Wife Hunt

Jeffery stood atop the military crest of the rise looking over the valley that contained his target. He had only seen the raven-haired beauty once and was determined to win her hand. Below him, a good-sized village squatted along the banks of a slow-moving stream. He could just make out the sounds of the villagers as they went about their late afternoon activities. As he watched and scanned the terrain, planning his approach, a group of men from a northern village arrived. It only took Jeffery a moment to realize he was out of time. The new arrivals were clearly looking for women to steal away for themselves and based on the cage they had left hidden from the village's sight, they were not worried about getting the agreement of their target.

Jeffery crouched behind a bush just outside the village. The trip down the valley's side had been fraught with danger; either discovery or injury would end his mission prematurely and cost him his prize. It was clear that there was a celebration tonight. That suited Jeffery fine as it should keep everyone else distracted and make the task ahead easier. As soon as the coast was clear, Jeffery silently crossed the open area around the village and crept from shadow to shadow as he searched the huts.

Jeffery cautiously peeked around the corner of the hut, he had checked roughly half the homes without any sign of Annabelle. The celebration had been going long enough that Jeffery was beginning to fear discovery before completing his mission. Of course, there was also the possibility that he was too late and someone else had already claimed her but, he did not want to accept that idea so he continued his search. It was not until he made his way through the entire collection of huts that he realized Annabelle was most likely at the fire with the rest of the villagers and made his way into the crowd.

Jeffery carefully circulated amongst the revelers as he searched for Annabelle, the girl he had come for. It took some time to find where she was sitting and he had to smile at his own fatuity. As the daughter of the village's chief elder, where else would Annabelle be during a celebration but at her father's side. Jeffery made his way over to where Annabelle sat and settled silently behind her before pulling out the feather he had brought with him. As soon as he was sure no one would see his actions, he reached around and covered her mouth to muffle any sound she might make and held the feather out where she could see it. As soon as he felt her nod of understanding, he released his hold and stepped back.

Annabelle turned slightly as she stepped backward over her seat and smiled when she saw who had come to claim her. She quickly grabbed the feather from his hand and, after giving it a quick kiss, placed it where she had been sitting before taking Jeffery's hand. Annabelle quickly led Jeffery out of the village and after a quick stop to grab a pre-packed travel bag they made their way back over the eastern rim of the valley.

As soon as they arrived at his campsite, Jeffery took Annabelle in his arms and kissed her deeply. She smiled at him after the kiss ended and he knew that she had been waiting for this day since visiting his village with her father six months before. Jeffery quickly gathered his weapons and travel bag from the trees where he had concealed them before leading Annabelle away from the village she had called home.

Six months had passed since Jeffery had taken Annabelle and the next day she would become his wife. At first, Annabelle had been quite thrilled with her new life but, as the traditional 2-month wait had drawn to a close with no sign of the wedding preparations, Annabelle had begun to get upset. Jeffery had finally revealed to her on the night before she was expecting to be married that he left a note promising her village 6 months to reclaim her before the wedding. And now, it was finally time. The villagers had spent the last week working hard to prepare for the next day and Annabelle could hardly wait to claim her new husband.

The following morning Annabelle was surprised when her father and mother arrived to celebrate her wedding with her and her Jeffery.