Distinctly Different

Chapter 7 ~ The Hunt

When they arrived at the throne room Rowan saw that his family had already started eating. Gavin was done already and was relaxing back in his seat. His attention was on Lady Eleanor who didn’t seem to notice. His brother had always been popular with females but on this occasion Rowan though Lady Eleanor was out of Gavin’s league. That wouldn’t stop Gavin though; he would put a lot of effort into changing her mind. It was just the kind of challenge Gavin craved.

Rowan was going to have to find a way to warn her, Gavin got bored of females pretty soon after they started liking him. It wasn’t usually soon enough for the girl to not fall in love with him. Gavin had left a trail of heartbroken girls in his wake. Perhaps he could ask Arabella to warn her. Yes, he thought, he would talk to Arabella as soon as he got back. It might affect their job for the King if Gavin got involved with Lady Eleanor. His father would be angry if he found out Rowan suspected something and did nothing.

“Ah,” Rowan’s father said as he spotted him. “Come and sit. Eat quickly though, we must leave as soon as possible to take advantage of the daylight.” Rowan nodded and sat beside Gavin. Lady Eleanor smiled at Rowan and he copied the action. She had the misfortune to be sitting across from Gavin. Although if he knew Gavin, he probably had purposely made sure he was sitting across from Eleanor.

Rowan ate quickly, feeling the eyes on him as he did so. They were all waiting on him. Even the servants watched curiously as if they had never seen someone eat before. They were just waiting with bated breath to see what the hunters would do next. Rowan swallowed the last bite of bread and wiped his mouth. No one else in his family seemed to have a problem with all the attention. They seemed quite at ease. Rowan envied them; he wished he could not care so much about the stares, whispers and most likely rumours.

“Excellent,” Rowan’s mother said with a smile. “We shall need provisions because we will not be back until late tonight. The King nodded and gestured to one of the servants. He cleared his throat once and then spoke.

“Of course, I have already arranged for that. Edgar will make sure your horses are packed and have everything you will need,” He said. The servant, presumably Edgar stepped forward and bowed stiffly to the King and then to Rowan’s parents. Edgar was one of the older servants, his grey hair and thin frame hinting that he wasn’t the man he used to be. The lightness in his mother’s eyes dimmed slightly at the gesture. Rowan knew then that she wasn’t as unaffected as she would have other people believe.

“Thank you, my King,” his mother replied quietly. She glanced at her husband before standing up and bowing to the King before making eye contact with her children. Rowan was up as soon as she had moved. All the good food had made him eager to do something challenging and active to feel somewhat healthier. He had no trouble imagining how some of the rich lords had gotten so large. They did nothing but sit and eat. He felt bad for their horses.

As soon as everyone was up Edgar was off not waiting to see if they were following. Although why they needed an escort to their horses Rowan didn’t know. He had seen the stables when they had first arrived. They had just been too much of a hurry to actually walk them there, instead they entrusted the care of their horses to the stable hands. Suddenly Rowan felt a bit bad for doing so. His horse almost never had other people take care of her after a long ride. That will be different this time, Rowan vowed upon seeing their horses.

Pearl stuck her head over the gate of her stall and snorted as she saw him. Rowan patted her once and the grabbed hole of her reins. He unlocked the gate and brought her halfway out to check his gear was properly secured. Once his inspections were finished he guided Pearl out of the stable and then waited for the rest of his family to be ready. Pearl blew in his face restlessly and Rowan smiled at his horse amused by her antics. She didn’t seem to like this place very much either. It might be nice and a welcome change but they were used to a different lifestyle.