A pitch-black stallion stood in one of the stalls staring right at her, his coat shining in the sunlight. It was magnetically different from other horses, even with the way it stood, regal and powerful.
Casteel stepped behind Elora as she gazed at the horse with fascination.
"Oh that is Midnight," he said in a calm voice. "First and only warrior horse of the High King Azazeal. The King has owned him since he was a teenager. Midnight was a stubborn foal when they were growing up together. He won't let anyone ride him, other than the King himself. I would warn you not to get too close."
But Elora was far too entranced to listen to his words.
"Midnight," she whispered, reaching out her hand to the horse, letting him sniff her.
The stallion reacted instantly, nuzzling her palm as if he recognized her.
His Queen.
Elora giggled, completely in love with him.
"I want him," she said, her blue eyes meeting Casteel's.
Her eager gaze pierced through him, in a way that the hard-hearted knight couldn't even possibly refute her.
"I suppose you can ride him for a while, my Queen, till the king comes back," he responded.
"It'll be our secret, I promise" Elora crossed her hands on her chest as she swore solemnly, her cute actions made a small laugh finally escape the knight's lips
The next few days were among the best Elora had ever had since she arrived in The Crimson sky pack.
As a lady, she was quiet and timid but managed to get used to the lifestyle with these knights.
She was shy yet friendly, and although she was so quiet that she would rarely say anything unless someone first spoke to her, her sincerity and curiosity made the knights adore their queen.
They couldn't possibly dislike her.
And she was determined, much harder than they had imagined.
At her first try at riding, she nearly lost her balance and fell off the saddle, but refused to quit. Weeks later, she was leading her horse through the training fields with confidence and grace.
Archery, however, had been an even tougher nut to crack. Her arms had quaked under the pressure of the bow at first, but with every shot that went astray, she had simply gritted her teeth and tried again.
But by the end of the month, Elora could hit a target with astounding precision."
And Casteel?
The knight had found her stubbornness both annoying and admirable. He had thought she would lose interest after a few lessons, but she had proved him wrong.
The knights, also, were warm to her. They respected her and, above all, were struck by how she never acted entitled.
Elora's chiming laughter resounded in the air as Midnight sped past the valley.
"Faster!" she called out with glee and as if the horse heard her words, it moved at an impossibly fast speed.
She tightly held on to Midnight's rein, the bows and arrows on her back hitting her spine lightly with each movement
Her giggles and Midnight's happy neighs echoed through the valley.
Her eyes found a small stream up ahead, and Elora leaned her upper body lower, closer to the fast horse. Her excited grin became wider the closer they got to the stream.
"Midnight, we did it!"
When midnight reached the edge of the stream, he snorted before running across the cold mass of water. Laughing happily, Elora lowered herself further so her hands trailed the water as the horse made sure to jump about in the shallow area, before plopping her down drenching her from head to toe.
Elora lets out a small scream before she dissolved into a fit of giggles at the naughty actions of the horse
Seated in the water, with eyes closed, she enjoyed the clean cool morning air and the soft movement of the water.
Midnight gave an amused neigh when she splashed the cold water on him.
"That's payback for ruining my hair and clothes, now we'll definitely receive scolding from Irene and Casteel. I promised not to go riding in the morning," she grumbled but the smile on her face remained and the horse decidedly ignored her, as he drank the vkean water.
When she looked up to the sky, she could see a big black falcon hovering above them.
Her hand carefully tricked to her bow and arrow, as she stood, she aimed the arrow at the sky and shot at the falcon, and the target didn't miss.
The bird plopped dead on the land, right next to the stream. Like she'd predicted.
" Yes!"
Midnight neighed as if praising her for her win.
Elora laughed " Thank you, my love. Now it's best we return home, I'll have the stable boy give you lots of apples as a reward for our little adventure today."
The horse nuzzled into her neck as if pulling her into a hug and Elora squealed squeezing him into a hug as far as her small hands could.
Her dainty pale fingers held the reins of the mighty huge horse and she knew her strength had nothing to do with why Midnight was very obedient towards her, but the horse followed her every command and most times, even protected her from certain mishaps especially at the beginning of her training.
She couldn't help the surge of affection towards the regal creature and she spoiled him silly.
Deciding to walk a little so her clothes could at least dry a bit before they got to the training grounds, Elora's blue eyes too I'm the beautiful flowers in the valley and a small sigh of gratitude and contentment escaped her lips.
Life was good, and she could very well say she's glad to be alive and well.
And yet, despite all this…
No matter how much she had come to enjoy her time here …
Her husband — the High King of The Crimson Sky Pack— still hadn't shown up.
Elora never asked about him.
She never asked when he'd be coming back to the pack.
And if she was going to be honest with herself… she was glad he was far away from her.
For now, she would savor this peace.
For now, she would keep crafting this small, quiet life for herself, far from the cold, ruthless man who was to be her husband.
And she hoped — desperately, foolishly hoped that her life could remain this way.
But fate…
Fate had other plans.