Chapter Six

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Chapter Six

The wind howled violently outside the window, making the curtain I was hiding behind feel as if it were moving.

“Lannie, come on,” Clarice’s disappointed moan echoed through the halls. “You promised to take me to see the jesters today before the banquet!”

I stood still and silent behind the thick window drapes, not daring to move or breathe. The fact that I had resorted to hiding from the duchess’ daughter was demoralizing. But I had a good reason for hiding from her.

For the past four days, I had been subject to unimaginable torture. The first day out with Clarice wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. Odelia agreed to my request to take Clarice out of the castle, giving reasonable restrictions to our excursions. Clarice was ecstatic when we went to see the water horses at Aria’s second water port. Thankfully, the horses were unusually docile and didn’t give us trouble when we rode in the boat. Clarice’s excitement was comparable to that of a two-year-old child on her birthday.

The second day was worse than the first. I ended up losing Clarice in a dancing festival held within the city square. It took me hours—hours—to find her, and I spent the entire time worrying over being imprisoned for losing the daughter of Duchess Faretra. When I finally found her, she was at the castle, wondering where I had been for six hours.

The third day involved visiting the magic shop. It would have been outlawed by Odelia, but Clarice threatened me with my job again, so we made the trip secretly. The witch who owned the magic shop showed us a living griffin and several disgusting jars with disgusting things in them. I made Clarice leave before the witch could coax us into purchasing a fairy.

But the fourth day was by far the worst. Clarice, who wasn’t allowed outside, wanted to visit the naiads.

And I had nearly died—once again. She told me they wouldn’t sing when we went to the bridge because Clarice was on the “approved” list of castle occupants.

Clarice was right in that respect: They didn’t sing. But they did hurl rocks at us when we reached the middle of the bridge. Deep down, I knew that they were targeting me specifically, but I figured that only because the dark-skinned naiad grinned at me before she tossed a lily pad at my face. Clarice and I escaped before they began to sing. Devilish urchins, I tell you.

So here I was on the fifth day, hiding like a coward behind one of the castle’s window drapes. I had just completed Clarice’s lesson when I excused myself to the bathroom. The wind was far too violent for me to escape the castle, so I was forced to settle with an obvious hiding place two floors down. Even if Clarice did find me, I would absolutely not take her to see the jesters today. Even if it cost me my job…

“I’ll have the guards look for you.” Clarice’s singsong voice was fearfully close to the drapes, although I knew she couldn’t see me behind the thick, floor-length curtains. “I intend to find you before the banquet!” One of Odelia’s famous banquets—or rather, entertainment parties—was scheduled for tonight. Clarice had informed me that if I didn’t go, she would tell Odelia everything. Even if I wasn’t found, I would die tonight at the banquet.

Step.

I could sense Clarice just outside the curtains. My breath made the minuscule hiding place hot and uncomfortable. I knew the drapes weren’t moving, but the wind pounding against the window almost made me believe that they were.

Step.

The drapes pulled back. I cringed.

“There you are.”

But the amber eyes of the person in front of me did not belong to Clarice Faretra. “Titus?

“The one and only,” Titus replied, looking unusually flustered. “Need help?”

I crossed my arms. “I’m perfectly fine where I—”

“Lannie!”

“—am.” I realized that Clarice was in the hall directly across from where we were standing.

“You have maybe ten seconds before we’re both busted.” The prince held out his hand. “Coming?”

I sighed. Freedom over pride. I chose the only route of escape and took his hand.

                                                ————————

“Where are we going?”

Titus didn’t respond as he led me through secret passageways and doors until we exited the castle. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until we stepped on the neatly trimmed grass of the castle courtyard. A large wooden structure loomed near the side of the castle.

The structure we were approaching looked unfamiliar. It was shielded from the castle’s view by a lush grove of trees. The wind had died down, blowing the trees back and forth. Despite the wind, Titus managed to pry the door to the building open. “These are the stables,” he said, beckoning for me to follow.

Stables? I had never heard of the Royals owning horses before. I hesitantly followed Titus inside. He closed the door behind us, cloaking the room in darkness. Light filtered in from the slotted windows near the top of the walls, illuminating several gated stalls and a wide pathway. I heard the shuffling of hooves and odd-sounding neighs. They sounded rather queer for horses…

The prince expertly lit a torch and began lighting the lanterns hanging from hooks on the stall dividers.

A freakish shriek came from somewhere in front of me as I proceeded to follow Titus. What could be making that noise…? I jumped backward when another shriek sounded—this time from one of the stalls.

And then I knew.

“Titus…these aren’t…”

He nodded. “Yep. These are water horses.”

A shuddering sigh escaped my lips as the odor of wood chips, hay, and sweat hit my nose. “Wh—why would you take me here? Surely the garden is a better place to hide from Clarice.”

“Clarice isn’t allowed in here,” Titus’ voice echoed from the end of the stable as he lit the final lantern.

A nicker sounded from the stall next to me. There was a good reason why Clarice was not allowed in here. “Okay, but explain to me why you keep tamed water horses within the castle walls.”

