My life had always been a strange one. Where others were either happy to tend to the grove or strong and poised to be hunters from a young age, I was neither. I lacked the natural strength and talent to wield a bow or sword, but I also couldn't seem to be content farming like my sister and the others.
This princeling, Malte, wasn't the test of valour I'd hoped for. If I could choose, I would've single-handedly defeated a dangerous beast or, even better, a human, and won the admiration of my village. Playing warden in an old barn was worse than mucking out the cow shit. At least the shit served a purpose, fertilising the land.
There was no clear ending to my 'test' either. Who knew when the temple of the thunder god or the human palace decided to come negotiate for their missing prince? I feared they wouldn't at all, given what the human himself had said.
I wished they wouldn't have left him to me. I wished they wouldn't leave any prisoner to me. Even proving my skill in the fighting pit by taking a beating from a hunter and remaining standing would've been a more palatable test. But no, like always, my life had to stay a strange one. With a strange task.
Looking at the barn doors, I sighed. The hunters and Elder Ariste had left, leaving me to handle the situation on my own. Also part of the test I needed to pass. It served a purpose: if I couldn't make decisions on my own, I couldn't be a hunter. Every decision they made in the blink of an eye could mean life or death for them and others.
Be that as it may, the knowledge I had to act with confidence still didn't give me any more of a clue about what I was supposed to do with a prisoner. I'd spent my days in the field, or with my eyes closed on the Listening Rocks, dreaming of being among the hunters who fought our wars. I guessed I had to make sure the human was fed and had water? I couldn't take him to the village, however. He'd have to stay tied up in the barn, and I'd bring everything to him.
I sighed deeply. Time to get started on my unsavoury task. My new orders only involved keeping the human alive and in captivity. But I knew if I could make him provide any useful information... I could impress Rhadaron and Ariste. Though, it was more likely the human would end up pissing me off again.
As I walked to the well to retrieve fresh water, I asked the tree spirits for calm and balance when handling the human. By the time I returned to the barn, however, my skin was already crawling. Nerves and disgust in equal measure.
I took a deep breath and stepped inside. Water sloshed in my bucket. The human jolted up in a sitting position at the sound immediately.
"Welcome back," he said. "That was fast. I figured you'd be arguing about what to do with me much longer, Sage."
I narrowed my eyes at the mention of my name. "How did you know?" I asked. "You can't see through that hood, can you?"
"Merely an educated guess," the human replied. "And it seems I was correct. These warriors of yours wouldn't be given the lowly task of providing the prisoner with water."
I sniffed derisively. "I may just change my mind about giving you water too, human."
"Oh no, my humblest apologies," the human said, though every word was mocking. "Naturally, you are an important part of your community as well."
"More important than you," I sneered. "At least my people would search for me if I'd been taken prisoner."
The human chuckled. "My. If your blades are as sharp as your tongue, maybe I am in trouble after all."
With a growl, I yanked the hood off the human's head so I could glare at him properly. "You are lucky to still be breathing at all. Don't make me change my mind about that."
The human's hair was flat on his head, and with more light pouring in from the open window, he looked even ghostlier than he had before. He blinked blearily, squinting his pale blue eyes at the light before he focused on me. "You've been put in charge of my life, then?" he asked. "Your fellow pointy-ears won't be mad at you if you kill or maim me?"
"As long as you can still speak, I reckon there's no problem with a few missing fingers."
The human's gaze lingered on me for a while. Then he sighed and looked at the open barn door. "Well, they've figured out I was speaking the truth and I'm worthless to them fast enough."
"You talk so much, yet none of it is useful." I set the water bucket down on the hay. "Drink instead, so I can have a moment of silence."
The human glanced at the water in the bucket, then raised his hands, nodding at his tied wrists. "How?"
"I'm sure you can figure it out."
After a few moments of silent staring, the human sighed and scooted himself closer to the bucket, scooping up fresh water with cupped hands and bringing it to his lips.
