~{DEBORAH'S POV}~
*
It was after he agreed to it that it dawned on me what I had just gotten myself into.
How do I race against him?!
A king who practices continuously on his horse for battle.
What was I thinking?
"What? Have you finally realized the mistake you just made?" He taunted me but I stood my ground and lifted my chin in pride.
"I just realized what awful mistake you have just made, Lauren." I purposely called him by his name in an annoying way possible and saw how he cringed in distaste.
"New rules," he said out of the blue, "We race with a finish line at the end of the race track and whoever comes first can do as you said earlier."
I smiled in excitement until-
"... However," he continued, "When I win, you will stop calling me Lauren and treat me with respect."
"Deal!" I immediately agreed but further added, "But I will be using my horse and when I win, I will return to my kingdom."
At my words, he scoffed and signaled for Fredrick to bring my horse to me and he quickly went to do so. While that was happening, we all moved to the field where races took place with his men as witnesses since my ladies in waiting weren't present yet.
"One more thing."
At his words, I looked sideways to him while still seated on the horse I had taken from the stables.
He turned sideways and looked at me with a serious look and it made me realize that whatever he would say next wouldn't be in my favor.
"We both married each other for kingdom benefits and nothing more. And as a king, I have the right to take up another wife."
I nearly closed my eyes in pain but I simply looked away and faced forward without commenting on it but I listened because I knew where he was getting at.
"You still belong to me, Deborah. So, even if you leave the palace and journey back to your kingdom, you will still be returned back to me. There are no two ways about it since you are tied to me by marriage." He bluntly said but I scoffed and said,
"Don't be so confident in yourself, Lauren. I may not be important to you as a wife but I am still valuable to my people. Mind you, I have a brother who will go through fire to see that I don't get hurt. Be careful." I threatened him and he chuckled darkly.
"Has it gotten to threats now?" He asked in faked surprise but I said nothing.
However, as we sat side by side on our horses, I could sense his intense gaze on me but refused to look at him until he said, "What truly happened while I was away, Deborah?"
I faced him with a bored look and said in a dismissive tone, "I got fed up."
He blinked at me once and then twice before facing forward without commenting on it and it was then Fredrick brought my horse.
With a skilled movement, I got down from the horse and went to mine which was light brown with white patches all over its body. She was a gift from my brother and I named her 'Brave'.
As for Lauren, the king, he had a grey horse.
I climbed Brave with grace and made her move to the tracks where Lauren waited for me.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be doing this." I gave a sarcastic response with the motive of getting on his nerves until he was fed up with me.
"I'll give you a head start." He said, without bothering to take my words personal.
"I don't need one," I refused.
"Oh yes you do, especially when a king is offering one." He said and I gave it a thought but said nothing.
His right hand man did the counting before signaling that we begin the race and I immediately set my horse into motion.
However, when I ran some steps away from him, I realized he hadn't moved and it made me realize he was actually giving me a headstart.
Was he playing gentleman?
Well, it wasn't going to work on me.
And just when I was slightly far, he got his horse ready.
Immediately he did that, I faced forward and focused on winning this race because a lot was at stake. Not only will I not return back to my kingdom if I don't win but he will walk over me.
For him to boldly tell me he could take a second wife was a hint as to what is yet to come which I was already aware of.
With that in mind, it fueled me and built up my strong will, causing me to race faster and harder.
"Go, Brave! Go!" I yelled as I coaxed her to keep going and she picked up her pace.
Despite that, Lauren caught up to me almost immediately and even went past me with ease, like I wasn't putting any effort.
I looked at him in anger and pressured Brave to keep going and she added more force, causing me to get closer to him but since his horse was faster than mine, he got really far.
Seeing this, my eyes widened and my heart raced in fear because I knew he was going to win and I would definitely lose.
Out of panic, I diverted my horse from the track and ran as fast as I could, heading to the secret passage I had initially planned to use to escape.
Almost immediately, he got alerted of my sudden diversion and raced after me, pursuing me.
By now I was quite far and I grinned in delight when I saw how mad he was as he kept hitting the reins continuously, cajoling the horse into running more.
"Faster, Brave! We are almost there!" I coaxed my horse and she kept going.
Soon enough, he caught up with me and attempted to distract my horse off course but I tactfully went in circles, making him do likewise and it annoyed him all the more.
"This isn't what we agreed on, Deborah!" I heard him yell at me.
"This is exactly what we agreed on, Lauren! I dared you to pursue me and you agreed!" I yelled back and went in an opposite direction, leading to a small bridge with a stream beneath it.
Maids were currently walking along it and I ran in that direction only to hear him yell behind me.
"Don't go there, Deborah! Stop!"
But I didn't listen.
How could I when it was a matter of who wins?
I ran to the bridge while shouting, "Make way!" And they hurriedly did so while shouting in alarm.
It felt so refreshing and I giggled as I ran along the bridge and just when Lauren wanted to follow, I came to a sudden standstill and he nearly lost balance as he tried to control his horse.
Seeing that he was distracted by it, I turned my horse around and ran back to the racing field and he followed.
This time I adjusted and became more fierce and so was my horse.
Since Lauren got blocked by a few people, he got delayed. But even when he got control and pursued, I felt him inch closer and it was frightening.
"Hyah! You got this, Brave! Hyah!" I screamed as my heart thrummed loudly.
I was on edge and could feel the pressure.
We kept going and instead of entering through the main entrance I used a shortcut which was closer to the finish line and jumped over the wooden rails.
Still, when I jumped the rails Lauren's horse jumped at the same time, causing us to land almost together.
My eyes were wide in shock but I didn't let that deter me.
"GO! GO!! GO!!!!"
I screamed at my horse and just when we got to the finish line and I felt like I would win, Lauren ended up crossing the line.