Smeared

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I could feel the desperation building up in me; filling me to the brim just waiting to drown me.

Another flash of lightning bolted through the sky as I turned sharply on my heels. I needed to find an alternative and fast.

I raked my mind for any possible ideas as the rain began to pour down even harder. I stopped for a moment and looked back.

The stable hand had disappeared and gone back to whatever it was that  he was originally doing before I arrived.

Slowly and quietly, I carefully made my way back. I peaked around the corner relieved when I caught a glimpse of him making his way into another room with a rake assumingly to fetch more hay.

I cautiously snuck in and quickly made my way to the tack room. My hands instinctively grabbed the closest saddle and bridle to me. I quickly glanced at the name of the horse they belonged to before looking towards the stables again.

The name matched the name plate on one of the stables closest to the main doors. I let out a sigh of relief. This would make it a lot easier.

Surveying my surroundings one last time, I made the sprint across the corridor towards said horse. I shifted the saddle against my side and supported it with my left hand as my right hand quickly stumbled to undo the latch on the stable door.

Within seconds I was in. The horse before me was a beautiful steed, a shiny coat to match it's muscular build , most certainly worthy of the Waisend name.

I carefully approached the animal and placed my hand against it's powerful neck. It seemed unbothered by my actions.

As quietly as possible, I began to tack up. No sooner had I done up the bridle had the stable hand come back causing me to freeze in my movements.

I could hear him fiddling about and talking to the horses. When it sounded like he had entered one of their stables, I slowly lifted the saddle and placed it on the horse's back.

The deep maroon saddle pad had the Waisend crest beautifully embroidered into it was the first thing I noticed as I began to do up the girth.

Once satisfied with my work I once again checked for the stable hand. I could hear humming from a few stables away.

This was my chance.

My heart was pounding as I opened the stable door and lead the horse forwards. The horse obediently obliged.

Unfortunately I had not accounted for one thing, how loud the animals steps would be in the quiet corridor of between the stables as it eccoed off the walls almost immediately alerting the stable hand.

"Hey! Stop right there!" I heard him angrily shout.

I did not dare to look back and quickly pushed open the doors where I was greeted by a loud flash of lighting and howling winds as the rain poured down.

The horse reared in fright as the stable hand fumbled open the stable door with clear intent of stopping me but he has just to late as within seconds I was on the horse racing through the estate towards the main gates. My fresh clothes quickly soaked.

I took a short cut as I bolted through the gardens and past the manor.

"Wait!" I barely registered a voice calling after me over the rain, my mind to distracted as I passed by an open door to the manor.

"Wait!" It bellowed again, but drowned out.

Edith ran to the open door in a desperate attempt to try and stop me but she was too late. She had caught a glimpse of my panicked form through one of the windows while she was continuing to wonder the manor in search of me.

"It is not safe to go out in this storm!" She yelled out towards my for but I was too far out of earshot.

My heart was racing as I made it through the gates that the guards on duty had fortunately opened for me just in time. It was by some miracle that I had made it down the hill and into the town in one piece and before long was galloping on the muddy road towards the capital.

I barely registered the cold as I urged the animal to pick up the pace. Within moments the town was long behind us and I had reached a fork in the road.

I pulled the animal to a skidding halt as I squinted my eyes through the rain trying to read the signs. The horse anxiously paced unhappy about being held back.

I chose left. It was the faster route. The other would take me through the mountains. Not only was that a longer path, an added two extra days no less but it was even more dangerous to pass through during a storm like this.

It was not long before the powerful animal began to tire as the thrill began to ware off. Now at a decently paced walk, I could finally feel the cold seeping in.

The rain had shown no sign of stopping it's powerful downpour and before long my fingers had begun to turn blue. I could only assume that my lips were the same colour.

My teeth chattered with each step as the horse sloshed through the mud. Most of the horse and the bottom half of my clothes were covered in mud.

The sun had begun to set and with the clouded sky hiding the stars and the moon, it was almost completely pitch black as the night set in.

I needed to go on, I could not stop even if my visibility was almost completely gone. As long as I stayed on the road I would be fine.

Anothet flash of distance lightning lit up the sky causing the horse to jump forward a little but it  gave me a brief glance of the road ahead. I was still fine.

I was able to continue on deep into the night but I was getting colder by the minute but I forced myself to push on.

"For Rourke." I whispered to myself.

Eventually I lay forward onto the horse's neck, seeking some of it's warmth as it carried me with it's rhythmic steps.

The rain had reduced to a soft drizzle now but with it came an icy wind. Every time it blew, it bit through my sopping wet clothes and onto my skin.

When the sky began to lighten into it's sombre grey, I was using all my strength keep my eyes open. It was by some miracle that I had made it through the night and the horse had carried me without much fuss engulfing me with what was probably life saving warmth.

My relief was short lived when a deafening bolt of lightning stuck a tree beside me on the road. The horse reared in fright, the sudden movement caused me to tumbled off and fall onto the road.

I had barely registered what had happened as I watched the horse run back into the direction that we had come from through the flames of the now burning tree. It was more than likely running home.

My eyes forced themselves closed no sooner leaving me unconscious as an aftershock of the fall.