Rabbits and Blackberries

Aurora ran away from home when she was just sixteen. Leaving behind an abusive family, she finds herself caught up in a war between two rival kingdoms and falling in love with a prince (chapter 2).

‘That’s terrible!’ Frederick exclaimed, laughing. Aurora huffed and threw up her hands.

 

‘Why don’t you show me how it’s done then,’ she said. Frederick had spent the morning trying to show Aurora how to make a decent enough snare to catch a rabbit. She wasn’t having much luck so far. Every time she tried to tire the wire, she kept getting her fingers all tangled up, snaring herself, instead of her dinner. Frederick of course made quick work of his, tying it securely with his nimble fingers.

 

‘Just like that,’ he said when he was done.

 

‘Eugh,’ Aurora groaned, ‘maybe I’m just not made for rabbit catching.’

 

‘It’s easy Rory, why don’t you have another go?’ he said, holding out another wire. Aurora looked down at the wire in his hand and then across as her abysmal attempt at a snare.

 

‘How about this, you catch the rabbit, and I’ll collect some blackberries from the bushes down by the river?’ she suggested. Frederick smiled indulgently at her as she scooped up her basket.

 

‘Shall I meet you back at the village?’ he asked. Aurora nodded in agreement and headed further into the forest. She hummed quietly to herself as she passed under the trees, enjoying the accompanying sounds of birdsong and the rustling of leaves. She walked down the slope toward her sport by the river and took a moment to look across at Teora. Smiling, she made her way upstream to where she knew some blackberry bushes grew. It was a little early to be picking them. They wouldn’t be fully ripe for another few days but with the shortage of food at the moment, Aurora would choose berries which were a little unripe over no berries at all.

 

She had almost filled her basket when she heard a shout. Alarmed, her basket slipped from her fingers, sending berries flying over the grass. Irritated at her clumsiness, Aurora dropped to her knees and began to pick up the wayward food.

 

She heard the shout again.

 

Trying to stay as still as possible, she listened. 

 

She heard it again. 

 

She couldn’t work out what they were saying from where she was, but she could hear raised voices from the other side of the river. Curiosity overwhelming her, she made her way back downstream.

 

On the other side of the river, a Teorian guard had stopped two farmers. She recognised the uniform at once; the domed helmet he was clutching under his arm, the red tunic bearing the Teorian coat of arms, the long wooden pike, all of it bringing back terrible memories. Aurora gasped and retreated back under the shadow of the trees and out of sight. She ran her eyes down the guard’s face, taking in his features and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t recognise him.

 

‘State your business here,’ he said in Teorian, his tone short. The two men that he had apprehended frowned. They looked at each other and then back at the guard. One of them stepped forward and began to splutter out some broken Teorian.

 

‘Here… farmer… home… good…’ He pointed towards Teora to make his point clearer. Aurora thought he couldn’t be less clear if he tried. The two men were as different as night and day but both equally beautiful. The one speaking had golden locks which had been tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His skin was tan, and his baggy clothes didn’t hide his brawn. His face was perfect, as if it had been sculpted into place, with golden eyes, a narrow, straight nose, and a strong jaw. The other man was taller and slighter. His skin was pale which contrasted beautifully with his dark hair and intense blue eyes which gazed out from his otherwise unremarkable face. They were both beautiful and from Aurora could tell, not from Teora.

 

‘There you are!’ she shouted across the river, deciding after only a moment’s hesitation to come to their aid. ‘I wondered where you had got to.’ Her years spent hiding in Euralia hadn’t affected her accent; she spoke in perfect Teorian. Aurora gathered up her skirts and made her way across the river. ‘Sorry sir,’ she said, turning to face the guard, ‘my brothers are simple.’ The guard raised an eyebrow.

 

‘You shouldn’t be crossing into Euralia,’ he said, his voice giving away his displeasure, ‘it’s not safe for someone like you.’ Aurora had to hide her snort. So far in her life, Euralia had proved a lot more welcoming than Teora ever had.

