The Pup (4)
Chester raised Ant with devotion, training him tirelessly to become an excellent hunting hound. By feeding him beasts caught in traps or hunted directly, Chester familiarized him with their scent and taste. He also honed Ant's hunting instincts by throwing various objects, including wooden discs, for him to chase and retrieve. Instead of simply serving his meals, Chester hid the food in various places, forcing Ant to search for it, which developed his tracking skills and sense of smell. And today was the day. Chester set out from the shelter, determined to take the thoroughly trained Ant on his very first real hunt.
Thirty minutes after leaving the house, as they were walking through the forest, Ant caught a scent and signaled to Chester that he had found prey.
"Good boy." Chester praised Ant for locating the target and peered in the direction the pup was pointing.
A rabbit. It was a common rabbit. However, the rabbits on the Floating Island were quite different from ordinary ones. Heaven knew what they ate, but these creatures didn't just scurry along the ground; they bounded off trees and rocks, executing double and triple jumps, practically flying through the forest. While they posed no real threat, they were undoubtedly a nuisance to chase down. That was why Chester and Monia usually only ate rabbits that got caught in traps or those they managed to take down with a single, lucky shot. They never bothered actively hunting them.
But things are different now. They had Ant. If it was this little guy, who was far faster than either Chester or Monia, he might actually be able to run the rabbit down. And if Ant proved successful, the variety of game Chester and Monia could hunt would expand dramatically.
"Shall we give it a try?"
"Pardon?"
"With Ant here, it shouldn't be too hard, right?"
"Do you think so?"
Chester gave Ant the signal, and the pup immediately bolted after the rabbit. The startled rabbit leaped into action, with Ant hot on its heels. Chester and Monia ran close behind them.
"Whoa! Ah!" Monia cried out as she leaped and bounded through the rugged forest path, dodging obstacles left and right. Tree roots hidden beneath layers of leaves, jagged rocks jutting out of the earth, slippery moss-covered boulders, and damp, decaying foliage that made the ground treacherous—these were the very obstacles that had tripped Monia up at least five times each during her months on the Floating Island. But humans learn and grow from their failures. Before she knew it, Monia had become capable of running through the forest with relative ease.
"Eek!" Of course, it wasn't easy. Since she rarely had to run like this, she still nearly tripped and tumbled several times. Yet, she miraculously kept her balance, pushing forward to keep up with Chester and Ant.
I want to run even better!
Unlike Monia, whose already slow pace was further hindered by the rough terrain, Chester ran effortlessly, as if nothing stood in his way. Of course, Chester wasn't sprinting at full speed. Though he seemed incredibly fast to Monia, he was actually pacing himself to avoid wasting unnecessary energy. Maintaining his stride, he occasionally hurled stones with his sling or bare hands to harass the rabbit. Each time, the startled rabbit would flinch, allowing Ant to rapidly close the distance.
Ant pursued the rabbit with relentless focus. Sensing the predator hot on its trail, the brown rabbit sprinted desperately before spotting a tree directly ahead. It leaped. Twisting its body mid-air, the rabbit planted its paws vertically against the tree trunk and launched itself in the opposite direction. It soared over Ant's head as if it were flying.
Startled, Ant scrambled to turn around, only to lose his footing and tumble to the ground. Taking advantage of the slip, the rabbit began to make its clean escape...
Thwack! Just then, a stone slammed into the dirt right in front of the rabbit.
"Ah, close," Chester muttered, clicking his tongue. He had aimed for the head, but the stone had landed just an inch short.
Though the sudden impact froze the rabbit in sheer panic, Ant did not miss the opening. He lunged forward.
Grrr! Springing off his powerful front paws—the very ones built for digging tunnels—he closed the gap in an instant and sank his teeth into the rabbit. The momentum carried them both forward, rolling several times across the dirt before finally coming to a halt.
Grrrr! Ant pinned the rabbit down with his muscular front legs, keeping his fangs buried deep to prevent any struggle. With a sharp squeeze of his jaws, a sickening snap echoed through the quiet woods, and the rabbit went limp.
Pant, pant, pant. Having secured his kill, Ant trotted proudly back to Chester, the rabbit still clamped firmly in his jaws. He dropped the carcass at Chester's feet and affectionately rubbed his body against the man's leg.
"Good boy. You did great." Chester smiled, reaching down to stroke Ant's head.
Whine, whiiine. Chester tossed a small piece of dried meat to Ant as a reward, then picked up the rabbit to inspect it.
"Wow, pant... Did... gasp... Ant really... wheeze... catch that? pant..." Monia asked, catching up at last and gasping for air just as Chester lifted the rabbit.
"Yeah. Ant got it."
"Wow... Our Ant is amazing! pant..."
"By the way, I'm surprised you managed to keep up."