“They’re good battle and transportation animals.” Titus disappeared into an open stall, making rummaging noises. I timidly made my way to the stall, which turned out to be a storage area with straw, saddles, and other miscellaneous things.

Titus pulled two hay bales out and sat on one. He clasped his hands behind his head and leaned against the wall. “You’ll be safe from Clarice here. She wouldn’t dare come in the stable.”

“Why is that?” I asked, sitting on the hay bale next to his. I had to clear a bowl of porridge from the hay; the groom probably forgot to take his lunch with him. “To say Clarice is afraid of water horses is like saying Odelia despises makeup.”

The prince gave me a grim look. I noticed for the first time that he seemed tired. The wind outside had dissipated, carrying the sounds of thundering along with it—the first signs of another one of Aria’s windstorms, I supposed. Titus must have been stressing over it, since the damage that our windstorms caused was critical. “Did your mother never tell you?”

I blinked. What had we been talking about? “About what?”

“About the assassination attempt.”

I sat back in surprise. There had never been any record of an assassination attempt against the royal family, save for Titus’ grandfather. But that was long after the Rift Wars. Sure, there were rumors of current assassinations, but those were just fanciful conceptions that bored nobles created when they wanted to stir up trouble.

Titus sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I guess I can see why she didn’t tell you, but still…”

I gritted my teeth. Why did people keep things from me? “Well, since you’re here, why don’t you just tell me, Your Highness?”

Through the hand over his face, a smirk crossed his lips. It disappeared quickly as he explained, “When your mother was my tutor, Clarice wanted to learn how to ride—even though she was forbidden from doing it. So Clarice asked Helena—” Titus paused awkwardly. “—I mean, your mother—to teach her how to ride a horse.”

This was the first I had heard of it. “And what was the problem with that?”

“If you’d stop interrupting, I’d tell you.” He narrowed his eyes at me. For him to do that meant that he must be considerably stressed. In the short time that I’d known him, I figured out that he was an easygoing person. He was not someone who got angry often. Or that’s what I had thought, at least. Titus continued, “One day, Clarice took one of the horses out when your mother wasn’t there with her. Unfortunately, an assassin somehow passed through our security and fired an arrow at Clarice while she was riding.” Titus sighed deeply, contemplating. “He only grazed her, but… She was wearing a cloak at the time, so his original objective was probably to kill me. We still don’t know, though—the man was never caught. Clarice was banned from riding and Helena was fired. Security was tightened after that. I’m not even allowed out of the castle without permission.”

I stared at the concrete beneath my feet. Why had my mother refused to tell me such an important thing? Queen Philippa’s words rang in my head: Although she didn’t commit a serious crime, her actions provoked a dangerous situation. So the assassin was the reason my mother was fired. I exhaled sharply. Drama. I hated drama.

There was a short silence before I said the only thing that came to my mind: “But you go out of the castle anyway, right?”

I looked up to see Titus flash a mischievous grin at me. “Without them knowing, of course.”

I rolled my eyes at the prince, who was now busying himself by making a straw contraption, weaving the tendrils in and out of each other. His melancholic demeanor still struck me as unusual. “You seem…upset today,” I said finally, feeling as awkward as a sea turtle on land. “Is the windstorm bothering you?”

Titus looked up at me. His amber eyes betrayed his stress, and I immediately knew it wasn’t the windstorm that was bothering him. “Well… No.” Titus paused for a long moment, fiddling with the straw in his hands. “My father… We got more reports from Nor, and none of them are good.”

“Is the king in danger?”

Titus shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s not like he can’t handle problems like this. It’s just… I don’t…” He trailed off, crumpling the straw in his hand.

“He’ll be fine,” I assured Titus, having absolutely no idea as to why I was assuring him. Seeing him so melancholic disturbed me. “He’s gotten through tougher situations, right? Like when Balua destroyed one of Aria’s ports. We almost started a huge conflict, but your father discovered that it was an accident. Remember?”

Titus scoffed. “That’s nothing compared to what he’s facing now.” He dropped the straw and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Nor is refusing to comply to the slave negotiation terms. They’re threatening war.”

Titus’ words resonated thickly in my head. “Slave negotiation terms?” I asked incredulously. “You mean the king wants to free the magical creatures from bondage? That’s impossible.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it.”

“So if I put my mind to making Odelia grovel at my feet, it would be possible?” I quipped. When he didn’t respond, I smirked. “No? Yeah, I thought so.”

We were silent for some time after that. The horses nickered back and forth normally, but the water horses made shrieks that made me want to pull my hair out. Titus scratched his head awkwardly. What was wrong with him when he talked with me? He always became uncomfortable after a certain period of time.

I studied him as he rubbed his ear. Wasn’t this the Crown Prince of Aria? He was supposed to be outgoing and talkative. Instead, I—I, of all people—had to restart the conversation. As a rule of thumb, I never started conversations. I hated conversations. I hated talking. But if there was one thing I hated more than talking, it was awkward silences.

Awkward silences never failed to make me want to crawl beneath a rock and start living my life as a true hermit—a hermit crab.

