8 years later
"Mother. I refuse to marry him. I don't even know him." Bai Qian cried into her hands, her small frame curled up on her bed and buried beneath the thick blanket not wanting to be seen.
"Darling, I know this is difficult for you, but this is the perfect marriage alliance for you. Wen Lin is a gentle man, a kind soul and wealthy. He will not only love you, he will protect you and deny you nothing. What more could you possibly ask for?" her mother crooned softly, her hands gently caressing her shaking form.
"But why do I even have to marry mother? Why can't I just stay here with you and father?" her pitiful sobs rose and fell like thunder, aching and sorrowful cries of anguish which near broke her mothers heart.
The thought of marrying a man almost twice her age was bad enough, but even worse was the gossip coming from her peers. She had shut herself away from the world for so long, that all manner of vile whispers raged through her small town. Ugly, overweight and barren and the only reason why Wen Lin wanted to marry her was because of her fathers wealth. She might be ugly and barren, but her dowry would ensure her husband would not only hold a substantial portion of the towns wealth and therefore increasing his status amongst his peers, but he would also more than likely maintain contact with the many women who vied desperately for his affections, and that meant only one thing. He would also have a harem and it would all be at her expense even if she was his number one wife. He would no doubt only touch her once to create his heir and then parade his whores before her, never to touch her again, which everyone knew to be true.
"Sweetheart. I know you are afraid, but this marriage is important to both families and its not as if you won't see us again. Wen Lin as I explained is a very kind man, he will treat you well so please stop this. Everything we are doing is for your benefit and besides, once you have children of your own, you will soon realize just how wonderful a man he will be after all, children are the backbone of every marriage, they will bring you so much joy and happiness and ensure your marriage will last the distance." her mother continued to upsell what was sounding more and more disastrous the more she spoke.
"I don't care. I won't marry him and you and father can't make me." she suddenly screamed as the blanket was thrown back and her flushed tearful face came into view.
"Enough!" her fathers voice suddenly boomed through her chamber and making both women jump. "I did not go through weeks of negotiations for you to act like a spoiled brat! You are being offered a place among the very elite, your life will be one of luxury unimaginable wealth and yet you sit here and throw a tantrum like a child, Grow up Bai Qian, you are going to marry Wen Lin and I won't hear another word! And let me make myself clear right now. If you refuse, then I will throw you out of this house in a second. Do not embarrass me." his voice thundered into her head and almost splitting it open from the power of it.
"But father...... he's a whore, you know he is!" she screamed over the top of him. "I can't marry a man like that, you can't be serious. I won't." her small voice quivered as the light in her fathers eyes darkened to a terrifying black, something she never in a million years thought she would ever see. To be forced to marry against ones will was one thing, but to be thrown out was so hideous a thought, that she merely gaped at him in disbelief.
"If I have to chain you to this house until your wedding day, and then drag you by the feet, then I will. That is all I have to say on the matter." he growled loudly before storming out of the room having stood there long enough and he was fed up.
Watching her father walk away through a veil of thick tears, Bai Qians mouth pursed tightly. She would have given her father the earth moon and sun, because she adored him, worshipped him and loved him from the lowest reaches of her heart, but this was an order she was not willing to obey. There were plenty of other eligible men in her town and even further abroad that she would have happily married. But as vile as the gossip was about her, it was even more so about him.
An endless stream of women traipsed through his home, hung off his arms and even clung to his feet just to get a whiff of his scent. He was a philanderer and a debauchee, a male whore who lived recklessly and gave no thought to the women he broke once he was done defiling them, even going so far as to take virgins against their will, so there was no way in hell she was going to become just another trophy for his sinful heart and broken belt.
But she said no more. Her fathers anger was still reverberating about in her head and it was enough to even get her mother off her bed and rushing out the door to calm him down. In fact, just watching her mothers hands flailing aimlessly about her face in the hope that her magical touch might ease her fathers temper, suddenly gave her a vision of her own hands swatting other women off her soon to be husband like flies.
The thought was so abhorrent, that the tears behind the tears rose and fell like rain down her cheeks as a stubborn streak of disobedience hit. She was not going to marry that man and there was nothing her father could do about it. No amount of threats or even beatings could force her to verbally agree to anything and she stuck by that.
Only, she knew, that if she did refuse, her father would absolutely throw her out. He never made idle threats or said anything he didn't mean. Everything was either black or white, there was no in between with him, so the desperate situation she now found herself in, had her mind working furiously.
Women from everywhere would have given their right foot just to be in place, but she wasn't like them. She wanted a man who love only her, like her father loved only her mother. That he couldn't see her point of view, was truly heartbreaking, because what he was actually doing was selling her to the highest bidder and his soul be damned and hers along with him.
She had no friends and the town hated her. But even worse, her father seemed to care more about his social standing than her happiness. Even her mother was open to her own daughter being sold off just to keep the peace between two families while completely disregarding her intense aversion to it. And the more loathsome her thoughts became, the more desperate she was to get out of there.
She had enough money of her own and jewels to sell so she wasn't completely helpless. And as her eyes quickly raked over her personal possessions and their worth, then a life of independence suddenly began to look more and more enticing the more she thought about it. It wouldn't be hard to escape, she could easily just walk out the door with her money in a clutch purse and her jewels around her neck. No one would think twice about her selling any of it either, because diamonds, gold and rare gems were sold everyday or pawned off and abandoned.
