Chapter 99 – Finishing the Hunt

"Let's pack up the meat and head back," I shout out, coming up behind Geta. "Vanya, are you sure there are only the four we killed around?"

"Yes. Two sets of mates," Vanya assures.

"Alright, then we can head back to the city tomorrow. I want to know how you got two of them to chase you back to the camp. I'm guessing this one was the mate of the one we killed on the way here," I say.

"Most likely. I can share the story on the way back," Vanya agrees.

There isn't much work to be done packing up the meat. My storage ring will keep the meat fresh till we can get it to a butcher to finish preparing it. A few girls go poking around to see if the griffins grabbed anything useful to take back, and then we head back to the camp.

The sun fully set behind us, leaving us in the dark. Shimmer gave us some light as we made the trek back to our camp.

Vanya starts her story, but the rest of the group doesn't seem that interested in it, so I'm guessing I missed it while I was passed out earlier.

"We made good time getting to the nest. It took a little under two hours. Had Sextia cover us in darkness, and we started snooping about. It was empty when we started, and we were able to find what looked like four spots that were used to sleep, each being paired up. Everything else seemed to follow that pattern, four distinct places that seemed to be paired together. With nothing else to search for we planned on waiting a bit to see if any came back and acted all lovey-dovey with each other. While in the middle of the camp, we had two love birds come by right as Sextia's skill ended. One dove down, and the other sent a gust of wind at us. I dodge the dive, taking Sextia with me but her arm got caught up in the wind gust. From there it was just using all my movement skills and mana to sprint back to camp."

"You made it back to camp carrying Sextia with two birds chasing you?"

"They came back from a long hunt, it looks like. Got them while tired. I'm more surprised they followed me all the way out back. I was sure they would turn back."

"I'll have her wait to get her arm back till Alzi can heal it. She needs to learn to communicate limits to her partners. You're lucky she didn't get you killed."

"Oh, she knows that. Chi gave her a good ear full. Then Ioelena gave her a good yelling. Chi was only able to clean the wound and heal it. Alzi will have a lot to learn to rebuild an arm."

"If I'm right about her, it'll help push Alzi to learn faster. Thank you for getting both of you back safe. We'll have to drill into everyone how to handle the field. Can't have someone lose an arm over something as easy to avoid as that."

"Yes, I should've guessed she didn't know it. I'm sure a few more maids don't know how to handle this work as well. You always get a bit of 'protect the noble's feelings' in times of peace," she says with a sigh. A few heads bob around us as they're forced to listen to our conversation.

"Yes, it's just hard to think of someone not knowing the basics of speaking up about low mana."

"I doubt she was checking. But she's given us all a great resource to force all the maids to learn the lesson well when we get back."

"I suppose so."

The rest of the way was quiet. Everyone was tired from the travel and constant fights, wishing to get under their covers and sleep. Hopefully, the ride back tomorrow is simple.

We can get back, drop the meat off, get some real sleep in a bed, and then have a feast before taking a scenic route home. We're down two fighters, Inanos and Sextia. So getting back and paying a visit to Rosemary to help Inanos is very much needed.

Getting back into camp, Syro pushes me into my tent and forces me to bed. I'm too tired to fight her, so I let them figure out the night watch.

...

"Up you go, Princess. We all want to get back to the city before lunch and have some real food," Syro says, shaking me awake.

"Wouldn't mind that. I just need to get into my armor and..."

"Nope, you're riding in the carriage. I'll be taking your place with Shimmer. The two of us will be able to handle anything. Chi still wants you to rest for a bit," She says, standing up already in her leather armor.

"Are you all in agreement with this?"

"Yes, Geta's willing to chain you up if needed."

"Ok, then I'll be out in a second."

I put on a simple dress and put away the small bedding. I don't have anything else in the tent to store, so I walk out and let the maids take the tent down. Outside, the rest of the tents have been put away except for Chi's.

Curious, I walk inside and find Sextia inside, with Chi inspecting what is left of her right arm.

"Can it be healed?" I ask.

"Yes, I don't have the mana to do it right now. Give me a month and I could, but I don't think you have the time to waste in this corner of the world. You'll have to find someone in the capital or one with more mana than me on your way back home," She says releasing the arm.

"That we don't, but thank you for the offer," I say, turning to the injured maid. Her face turned to the far side of the tent. "Sextia, I've heard you've gotten yelled at plenty. So I won't pile on too much. You got lucky; you don't normally outrun Griffins. But, you also showed a weakness my house may have, and I will be fixing it. You need to get more classes, so don't slack off."

"Yes, your Highness," Sextia says, her head bowed.

"Thank you for watching over us, Chi," I say to the healer.

"Happy to help get rid of that beast, and you two gave me plenty of work yesterday. Don't wrestle with Griffins in the future, Princess," she says back with a smile.

"I'll keep that in mind," I say, walking out. My tent is gone now, leaving just the healer's tent up. Syro flags me down and pushes me into a carriage.

"We'll take care of everything. Just relax on the way back," she says, closing me in.

"You all are getting a little pushy now. I'm not some Grandma that needs to be babied. Hell Elves are often almost in their prime when they're a grandmother. So stop acting like I have a foot in the grave!" I yell out.

"Dear, yesterday you had a foot in the grave, and Alzi will have no problem completing the first step for you becoming a grandmother and letting you step into your prime," Syro says, cracking the door open so I can see her stupid smile.

"The Goddess of Death wasn't watching me yesterday. But fine. I'll be babied by my wives for a day. Tomorrow, I'm not going to take this!"

"Yes, my dear Princess. Go enjoy the maids," she says, closing the door again.

Yes, they gave me the carriage with all four maids we brought with us. They continued to bully me. They pushed me down so my head was in one of their laps. Her hands combed my hair as another fed me grapes. The last two massaged my thighs on the journey. It was a quiet, comfortable journey.

...

"Princess, are you ready to get out?" startles me as I take another bite.

"What?" I ask after chewing my food.

"We are back at the castle. Are you ready to get out?" A maid asked me.

"Oh, yes, I should get out, I suppose," I say, getting out of the soft lap. The maid runs her hand through my hair one last time.

Someone opens the door from the outside, and a hand darts out to help me, which I need after the strange rest the maids gave me on my way back.

"Finally ready to face the world, dear?" Syro asks, walking up from behind the carriage.

"Yes. The maids were just seeing to my needs," I say back. "You did give them all to me."

"While we were out here being vigilant, you were playing with the maids. Do you need a few of us to join you tonight? I hate to have a rumor spread that we aren't treating our wife right so early in the marriage," she teases.

"Food and relaxation. But you have earned a spot in the bed bent over now, harpy."

"Oh no. The Princess is going to have her way with me," she says with a twirl. "We should get going now. Geta is gathering the butchers to prepare for a feast. I'm guessing you want to help some of the poor that lost their fields to the beast, right?"

"Yes. We'll need to let the butchers prepare all four beasts. Hate to make them them into mana food and ruin most of the taste, but we need to feed as many as possible. They need to see more benefits before they can work again. Many of those fields are ruined for this season."

"I know cities have a lot of mouths to feed," She says, turning on her heels and leading me to the Geta and the Butchers.

I guess the Baroness called them into the castle while the maids were tending to me, as they had a small section of the castle grounds marked off for them to work in. A few girls already working on a few smaller beasts to add to the pile of meat. It looks like it may be a family-run ordeal as a man is cleaning some tools off to the side.

I plop the beast down on a clear section, and we head back to the castle to let them prepare for tomorrow.