"He told you to go to the horse barn?" Dallas scrunched his nose, sprawling his legs out on the ground. "But why? It stinks there."
"I don't know, I don't even like horses," I said. Cedric had said he'd set up the time for when I could get my ability but he didn't know when that'd be or even when he'd have a chance to get it set up, but he'd try to get it soon so I wouldn't have to wait too long. I didn't mind waiting, but I felt the adrenaline rushing through me after that conversation but there was no plausible reason why I felt it in my veins so much that my hands were shaking.
I wanted to move. I needed to move.
"Maybe it's some relaxing thing. He does stuff like that all the time," he said, standing up. "You want to head over? I can walk you over."
"Sure," I said, following him. I gave Zeke a nod as I left and he returned it. He was a quiet person but I understood thatโI didn't mind that. He was comforting, too, but not in the same way Dallas was. He was comforting because I understood him. That didn't mean I wanted to have a long conversation with him.
Dallas began to hum as we walked out of the room. It was a melody I recognized but couldn't put a finger on it. I must've heard it quite a while ago.
It was crazy how this place made me think about the past so much.
"So, since you're gonna be eating with us tonight, presumably," Dallas said. I snickered.
"That's a big word."
Dallas shoved me, rolling his eyes as we turned a corner. He then abruptly stopped, grabbing my shoulder.
"What?" I asked, jumping and looking at him worriedly. I could feel my shoulders tense.
"Look," he said, jerking his chin towards the lobby in front of us. I looked up and saw Tairen, walking towards the door leading outside, Finn following close behind him. He wore white and purple regalia, two rows and buttons leading up his chest. He even wore a short tailcoat. He stopped and turned to Finn, his lip curling in disgust. He didn't look too happy.
"The King?" I questioned, looking up to Dallas. He gave me an odd look before shaking his head.
"Well, yeah, but he's never justโ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ," he said and then pushed me forward, the sound of my feet stomping reverberating all throughout the large room. "Let's go..." He trailed off as he realized how loud the noise was.
Tairen had snapped his head up, his face relaxing for a moment before he sent me a smirk and turned back to the door, gesturing for Finn to follow. Finn, much more relaxed, tailed him. I felt my face heat up and I dropped my eyes, biting the inside of my cheek.
Dallas nudged me with his elbow. "Well, that's that."
We left through the castle doors and went outside. The roundabout was paved with dulled-out, gold stones that reminded me of The Wizard of Oz. The center was fitted with a garden and a series of fountains and pools. Farther off, before the inner wall, there were tall houses made of stone that were almost as tall as the wall itself. The giant doors of the gate sat open, completely unguarded. I guess Tairen was really confident about the castle's defense.
We round the castle and went around the side, in between the wall and the castle. With all the cracks and crevices, it seemed there was enough foot and handholds that it would be fairly easy to climb over. Once again, I wondered what was so special about the castle's defense. Was it the guards? The King's Guard? Or maybe it was the King himself.
"We can only get to the stables through the arena so that's why we have to go outside," Dallas explained and then pointed at me with his eyes narrowed, a small smile curving his lips. "And don't even say anything. I remember this because Adrian comes here all the time."
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Well, at least you know you have a shitty memory."
He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "๐๐ถ๐ฅ๐ฆ."
I mirrored him. "๐๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ค."
He shook his head, smiling as we came face to face with giant sliding doors. They were white, with purple borders, the castle flags hanging on either side of them. Above the door, in intricate deep red font, it read: "๐๐ฐ๐บ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ." The windows off to the side were all shut. Further down the building, an identical door was embedded into the wall.
My eyes studied the flag, tracing the outline of the black crow, standing out from the checkered purple and red background. When you thought of royalty, you'd think of lions, dragons, eagles, even, but not crows. Crows were creatures that scavenged and bullied. They were in no way at the top of the food chain yet they were one of the smartest animals in the world. I wondered if that's why they chose a crow to represent Chison, and not something more fit for royalty.
"Go in through the doors and the door directly across from you leads into the stables. I'm gonna go train for a bit longer, I'll leave you to it since I'm assuming Duke meant to go alone," Dallas said, gesturing towards the doors. He ruffled my hair as he passed me. "Don't meditate too hard!"
"As long as you don't get lost!" I called back and just barely heard Dallas' scoff.
