"Wura!" called Liam as he saw Ayo take of suddenly full speed as he went straight out the gate.
"Your Majesty!!" called Wura a she screamed and she held on for dear life.
Fear, that was what struck her right now, pure fear, she held on to Ayo as tight as she could, she did not want to fall down off him, that would be a nightmare, all she wanted was for him to stop, she wanted him to stop, but he would not.
"Ayo, please stop okay?" asked Wura as she could barely catch her breath, her heart was racing, she was still in shock of how sudden Ayo took off, she did not know what startled him or made him to behave in such a manner, he had been very quiet as of late, but now, her horse was galloping as if his life depended on it.
"My King, her Majesty is…" said the stable master in fear as he was cut off by Liam moving quickly and in one swift motion he got on top of Nolan.
"Go boy go" said Liam as he kicked the side of Nolan with his feet in the stirrups and Nolan went racing as fast as he could.
Liam cursed under his breath, this was his fault, he should have helped her down from Ayo first before he focused on Nolan, she did not know how to ride a horse, all he wanted was for her to be okay, seeing as Ayo did not look like he was stopping anytime soon.
Wura felt her grip slipping off, and she was scared, she did not want to fall down, no not at this moment, not when Ayo was going at such a speed.
"Wura, Wura" shouted Liam as he called out to Wura as he was fast approaching from behind as Nolan ran as fast as he could.
"Your Majesty!!" called Wura as she wanted to turn to look at him, but she could not, she did not want to look at the ground, or else, she was sure that fear would take over her completely.
"Wura, listen to me, you have to pull on Ayo's reins, pull them" shouted Liam as he did not think that he would be able to catch up to her, not when Ayo was running at full speed.
"Your Majesty, I cannot…" said Wura as she shouted back and she held Ayo's reins and she tried to pull them as nothing happened at all.
"Full them with more force" said Liam as he shouted back.
"Your Majesty, It is not working, he's not stopping" said Wura as she shouted back, she wondered what could have scared her horse so much that he was not stopping at all, but that was the least of her worries right now, she just wanted him to stop, so she could come down from this nightmare.
"Think Liam, think" said Liam to himself, he was trying to keep calm and think, he needed to think and fast, Wura was in no place to stop Ayo, she had no control of him at all, Liam was just grateful that she was able to hold on to him for that long.
"Your Majesty!!!" called Wura once again but this time with much more vigour as she looked ahead and she saw that they would soon be out of open road, Ayo was galloping fast into the forest, he would be able to escape, but she?? She would end up getting hit by one of the branches of the trees.
"Your Majesty!!!" called Wura as she snapped Liam out of his thoughts, he was not replying to her, she was petrified.
"Liam!! Liam!!" called Wura as she shrieked in fear, this was the end, she was going to get hit off Ayo by force, Liam looked ahead as he saw the forest and his heart sunk, she was going to get hit off.
"Oh Liam, please help me, please!!!" called Wura as she felt tears dropping from her eyes, in this moment, she wanted nothing more than to get off of this horse.
Liam was frustrated, he did not know what to do, if he did not catch up to her soon, she would be gone.
"Hiyah!! Go boy go!" said Liam as he hit Nolan's sides with force, he had to catch up to Wura now, and very quickly.
Nolan ran as fast as he could obeying his master as in no time, he and Ayo were side as they were running.
Wura had closed her eyes, she had already given up, there was no way that she could be saved now, she just closed her eyes, as she waited for the impact of the trees hitting her.
"Steady boy, steady" said Liam as he moved Nolan a little bit closer to Ayo, he was going to have to jump, he would jump from Nolan to Ayo, he knew that it was dangerous, but he was going to have to take a chance.
He had no worries, he knew Nolan was a good boy, but it was Ayo he was worried about, the horse seem unstable, and still frightened of something.
"Steady boy" repeated Liam as he carefully stood up, and he held Nolan's reins, he braced himself as in the same moment he let go of Nolan's reins and he jumped from Nolan to Ayo as to his luck he landed safely as he sat on Ayo's saddle behind Wura and Nolan moved away as he slowed down.
"Easy boy… easy" said Liam in a calm voice as he held Ayo's reins and he pulled them back slowly in order to ease the horse to a stop.
"That's it, easy boy… easy" said Liam as he breathed a sigh of relief as Ayo slowly slowed down and they came to a halt, and just in time as well, Ayo stopped at the edge of the forest as he neighed.
Wura still had her eyes closed, she was waiting for the impact, but nothing came at all, she slowly opened her eyes as she realized that Ayo had finally stopped, her heart was still racing as she could hear the beating of her heart in her own ears.
