Villainess Loves

Part 34

"What things are you good at?" I ask Prince Orion. He thinks for a moment.

"Hmm, I don't really know. But me and Bella have been riding horses a lot recently. It's really fun to race each other." He says.

"A horse race would be cool. We can hold it in the upper north garden. The fields there are wide enough to create a horse track. We can just set up simple checks for each racer to follow and whoever reaches the finish first wins." I can see it now. A horse race competition is the perfect romance event and event to show off Prince Orion's nobility.

"I'm super excited about it! This is the perfect thing!" Prince Orion says.

"Then, let me go with Mary and ask for permission to set up the event. Henry can continue to train with Prince Orion." I suggested, grabbing a towel from Mary.

"We can do some horse riding. Being a strong rider is important for a knight. Protecting and escaping when traveling." Henry says.

"Okay, then let's go!" Prince Orion jumps, grabbing Henry's hand and dragging him to the stables.

"Annelise, could you notify Bella too? She loves riding horses." He yells at me in the distance.

"Okay!" I yell back.

"Do you want to get changed or are you going to try horse riding, my lady?" Mary asks me. Hmm.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. It seems fun." I ponder. Riding fast through the fields seems like a fun thing to do.

"Notify Bella that we have moved to the upper north garden to ride horses. Also please bring some snacks and tea for the prince and Lady Annelise." Mary tells a nearby maid. She nods and scurries off.

I take a deep breath. Feeling a bit nervous going in front of the king for the second time today.

We walk down the hallways to reach the main meeting room. The king should be there holding his typical meetings with the aristocrat factions.

Two smartly dressed soldiers stand in front of the two massive doors leading to the main room. The royal insignia decorates the frame and the elaborate designs fill the empty space, creating a regal and dominating presence.

"Can you notify his Majesty, King Drayden, that Lady Annelise wishes to speak to him?" I ask one of the soldiers.

"Of course, my lady." He nods and enters the room. The doors open slightly to let the soldier enter. Bits and pieces of passionate voices escape the grand room.

"But your majesty-!" "I think not, its-!" But what of Prince Calum-?" "How does Vendia think of this?"

The dialogue seems to be about the welcoming ball. Has King Drayden talked about Prince Orion's performance? Are the Vendia ambassadors going to be attending the ball?

The soldier returns and the doors are closed once again.

"His Majesty will meet you shortly. Please wait in the right rear meeting room." The soldier gestures to one of the smaller attached rooms in the hallway.

This room has the same layout as the meeting room in the morning. The furniture is just a slightly different shade and the space itself is smaller since it's only an attachment and not a full room. These rooms that are connected to the main room are usually for secondary meetings between factions and or resting rooms during events and balls.

We sit on one of the couches and wait for the king to come.

"You don't suppose he will be offended that I'm meeting him like this?" I gesture to my common attire. Mary shrugs.

"I don't think it matters much. He knows you and Prince Orion are training and preparing for the performance." She says.

"Do you think this might be a little spontaneous? To hold a horse riding competition in two days?" I wondered.

"Yes, but who would question it? It's the royal family that's hosting it, and the welcoming ball itself was somewhat spontaneous since Prince Caelum was able to befriend the princess of Vendia and negotiate ending the war." Mary points out.

"A horse riding competition? Fairly creative." King Drayden enters the room, hearing the end of our conversation. We quickly bow. The same attendant from before also enters and nods at us.

"We greet your majesty." We say in unison. King Drayden waves his hand and we all sit back down.

"We had assumed Prince Orion would be performing a skill of sorts, but not in a competition." King Drayden says.

"Well, we couldn't really think of anything that would be prepared in a manner of two days except something simple. A horse riding competition sounded fun and we could set up a simple course in the upper north garden. The fields there are wide and spacious enough." I explained our plan.

"We see. You wish for our permission to host the horse riding competition at the welcoming ball?" King Drayden asks.

"Yes, we also want to give out prizes to the winner and runner-up. And some special acknowledgments like coolest horse or riding outfit." I listed out all of our details.

"Coolest riding outfit?" King Drayden repeats.

"Yes, not everyone is great at horse riding, Prince Orion thought it would allow those not as skilled to still enjoy the event," I said.

"We see the intent and we shall give permission. May it be." King Drayden nods. The attendant writes vigorously and hands me a sheet of the papers he's been holding. The paper is a written document of our horse riding competition with the king's signature of approval. 

I'll be able to show this to outside businesses for help in the setup. We'll need to hire judges, additional servants and stable boys, and of course, horses. We'll also have to send out invitations and notices of the competition to all the guests attending the ball. 

We have a lot of work in store!