I didn't understand Cedric's request. Why would I go to the stable? What would that do? It wasn't going to put me at peace, I didn't even like horses. If anything, I'd be riddled with anxiety, surrounded by foreign animals. I sighed, pulling the doors open. It was a lot lighter than I thought it'd be.
The adrenaline that I'd felt before began to dull down and for a moment, my eyes lingered on my shaking hands.
I stepped into a large, open arena, the ground beneath my feet soft, almost like sand. My mind thought about the beach unconsciously. My mind compared it to the beach. It was a lot darker than the beach and way too dusty.
My eyes, adjusted to the dim lighting and found the outline of a door in front of me, on the complete other side of the arena. I crossed my arms, a shiver running up my spine as I made my way across the arena. As I grew closer to the door, I saw light seeping through the cracks, slithering out from underneath the doors and reaching towards my feet.
I pushed the doors open, surprised that the hinges didn't make a noise. As soon as I walked in, the light abused my senses and I halted my steps and allowed my eyes to adjust before looking around. To my left, I could hear the breathing of what I assumedโand hopedโwas the horses. Directly to my left was an empty stable, bars separating me from the inside. In front of me was an open door, leading into a room filled with tack of all sorts. Each saddle or bridle was void of dust or stains like they were all completely new. I may not like horses, but I knew a bit about them.
My nose scrunched at the smell as I walked down the aisle, stables on either side of me. I stopped at the first horse and looked inside, my arms folding on the door and my chin resting on them. The horse was a light, yellow-ish-tan with a white mane and tail, and was laying on the ground. It's black eyes looked up at me hesitantly and I sighed.
"I really don't get it," I said and then continued down the aisle. The annoyed nickering of a horse drew my attention and I followed it, stopping a few feet away from the door as its hooves banged on the walls.
In the stall was a tall, black horse with white markings splattered on its back and butt. An Appaloosa. Its eyes were ringed with white and as it threw its head, it's tail flicked violently.
"You got some attitude," I said, taking a step forward. It kicked at the door and I felt my nerves spike again. My hands curled into fists as I took a step back. What a wild one.
I continued down the aisle, my hands shaking. That feeling again. I wanted to move.
A dark object swung at me and before I could think, my hand swiped up, my fingers wrapping around a thick, rough object. I blinked, raising an eyebrow.
I looked down and standing before me, with narrowed eyes, was a girl. Her ginger hair was pulled back in an intricate bun, held back with glimmering pins and clips. She was dressed in a frilly, purple dress, the laced hem a deep red. Her jaw was clenched as she pulled back, her fist clenching. My eyes widened as I dropped the piece of leather, taking a step back and catching her wrist as she threw a punch.
I felt my fingers digging into her wrist and I dropped it, letting my arms fall completely. "I'm sorry," I said, ducking away as she rose her fist again but stopped short, her face relaxing and morphing into a confused expression.
"What?" she asked, dropping her arm. "You're ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ๐ช๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐จ for...protecting...yourself?"
"Iโwell." I shrugged. "I thought I was hurting you."
She looked me up and down, placing her hands on her hips. "So you're not trying to sneak into the castle?"
"Um, no?" I said.
She narrowed her eyes again. "Who are you? Where did you come from? What are you doing here?"
"I was brought here," I said and then shook my head. "Who are you?" She stopped her hail of questions with another confused look.
"Iโ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต!?" she shook her head, jamming a finger at my chest, taking a step forward. "No, I ask the questions. Who are you and why are you here?"
She was a few inches shorter than me but her spirit made me feel much smaller than her. She just radiated power. "Iโmy name's Ryker. Do you mean why I'm in the stable or why I'm in Chison?"
"The stable," she said. "Only people that live in the castle are allowed in the stables."
"Well, I live here," I said, the words sounding foreign. "And Cedricโer, the Dukeโtold me to come here."
She relaxed almost immediately, crossing her arms. "You live here?"
"Yeah, I'm part of The King's Guard. I got here yesterday," I said, eyeing the thick piece of leather on the ground a few feet behind her. It looked like a whip.
"Oh," she said, laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry. Sometimes people are dumb enough to try and get into the castle and they think this is the easiest way so I thought you were an intruder."
I nodded as she turned around, picking up the whip and tossing it into an open stall, which I assumed was where she'd come from.
