Chapter 1

Rain was spattering off the canopy above and it was getting darker. Sighing heavily to myself, I removed the string from my bow before covering it in a bag. I really didn't want to get it wet like last time and be shouted at for half an hour.

Instead I pulled out a sling and opened up my bullet bag. Holding the bow bag with the point down ready to stick it into the ground I carried on moving through the trees trying to catch any more signs of the boar's trail. The last I'd seen it was headed this way, but well, boars are tricksy and difficult to hunt.

The first sign of trouble was the young boar walking into the clearing ahead of me. I stopped, aghast. I hadn't seen any signs of it being female. About the only thing scarier than a mothering boar is a mothering bear. Or an elder's proclamation of engagement.

Backing away, I looked around warily to see where the mother was. I needed meat, but not that much. Not seeing her, I relaxed slightly and started backing off.

I was skimming my eyes back and forth for any signs of movement fearfully while stepping backwards, which is why I was surprised by a voice behind me.

'Hey Jerk, why are you going back? Looks like you've almost caught up to the boar.'

The voice of the person I hate most. My nemesis. My fate, if I stay in the village. Jessie.

I spun round to try and shush her. 'Shut up, Bitch. It's a sow and her piglets are just ahead.'

Her smirk turned into a look of irritation before fear flashed over it. She nodded and started backing up but it was too late. Grunting started behind me near the clearing and as I looked the sow trotted out into the open and started glaring at us.

'Oh, shitfuckbollocks.'

'Yeah.' I agreed quietly.

'Whats the plan?' she murmured.

'Is your bow out still?' I asked.

'What, you want to kill it?' she gasped.

With no idea when I'd decided to go ahead and kill it, I just nodded before pointing at her and then to our right. Hoping she'd gotten the message I waited a second as the boar started coming closer before shouting 'Now'.

Dropping the bow bag I started moving diagonally past it as it turned towards me and charged. I had a moment to tense up and wince before it slammed into me and I went flying. As I landed I did my best to break the fall and looked back to see arrows smacking into the sow.

Wincing as I moved about on the bullets that had fallen from the pouch I stood up and picked one up, putting it into the sling. Swinging it around my head I fired the bullet at the boar's head. It stopped, stunned, just as it was about to charge Jessie. I quickly fired another two bullets at it, and as it got hit by another arrow it started swaying.

I fired one final bullet and it dropped. With my left arm starting to stiffen I quickly rushed over. Blowing on the knife and whispering the ritual for a clean kill I slit it's throat. Moving back I waited for it to die, shivering slightly as the rain started hitting me through a gap in the trees.

Rubbing my arm I picked up as many of the bullets as I could find, ignoring the squealing of the piglets. Since metal bullets were expensive I had spent a long time on the riverbeds in summer finding round stones, so I didn't want to lose any.

As the boar went through the final death spasms I looked up and tried to play nice with Jessie.

'Thanks.' I tried to smile at her.

'You needed the help. What the hell were you hunting it for?'

Pissed off suddenly, I snarled back at her 'Needed the help? I wouldn't have needed the fucking help if you hadn't startled it. Next time be quiet, will you? And what the hell were you doing following me?'

'Fine, fine, next time you're about to be charged by an angry boar I'll just ignore you, shall I?' she shouted angrily at me. 'And just for your information, I was sent by Daniel to come and get you to help set up for the Autumn ritual. But obviously you don't want to know.'

Closing my eyes I took a few deep breaths, rubbing my thumb across my forehead and down my chest in the cleansing mind ritual. With the anger fading, I held my hands out open and tried to talk peacefully. 'Look, I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting a mothering sow and you just came at the wrong time. Thank you. Now, can you let Daniel know I'll be about half an hour gutting the boar and bringing the piglets?'

She stopped, mouth open, obviously about to continue shouting. She sniffed imperiously before relaxing. 'No, no, I'll help. After all, half of it is mine.'

'Half? Half?' I grinned to show I was joking, waiting to see that she was fine with it before continuing 'I find the trail, track it for near an hour then do most of the killing. How do you get half?'

She giggled before bantering back. 'True, true, but it was still two of us that killed it.'

I just sighed in resignation while rolling my eyes before rolling the boar onto it's side. We quickly performed the basic rituals to keep away flies and to keep the area dry then I started gutting the boar while Jessie started collecting the piglets.

I knew it couldn't last too long and I wasn't surprised when she leant up against the nearest tree and started watching me. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at her as I worked, looking over her admittedly good looking body.

'So, why were you hunting down the boar?' she finally asked.

'Are you going to believe that I thought the village needed more meat? No? What about that if we find some piglets now we can fatten them for the winter?'

She shook her head angrily. 'Stop pissing me about. You didn't even know it was a sow. Come on, we're supposed to be getting married at some point. Can't we just get along?'

Sitting back a moment I shrugged and started explaining. 'Well, we're mostly getting married because we're the odd ones out. Everyone else is matched up and getting on well so we've been shoved together since the village needs everyone married. And, to be blunt, you're a bitch.'

'You, you, you fucking... '

Holding my hands up to stop her outburst I continued. 'I'm a fucking bastard, I know. You keep telling me. But, my thought was that if I travel over to Wessend then I can find someone I actually like and bring them back.'

'And leave me here by myself to be looked down on by the rest of the village for being left behind? Fuck that.' She took a breath and did the calming ritual herself. Calmer again, she asked 'You really don't want this marriage?'

I snorted in disbelief. 'You know what happened the first time we met. You kicked my shins and I pulled your hair. The only reason it wasn't more was because we didn't have knives' She smiled wryly at that. 'We're sixteen years old and for the last ten we've been pressed together like glue. Within 24 hours we'd kill each other.'