The Orchid Gown by Frey Mason

Author:Frey, Mason [Frey, Mason]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lyca Press
Published: 2016-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

The Poacher

The mist came down from the hills. It settled coolly amongst the flowers wetting their petals and stems with dew. A shallow lake of fog crept over the garden. Kaya watched silently from the tree line as a lone deer dipped its head beneath the surface of the mist and came up chewing a great mouthful of carnations. So bright and wet and red were the flowers that from a distance it looked like the creature had turned carnivore and was now feasting on some bloody kill obscure beneath the fog.

Kaya set her eye down the birch wood shaft. Touching her fingers to the string, she pulled it taut against her cheek and let fly. The arrow hissed through the humid air and plunged with a thud in the side of the deer. The animal didn’t move, but merely glanced briefly in her direction before dipping its head back beneath the surface of the mist. A moment later, the deer rose again with another mouthful of carnations. The creature turned its eyes in the direction of the poacher, chomping calmly on the bright red flowers. Kaya reloaded her bow, convinced that she had somehow missed her quarry. A second arrow hissed through the air. This time, there was no doubt the point struck flesh—the shaft hung visible from the animal’s chest, lodged deep between the two upper ribs. And yet still, the creature didn’t flinch or fall but merely kept grazing as if wholly immune to pain.

Kaya nearly pulled a third arrow from her quiver, but awe overcame adrenaline, and the hunter stepped into the garden. Soft of foot, the girl cut through the fog towards the deer, which seemed to possess no fear of people. As she moved nearer, she could make out both arrows stuck in the animal’s side. A few steps closer and she could reach out and touch it. The creature seemed almost tame. It raised its head, and when Kaya held out her hand, the deer bent forward to lick it as if expecting some treat of salt or cabbage. Amazed, the girl looked about the garden, fearful the owner of the creature would suddenly step out of the mist to scold her.

Kaya wasn’t exactly sure where she was. She knew the trail had snaked far up the streamline, and she knew when she saw the orange-bellied trout swimming softly in the eddy pools that she had climbed into the Valley of the Upper Kings. Only the very rich could stock their streams with such expensive and delicate fish. Though it was true that no actual king still dwelt in the valley, there lived more than one fabulously wealthy noble who could perhaps afford something as lavish and spectacular as an invincible deer. Kaya didn’t know what to do. She considered the matter carefully, hesitated, and finally worked up the courage to reclaim her arrows: the only visible evidence of her crime.

The girl reached out and gripped the shaft that drooped from the animal’s flank.

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