"Wura, are you alright?" asked Liam as his gentle voice reached Wura's ears as she turned back to look at him and she finally realized that he was sitting behind her as he held on tightly to her with his one hand.
Wura was still frozen in fear, she was breathing heavily, even though it was Ayo that had done all the running, she felt like her heart would explode any time from now.
"Wura, can you hear, me, are you alright?" asked Liam in worry as she did not respond to him at all, they had to get back to the Castle now, he needed to call the physician to check on her.
"Wura, are you alright??" asked Liam once again, his voice laced with panic.
"I am… I am alright…" said Wura as she finally responded and she sighed in relief as she came out of her shocked state, she was alive, she was actually still alive.
"Oh thank the heavens" said Liam as he sighed in relief, he was relieved that she was alright.
"You… saved me…" said Wura as she could not believe it, everything was just a blur, the one moment Liam was shouting to her on Nolan, and the next, he was right behind her, holding her, did that mean that he had jumped?? He jumped to save her, he risked his own life, just to save hers.
"Of course I saved you" said Liam as he sighed, he would not have forgiven himself if something bad happened to Wura, because it was his fault, he should have been more careful with her, horses could be easily spooked, how could he have forgotten that? He should have been with her at all times.
"You jumped?" asked Wura as she still could not believe it.
"Yes I did" said Liam as he nodded his head.
"But that was dangerous…" said Wura as she did not even know what she was saying, sure she had asked him to save her but… but she did not expect that he would risk her life just to do so, what if he had fallen down, then this would have been another story.
"It does not matter at all, as long as you are alright" said Liam as he was breathing heavily as well, the only thing on his mind at that time was that he needed to save her, he did not get to her, no matter what.
"But you…" said Wura as she was cut off.
"I told you Wura that if you fall, I will be there to catch you" said Liam as Wura felt her heart beating, was it because she was still scared… or was it something else.
"I… thank you…"said Wura as she sighed in relief.
"Let us go back" said Liam as he smiled, he could see Nolan already returning back the way he came.
"Easy boy, everything is alright…" said Liam as he spoke softly to Ayo as he tugged on his reins and he turned back and they began to move at a steady pace.
Wura felt her heart pounding quickly, and she knew that it was not because she was no longer scared, but it was because she was so close to Liam, and he was holding her waist so tightly, as if he did not want to let go of her.
He was so close, so close that she could smell his scent, it was pleasant, wait, just what was she thinking??.
Silence reigned between them, Wura just hoped that he could not hear the beating of her heart from how close he was to her, and if he could, he should have assumed that it was because of the fright she was given earlier, and not because of his close proximity to her.
Ayo seemed to have calmed down now as Liam controlled him, and they entered back to the clear ground of the stables.
"My King, My Queen, oh thank the heavens that you are both alright" said the stable master as he bowed and he sighed in relief, he did not know what he should have done, whether he should have just gone to call for help to stay still here, but he was just thankful that the King and Queen were alright.
"The horse was startled, did you see anything that could have frightened it?" asked Liam as he got down from Ayo and he helped Wura down as he held her close to him by her waist.
"Ahh yes my king, I happened to find a dead mouse uncovered in the snow" said the stable master as he nodded his head and he stood up.
"I see" said Liam as now It made sense, Ayo was scared of mice.
"Take the horse back to the stables" said Liam as he could see that Ayo was unstable, he was not a trained horse, not like Nolan who would keep him calm no matter what, this was not the sort of horse for a beginner.
"Yes my king" said the stable master as Liam handed him Ayo's reins as he walked way with the horse.
"Umm you can let go of me now…" said Wura as she looked at Liam, it was like he was holding on to her for dear life, it made her feel so uncomfortable, with him holding her close like this.
"Oh… sorry" said Liam as he did not even notice that he had been holding onto her so tightly, so he let go of her as she straighten out her clothes.
"Are you sure that you are alright Wura?" asked Liam once again, he wanted to make sure that she had not suffered any minor injuries.
"I am alright" replied Wura as she dusted herself off, she was a little shaken up, but she was alright.
"If you are not alright, I will call the physician to come and check up on you" said Liam.
"That Is not necessary at all, I am alright, I assure you" said Wura as she wondered why he was making such a big deal of this, she was alright, she was fine, there was nothing wrong with her, not at all.
Nolan walked back into the stables, as if wondering what the two humans were saying, he neighed and Liam and Wura both turned to look at him.
"I believe that is enough horse riding for today, except you want to continue on?" asked Liam as he doubted that she would agree to continue on.
"No, no, I want to continue, that was just an unfortunate event and nothing more" replied Wura as sure she had been scared, only a bit, but she did not want things to end here, like this.
