Chapter 9 If Ylvana's alive, I'll kill her.

Chapter 9 If Ylvana's alive, I'll kill her.

Even though I got little sleep the previous night, I decide to go for an early morning horse ride. The castle feels much more cheerful as the first rays of sunlight dance in the windows, but I do not feel any better.

I stop by the kitchen to grab a piece of toast, while the staff busily prepares breakfast. 

Then, I head down to the stables. This is my other favorite place to be--second only to the library. It is not proper etiquette for a princess to spend so much time around horses--but I really didn't care. There are times I needed to let my hair down.

 A creamy white mare sticks her grey nose through the iron bars of her gate to greet me.

"Hey, Girl," I say as I reach through the bars and pat Frostbite's neck.

Before I can take another bite of my toast, Frostbite snatches it out of my hand and swallows it faster than I can blink.

"Hey! I did not come all the way down here for you to steal my breakfast!" I say, "What am I suppose to eat, your oats?"

Frostbite nickers an apology. I smile as I lead her out of the stable.

I grab her brush, and start brushing the her back to clean her fur. 

"Ah, Princess! Good morning!" Mr. Karam greets me. 

He is a middle aged man, who had been a professional saddle maker in Arabia. He had been on a merchant ship headed for Europe when the ship sank, and he ended up on the island. Being the best saddle maker on the island, he was soon hired at the castle. He is busy organizing horseshoes on a shelf. 

"Good morning," I smile at him. 

"Going for an early morning ride, I take it?"

"Yeah." I walk over and grab Frostbite's black saddle. 

Mr. Karam knew my love for horses, so he  had made this saddle for me as a 10th birthday present.  It came with a matching black halter and fit Frostbite perfectly. Not only can I have a comfortable ride, but I can ride in style. 

When I try to lift the saddle, part of the strap gets caught on the stand. 

"Mind if I help you out, Princess?" he says, walking over to me. 

"Oh, yeah, that would be appreciated," I smile awkwardly. 

He untangles the saddle, and lifts it onto Frostbite's back. His skin was a dark tan, and his hands were rough and callused from years of working with leather. 

I put on a black helmet while Mr. Karam puts Frostbite's black bridle on her.

"Back home, a horse like this would have been worth a fortune," he says as I climb up onto the saddle. "I've never seen a rider and their horse have such a strong bond as you two do."

I had raised Frostbite from a foal. We practically grew up together. Now a days; Frostbite and I knew each other so well, I barely had to direct her; she just knew where I wanted to go. 

"Did you have a lot of horses?" I ask Mr. Karam. He walked along sides me to the barn doors. 

"A few," he shrugs. His hazel eyes gleamed in the morning light. "One must have had a lot of money for a good horse. But I saw many good horses through my business. Behind every great horse, is a great owner, and a great bond."

He turns to go back inside. "Have a good ride, Princess!"

"Thank you!" I call. 

Two guards were at their usual place by the barn doors. They nod at me as I pass by. 

Frostbite gallop's across the field, which was just starting to turn green for spring. I bounce in the saddle, and enjoy the cool wind blowing in my face. We go behind the castle to a little grove of woods, and slowly walk along the stone wall that marks the perimeter of the land.

Sitting on Frostbite's back, I can look over it. I study every unique stone, and a crazy idea pops into my mind; I could jump over and go looking for McNeil myself. But that's ridiculous; I know nothing about surviving in the woods. Sure, I've read survival guides, but I know that won't prepare me for the real thing.

After an hour or so, I tell Frostbite to turn around and head back to the stables. When we reach the crest of the hill, I stop her.

The two guards are lying on the ground, knocked unconscious. 

"Hello? Mr. Karam?" I call into the stable.

There is no answer. 

I dismount Frostbite, and give her a reassuring pat on the nose. She stays in the field as I slowly walk into the stables. Maybe I should have stayed on her for protection. But if this is an intruder, I didn't want to put her in danger.

I try to step as lightly as I can, but the old floors creak under my weight. The only sound is the occasional huff or neigh of a horse. I don't see or hear anyone else in the room. I turn around to call Frostbite. A loud click makes me jump.

I recognize the sound of a iron stall lack opening. I peer down one of the rows. A horse strolls into the isle. Unless the horse opened the metal lack itself, someone else is in the stables. But I can't see anyone else in the room.

I step forwards to put the horse back when an arm wraps around my neck. I gasp. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a dagger being pointed at my throat. Hot breath tickles my neck.

"I demand you release your princess at once!" I have to work to make my frantic voice sound authoritative. But I'm sure it came out sounding like a screaming mouse.

"Forgive me, Princess, I thought you were a castle guard," the girl says as she lets go of me. 

My jaw drops. "Alex?" I have only met her once, but her rough accent is unmistakable.

She steps in front  of me. A dark green hood hides her face. "Mournin' princess."

