The King called over some of the other farm hands and the lords who had brought pages called them for their assistance. In a matter of moments the stable was very busy as all the horses Flora had gotten ready this morning were brought out and mounted. Dante brought out his own horse, a large dapple grey mare, and was able to mount her with no assistance. Leon on the other hand, had to wait for his old palomino stallion to be brought out while one of the pages brought a mounting block to help him up.

Flora felt a little pity for the old lion-shifter. He was a legend back in the day, being gifted with animal magic. He had earned the title “The King of Beasts” as he used his magic and skill to rein in even the most stubborn of animals. Being a large predator probably also helped. Now his golden hair had silvered, with very few streaks of gold left. While mostly clean shaven, Flora could make out that his stubble had also silvered with age, and his golden amber eyes portrayed a tired sort of look.

A page in finer livery than the others lead a large seal bay mare up to the block, and King Erick mounted her with all the grace of a refined predator. It was hard not to admire just how well he held himself, handling the horse with long practiced precision.

Eventually it was her turn to mount, and as Flora stepped up to the mounting block she took a deep breath. Don’t let him know you’re anxious, it will only spook him. She thought to herself, recalling all the times she had trained and broke young horses to the saddle. She couldn’t completely erase the bubbling in her stomach, but she was able to ease the beating of her heart as she slung into the saddle. The gelding briefly flung his head, but remained steady as Flora gently kicked him into movement. He pranced underneath her, not sure of the directions at first. Flora gently guided the horse to the line of the others, remaining in the back as she waited for her orders. This is nothing new, you’ve done this a hundred times already. Only this time everyone is watching. And judging. And the King is here. But it will be fine. It has to be fine. Flora set herself into a grim determination, not willing to let her early mistakes define the course of the hunt.

It was only a few moments before one of the farmhands brought out the hunting dogs. The dogs were fairly large, with long ears and drooping faces. They had white fur with brown or cream patches on their backs and faces. Their cropped tails wagged in excitement as they saw the group of hunters on horses. Flora’s heart sank to her stomach. It was to be a foxhunt, the kind that Flora absolutely detested. To her it was cruel and primitive, holding nothing of true value. There was barely even a pelt left to take from the fox most of the time. Flora swallowed back her disgust, knowing that she had to do everything that was asked of her, even if she did not enjoy it.

The gelding danced under Flora, and she had to rein him in as the dogs were led to the head of the group. A page came up and with permission from the king, gave a rag of fox scent to the dogs. Before long they were off, King Erick leading the group on horse as the dogs bounded off into the countryside. Flora clung to the reins and tightened her calves as the gelding pulled into a gallop, easily keeping stride with the rest of the group. He was hard to rein in, but was more than happy to follow the fast paced group.

It wasn’t long before the hounds started crying, their barks more like a strangled howl as they raced across the countryside. Flora couldn’t be mad at them. She had helped train and raise so many of them, and she knew them personally. It was not their fault that the nobles and lords wanted to hunt in such a manner, so Flora gritted her teeth and raced on with the group.

The young gelding kept pace with the group, and Flora flung into her half-seat as they raced over hedgerows and fences like it was nothing. For a moment, if she closed her eyes, she could almost believe that she was flying. Then reality hit as the horse’s hooves slammed into the ground and pounded behind the dogs. It wasn’t long before he was racing beside Dante’s grey mare, and Flora sheepishly looked over at him. She knew she should do better to rein in her horse, to keep to the back as someone of her status should. But as she looked at Dante, he looked back at her with a wild grin. He was enjoying this, at least the racing part. Flora resolutely turned back and kept her attention on the horses in front of her.

Foliage whipped by as the group raced between rolling farmland and secluded wood, all the while the dogs were barking and crying. It felt like mere moments and an eternity all at once as the group raced through the countryside, hot on the heels of the hounds.

