(Northern Region a��� Outskirts Of New Atlantic City)
(Unnamed Forest)
Mary moved silently below the shade of the tall leafy trees as she kept her eyes out for any traces of movement or destroyed vegetation.
Today was a rather special day of training.
Well... not really training.
The meat supplies were getting a bit low in the castle, so she had decided to go hunting today to replenish the stocks.
Mary wasn't sure exactly how but somehow, she had the knowledge of how to smoke wild meat as well as turn it into jerky.
Maybe it was something that she had picked up from her experiences in other worlds. Either way it was useful knowledge to have.
There were no supermarkets out here and besides Mary wasn't exactly sure if they sold proper food for humans in the Northern Region.
The young woman continued to move quickly through the forest with an arrow nocked loosely on her bow.
There was also a sword attached to her hip, but Mary wanted to practise her archery skills, so she did not intend to use it today.
Hunting was not as exciting as one would initially assume. Suitable prey was not usually found hanging out in the open.
Hunting was a game of patience.
The predator waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Several hours passed without any luck and Mary was beginning to feel a bit bored at the monotony of the whole affair.
Long shadows were cast on the forest floor and only small traces of sunlight illuminated the darkness of the jungle's depths.
Mary's piercing green eyes flashed gold as she finally saw something that seemed out of place in the undisturbed forest.
Her eyes immediately zeroed in on a few plants that had clearly been trampled by a wild animal.
Mary walked up to the scene of the wreckage and saw a large hoof print in the mud that had yet to fade away.
Hmm... what animal was that?
It didn't look too familiar...
The young woman frowned as her brows furrowed slightly. She knelt down and used her fingers to trace the outline of the print mark.
Mary stood up after a few seconds and searched around the nearby surroundings for any clues as to which direction the animal went.
She saw more trampled plants and several hoof marks only a few hundred metres ahead of her current position.
Her lips curved upwards as she realised that the marks were fresher than she had initially anticipated which meant that the animal was close by.
Mary ran forward with quick, quiet steps in the direction of the animal.
She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the thrill of the hunt had her blood flowing with a great deal of excitement.
The trail eventually led to a small clearing with a lake in the middle of the field.
A large four-legged animal with a magnificent pair of antlers was currently drinking from the water's edge.
A reindeer.
Mary's fingers nocked an arrow on her bowstring, but her fingers paused as she aimed the weapon at the animal.
No... she needed protein.
Especially considering the amount of energy that she burned everyday thanks to her intense training regiment.
"I'm sorry," Mary softly whispered as she let go of the bowstring and arrow flew towards the neck of the animal.
It penetrated its thick hide of fur with ease and lodged itself in the middle of its neck. The reindeer immediately collapsed to the ground.
Blood spurted out of the open wound and Mary approached it cautiously. An injured prey could sometimes be the most dangerous.
The life slowly began to fade out of the reindeer's eyes as the hunter approached it. Mary pulled the arrow out of its neck and carefully washed it in the river.
She gazed at the large carcass and then knelt down to lift it up.
It may sound ridiculous that a nineteen-year-old girl would attempt to lift up an animal that weighed over one hundred and eighty kilograms, but Mary did it with ease.
She was now far stronger, faster, and possessed more stamina than a normal human.
Hell... Mary was sure that she was about the same level as top hunters.
Even though Camilla and her were in some sort of romantic relationship albeit one that was heavily physical... her mistress never went easy on her during training.
As a result, Mary's power had grown in leaps and bounds as evident by the golden markings that briefly surfaced on her skin.
The young woman lifted the reindeer up using both hands and then proceeded to walk towards the black castle in the distance.
Honestly the hardest part about carrying the reindeer back was its large size as well as the blood that dripped down from the open wound in its neck and stained her clothes.
Mary wandered through the forest and listened to the merry cries of the birds high above in the treetops.
The forested outskirts outside of the castle truly felt like one of the last frontiers of wildness on the planet.
It was an ancient place untouched by either humans or vampires. There was a primal beauty to it that one could not ignore.
Mary idly wondered if the forest would be here long after both vampires and humans had disappeared from earth's history.
It took around one hour to reach back to the castle and Mary felt a vague sense of relief as she approached its thick walls.
Actually, she felt more than relief. After spending so many months inside the castle... it was beginning to feel like home.
That was quite the frightening thought since her desire to escape was fading by the day.
Especially during her lovemaking sessions with Camilla...
Mary's face flushed bright red as she recalled some new moves in the bedroom that Camilla had tried on her last night.
The whip marks on her back had healed but she could still remember the bursts of pain mixed with pleasure that had rocked her world.
It didn't feel too bad...
Mary tossed those dirty thoughts to the back of her mind as she walked around to the back of the castle and approached the cellar.
This is where she stored most of her meat before she processed them. Mary opened the heavy metal doors blocking the cellar's entrance and went inside.
The cellar was a large open space, and one could smell the faint coppery odour of blood mixed with smoke.
There were several metal hooks hanging from the ceiling along with bowls on the ground.
Mary grunted as she attached the reindeer's corpse to one of the hooks and moved several bowls below it.
The first step in preserving meat was to bleed out the animal. Mary reached into her pocket and pulled out a small knife.
She made a series of cuts along the reindeer's belly and blood began to slowly drip out of the new wounds.
Now all she had to do was wait for a few hours and then come back and cut the meat into suitable chunks.
Mary yawned sleepily as she walked out of the cellar and closed the doors behind her. The last thing she needed was for some wild scavenger to stumble upon a free meal.
As she walked into the castle, Mary felt a wave of exhaustion hit her all at once. Perhaps hunting had been more tiring than she had realised.
The young woman yawned again and stumbled slightly as she headed up the stairs to her bedchambers.
First, she needed to take a shower and get out of these filthy clothes. Then maybe she would take a nap or read a book from the castle library.
Mary's footsteps paused as she stopped outside the master bedroom. She opened the doors and took a peek inside.
Camilla was fast asleep.
Mary did not know why but a warm smile flashed across her face as her eyes lingered on her mistress' sleeping body.
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