BXBX NOVEL Chapter 232 - First Trial (1)
Chapter 232 - First Trial (1)
Rutherford stood a couple of steps ahead of the others as they watched the little girl riding away on her horse.
The worried father had helped his daughter get on the horse's back as her short height would not permit her to do so on her own.
Yvonne had glanced at her brother who gave her a nod and the very next second, the little girl and her horse had begun their journey into the woods.
"Will she be alright?" Raylene whispered to herself as her eyes could only watch the little figure on the massive hose, disappearing as they entered into the thick woods.
The only person there who had seen Yvonne's progress as she rode on Demon was the Captain.
He turned towards his old friend's wife and nodded at her.
"Trust in your daughter. She is a good student and I have confidence in my teachings." Captain Desmo Reel spoke kind words in Yvonne's favor.
Rutherford went back to his wife's side and wrapped his arms around her to give her his support.
The Countess smiled at her husband and decided to trust their child's ability to succeed just like how her trainer had said.
Howard remained silent as he counted the minutes for her return and buried the worries he had deep inside his heart.
He had given her ten minutes to complete her task and be back inside that time limit.
Now, he had to make sure that she reached them within the allotted time and hoped that she was safe as well.
Mrs. Jacinth closed her eyes and prayed to the gods to help her Young Miss by giving her strength and courage to succeed in all of her endeavors.
The trainer who was well aware of her abilities was the only one who had zero fears and anxieties in his heart and continued to observe everyone else's worried faces.
Marquess Samed was scanning the woods as he tried to find where the little girl might make an appearance from.
Everyone was either worried for her or saying silent prayers for her safety and could only wait, though impatiently for her return.
On the other hand, Yvonne and Demon had stopped after they entered and ventured deeper into the thick woodland.
The moment Howard had given the signal for the commencement of the test, she and her etcher had not wasted a single second and rushed into the woods.
However, now that they were inside they had no clue which direction to move in.
Standing in the same position, she turned around, and everywhere she looked she could only find trees and grass.
There was the sound of running water coming from the distance which she knew belonged to the stream from which freshwater flowed throughout the year.
'Howard said it is tied to a tree…' She recalled his hint and struck the stream from the potential places where they should visit.
Time was of the essence and she was still pondering which way to lead in.
'Where could it be?' She wondered and turned her head around to take a look in every direction.
If there was a higher time frame then these two could have scoured the woods at their leisure and returned when they could have found the handkerchief with the St. Claire family's crest.
Unfortunately, the luxury of time was something that they could not afford at this moment.
Her brother had increased the difficulty level of the trial by giving her such a short amount of time to work in.
'Ten minutes to reach the woods, find the cloth and return is a very small amount of time!' She gritted her teeth as her eyes continued to look around.
She needed one clue, one tiny inkling of which direction to move forward in.
That was all she needed and everything after that would be child's play with her beloved etcher by her side.
'Could I…?' She thought and her eyes widened when a sudden idea popped up in her mind.
Her eyes which had been darting around was now focused on the head of her horse who neighed after feeling her gaze.
The idea that had appeared in her mind was unusual but there was no harm in trying it especially now that she was on a time crunch.
'Demon had used his keen sense of smell to reach my position at various instances.' She recalled and the idea was not seeming extremely absurd after that thought came to her mind.
The little palm rubbed the head of her horse who was standing in the same place, waiting for her further instructions.
"Demon, I need your help!" She called out to him and smiled when she saw the horse nod at her without hesitation.
An etcher's duty was to aid and protect its master and Demon was more than elated to help her out.
Getting his positive response, Yvonne did not waste time as she patted his head in gratitude.
'I know just what needs to be done!' She rejoiced that she had thought of this idea.
They had already wasted more than three minutes to rush into the woods and another minute for her to figure what their next step would be.
This left them with only six minutes and in those, three would be used for the return trip to reach Howard's place.
Therefore, they only had three minutes to find the handkerchief with their crest embroidered on it.
"I'm sure that you had the perfect chance to take in my brother's scent, didn't you?" She questioned her etcher who nodded once again.
Demon's sharp nose had caught Howard's scent even before he had left his stable.
When he was introduced to his master's elder brother, he took in a proper sniff from the young boy's body to recognize and remember his scent.
The little girl's eyes sparkled when she saw that her etcher's answer was just like she had expected it to be.
"Good boy!" She praised and gave a quick head pat.
"Recollect his scent and try to find that same scent coming from somewhere in these woods." She commanded, following the plan that she had come up with on such short notice.
Demon was praised and given a task, causing him to be in an enthusiastic disposition as he complied with his master's wishes.
He stood still for a couple of seconds as he tried to recall the new scent hat he had faced today.
To help him concentrate, the little girl made absolutely no movement and even went as far as holding her breath.
'Faster!' She snarled as her cheeks were puffed up with the air that had been filled in them.
The etcher turned in a circle while making sure to stop after taking each step and sniff the air.
He had taken a sixty-degree turn from his initial position towards his right when his feet stopped.
Stamping his forelegs onto the grass, he uprooted a big patch of the grass but was not bothered about it as his sharp nose had caught something.
"Easy, boy!" Yvonne yelled out when she saw that in his excitement, Demon was about to raise his forelegs in the air.
Her hands gripped the reins tighter which brought the horse back from his enthusiastic high.
The little child patted his head for obeying her and pulled on the reins.
"Let's go!" She exclaimed, commanding her horse to move ahead in the direction of the scent that he had caught of the young boy who had given this task to her.