The howling of the dogs came to a fever pitch as a small fox darted into their path. This was it, the one thing they’ve been trained for. The dogs went into a full on assault as they surged towards the lone fox. It was a mass of paws and fur as they raced for the small fox. The King pulled his horse back and looked to Flora. She pulled her horse back to slow down and keep pace with him. He gave her a hard look before turning back to focus on the dogs. They came to a halt as they circled the fox, and King Erich pulled his horse to a stop. Flora did the same, her gelding protesting as he danced in place, ready to keep running. King Erick turned to Flora.

“I want you to finish it.” He simply said with a grim expression. He handed her a small hunting rifle, already loaded and waiting for her to use it. She took it, apprehension rippling through her with the weight of the weapon in her hand. Is this something I can really do? She thought to herself, her grip tightening on the reins as the dogs now circled the fox. The poor thing was hissing and spitting, biting at any dog that dared get too close. She pulled her gelding to a stop, and he pranced underneath her at the sudden stop. Her heart pounded in her chest as she lifted the rifle. The other lords and nobles had all pulled up, making a ring around the dogs who in turn circled the fox. It was to be a show then, and she could not risk disappointing them.

Flora took a steadying breath as she aimed the rifle, setting the butt of it against her shoulder. She knew the recoil would hurt, but she couldn’t risk missing and hitting one of the dogs instead. The hounds kept barking and howling, the fox screeching and clawing as Flora took aim, and fired.

It was over in a flash, the bullet going through the animal’s skull. It wasn’t pretty, in fact it was anything but, what with the blood and brain matter spilling on the ground. Most of those gathered around clapped an applause, complimenting her. Leon nodded as if to say “well done,” clapping his large hands in a slow rhythm. Flora briefly looked to her left to see King Erick and Dante standing next to each other, having dismounted from their horses. Dante did little to hide the disgust on his face, kicking at the lifeless body of the fox. But King Erick looked back at her, as if assessing her reaction. Flora felt sick, and the world grew muted and fuzzy as the collected lords and nobles gathered closer to congratulate her.

“You did very well with a green horse like that.” Flora turned to the grizzled voice at her right. It was Leon. “Not to mention the hounds didn’t tear the thing apart either. Very well done.” He told her, nodding his head in approval. So her fears were true, it was a test of her training the animals as well as her handling them. She felt sick. A page rode up on a small grey pony, and brought with him several long leads to collect the dogs with. As he got to work, Erick and Dante got back onto their horses and turned them around.

“It’s time we moved on to the next part of the hunt.” The King announced, setting his horse into a trot. “Leon, would you be so kind as to collect the fox for us?” It was phrased like a question, but Flora knew it as the command it was. She stayed as Leon slowly got off his old stallion and collected the fox. Some of the dogs whined as they were led away with no prize to take home, but Flora knew they would be fed handsomely tonight. Flora got off her horse in time to assist Leon. He glared at her but didn’t complain until he was in the saddle.

“I’m sure I could have done it myself.” He huffed. “But thanks.” He mumbled, and Flora would have missed it if he wasn’t so bad at keeping his voice low. Flora simply smiled back at him before returning to her seal bay gelding. She hopped on, and he started before she could get her foot into the stirrups. Thankfully she did not fall off as she led her gelding to the rest of the group. They had slowed but did not stop as they headed towards the more open fields that bordered the lands of Germinium.

This was Roc territory, and it was not uncommon to see one or two of the giant eagles high in the sky as they hunted in the early morning and late evening. Rocs usually ate large herbivores like boar and deer, and Flora prayed to all the gods that they didn’t have horse on the menu. They probably did.

The group of nobles pulled up to a smaller group on foot, two pages holding a cadge with four falcons each. They had been waiting for us. Flora thought guiltily. The fox hunt had taken long enough as it was, and now they were expected to go hawking? At least this one would be less painful, but it certainly took a lot longer. Flora pulled her horse to a stop and waited for what her King would say this time.