I coughed, rubbing my knee. “So how many water horses do you have in here?”

Titus seemed to jump at the opportunity for words. “Seven at the moment. We’re working on getting more.”

“Who takes care of them all? I don’t see any grooms here.” The stables were closed on both ends and it was entirely empty on the inside. The only occupants were the horses, Titus, and myself. However, there was the porridge that I had to remove from my seating area, so I was sure there must be someone attending to the horses.

He paused briefly. “Well… There’s a man who takes care of them, but he doesn’t appear around us. He’s paid to do his job. Nothing more.” Titus chuckled—it was the first time I had seen him do something sincerely happy that day. “He doesn’t like people much.”

“A mysterious stable master who dislikes people and doesn’t appear when they’re around. Seeing as you must ride horses all the time, it seems logical enough.” I nodded my head in mock understanding.

The noise of the wind outside had completely disappeared. Now there were only the sounds of the horses and our voices inside the stable. Titus smiled. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but he does what he’s supposed to do, so there’s nothing to worry about.” He stood and brushed his trousers off. “Would you…like to see one of our mares?”

“No.”

The prince’s mouth contorted into what I could have sworn was another grin, but it vanished before I could confirm it. “Okay, but this mare was your mother’s favorite horse.”

I stared at him. He was trying to lure me into seeing one of the horses. But unlike some of the happy-go-lucky-I-love-the-prince girls, that was not going to work on me. And taunting me with my mother wouldn’t be effective either. “Still no.”

“Suit yourself, Lannie,” he said, tossing a hand into the air. I frowned as he swiftly grabbed something from the tack and exited the storage stall. All I heard for the next few minutes was shuffling and strange clicking sounds. What is that idiot doing? I heaved a sigh of exasperation and stood to investigate. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it one step before a wall of black barricaded the path.

“This is Alvira.”

The magnificent creature stood several inches above me, flicking her long black tail back and forth. Her slitted yellow eyes glinted as she sniffed my head. Her mouth was covered in a protective muzzle, shielding the sharp teeth behind her lips.

I stumbled back into the stall, away from the black mare. “Titus, I told you I didn’t want to see any of your water horses!”

The prince ducked underneath Alvira’s head. He held a leather lead in his hand. “Alvira isn’t always violent, you know.”

“’…isn’t always violent.’ How reassuring.” I wrapped my arms around myself and backed against the wall of the stall. The water horse was eyeing me with disturbing curiosity. These creatures were intelligent. Their intellect far exceeded that of normal horses. Maybe that was the reason my mother was so fond of them.

Titus smoothed his hand over Alvira’s neck. She nickered softly—queerly—and stomped her foot. “Helena named her. I wanted to name her Nightmare.” He looked at me, pausing. “Get it? ‘Night’ and ‘mare’? She’s a scary horse— Ugh. Never mind.” Titus beckoned me towards him, patting the water horse’s smooth, rubbery skin. “Come on, she can’t bite you.”

Titus was undoubtedly amusing, but I was not going to go near this creature. “I think Clarice has given up by now. You can put the horse back.”

The prince furrowed his eyebrows and frowned at me. “Why are you so against water horses?”

“They’re monsters.”

Titus sighed. “Really, Lannie. You need to experience the world more. Not all water horses are monsters. They’re only violent because they want to be near water. Thus, the word water in their name.” He gave me his famous agitating grin. For nineteen years old, this young man was ridiculously cheeky and loved to play with words.

“Experience the world?” I scoffed. “Well, I’m sorry I don’t live up to your expectations, Your Highness. I really thought that becoming a slave would be enough ‘experience’ for me.”

“Why are you so pessimistic?” he asked, his amber eyes flaring angrily. “Look at it from a different perspective. Although you’re required to work hard, you get to explore different things in a new, unique world.”

“Why would I want to explore a dangerous world like this? Monsters like these”—I indicated my hand to Alvira, who, for some strange reason, snorted exactly the moment I pointed to her—“are roaming our world. I simply don’t want to be part of those dangers. Is it wrong to want to be safe?”

“No,” he replied, “but what your wanting isn’t safety. It’s seclusion. You’re a hermit, Lannie. The mysterious columnist who never leaves her house. Am I right?” Titus didn’t wait for me to respond. “I don’t know what Helena would have wanted, but I don’t think she would want you to isolate yourself from the world.”

I gaped at him. “I am not isolating myself from the world!” He was just like everyone else. Judging me by the expectations of how my mother would have wanted me to live my life. There was truly nothing wrong with the way I lived. “I like to be alone,” I said. “Why can’t you just accept that? I don’t like interacting with people because they have hurt me and my mother one too many times. I’m not going to exert myself by trying to live up to the standards of others! I won’t have the same thing that happened to my mother happen to me.”

Titus exhaled and became silent as his eyes traveled to the ground. Had I gone too far this time?

I would never know because a racket sounded outside the barn. Titus moved towards the sound, and I peeked my head out of the stall just as the stable doors burst open.

Leone, the messenger from earlier, stood panting with his hands on his knees. “Prince Titus,” he gasped. “Your father has gone missing in Nor!”

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