"Alright, if you say so" said Liam as he was surprised by her reply, but she did not seem scared at all, he knew that most ladies would vow never to mount on a horse again because of that traumatic experience, but not Wura, she was different.
"Thank you your Majesty" said Wura as she smiled, she was relieved that he did not insist on them ending today.
"Nolan, come over here" said Liam as he looked at Nolan, and Nolan neighed as he walked over to Liam and Liam held his reins, he would feel safer if Wura practiced with Nolan, he should have thought of this sooner.
"You will learn with Nolan" said Liam as he looked at Wura.
"Alright" said Wura as she was fine with that, she trusted Nolan, Nolan was a good boy, and so was her Ayo, only that he got scared by a mouse.
"Let me help you up" said Liam as he smiled and he helped Wura on top of Nolan.
"Thank you your Majesty" said Wura as she smiled, she had to say that she was getting too used to Liam carrying her up like that.
"What did you call me?" asked Liam as he suddenly remembered something.
"Your Majesty??" said Wura as she did not know why he was asking.
"No, before that, while you were still on Ayo" said Liam.
"I called you your Majesty" said Wura as she did not know what he was playing at.
"No, no you did not… you called me my name" said Liam as he smiled.
"No, I do not recall that your Majesty" said Wura as she outrightly denied it, she knew what he was trying to say.
"No, I do recall it, and you called me Liam" said Liam as he smiled as if he had just heard the best news of his entire life.
"I was In the moment of despair your Majesty I…" said Wura as she was in regret right now, she had unconsciously called him by his name when she was scared, and now… well now he would not let her live it down, she had made one mistake.
"No, no Wura, you called me Liam" said Liam as he smiled happily, and Wura scoffed, he was going to take advantage of this, he was going to take advantage of her one mistake.
"Your Majesty…" said Wura as she was cut off.
"No, that is not my name, it is Liam" said Liam as he smiled and Wura scoffed at him, he was acting so childish, and yes he knew that he was acting childish, but if he was not going to, they would never progress anywhere, she had refused to call him by his name for long, and now that she did, he was not going to allow her revert back to calling him your Majesty.
"Call me by my name" said Liam as he smiled.
"Your Majesty, please stop being childish, calling you by your name, has nothing to do with what we are doing now" said Wura as she felt like hitting him, just why was he behaving this way? One moment he was sweet, and the next it was like he wanted to annoy her to death.
"Is that so now?" asked Liam.
"Yes your Majesty it is so" said Wura in a matter of fact tone.
"Well alright then, I guess that you are right" said Liam as he smiled and Wura nodded her head.
"Well then, I will see you later Wura" said Liam as he smiled and he turned to walk away, leaving Wura there, on top of Nolan.
"Where are you going your Majesty??" asked Wura in confusion as she saw Liam walk away, and he did not even reply to her, he just kept on going his way.
"You cannot possibly leave me here your Majesty" said Wura as she was sure that he would turn back any moment now, but to her surprise, he did not, he was going well on his way and leaving her behind.
"You cannot be serious your Majesty" said Wura as now she was angry, just who did he think he was, leaving her here, on his horse??
Liam said nothing as he was about to enter the stables, but he stopped once he heard her calling him again, but not in the way he wanted.
"Your Majesty, come back here right this instant, you cannot leave me here" said Wura in a demanding tone, she did not care if she sounded disrespectful, he was the one being disrespectful by leaving her here, he agreed to teach her how to ride a horse, and yet he was leaving her here.
"That is not my name" shouted Liam back as he stood still, and he did not look back at all, when he heard no reply he just shrugged as he began to walk on his way.
Wura groaned, she could not imagine the nerve to even leave her here, she did not want him to leave no, not at all, but what he was demanding from her was utterly silly and childish, Wura had no other choice.
"Liam!" called Wura as she shouted back and a smug smile formed on his face as he stopped walking, he wanted to turn back, but he wanted her to call him again.
"Did you hear me?? I called you Liam, so Liam came back here right this instant" said Wura as she was irritated, she called him what he wanted and yet he did not come back, she just embarrassed herself for nothing.
"I did hear you, and here I come" said Liam as he smiled and he walked back to her as she scoffed at him.
"You are so childish" said Wura as she sneered at him.
"And you sound like a nagging wife Wura" said Liam as he laughed, the way she called his name, he could not help but laugh.
"Oh please give me a break, are you going to teach me or not?" asked Wura as if he was going to play any longer, she would just leave him here then.
"As you wish Wura, as you wish" said Liam as he smiled and Wura scoffed at him.