Chapter Three
Lucilia was on her horse Daisy in no time, with one of her father's bows strapped around her body. She had pulled off her skirt in the stable where no one could see her and emerged on the horse in the trousers. Cato and his two younger brothers tried to not gawk, but they were failing. Cato's father was not looking at Lucilia at all and her father seemed to be enjoying every second of the awkwardness that was happening. Lucilia was enjoying it too.
The hunting party set out towards the safer, less haunted woods with the hunting dogs in tow and this time her father made sure that no staff from the estate were present. They typically came, but since Lucilia's father wanted to show off a little, he made them stay. This was meant for him and his daughter alone.
Lucilia followed at the back, Cato was sticking pretty close to her. His brothers were at the front, very excited about hunting and very knowledgeable with instructing the dogs. Lucilia was impressed, and also weary about how close Cato was. His constant glances at her made her nervous.
She finally decided to do something about it and made her horse take the last few faster steps to catch up to him. "So this is what you like to do in your free time."
Cato smiled at her, "it is. Have you hunted before?"
Lucilia kept her face blank, "I have."
"Successfully?"
Lucilia lifted an eyebrow, "successfully."
Cato nodded with surprise clearly on his face. He didn't seem to know what to say after that and went back to being quiet.
The hunting party rode for over an hour before the dogs got jumpy. They took off to the left and the horses quickly followed. Lucilia fell to the back again, but she didn't mind. She fumbled with the bow she was carrying and notched an arrow as best she could while the horse was sprinting.
Daisy was having no trouble keeping up and Lucilia had no problem staying put, even with the bow in her hand ready to fire. She wouldn't be able to hit anything, but if she at least she would try. Make an effort to look like she was doing anything.
The dogs finally came to the area they were hunting and started to circle. Lucilia pulled back and watched as the dogs circled around two deer corpses. They looked freshly mauled and it was suspicious.
The men went to join the dogs in circling the mysterious scene. All five of them. Lucilia felt her stomach turn, something was not right.
A terrible roar came out from the bush and the biggest bear Lucilia had ever seen lept at Cato's father. All the men made shouts of surprise, as the bear landed on his horse.
Lucilia didn't even think, her horse started running away, but she fired. She fired the arrow and prayed it would work, even with her horse making a run for it.
The arrow sailed, and it landed. It landed right in the bear's eye.
The bear let out another roar and Lucilia managed to steer Daisy back towards the chaos. Cato's father was scrambling away from the bear as best he could, but the bear had his leg. Lucilia notched another arrow and let it fly. It landed again, in the same eye, this time deep enough.
The bear fell forward, onto Cato's father's lap, but was no longer moving and silence descended.
Lucilia brought Daisy to a stop and looked around. Cato and her father were on the ground, swords raised, ready to fight the bear, their horses running away. Cato's brothers had taken off with the dogs. Lucilia was the only one who had accomplished anything.
Her father looked at her and grinned, "moving target?"
Lucilia kept her face blank, even though she wanted to smile. She shot two arrows and hit the target perfectly.
Cato was running to help his father who was trying to shove the bear off of his lap. They both heaved the beast and the damage to Cato's father was brought to light. His legs were shredded, but he didn't seem to be bleeding a whole lot which was a good sign.
Lucilia's father hopped off his horse and went to help Cato lift his father up onto his horse. Lucilia's father then rode off with him as fast as he could towards their estate. Much faster than they had been on the way here. Lucilia stared after them for a moment, then turned back to Cato.
Cato looked worried about his father, but then he turned towards Lucilia as if he just remembered she was there.
"Are you hurt?"
Lucilia fought back a laugh, "I am perfectly fine."
Cato then looked from the bow in her hands to the dead bear and the arrows in his skull.
"I heard archery was your father's specialty."
Lucilia sighed, "that rumour is true."
"And yours?" He asked, turning back to look at her.
She shook her head, might as well tell the truth, "I suck at archery."
He scoffed, "the bear begs to differ."
They both stared at the bear for a moment before Cato's brothers reappeared. They both freaked out over the bear and started to celebrate. Cato watched them while laughing and encouraged them to tie it up to bring it back to the estate.
Lucilia watched the entire thing from on top of her horse. Was this her future? Hunting in the woods with this man and his family?
This wasn't appetizing and made her lungs squeeze with worry.
Once the bear was secure behind Cato's horse, they set off again. Lucilia brought up the rear again. The way Cato's brothers were acting, she was not going to get the glory of killing the bear. They were already calling it a successful hunting party and not acknowledging that Lucilia may have saved their father's life.
As a girl, she did not exist in this moment. Nor would she ever when they told this story to their friends and family.
Lucilia saw it perfectly, and she hated the whole picture. This was not going to happen. She would fight her parents on it till her last breath.
That decision made Lucilia's anxiety melt away. Now that she had a purpose and something to strive for she would figure it out. She would not be a part of this family.
*~*~*
When the rest of the hunting party returned to the estate, Cato and his brothers got to work on gutting the bear and preparing it to eat and be stuffed. Lucilia watched for a little while as she took off her horses saddle and her frown only deepened.
She left soon after their return and went to find her father. He was ensuring Cato's father was being taken care of. What kind of sons returned and didn't even see if their father was still alive after a bear attack.
Lucilia found both men in one of the living rooms, surrounded by people. Both staff and from the town it looked like. Lucilia stood off to the side and watched. Cato's father didn't seem to be dying right this second.
After a few minutes, Lucilia's father locked eyes with her. He must have read something on her face that told him she was serious because he motioned her out of the room.
They both went down the hallway where no one from that room would hear them talk. Her father turned and raised an eyebrow, "you should be celebrating. Not looking like this."
Lucilia smiled, but she knew it looked fake, "celebrating what exactly? Because according to the boys outside I didn't do anything. And where are those boys? Outside? Not even checking up on their father who could have died. They're planning to stuff the bear they killed."
Her father wasn't shocked often or surprised easily, but right now it was written all over his face.
Lucilia took a deep breath before continuing, "I will not marry that man. I will not become part of that family. And you will not turn me into Lady Arria."
Her father's face fell, "I do not make those decisions."
Lucilia rolled her eyes, "if you can't stand up to mother then you will lose me."
And she meant it.
She left then and headed back to her room. This was enough excitement for one day. She needed a plan now to stay away from Cato and his family as much as possible without getting suspicious or pissing off her mother.
Let the plotting begin.