 

‘I know sir,’ she replied, ‘there is a blackberry bush just over the river - we were making the most of its harvest before the Teorians go to it.’ The guard regarded her for a moment.

 

‘Well, I’m not going to argue with that,’ he said reluctantly. ‘Be careful though, those Teorians are savage, like animals.’

 

‘That’s why I brought my brothers,’ she lied, ‘they may be simple, but they’re useful in a scuffle.’ He nodded, accepting her story.

 

‘I would suggest you spend no more time on the wrong side of the border,’ he said, his voice carrying a warning. ‘You wouldn’t want to be mistaken for someone you’re not.’ Aurora nodded, not really understanding, but deciding it would be better not to disagree.

 

‘Come,’ Aurora said to the two men, gesturing with her hand, hoping they knew enough Euralian to follow her instruction.

 

Aurora walked back upriver but this time, in Euralia. She was relieved to notice that the two men were following her, and the guard was not.

 

‘If you are going to pretend to be Euralian,’ she said, switching back to speaking Teorian, ‘you should at least learn the language.’ When the trio had lost sight of the guard, she picked up her skirts and made her way back across the river. The men followed.

 

‘And how can you speak Euralian so well?’ the blonde man asked, his tone accusatory. Aurora raised her eyebrow and came to a stop.

 

‘Thank you would also work here,’ she replied, crossing her arms across her chest. The pair stared at each other, both waiting for the other to back down.

 

Neither did.

 

‘Thank you,’ the back haired man said, speaking for the first time. ‘I’m Alden, and this prat is my cousin Henrik. He won’t admit it but we’re grateful you helped us out.’ Aurora turned away from Henrik and gave Alden a smile, deciding instantly he was the more likeable of the two.

 

‘Lots of people living near the border must speak both languages,’ she said. It wasn’t technically a lie. Lots of people living on the border between the two nations did learn the other language, but that isn’t why Aurora knew it. ‘If you can't speak with them, you can’t trade with them.’ They continued walking deeper into the forest. ‘Why were you there?’ The pair looked at each other and Aurora got the impression whatever they were about to tell her wasn’t exactly the truth.

 

‘We got lost,’ Henrik said finally in what may have been the worst lie Aurora had ever heard.

 

‘You got lost… Did you not notice your feet getting wet?’ she said sarcastically.

 

‘No,’ he replied.

 

‘Whatever,’ Aurora said, giving up. ‘Can you manage to get home without getting lost?’ She knew she sounded patronising, but she didn’t care.

 

‘Of course,’ he scoffed. ‘Ow!’ he exclaimed as Alden hit him in the shoulder, ‘what was that for?’

 

‘What my cousin means to say is that we are many miles from home and need somewhere safe to stay tonight. Would you know a place? We can pay.’ As he spoke he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pile of silver coins. Aurora’s eyes widened. The cousins were dressed in old clothes, worn and dirty, which is why she had assumed they were farmers but farmers didn’t make this kind of money.

 

‘You can stay in my barn tonight and head out tomorrow. It’s not much, but it’s dry.’

‘Much appreciated,’ Alden said. Together the four of them made their way back into the village. Frederick was waiting for her, sitting on a stump outside her house.

 

‘What took you so long?’ he whined, ‘you had the easy job!’ The smile fell from his face when he noticed the two men flanking her on either side. ‘Who are they?’ he asked.

 

‘What’s it to you?’ Henrik said. Frederick scowled and Aurora shot him a warning glance. As she was alone in the village, he saw it as his responsibility to look after her and she didn’t want this turning nasty.

 

‘They’re just travellers,’ she explained. ‘They are going to stay the night in my barn before moving on tomorrow.’ Frederick didn’t look pleased but accepted the explanation. He handed her one of the rabbits.

 

‘Here, this one's for you.’ She took it, happy that her belly would feel full tonight. She filled his basket with half of the berries she collected and waved him goodbye. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to stay,’ he whispered, giving Alden and Henrik a distrustful look.

 

‘I’ll be fine,’ she said, pushing him away. He left, albeit reluctantly, glancing back at her until he was out of sight.