"Ryker, was it?" she asked as she continued walking.
"Yeah," I said, following her. She didn't look like the type of person to be in the horse stables. With her clothes, she looked like someone important.
"And you're part of The King's Guard?" she asked, stopping in front of a stall and reaching in so she could pet the white horse. She was a completely different person now. More relaxed.
"Yeah," I said, standing behind her awkwardly.
She turned around with a wide smile, extending a hand. "I'm Hailey."
My eyes widened as I thought back to my earlier conversation with Cedric. I then recognized those deep blue eyes. My head bowed instinctively. "I'm sorryโIโI didn't realize."
She laughed, flicking my head. "No need to bow."
I straightened hesitantly and she smiled.
"So you have heard of me? Must have been from my dad, huh?" she said, turning to the stall once again. "He usually handles everything with The King's Guard."
"Yeah..." I said, my eyes falling to the ground. How were you supposed to act around the Queen? It wasn't like you acted around the King because Tairen was nothing like her. For one, he wasn't a woman. Obviously. "Your father's kind."
She scoffed. "Yeah." Her tone was sarcastic. Did she not like Cedric for some reason?
The atmosphere grew even tenser as she continued to pet the horse and I shifted uncomfortably. What was I supposed to do? How did I excuse myself? Could I even excuse myself in the presence of royalty?
"When you caught my wrist, earlier," she said, turning to me. Her deep blue eyes questioning. So much like Cedric's. "Why'd you care whether you hurt me or not? I attacked you."
"Iโwellโ" I scratched the back of my neck "โwell, you're a lady."
I guess that was the wrong answer because she made a face of disgust, scoffing. Her hands were angrily placed on her hips. "And what's that supposed to mean? Just because I'm a lady, I'm so ๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ?"
"That'sโthat's not what I meaโ"
"Well, I'd still kick your butt, lady or not," she said, her face scrunching up angrily. She reminded me of a chihuahua.
I bit my lip to keep from smiling but I couldn't suppress it and ending up laughing softly, turning away.
"What's so funny!?" she said, her voice getting higher.
"I'mโI'm sorryโI don'tโ" I broke off, laughing harder. Was it just their family? I laughed the first time I met Cedric, too.
"Oh, yeah, laugh it up," she said, crossing her arms and glaring. It took a second but I started to calm down and when I looked back at her, she was smiling too.
I looked away, biting my cheeks to avoid smiling so much.
"Well, I thinkโ"
"Hailey!" Her smile fell almost immediately and became annoyed. It wasn't a serious annoyance, though. Maybe it was her default.
I broke out of my spacing as my mind registered the voice and I spun around, my eyes meeting with those dark green orbs.
Tairen gave me a smirk, glancing between me and Hailey. My eyes fell as I turned towards Hailey.
"๐๐ข๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ," she said, venom lacing her voice. I felt his presence beside me before I looked up.
"How are you, Ryker?" he asked, completely disregarding Hailey. His voice was low, even huskier than it usually was, his warm breath fanning my cheek. I looked up at him.
"Fine," I said, swallowing down the lump in my throat. Hailey rose an eyebrow, a smile curving her lips once more.
"You two know each other?" she asked, looking up at Tairen. He gave her a tight smile and nodded.
"Yup, we had dinner last night," he answered. I looked away as Hailey's eyes fell onto me.
"Oh, really?" she said, her voice a little too nice. "Having dinner with an ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ? How unlike you."
I scrunched my eyebrows together and looked up at Tairen. An underling? I remembered Dallas saying something about Hailey spending time with the maids so I doubted she actually meant that. It must have been a jab at Tairen. He smirked, dipping his head.
"I'm turning over a new leaf," he said, digging his hands in his pockets. She nodded, going silent. They both glared at each other, their heated glares making the air thicker. I cleared my throat, desperate to get out of that situation.
"I think I'll head out," I said, jerking a thumb towards the door. They both turned to me. Hailey smiled widely.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Ryker. I'll see you around!" she said. I smiled, bowing my head slightly before turning around.
Tairen tsked as I walked away. I could tell their relationship was pretty tense and I didn't feel like getting involved with that. As I left the stable, I took a deep breath. It felt like I hadn't taken a breath in forever.
All I knew was that I didn't want to be in that position ever again.