Without saying anything, King Erick dismounted his seal bay mare and stalked towards the pages with the falcons. He took a moment to look over the falcons, inspecting each one as carefully as a collector appraising an artwork. Flora’s gelding stomped and swished his tail, showing his strong impatience. Flora had to carefully rein him in before the others thought that she was the one who was impatient. Already she was getting a side-eyed look from more than a few of the nobles. However, that could easily be because she was under their scrutiny for the entirety of this hunt.

“Flora.” The call jolted her out of her thoughts, and she turned to the King’s commanding tone. “Stay on your horse, you will be hunting with this bird.” He informed her, holding up a glove and bird for Flora to see. She gently urged her horse forward and graciously took the glove from her King.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I won’t disappoint you” Flora replied with an attempt to bow, being saddled on a horse as she was. At that, Erick gave a small hint of a smirk.

“I’m sure you won’t.” He replied, amusement sparkling in his eyes. Flora did her best to hide her blush as she pulled on the glove and took the bird in her hand. The leather was the same as her saddle, a black that shined the way only new leather could, its smell rich with the use of bee balm. Flora almost felt guilty as she tried out the fit of the glove. Erick then silently handed her the falcon she was to use for the hunt.

“Thank you.” She replied, her voice quieter than she meant. She didn’t want him to see her flustered, but she certainly hadn’t expected a compliment from him after being so distant. Erick got back onto his horse before reaching down to grab his own bird. Flora realized that he had handed her a cream colored Desert Falcon, and that he held a larger muter colored Desert Falcon. It’s to be a pair then, I hold the smaller male and he the larger female. Will he expect us to fly them together? Worry nagged at the back of her mind as Flora followed King Erick further out afield. Desert Falcons were one of the few species to hunt in groups, and the only one to trained as group hunters for falconry. Flora had worked with these birds before, but did not know them as intimately as she knew the horses or the dogs. This was most certainly to be her next test.

A shadow flew overhead, and Flora instinctively looked up, panic rising in her chest. She pushed it down, worried that she would cause her horse to panic. As she looked, she saw a single Roc flying overhead. It was very hard to keep her panic in check, worried that the eagle would want to make a lunch out of them. It didn’t seem to care for them, as it continued to fly off into the distance. Perhaps it was a shifter just patrolling the area and not a feral out to hunt. Flora thought hopefully. It was certainly better than the other option - a giant bird picking out its potential prey.

The group pulled to a halt behind King Erick. They were silent as he surveyed the land before them. He turned to look at Flora, and motioned for her to come forward. Flora pulled up her gelding to stand next to Erick’s without pulling ahead of him. It was hard, as the gelding again stamped in frustration. Flora had to pull hard to keep him in place.

“What do you think?” Erick asked, his face back to that impassive coolness that let no emotion through. Flora did not respond right away, looking around at the fields before her. The grass was tall here, and a bright green with the renewed strength of spring. It had only been a few weeks, but the weather was nice and the plants and animals flourished because of it. The mountains in the distance still held snow on their caps, and the sky was a gentle blue with a few lazy clouds floating by.

“I think that the weather is very nice, and that with the good grace of Cervina The Deer Watcher, there will be plenty of rabbits about.” Flora replied, hoping that her praising the deer goddess of spring would appease him and those who were listening. Erick did not respond right away, but looked at Flora thoughtfully. She grew hot under his assessing stare.

“Yes, it is.” He replied at last, looking back to the field. “We will fly the birds in a cast after the hound flushes the game.” He informed her, and Flora had to turn back to the pages and see that she had missed the dog they had with them. It was another one she had trained, a young white hound with dark brown and black patches on his face and back. They really are testing everything I’ve done. She thought bitterly, the weight of failure and all its consequences pushing down on her like a boulder.

“Right, as you wish, Your Majesty.” She replied, turning back to the king. He wasn’t looking at her, but had continued observing the fields. He let out a short high whistle and the dog was off, rushing into the bushes and looking for prey. Flora prepared her falcon, un-clipping the leash that held the jesses to her glove and removing the bird’s hood. Erick did the same.