 

‘Come in,’ she said, leading Alden and Henrik into her humble home. ‘There’s a wood store out back.’ She dropped the rabbit and the basket of blackberries onto the table. ‘If you light the fire, I can probably spare you something to eat.’ The pair nodded and shuffled out. Donning an apron, Aurora grabbed a knife and began to skin the rabbit, her stomach already rumbling. It didn’t take long for Alden and Henrik to return with arms full of wood which they dropped on the floor by the fireplace. Aurora paid them no mind as began to slice the meat from the rabbit’s carcass.

 

‘Give it here,’ Henrik muttered, shoving Alden to the side. He had been trying to light the wood with the flint Aurora kept in a pot by the fire and was having little success. Aurora watched as Henrik struck the flint over and over, creating sparks but no flame. She failed to stifle a laugh.

 

‘Well, it’s clearly broken!’ Henrik exclaimed, throwing it to the floor with a frustrated huff.

 

‘You’ll never get it started like that,’ she said. ‘Have you never lit a fire before?’ She raised an eyebrow and surveyed their handiwork. They had taken a few logs and placed them into the grate and then decided it was time to light the fire.

 

‘Of course I have!’ he said, affronted. ‘It’s not my fault if your flint is broken!’ Aurora rolled her eyes and wiped her hands on her apron. She knelt down next to Henrik and built the wood in the grate into a pyramid shape. Then, she took some straw from the basket next to the fireplace and lay it underneath.

 

‘You’ll never manage to light a log with a flint,’ she explained. ‘You light the kindling,’ she pointed to the stray she had added, ‘and that heats up the wood and sets it alight.’ She struck the flint once, sending a shower of sparks into the centre of the pyramid. The kindling caught light instantly and it wasn’t long before the wood was alight too. Smiling smugly, she returned to the rabbit.

 

‘That was luck,’ Henrik grumbled.

 

‘Of course,’ Aurora said, ‘I just feel sorry for your wives, having to do all the work.’ Henrik scoffed.

 

‘We’re not married,’ Alden said.

 

‘Oh right, still mother doing everything for you then,’ she retorted with a twinkle in her eye. Aurora brought the heavy pot of water that she had filled before she had left over to the fireplace. Henrik took it from her, hanging it up above the fire. She added the chunks of rabbit and chopped an onion to add to their meagre meal. She left Alden to stir it while she sliced some bread to bulk it out a little. Grabbing bowls from the shelf, she handed them to Alden and Henrik to serve themselves some of the rabbit stew.

 

She only had two chairs at her table - she had never needed any more - so she let the two men take them and she sat on her bed with her bowl perched on her lap.

 

‘So, are you going to tell me what you were really doing today?’ she asked after they had all begun to tuck in. Henrik was pulling faces with every mouthful, but Alden at least had the grace to hide his distaste.

 

‘I don’t know what you mean…’ Henrik trailed off unconvincingly, ‘we already told you what we were doing.’ Aurora shook her head.

 

‘Okay,’ she said, not caring to argue, ‘will you tell me where you’re from?’

 

‘We’re from Arddon,’ Alden said before Henrik had the chance to respond in what Aurora thought would probably be another poorly executed lie.

 

‘The capital?’ Aurora asked, intrigued. ‘What’s it like? Is it as beautiful as they say?’

 

‘It’s beautiful,’ Henrik said, ‘but a little too constricting for my liking.’

 

‘That’s a long way to travel, you really did get lost,’ she said, smirking.

 

‘Yes well,’ Henrik coughed, ‘our sense of direction isn’t our strongest quality.’ He scooped up his bowl and drank the dregs of his soup, clearly deciding that he was hungry enough to suffer it after all.

Aurora grabbed an extra blanket from under her bed and tossed it at the men. 

 

‘Here,’ she said, ‘it will be cold out there.’ Alden thanked her and the two men made their way out to the barn.

 

Later, as Aurora lay in her bed, unable to sleep, she thought of how her day had not gone the way she had expected.