Raised From The Wild-Chapter 225: Hunting
There was a tradition in Ra-Iya where the king should hold a hunting competition for the noblemen and the ministers of the country within the first week of the king’s marriage to his Queen.
All twelve provinces of Ra-Iya, the Capital, and the Six ministries were represented. A minimum of three persons should participate. Lireya was a guest participant and was represented by Prince Sapiro, Princess Amaya, and Marx. Only bows and arrows, spears, knives, and conventional weapons were allowed.
King Ralden stared at Marx who was assisting Amaya. His dark orbs were filled with hatred. The King was seeing his side profile and he remembered that it was his face that blocked Amaya’s blushing face on the screen earlier.
The king has studied, the guard’s profile earlier. He trained five cameras on him so he could have a better look. When he studied his features, he was convinced once again that the guard the tall mand didn’t look like a guard at all. Previously, he had the same feeling but after digging into his background, he came up with nothing.
"A penny for your thoughts, My King?" Queen Zanzara brought the king’s attention to herself. King Ralden regarded her from head to toe. She was wearing a cute hunting garb similar to Amaya in design. She tied her waist-length her into a bun and let a few strands fall from her temple to frame her small face.
The king’s gaze fell on her chest. He thought that her chest was a little bigger. The lift in her bust made her waist look slimmer. He sneered. So his wife knew some tricks to make herself look better. That’s good. She was resourceful and he liked resourceful people.
"I am just thinking that my queen looks beautiful today." The king’s voice was filled with flattery.
Zanzara’s face was like a sunflower in full bloom. She was grinning from ear to ear. She was pleased and she looked bright and sunny.
The king looked behind them to where his concubines were standing. He frowned when he did not see Sofia.
"Where is Sofia?" He asked Sofia’s maid in a stern voice.
"Your Majesty, Lady Sofia is in her tent changing into her hunting dress. She said that she will join the team from the Capital." The maid replied politely and kept her head lowered.
King Ralden frowned. He did not know that Sofia would be participating and he was displeased. Of course, he was aware that Sofia was highly skilled in knives and that she had the ability to tame animals but this was the hunting ground and most of the animals were wild and uncontrolled.
Sofia emerged from the tent. She was wearing tight-fitting camouflage pants and a black undershirt. She wore a vest and a skirt similar to Amaya. Her boots that reached below her knee have a fur trimming.
"What do you think are you doing Sofia?" King Ralden asked. His thick but well-shaped brows were furrowed. He was honestly concerned about her.
"Don’t be angry, Your Majesty I made a deal with the Princess of Lireya yesterday. We want to show that we can do better than the men. Let us form another team that represents womanhood." Sofia said gently. She looked at King Ralde with her puppy eyes.
"But there are only the two of you and the minimum is three." The king countered her. It was unusual for him to give in to another person, but he just had a passionate night with her and he was still feeling the after-effects of experiencing euphoria a few times.
"Your Majesty, you are the King. Your word is the law. Who can refute it." Sofia said coquettishly.
The King of Ra-Iya paused. She was right. His word was the law.
In the end, King Ralden just let her be.
The team from Capital heaved a sigh of relief when they learned that Lady Sofia was no longer part of their team. They felt that the lady would drag them down.
Two of Amaya’s royal guards replaced her and Marx. Marx along with Valdez would be guarding the princess while the hunting was ongoing so Marx could no longer represent Lireya.
Princess Amaya was not happy about the arrangement of the hunting. There were too many groups that would hunt. How many animals would be killed just for the fun of the humans? When she was back on the island, she hunted because that was her food.
"What are you thinking? You look so gloomy. Are you sad about the animals?" Marx leaned over and whispered into her ear. He could already guess what she was thinking.
"Yes." She replied casually. Then her tone became sad as she gazed into the distance toward the direction of the East. "Aren’t we worse than animals, Marx? Why would we find enjoyment in the suffering and death of the animals?" Her voice matched her lonesome aura.
Marx did not know how to reply to her musings. The awkward silence stretched for a few minutes before Amaya cleared her throat.
"Forget about it," Amaya said softly.
One of the king’s attendants announced the rules of the competition. It was obvious that Amaya listened intently.
To signal the start of the ceremony, the drummers beat their drums. The king needed to do the first hunt and offer his kill to the queen. That was part of the tradition.
The king and the queen entered the forest. Of course, the king’s people would not make it difficult for the leader of Ra-Iya to hunt, so they lured a few wild animals to the outer part of the forest.
Not long after, King Ralden saw a boar. He took his bow and arrows and chased his target. The boar stopped by the lake and was drinking when an arrow pierced its body. Such a big boar would not die from a single arrow but it was incapacitated. The king’s attendants carried the boar to the campsite. It would be their lunch for the day.
