I Must Save the Evil King

Chapter 36

I don't believe in ghosts. But I think if I were Emilee I might have to start too. 

The horse stopped a few yards away from us and the rider wordlessly disembarked, his eyes never looking away from Emilee. I could see the resemblance now, not necessarily to his brother but he and Princess Anna could have been twins.  

"Laurent?" Emilee's voice broke in a pitiful way I didn't think her capable of. 

Emilee's voice seemed to have freed the rider from whatever had held him frozen there as he suddenly raced forward pulling Emilee into him. Emilee's body shook with sobs as he covered every inch of her face and neck in soft kisses and whispered declarations of love.    

I stumbled backward. Prince Laurent was working with Polaris. Fine, I had known that from the beginning even though I hadn't know who are what Polaris was. Prince Laurent was Cordellia's father. Also fine, I mean it had been surprising but it didn't change that she was a part of the royal family. But Prince Laurent being alive... I don't know how to feel about that.   

I heard a horse neigh and turned to see two more horses approaching, this time with Runa and Ardin on their backs. The siblings rode up beside me, seemingly unsure of how to interrupt the lovebird's reunion. 

Luckily for us, Emilee did the job all on her own, as she suddenly slapped Laurent across the face. Runa unsheathed her sword beside me but Laurent motioned for her to relax. 

"Don't worry, I deserved that," He gave a crooked grin, but Emilee just glared at him her eyes lit with fury. "We should be getting back to base now, you two should rest up before we begin discussing any plans." Laurent finally looked at me, his eyes were rounder than Julian's and lacked his golden shine. 

Julian. 

I've been so distracted recently I almost forgot why I was here. I must stop these people before they can hurt him. And kill me. And hurt Duchess Celine. And eventually, maybe kill Emilee? 

"Your Grace?" I turned to see Ardin, hand extended towards me. I glanced over at Emilee who was getting onto Laurent's horse. 

"I'm not getting on a horse with you," I said, making Runa laugh. Ardin made a show of sulking as Runa helped me onto the front of her horse. I held on desperately to the front of the saddle as her arms squeezed tightly on my sides. 

I clenched my eyes shut. We hadn't even begun riding yet and I already felt nauseous. 

"Are you okay?" Runa asked, I opened my eyes to see her and Ardin staring at me concerned. 

"Yes... I just, have never ridden a horse before." I admitted through gritted teeth. 

"Don't worry, I'll go slow." Runa smiled. 

She did not go slow.

I gripped onto the horse with all my strength, as I let out a stream of curses. The horse seemed to fly over the snowy field even with the weight of two riders. The wind rushed against my ears, reminding me of putting down the car windows on the highway. Behind me, I could hear Runa hooting and hollering, obviously enjoying herself.   

Just as I thought I was certainly going to be flung off the horse began to slow down.  Hesitantly I relaxed my grip on the horse's neck and looked up. 

The stronghold was like nothing I had ever seen before. Carved out of dark stone its towering spires seemed to mimic the mountains it laid between. Thick sheets of snow covered most of it giving the illusion that parts were made out of ice. Looking up I could see the north star, shining brighter than I had ever seen it before. 

"Welcome to The Edge of the World," Ardin said from the other horse. All my exhaustion left me as the gate opened revealing a garden made of ice and stone.