his captors' eyes beamed understanding of what this meant. "Praise god, what a fine gift we have here. I heard the Sonders recently welcomed some new runt into their family." The voice was Otto's
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Edwin sighed, "Ffffuuucckkkkkk"
All three poachers suddenly began arguing about how to ransom Edwin back to his parents.
"Otto will go to the Keep."
"Me? hell no, I vote Serena goes."
Seeing an opportunity with their back turned, Edwin took off running toward Sonder Village, toward safety.