The Subtle Beauty - A Celtic Beauty & the Beast retelling

CHAPTER 9: The Great Stag Hunt

CHAPTER NINE

The Great Stag Hunt

Glory rode tirelessly through the afternoon and late into the night. By twilight, she recognized the landscape. The rolling hills were ripe with wheat, and the sea spread out nearby. Glory hunkered down and dug in her heels, urging her mount onward. They bolted over The Middle Kingdom, dragging behind them the orange light of dawn. The light grazed over emerald, dew-kissed stalks, turning back the night. The starlings’ song rose and fell. The tears of the River Trefnwy turned silver with the morning sun, bursting into the air as the horse and rider pounded through it.

Blackthorn Keep loomed in the distance. Glory galloped up to the castle and hastened into the courtyard. She swung herself over the horse’s back and rubbed his sweaty neck, praising him for his very hard, very long run. She charged into the keep and grabbed the elbow of the first servant she saw. “Where is Prince Eoghan?”

“I am sorry, M’Lady.” The servant bowed. “I have not seen him since you left.”

Glory caught her breath and then flew up the stairs to her room. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw the castle ghost floating before the mirror.

“Please,” she said weakly, “I need to see Eoghan. Show me what you wish me to know.”

The ghost smiled at her and floated into the mirror. With a blast, the mirror glowed in blinding light. A dark, swirling vortex opened on to a clearing near dense woods. Eoghan soared high above the tree tops. Suddenly, four men rose from the tall barley grass below and snuck into the woods. One of them was blond. Glory recognized the back of Colin’s head. The men drew their bows. Colin reached for Ilyndiil. The mirror went dark. Glory’s breath caught.

“Glory?”

She turned her head. Xander leaned against the doorway.

“I did not expect you to return.”

Glory rose. “Where’s Eoghan?”

“He’s taken up the hunt in Litchwood for the white stag.”

“When will he return?”

“There’s no telling. He’s been trying for years to capture that infernal creature.”

Glory bolted past Xander and down the stairs.

Glory swore under her breath as her skirts caught on the tall grass. She hiked them up and plowed on through to the edge of Litchwood. The downey-birches swayed in a summer breeze. Glory leapt over rock and root into the woods. The trees grew closer together and ranged from birch to pine. The forest floor was fragrant with mulch and cool, damp earth. Birds scattered as she raced by. A squirrel chattered crossly at her. Glory looked up, trying to find Eoghan. How would she warn him of Colin’s presence without being discovered? She wished there was a way for Eoghan to find her first. She swallowed and inhaled deeply. She had to find Eoghan before Colin did. Deeper in she pressed, splashing through a rocky stream bed. Her feet grew sore from the rough, uneven terrain. A white blur bounded through the trees ahead.

The stag! Glory changed her course immediately and dashed after the creature. Voices shouted not far away. Glory whimpered, knowing it was Colin. She glanced up and saw a shadow streak by.

The white stag wove through mossy, lichen-enveloped trees. Glory gasped for air but forged on. The stag broke into a small, earthy clearing surrounded by pines. It stopped and raised its head. Glory halted a short distance off. The stag scanned the sky, his ears swiveling. Glory crept closer. The stag saw her. She held her breath. The stag swished his tail and calmly crossed the clearing to the other side of the woods. Suddenly, a massive form of burnished copper dove in.