Wildheart - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - The Cloaked Rider

Adri laid back on the hay, planning a little nap. Before she could fully fall asleep, however, two hands were roughly shaking her. Wanting at least a few more seconds of rest, but knowing she had to get up soon, she froze

"Come on, Adrian! What is it with you and sleeping in the day. Sleep at night, slacker!" Will grumbled. 

"Fine, fine." Adri sat up, her hair a huge mess despite hardly lying down for a minute. 

Her clothes weren't crinkled, thankfully, or she'd'be been in big trouble. Strands of hair stack up in all directions, making her look like almost like a porcupine. Will stifled a laugh and dragged her down, back to the stalls, where Bright was waiting to be saddled. At the sight of him, Adri backed away. 

"I'm not going near the demon horse." she announced. 

Will sighed. "You have to. We all have to." 

"Yeah, what's wrong, you a coward as well as a hedgehog?" Evan jeered. 

"You little -" Adri lunged at him, but Will grabbed her arm.

"She's coming." He hissed.

Adri turned around to see a girl walking into the stables. She had bright blonde curls adorning her head, currently down and down to her shoulders. She had a small button of a nose crinkled up as her heart shaped mouth started laughing. Her bright blue eyes shone with merriment. The long dress she wore was a deep magenta, and had too many frills and pieces of lace for Adri to count. Waving goodbye to what Adri assumed was a suitor, she entered the smelly stable, a huge contrast to the stable. 

"Your horse is ready, milady." Will bowed down, and Adri knew it took every ounce of his willpower. As Evan bowed, she noticed he didn't seem that way. In fact, it looked like he was thoroughly enjoying it. Disgusted at his simpering, Adri also bowed, hating every second of it, but thinking if Will could do it, so could she. 

"You're new." she looked Adri up and down. "A bit messy, too. I am Elizabeta StrongDell, heiress of the province of Bushdell, which includes the city of Bushdell." The last part seemed oddly rehearsed. "Who might you be?"

"Adrianne Wil... WhiteCliff. Adrian WhiteCliff." Adri gulped. 

"Nice to meet you, Adrian Whitecliff." Elizabeta smiled. "You are so polite. These two never gave me their last names." At this, she frowned. 

Will groaned, discreetly shooting Adri an annoyed look. "Will GreatTree."

Evan bowed again, determined to outdo the others. "Evan TrueEye."

"True? That's the same as my mother, Courtney Truehe - Cliff." Adri blurted out. 

"How nice." Will looked ready to strangle her. "Do you want to get on the horse now?"

"Of course. May Adrian help me up?" Elizabeta asked. Adri frowned, but complied. 

She was hoisted up into a sidesaddle, struggling to seem graceful and ladylike. Adri personally hated sidesaddles. Adri always felt like she was going to slip off at any moment, and she couldn't go half as fast for fear of it. There was a collective sigh once Elizabeta and Bright were out of the stable. Evan smiled maliciously, an idea suddenly striking him.

"Oi, when you gonna smooch?" Evan wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"What?" Adri asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, I saw her giving you the puppy-eyes. Well, how about that? Little hedgehog-head Adrian got a girl!" Evan smirked.

"Shut up!" Adri moved to punch him on the arm. Will held her back, a surprised expression on his face. Adri was also surprised, but decided it was as valid a reason as any to punch Evan.

"We'll go clean up the mess in Clover's stall now." Will said, referring to the prize roan mare that had been in the city for a few days to train for a horse race. He dragged Adri into the enclosed space. 

"There's nothing here." Adri remarked.

"You need to get ahold of your temper." Will growled. 

"What?" Adri scowled. "I've got great control of my temper, thank you very much." 

"Well, I suggest you redefine your meaning of control." Will sighed, running his hand through his mussed-up hair. "Listen, you won't make any friends here if all you do is make threats and punch people. You've got to learn to tough it out, not to mention take an insult."

"Maybe it'd be easier if I hadn't been forced to get up and pick up horse poo before sunrise." Adri hissed. 

Will massaged his temples. "Do you even know why I did that?"

"Sure," Adri answered, "You wanted a little fun."

"If I hadn't, you'd've been ridiculed for the rest of the time you spent here. Your chance would be over before it even began. I'm not the kind of person to just let that happen. But it seems like you're trying to squander your reputation on purpose. So this is just a warning that your little hissy fits won't help you around here." 

"What'd you mean by chance?" Adri inquired suspiciously.

Will sucked in a breath. "A chance to not be hated by everyone. Although you seem to be doing that fine on your own even without the lizard thing."

"Why didn't you just say you did it or defend me, then?" Adri demanded. 

Will chuckled. "I said chance, not absolute protection from everything." 

Adri huffed. 

"What, you'd rather I didn't?" Will asked mock-innocently.

"Thanks, even if you are an idiot." Adri muttered the last part, salking out of the stall.

Will just smiled and shook his head.

***

"All right, the day's over, wanna play cards with me and Evan?" Will asked Adri. 

"Nah, I'm tired. I'll go to bed." Adri answered. Will returned to his game with Evan.

Adri walked over to her cloak, and put it on. She grabbed a green quilt and placed it on the spot where the cloak used to be, and stuffed it with hay to make it look as if she was sleeping under it. Taking care to make sure the others didn't see her, she crept down the ladder to the horse stalls, and and entered one in particular with a huge sleeping horse. It raised its' head in recognition. 

"Wanna go for a ride?"

***

He walked blindly through the undergrowth, thorns and rocks poking his feet, but he felt no pain. The cold wind rattled through his thin pajamas to freeze his body, but he felt no cold. Dark clouds covered the bright moon, throwing everything in darkness, but he did not, could not, lose his way. He walked into the maze of hedges, forbidding with an aura that demanded solitude, but he felt no fear. Soon, he approached the centre, where a tiny blue spark ignited. 

He was drawn to the light, like a moth to a flame. Almost as if they were walking by themselves, his feet led him towards it. As his arm was raised up, almost as if on a string, he reached out to touch it. 

A horse snorted. His eyes snapped open, and he fell onto the ground with a grunt. Still half-asleep, he watched the horse step into the clearing. A figure cloaked from head to toe rode it. He silently thanked the rider, and their horse, for waking him up, but he hoped they would go soon. Who knows what kind of a scandal it would cause if they found him in the gardens in what was called the "witching hour", the time where black magicks and such abounded.

"Hm." The rider turned the horse around, leaving him safe another night.