~{DEBORAH'S POV}~
*
"Your highness. What are you doing here?"
The man in charge of the stables asked in surprise as he scanned me up and down, discovering that I was dressed to ride a horse.
I had on boots, a pair of slacks which held me perfectly and a fitting top along with a scarf I used to cover my face.
I knew this was a silly effort at escaping but it wouldn't hurt to try. Thankfully, I knew the ins and outs of the kingdom. The secret passage for royalties and escape routes for commoners.
Right now I was going to take the commoners route in order not to draw attention to myself. So therefore, I decided to use a local horse.
"I came to ride of course. Kindly prepare me the less used horse, Fredrick." I ordered him.
"Don't you want to ride your horse?" He asked in confusion.
"No I don't. I want something different today." I said and he went to do as I instructed.
While he was bringing one of the horses out, I scanned the area to be sure I wasn't followed.
My wing wasn't high so it was easier for me to escape through the window. Especially when there was a tree close to it.
Strangely, I was discovering amazing things about myself. I could run, jump, climb and what else?
I'm yet to find out.
"This is Lava. he is-"
"Don't worry, I will figure him out." I hurriedly interrupted him and quickly went to mount the brown horse.
"Your highness you shouldn't be ra-"
"I can handle it, Fred." I cut him short again as I easily got onto the horse and prepared it for take off. Thankfully, the horse was easy to use and didn't refuse me.
"Shall I escort you since-"
"Never mind, Fred. Just carry on with your duties…. Hyah!"
Saying that, I took off and the horse happily moved where I made it go.
But before I could ride any further, I heard a loud shout, saying, "YOUR HIGHNESS STOP!!!"
"Not again! How did they catch on so fast?" I groaned in annoyance as I saw them running after me on foot.
I'm pretty sure Dally must have alerted them.
"Let's go boy! Faster! Faster!" I gingered the horse and somehow he increased his pace.
I knew when a horse was a male or a female, which is why I knew it was a male before Fredrick told me.
"STOP!"
"DON'T GO ANY FURTHER!"
"YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF YOUR HIGHNESS!"
"WHERE ARE YOU EVEN GOING?"
I heard them yelling after me but I paid them no mind as I got closer and closer to the road that would lead me to my escape. Happiness clouded my mind and I was beaming from ear to ear until a troupe of men on horses blocked my path and surrounded me.
My horse neighed and had to stop abruptly, causing me to nearly fall off but I held it firmly.
When I succeeded in controlling it and myself, I looked around and discovered that they were the kings men… again!
Why does he keep sending his men when they just returned from war? Weren't they tired?
"Your highness, what do you think you are doing?" One of them asked.
"Move aside!" I gave an order.
"We cannot. This is an order." They said but it only made me more annoyed.
"And then this is an order too! Move aside!" I ordered them again but they refused to budge and it aggravated me.
I didn't want to return to the palace, not when I hadn't achieved what I wanted to do.
"The king's words overshadows others, your highness, we are sorry," they apologized and it made my eyes flare in fury.
Without thinking, I patted my horse to move and it moved with the motive of running past them but they immediately blocked my way.
"I SAID MOVE! I AM YOUR QUEEN AND YOU OUGHT TO LISTEN TO ME!" I roared at them and they flinched at my sudden outburst, not expecting me to be so fierce.
"Let her go!"
Someone suddenly said and everyone, including me, looked in the direction of the voice just to find the king coming towards us on his horse.
He looked fierce and ready to take up any challenge and that was dangerous.
They all moved away, creating a path for the king who made his horse move towards me.
"Whatever happened to you while I was away, I don't want to know. However, I am curious as to where you intend to go. Are you planning to go back to your kingdom like this? Don't be ridiculous, Deborah." He casually said but there was a firmness to his tone.
I was already furious and his men stopping me only amplified it, making me speak out of impulse.
"I dare you to pursue me on your horse. If you catch me then I will not think of leaving anymore but if you don't catch me then you have given me the leverage to leave."
For a moment he simply stared at me but after a while, he burst into laughter, surprising me because I rarely saw him laugh. It brightened his mood and made him look more normal and approachable.
But all too suddenly, he stopped laughing and suddenly became serious as he locked eyes with me and said.
"Challenge accepted."