Even though she put her knife away, my hand hovers protectively over my throat. 

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here to see if there was any Pegai available, but I guess not," she glances at the empty line of stables. "I though I'd borrow a few horses instead," she says in a innocent voice.

"Oh, sure. 'Borrow',"--I make air quotes with my fingers--"Why didn't you just ask? And how did you break into the castle?"

"I didn't want to ask and risk you saying no. Answer to question two is; your father really needs to hire better security."

I have to admit, both are good points.

"I appreciate your honesty," I smile sweetly. "Now get out."

"I'm not leaving this place empty handed," she grabs a halter from a peg hanging by the stable door. "Don't worry, I will return your horses in perfect shape."

"I can't let you do this, Alex." I tell her.

She looks back at me. "Forgive me, Princess, but I doubt you have the power to stop me."

I become frustrated. I can't just let this happen. I have to do something.

"If I can't stop you, than I must go with you," I say.

Alex freezes.

"You'd come with us? Why?"

"What do you mean 'why?' I care about Ylvana too! I know the perfect horses to take on a journey like this. Also, it's my map."

Alex raises her eyebrow.

"And if I don't let you come?"

"I won't hesitant to let my father and his guards know about  thief who broke into the castle."

After a heavy moment, Alex groans, and puts the halter back on its nail.

"Fine, we'll be waiting for you outside. But Chris won't be happy to see you."

I'm an idiot, I think as I swing my backpack onto my shoulder. I leave my room, and walk down the hall. 

I am going to get killed. Or worse. I'll live and be grounded by my parents. I freeze at the sound of footsteps, and continue when they pass. Part of me prays I get caught before I leave, the other part hopes I don't.

Dispite all my reservations, I keep going. I don't know if it is what my father had said to me last night, or Gwen's words. Maybe both. It drives me down to the stables, and I gear up three horses for the journey to McNeil's.

I choose Frostbite for myself. Then, I take out Racer; a tall quarter horse with dark brown fur, white stockings and black mane. Finally I saddle up a Norwegian Fjord Pony named Scotch. He was light tan, stocky, and had the signature black strip down the middle of his short mane. I am not the tallest girl my age, and I am nearly taller than him. I smirk as I lead Scotch outside; he can be Chris' horse.

Speaking of the devil, Chris watches me come closer with a deep scowl etched in his face. Alex paces nervously. Her hair blows in the wind like flickering fire.

"Listen, Princess," Chris dares to say to me. My fists clench. I am starting to understand why Ylvana didn't like being called a Princess; it was condescending. "Thank you for the offer"(he didn't sound very thankful), "but we can't let you come with."

I raise my eyebrow. "Oh, you can't let me. May I ask why?"

He doesn't take the hint from my icy tone.

"These woods are extremely dangerous for inexperienced people."

Ouch.

"You dare call your future queen inexperienced?" I glare at him.

"Have you ever been in these woods before?"

I flick my hair over my shoulder as I climb up into Frostbite's saddle. I already knew how inexperienced I was. I did not need him to remind me of it. 

"I know enough to not need babysitting. If you didn't want me to come along you should not have broken into my father's castle."

"It can't hurt, Chris. We could use all the help we can get," Alex gently touches his shoulder.

He looked at her uneasily. 

"Can't hurt? She could be killed! It's bad enough that you're coming."

Alex suddenly grabs Chris' ear. His handsome face contorts with pain.

"Ow ow ow ow ow! Okay! I'm sorry!"

Alex lets go, but continues to glare at him.

"Christopher Jackson, you know better than anyone that I am perfectly capable of traveling through the woods!"

He gingerly rubs his ear. "You know that's not what I meant." His voice drops to a near whisper. "I don't what anything to happen to you. You're my friend, and I'd feel responsible."

Alex scoffs. "I can be responsible for myself, and so can Miria."

I am touched that Alex is standing up for me. I guess this is what Ylvana liked about her. As for Chris, I'm still trying to figure out what Ylvana saw in him.

"Miria doesn't have enough experience to be responsible for herself."

"Then we'll help her!" Alex jumps onto Racer's back. "Now lets go! The more time we spend arguing the less time to find Ana."

"Wait, why do you get the big horse?" Chris complains.

Alex pats Racer's neck. "Because I want the bigger horse. She's pretty too."

Chris grumbles as he takes Scotch's reins. With one final scowl at me, he mounts the saddle and leads us to the stone wall on the pasture border. I don't quite know who elected him to lead us. After all, Alex gave me the map.

One by one, our horses leap over the stone wall. I suddenly find myself long gone from the sunny pastures and engulfed by the dark woods. With every inch forwards, my desire to turn back grows stronger. I try to get one last glimpse of the castle, but the tree's are too thick. What will my parents think when they discover I'm gone? What will they do if I never come back? I think about all the danger I'm putting myself in, and all the trouble.

Ylvana better be alive, because I want to be the one to kill her.