"Huh... What?"
Chester looked at Monia. She was drenched in sweat, strands of her black hair clinging to her cheeks and neck, her skin flushed a soft, rosy pink. Her chest and shoulders heaved rapidly as she struggled to draw breath into her burning lungs. Her already tattered dress was in an even worse state now, torn and shredded in several places from her frantic dash through the brush.
But she made it all the way here. Monia was growing stronger. Had this been when she was first exiled to the island, she wouldn't have even been able to walk through the forest, let alone run after Chester and Ant. But she had spent every day walking through the rugged woods under the sweltering heat. She had chopped, carried, and cut bamboo and timber. She had tilled the hard earth to make a field, pulling up buried rocks and boulders. She had climbed up and down the ladder every time she entered or left the treehouse. On top of that, she had run and rolled around the shelter daily just to play with Ant. Monia had worked incredibly hard.
Looking at her now, deciding to raise Ant was one of the best choices we made. Ironically, her desire to bond with the pup had driven her to push herself even harder. I never expected her to become this capable.
In the early days of their exile, Chester had seriously considered abandoning her, thinking she would only be dead weight. But now, she was truly remarkable. She had hunted a wild pig on her own, and she could now drain, skin, and gut animals with her own hands. She no longer shrank from dirty or grueling labor. Instead, she actively asked Chester for guidance whenever she hit a wall, determined to figure things out. When danger loomed, she did everything in her power to assist Chester and overcome the threat. As her dress grew more tattered and her hands and feet accumulated tiny, unnoticeable scars, Monia's body, mind, and resolve grew sturdier.
A faint smile played on Chester's lips as he realized just how much she had grown. Good. Monia's place in Chester's mind was beginning to shift. Just as Ant had transformed from a useless pup eating up their food and time into a proper hunting hound, Monia was changing from a helpless child who needed constant protection and guidance into a green, yet reliable companion.
At the same time, Chester's own position was shifting. Slowly. Ever so slowly. In the most subtle of ways. Chester and Monia. Two people from completely different worlds were finally falling into step with one another.
Oblivious to the subtle shift between them, Ant simply wagged his tail, thrilled at the prospect of the rabbit meat they would soon enjoy.
Late at night. Tiara stared blankly at the tutor sitting beside her, lecturing away without a care for whether she was ready to sleep or not.
"And so, the history of our great kingdom, which rose once more after the end of the long war..."
What he was droning on about was the history of the kingdom. Despite over two months of lessons starting from the kingdom's founding, they hadn't even covered half of the material. Every night, she fell asleep to the drone of history lessons, only to be tested the next morning on whatever she had heard while half-asleep. If she failed the test, she went without breakfast. The relentless daily lessons, the constant anxiety over the next morning's exam, and the physical and mental exhaustion chipped away at her. Tiara was withering away like a dying plant.
Yet, no one came to her aid. After all, she was merely an outsider who happened to catch the Prince's eye. A commoner.
"..." Tears welled in Tiara's eyes. But she had been taught that a queen must never show weakness, so she couldn't even cry freely. Crying meant punishment. Terrified of the consequences, she forced her tears back.
Tiara had been born a commoner, living a life shackled by hunger and poverty. By a stroke of miraculous luck, she had entered the academy, and her life had transformed completely upon meeting Jordy. She could eat all the sweets she wanted. She no longer had to walk on eggshells around other nobles. Hunger, poverty, and even the insurmountable barrier of social class no longer oppressed her. She had become free. She had become happy.
...Or so she had thought.
But the moment the kingdom fell into chaos and Jordy left her side, she realized the truth.
I was living in a dream.
Just like the fairy tales adults told, which always ended with "and they lived happily ever after." Because she had met a prince, because all her hardships had vanished, because she had been free and happy, and because she had eventually fallen in love with him, she believed their happiness would last forever. But reality wasn't like that. Life wasn't a fairy tale.
A bed as soft as clouds. Buildings adorned with lavish jewels. A delicious buffet of food served every single day. Beautiful dresses made of smooth, luxurious fabrics. Butlers and maids bowing and catering to her every whim as she dressed up in fine clothes and indulged in delicacies. And a prince who loved her. The life Tiara had known as a poor commoner had been instantly consumed by the intoxicating happiness of the academy. She had forgotten reality. No, she had turned a blind eye to it. Because reality was hideous, grueling, filthy, and foul-smelling. She had wanted to live inside the fairy tale forever.
...
The reality she had ignored and discarded. The fairy tale she had desperately clung to. But the fairy tale had cast her out, and now reality was threatening to crush her. There was no prince to protect her anymore. Before she knew it, the thought of Jordy brought her more resentment than love. Why? Why wasn't he by her side?
Tiara and Jordy. As physical distance grew between them, their hearts were drifting further apart as well.