“It was a long hunt,” Relam allowed, slashing the ropes holding the sledge to the horses with his dagger. “Wil, Galen, help me lift this.”
They bundled the carcass of the deer in the canvas and staggered to the back of the cart, shoving the kill up and into the waiting hands of the driver, who helped them haul it the last few centimeters. When the carcass was secure, Relam and the others stepped back and remounted while the wagoner turned his wagon around and prepared to return to Etares.
Are you coming with us?” Relam asked Eckle.
“We’ll keep patrolling further down the road for your father,” the guard commander said, shaking his head. “If we find him, we’ll send a messenger back to let you know.”
Relam nodded. “Thanks. If we see him on the way back, we’ll send a messenger as well. See you back at the capital.”
Eckle bowed stiffly from his saddle and yanked on the reins, spinning his horse abruptly and shouting orders to his men. In an instant, riders were swirling around and past Relam and his guards, surging down the road in a wall of horse flesh. Meanwhile, the wagon began moving to the north, Relam and the others falling in behind.
“Your father is certainly taking his time on this one, if he hasn’t been seen yet,” Wil observed.
“It might have taken him longer to find something worth tracking,” Relam replied, shrugging. “Remember how long it took us to find those tracks? And then we got lucky that the deer we were tracking met up with another.”
“True,” Galen agreed. “Even the best hunters can be foiled by a lack of tracks. If I know his majesty, he will never give up on the hunt. He will keep looking for a suitable prize right up until the last moment.”
“And probably find one,” Wil added.
“As long as it doesn’t beat mine,” Relam muttered. “And as long as he doesn’t take on something bigger than he can handle.”
“Like what?” Wil asked, snorting. “There’s not much our king can’t handle.
“Like a bear,” Relam shot back, worried.
“Your father is a competitive man, but he is also smart,” Galen reassured the prince. “If he has a choice between a bear and defeat, I am sure he would choose defeat.”
“I’m not,” Wil muttered. “I’d take the bear. Especially if the alternative was a public defeat at the hands of my son! Of course, I don’t have a son, but if I did losing to him would be absolutely humiliating!”
Galen nudged his horse closer to Wil’s and kicked the other guardsman in the knee, interrupting his ruminations.
“Ow!” Wil protested. “You could have done some serious damage there, mate.”
“Quiet, Wil.”
“But-”
“I didn’t silence you to satisfy my own desires,” Galen added, quietly. Relam smiled slightly, guessing that Galen had lowered his voice so Relam would not overhear. But the prince heard and he was grateful to the taciturn guardsman.
They rode in silence the rest of the way, the wagon plodding along ahead of them, the driver humming quietly to himself and occasionally snapping the reins. Relam gave his horse the freedom to choose its speed and path, checking it only occasionally as he let his mind wander. On either side, Wil and Galen rode silently, save for the sound of their horses’ hooves on the hard-packed earth of the road.
As the sun was setting in the west, the small band arrived at the west gate of Etares. The portal was open wide to greet them, and thousands of people were massed just inside, waiting for the hunters return, cheering madly. Relam smiled and gave a jerky little wave, then quickly dismounted and turned to look back the way they had come. There was no sign of any following riders. In fact, there was no sign of any living thing between the city and the Midwood. He barely noticed as a stable hand came forward and led the horses away.
“They’ll turn up,” Galen muttered, clapping Relam on the shoulder.
Relam glanced up, just as the top edge of the sun flamed briefly across the top of the outer wall, then disappeared in a flash. “I hope so,” he murmured in reply.
Several long, tense minutes passed. The crowd grew restless, pressing forward and craning their necks to get a better view of the gate and the flatlands beyond. Relam stared off towards the forest, jaw clenched and eyes blazing. Wil and Galen stood beside him, shifting uneasily.
Finally, the sky went dark and the crowd began to disperse, wandering home with many a backward look at the still open west gate. There was nothing to see though. Everything had been swallowed by the night.
“Your highness.”
Relam turned and saw commander Hadere hovering nearby. “We have to close the gate,” he said apologetically. “There could be anything out there.”
The prince nodded jerkily. “Then close it.”
Hadere hesitated before nodding to his soldiers. The city guard swarmed into the two guardhouses and began turning the great windlasses. The portcullis began creeping downward, and the wooden doors began to swing shut. Relam watched until the portcullis scraped its way down into the ground and the gates boomed shut, then he let out a disappointed sigh.
“Nothing to worry about, your highness,” Galen promised. “I’ll wager they come back in the morning. Probably didn’t want to get lost in the dark and made camp somewhere.”
“Speaking of getting lost and making camp,” Wil broke in, “We should be getting home ourselves. Back to the palace, I mean, sir.”
Relam nodded reluctantly and turned towards the distant bridge, following his guards back towards the east side of the city. They walked in