I watched as the human drank, glad I had a moment to think about what I was doing. The princeling had a point, unfortunately. Was I going to keep him tied up the entire time he was here? Drinking water or eating was one thing, but he'd start reeking of piss and sweat within a day or two if I didn't let him relieve himself somewhere or bathe.
The human stopped drinking and looked up at me with a sheepish smile. "Do you mind? I'm feeling awfully watched. I know I'm dashingly handsome and you don't want to screw up your very first assignment, but the staring is making me a little uncomfortable."
"Who says this is my first assignment?" I sputtered, feeling an angry flush spreading on my cheeks.
The human smirked. "Are you telling me it's not? You're guarding a prisoner who is useless to your village. Honestly, those other warriors would be handling me themselves if they truly thought I had something valuable to offer."
"Our hunters would have eviscerated you and left you to rot in the sun," I said sharply. "And I cannot wait to join them and cut the human and cultist rot out of these woods."
"Now, there is an interesting tidbit of information," the human replied. "You're hoping to be one of them, and interacting with me will garner you favour with them for some reason. Or, you think it will."
The human's eyebrows raised expectantly. He was clearly fishing for more information, but I would not take the bait. I pressed my lips together and crossed my arms.
"Then again," the human continued when I refused to speak, "perhaps your reason for wanting their favour is of a more... personal nature, in which case I'd implore you to give up. Oleander, was it? The name of their leader. Perhaps it's only his favour you want?"
My heart skipped a beat. Was my admiration for the hunter's leader so blatantly obvious for everyone else as well? If this human could see through me after only watching me talk to Rhadoron once... It wasn't like I only wanted Rhadoron's favour but it wouldn't hurt.
"I do not!" I snapped, but it was an eerily lucky guess.
The human nodded. "Good, because you're setting yourself up for heartbreak. He's not going to acknowledge you and give you a head pat. Trust me, I know. I've been there."
"I am not looking for a head pat!" I hissed. "I will be a hunter and protect my woods! That is all."
"Protect your woods," the human repeated mockingly. "Of course that's all you're after. Though, I must say you're not entirely what I expected."
That feeling was mutual. I had expected the Prince to be more arrogant, less... clever in a way. If there was one thing I had to give him, it was that he had an uncanny way of seeing things.
After a prolonged silence, the human sighed. "Look, I will try this one more time. You have the wrong man. Prince of Wildewall or not: nobody is coming for me and I don't know anything about the inner-palace workings. That ship sailed years ago when I was sent to the temple, alright? You might as well let me go."
"Nonsense," I brushed him off. "Knowledge or not, as a prince someone from the palace must want you back if they know we have you."
The human chuckled. "Do you know how human royal families work, Sage? No? And you don't want to know? Too bad, I will tell you anyway. When a king and the queen love each other very much—or they don't, like my parents— they have a child. This eldest child will inherit the throne. The heir. Then, just to be sure, they'll usually have another in case something unfortunate happens to the first. The spare. If these two children both prove adequate, any child that comes after is unnecessary. Say hello to child number three: me. My existence in the royal family wasn't needed, so off I go. Sent to the nearest temple like a complementary gift basket. There. Does that clear things up for you or do you need me to draw you some diagrams?"
I narrowed my eyes. "There are children in your villages who are treated like they have no purpose? I already thought humans monsters. But you are ruthless even to your own."
A slight smile curled up the human's lips. "And your kind is not? For giving a village boy the hope he can play with the big boys one day if he takes over their shitty guard duties?"
The human's smug expression made my blood boil, but I knew I couldn't fight him. I was supposed to be making friends with him, but he made that impossible. I wanted to punch that smirk off his face, but I settled for balling my fists at my side. "They will make a hunter after this! If I keep you alive. Which you are very much putting in jeopardy yourself every time you open your damn mouth. Enough talk. I am leaving."
I turned and marched to the door.
"Wait, where are you going?" the human called after me. "Are you just going to leave me here?"
I didn't respond and slammed the barn door closed behind me.