I Didin’t Want to Take Part In a Hunting

Or rather, only about half of it. It looked as if it had sunk into the ground, and it was the tail section, raised upward, that caught my attention. I looked around for Renet, who stood some distance away from me, not understanding my fascination but also giving me space to do whatever I was doing. I walked around the wreckage, looking carefully. Still, I was haunted by the feeling I'd find something significant here, so I searched carefully, and to my surprise, a rifle lay nearby.

I picked it up. I didn't know much about the history of weapons, but they were generally designed for a single purpose, so their operating principles weren't significantly different. After the first look, I cleaned it roughly. Of course, it couldn't function, but to be sure, I checked the mechanism. Memories began to flood me, and muscle memory kicked in. An innate talent for shooting, Olympic hopes, trophies, medals from competitions, including international ones, pride in my school and family... until the accident.

I forgot I loved it. That feeling of hitting the target, of shutting out the world in favor of maximum focus, of the weapon becoming a part of you, even the frustration when things weren't going well, and the need to put in even more effort to achieve results. The pursuit of perfection in every category, the elimination of every weakness, the competitive spirit, and the tension when a single shot ultimately decided victory. How I missed all of that later...

I woke up to the sudden, loud, furious barking of dogs and the human voices lost somewhere in the mix. I didn't know why I'd brought it with me and limped toward Renet. Suddenly, I was overcome with anxiety, and my heart began to beat faster with worry. Just as before, I'd felt drawn to this place, maybe even to this particular rifle. Now I felt I had to save him.

I was afraid. I just didn't know of what. But I didn't expect to witness a pack of dogs attack him, and a moment later, several people, who still hadn't clearly noticed me, would catch him. Something told me I should raise my weapon, even though it didn't work, and I had no right to. I'd never aimed at people or living animals; it wouldn't even have occurred to me, but I was in a fantasy world, and my crush was on his knees and held by strangers. He was bleeding from wounds left by the dog's fangs and claws. He didn't struggle, but he tried to give me some kind of signal to run. I searched for his gaze, but he avoided it, giving only brief signals telling me to disappear before they noticed. I couldn't.

Suddenly, I heard a new sound, the clatter of horses' hooves, and a young rider burst between us. He dismounted, never releasing his long spear. Everyone continued to ignore me; on the one hand, I didn't want to attract their attention, and on the other, I needed to draw them away from Renet. The newcomer approached him and lifted his head with the tip of his spear.

"Tell me, Renet, why did you break our deal?" he asked, disgusted. "What am I supposed to do with you? You're a prince yourself; you know we, especially, are supposed to keep our word."

"Get away from him!"

Finally, I gathered the courage to intervene and aimed at the rider. Everyone's eyes, including the horse, which had meanwhile begun to calmly graze, turned to me. For now, I didn't have time to analyze the youngster's words, though they confused me. Perhaps he mistook Renet for someone else? One of the men holding him turned towards me.

"Wait, this could be interesting," the rider laughed and leaned nonchalantly on his spears.

"But Your Highness! We don't even know what he has in his hand."

The royal one silenced his subject with a gesture and began to stare at me curiously. I had the impression he wasn't my enemy, but he clearly had a thing for Renet, so I must have a problem with him. I adjusted my grip on the rifle, which only brought a smile to his face.

"You know this won't work, right?"

"I can pull the trigger and find out for sure. Life can be surprising," I replied, ignoring Renet's pleading look for me to finally leave him and go away.

"I like you. We need to have a serious talk. By the way, do you know each other?"

"No!" my crush denied, which hurt me a bit, and I didn't even have time to respond.

"Really?" The rider raised an eyebrow, waiting for my version.

"Yes, we know each other."

"No, we don't!

"We know each other very well!"

I argued with Renet, to the amusement of one spearman and the confusion of his subjects. If my words caused us both pain, I was ready for it; I wasn't going to leave him.

"Since you know each other so well, you must know who Renet is and how nice it is that it doesn't bother you. I assume so, since you're aiming at me."

The nonchalance in his voice unnerved me, but I couldn't hide my hesitation, and that didn't escape his notice either. I frantically tried to understand what was going on. He called Renet a prince. Maybe he was just one of those people who pretended to be of lower status so they could spend time freely among people or pursue their art in peace. It wasn't anything serious; at least as far as I was concerned, I simply would have—very possibly—even less chance with him. It couldn't have been anything else, could it?

The rider approached Renet, ignoring my orders not to. He clearly didn't care about my threats, but as he'd pointed out earlier, I posed no real threat, though I felt as if the rifle was telling me not to underestimate it. When he reached out, I squeezed the trigger. I didn't want to kill or wound the royal, just to make him leave my crush alone.

A bit of confusion ensued, and I don't know how I managed to fire and hit His Majesty. At first, we were all shocked, staring at the blood streaming onto the ground. Renet started struggling, I lowered my weapon, and the rider burst out laughing.

"I didn't expect that, but you gave me a good scratch. Luckily, I'm the king, so I can decide for myself whether you'll be punished for this or not." As he spoke, still making a mess, he tore off his shirt sleeve and wrapped it around the wound. "But let's get back to what's most important now: how much time do you have left, Renet, that you're so eager to escape? Perhaps we should start with a little hint, although I don't know if it'll be enough for you." He looked at me challengingly. "What do you think?"

He directed the question at me or Renet? I don't know, but then, with one movement, he ripped the material from his head. I finally learned that it hid hair, a shade that had fascinated me once before. Looking at him now, I realized how similar they were. The impact of my knees on the ground hurt; I wasn't the only one hiding secrets. A grimace of pain suddenly appeared on Renet's face. My first instinct was to run to him and ask how I could help him, but I couldn't, because I wasn't able to see the human anymore. He was a Dragonid, who could only assume human form; that he was a prince was already not a significant fact to me…