Side Story #5
As soon as they arrived at the hunting grounds and got out of the carriage, Bayan rushed to Ruslan. He then took Ruslan’s hand and headed towards the horses that had followed them.
Bayan and Ruslan’s eyes sparkled with excitement as they mounted their horses. Even Ruslan couldn’t hide his joy and pleasure this time.
“Shall we bet on who catches something first?” Bayan suggested. Ruslan nodded.
“Great. We’ll count to three and then start. Three… two… one… Go!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the horses carrying the two children began galloping towards the forest. Enrique and Anture exchanged glances and followed behind the children.
The quiet forest was soon filled with the chaotic sound of hooves. Startled animals could be seen here and there, darting out and fleeing in a hurry.
Whoosh!
Bayan and Ruslan released their arrows almost simultaneously. A rabbit and a fox in different directions fell over.
“Hit!”
“Hit!”
The soldiers confirmed the catches and shouted loudly.
“Who hit first?” Bayan asked.
“I hit first,” Ruslan claimed.
“No, I’m pretty sure I hit first,” Bayan argued. Ruslan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Enrique and Anture exchanged glances, unable to hide their smiles as they watched the children’s battle of wills.
With the first contest undecided, the children’s competitive spirit burned even brighter. Enrique and Anture lazily followed behind, watching Bayan and Ruslan bicker as they tried to outdo each other. Just watching them was more enjoyable and thrilling than actually hunting themselves.
Despite their young age, both were excellent in horsemanship and hunting skills. Being physically superior alphas, their movements were exceptional.
“Who did they take after to have such strong competitive spirits?” Enrique asked Anture, who was riding slowly beside him.
“Obviously you,”
“Obviously you,”
They said simultaneously and then chuckled together.
The energy of children at the age of vigorous play was tremendous. The two tirelessly roamed the entire forest. Sometimes both their arrows would hit the same prey. At such times, they would insist that they had hit it first. They would raise their voices as if about to fight, but then quickly turn their attention to the next prey and chase after it – truly behaving like brothers.
The two were so adept at maneuvering their horses that eventually Enrique and Anture grew weary. Even though it seemed like a good time to rest, the two boys showed no intention of dismounting. They just kept roaming around looking for the next prey, and then the next. Enrique inwardly shook his head at the remarkable stamina emanating from their small bodies.
Darkness falls quickly in the forest. Checking the sky, Enrique called out loudly to the children running ahead.
“Bayan! Ruslan!”
Hearing Enrique’s voice, the children pulled their reins and stopped their horses. Enrique silently pointed at the sky. Only then did the children notice the setting sun and looked disappointed.
When they returned to the camp, there was already a pile of small game. There was also a large deer that Anture had caught while following the children.
“Ruslan! Ruslan! Come here. I’ll teach you how to dress for the game.”
As soon as he dismounted, Bayan grabbed Ruslan’s hand and pulled him along. Ruslan obediently ran after his brother. Neither showed any signs of fatigue. Enrique plopped down in front of the bonfire with a deep sigh.
“They’re at the age for running around, and they’re alphas. This is normal,” Anture said, sitting down next to him.
“Were you like that too?” At Enrique’s question, Anture just smiled silently.
“I played with my friends too, but these kids’ stamina is really…” Enrique shook his head, clicking his tongue. Certainly, Enrique and his friends, all being omegas, were quite different from these alpha children.
“If they had grown up together, we would have had headaches trying to keep them in check,” Enrique muttered. Anture nodded in agreement.
Their gaze turned to the children. They each held a dagger and were dressing the game.
“No, that’s not how you do it. Are you trying to dress the game or dissect it? If you strip off all the meat like that, there won’t be anything left to eat, you fool,” Bayan scolded Ruslan, who was still clumsy at it.
“I’m not a fool. I’m just inexperienced because it’s my first time,” Ruslan retorted, bristling. His voice carried the rashness of youth.
“Thanks to Bayan, Ruslan is showing a bit more of his age,” Anture whispered in Enrique’s ear. Enrique nodded, letting out a soft sigh.
“The kids will prepare the meal for us, so we can just watch,” Anture said with a smile, putting his arm around Enrique’s shoulders. Enrique rested his head on Anture’s shoulder and watched the children’s struggling efforts.
It was pleasing to see them together. But this was only possible because they met briefly. If Enrique could have raised them both as he wished, it would have been happy for the parents, but it would have been cruel to the brothers, an alpha and a superior alpha. As they grew, their alpha-specific instinct for conflict would have intensified, and they would have ended up fighting over the throne or whatever else.
The children only managed to dress the game properly after butchering several catches. Their eyes sparkled as they watched the game they had dressed being handed over to the cook and roasted over the bonfire.
“Father, it will taste really good because we prepared it ourselves,” Bayan repeated several times while the meat was being roasted. Ruslan didn’t say anything separately, but stuck close to Bayan and sent intense gazes indicating that he had done it too.
Finally, the meat was roasted and the meal was served.
Although they must have been hungry, instead of eating hurriedly, the children sent intense gazes towards Enrique and Anture.
“Please try it,” Bayan urged with proud eyes. Ruslan also looked quite proud that the game he had dressed had been cooked and served.
Enrique, responding to the children’s expectations, slowly picked up a piece of meat with his fork and put it in his mouth. The children swallowed hard. Enrique chewed the meat thoroughly with a thoughtful expression, swallowed, and then nodded with a smile.
“It’s very delicious.”
The children’s expressions brightened at Enrique’s evaluation. Then, without anyone taking the lead, they picked up their forks and started devouring the meat on their plates.
The children, who had been running all day and eaten their fill, fell asleep in the carriage on the way back. When they arrived at the palace late at night and got out of the carriage, the children were seen being carried in the arms of servants, still asleep.
“Move them to my bedroom,” Enrique ordered quietly and headed to the royal bedchamber alongside Anture. The children had their clothes changed and were cleaned while still asleep. The four family members would sleep in one bed again tonight. Enrique and Anture lay down with the children between them, holding hands and exchanging gentle gazes. Although this time would end soon, it was better to be fully joyful now rather than sad about the ending.
The two minimized the time they spent on state affairs and focused on spending time with the children.
Especially while Enrique attended important meetings, Anture spent time with the two children. According to reports, Anture spent passionate time with the children, engaging in sword duels and teaching them close combat. The alpha children seemed to find it thoroughly enjoyable and exciting.
Today too, Enrique finished the meeting as quickly as possible and headed to the training ground where the three were said to be. As he approached the training ground, the sharp sound of metal grew louder. As soon as he arrived at the training ground, he saw Bayan and Ruslan swinging their swords at Anture.
Enrique sat in a chair and watched with interest as the three engaged in a two-against-one match.
Perhaps because they had been doing this for several days, Bayan and Ruslan’s coordination was quite good. They were giving their all against Anture. They attacked simultaneously with decent coordination, and also attacked with time differences. The way they exchanged glances and changed their attack patterns here and there was no less than brothers who had grown up together for a long time.
“Ruslan! Now!”
Bayan, who had been relentlessly swinging his sword at Anture, suddenly shouted and pulled back. Ruslan quickly took advantage of the opening to aim for Anture’s lower body. But…
Clang!
Anture blocked it with his sword as if he had been waiting for it, and instead used the recoil to forcefully knock Ruslan’s sword away. Ruslan’s sword flew out of his hand. Confusion, shame, and determination swirled in Ruslan’s golden eyes as he unexpectedly lost his sword during the duel.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