She could hear her mothers soft voice downstairs quietly calming her father, who was still yelling and though he rarely did anger, his temper could rage for days and usually that meant, he would heavily hit the wine, while her mother would totally degrade herself just to ease him back into the peaceful calm man they were both used to.
So waiting until she could hear her fathers gruff laughter and her mothers girlish voice whispering sweet nothings in his ears, Bai Qian quietly rose off her bed to dress herself. Warmth was what she needed more than style, so she dressed in several layers of wool including her snow jacket and boots, then filling every pocket with every piece of jewelry she owned, then she quietly made her way down the stairs.
The parlour door was closed which was where her parents were, and going by the shadows dancing off the candlelight under the door, she knew they would be very busy for at least another hour. Just enough time to get herself out of the house and onto her horse which thankfully was on the other side of the house. And before she knew it, she was fleeing her house for the pawn shop just a few miles away.
Gathering more than enough gold, Bai Qian, then fled into the darkening night and straight for the line of trees edging the town, where she planned to keep the inner shadows while following the main road to wherever it might lead her.
___
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of movement. A jolt and then a swift skip to the left followed by a soft keening as the beast lowered itself to the forest floor. To the right, he he felt rather than saw, its companion, much larger and less agile, but far more alert than its female who was now resting her head on her front legs enjoying the tranquil silence.
Slowly, the stag raised its head and breathed in deep, its small glassy brow eyes swivelling left to right before turning his gaze back to his mate playfully tapping at the grass as if begging him to take his ease beside her.
Not a twig moved as his bow and arrow raised quietly. His body was angled away from the wind so he knew the stag wouldn't scent him and nor could he be seen. The thick foliage and trees kept him hidden well, while his surroundings masked his presence from any other predators that might stumble upon him.
He had learned much over the years and his body was proof of it. The scars from his first attack still graced the insides of his arms, his back and his face. Three jagged claw marks ran the distance from the outer edge of his left eye to the right of his bottom lip. White and pale, the marks were a constant reminder for vigilance and attentiveness. He'd of course suffered more attacks over the years, but through the hardships of self reliance and independence, he had learned the habits of every animal he shared the forest with. He knew their dietary needs, their hunting abilities, their strengths and weaknesses and with that knowledge, he learned which weapons were useful and which were not.
The bow and arrow was his favoured weapon because he could remain hidden. But against a leopard, tiger or bear, it was too cumbersome and slow. For them, hand to hand combat was necessary due to their stealthiness, speed and strength, they could literally sneak up on him without him even knowing until it they were on top of him. It was why he chose to avoid certain areas that they hunted in, while opting for the easier beasts like the stag which thought slowly and moved even slower.
The high pitched hurl of the arrow arced and fell within seconds giving the stag no time to react or the female to even comprehend what was happening until he was almost on them. The wild cats would be sleeping and the bears fishing further down the lake from his house, so he felt no urgency to run. So he took his time to gut his kill in order to lesson its weight before lifting the carcass up onto his shoulders before heading home.
The stag would offer enough meat to see him through the rest of the week and with the rabbit and possum fur already drying, he would have enough skins to create a new winter wardrobe by then too.
Life was good. It was lonely at times, but he didn't miss the company of others, because he had never liked company anyway. Though his thoughts did sometimes take him back to his master and he would wonder how he was doing. But as the years had passed, his need for companionship and even to just hear another voice slowly faded as life took over.
He was happy where he was. He didn't have to worry about other hunters, because they rarely came this far into the forest. It was literally miles away from the old town he once knew, so the tranquil peaceful life his old master had left him with was one he always felt eternally grateful for.
And it was this that he was thinking about as he carried his kill home. Summer was his favourite time because he loved being outdoors, creating new weapons, hunting for the next winter, admiring the views and soaking up the sun and when he felt like doing nothing at all, he did just that. He would sit on the deck stool and just gaze out at sparkling water in the day, or just gaze up at the stars at night in wonder.
In fact, it was almost night and he knew he had to hurry, because the wolves would be the first ones out once the sun went down. Only the moment the edge of the forest came into view, then something odd caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
Snapping his head towards the fluff of white lying unmoving among the tall ferns and low grass, his eyes narrowed in on the unusual creature while stealthily unsheathing his hunting knife from the waist of his jacket.
It wasn't moving and nor did it even look to be alive. Dead animals left to rot was a common sight and not something he would pay attention to other than perhaps the manner of death and how long ago they had died because this would give him an idea of what else might be hunting close to him.
Though from what he could see of the animal, there were no wounds which would suggest it was just old and had left its pack to die which was also common for most pack animals and he would just walk on by without even looking at it. Only this one was so odd looking, that he couldn't help but tentatively inch his way towards it. It's body was curled up into a ball, which most dying animals did, only the closer he got to it, then the sight of two small hands similar to his own and long hair poking out from the hood of a jacket similar to what he was wearing, soon had him quickly dropping the stag from his shoulders to the ground.
Then with the tip of his boot, he kicked it.