Amelia's POV:
Neither the man nor I moved closer to each other, we only went around in a circle and maybe once or twice changed direction.
“What do you want from me?”
He smiled and leaped forwards. I had managed to manoeuvre myself so that there was a tree behind me. Once he had reached me I quickly stepped out of the way and he flew head first into the tree. He grunted and fell to the ground with a thump. I checked that he was knocked out and saw a rope looped around his waist. As I leaned forward I could see a small pool of blood form a puddle around his head, it looked like a bright red crimson stream flowing down over the leaves making them look like wings of a thousand butterflies. I slowly knelt down onto the floor to see his face clearer and I could see that his eyes were shut and he still wore that smirk. His breathing had turned shallow and I assured myself that he was out cold. I undid the rope around his waist and tied him up to the tree to make sure that once he woke up he would be occupied with untying himself before he could come after me. I got up off the floor and wiped my dress down, I was a complete mess. I didn’t need a mirror to tell me that I probably looked like a ghost or even something worse. I thought about pinning my hair back, but really, if I was going to look bad then I was going to look it all the way. I loved this dress but obviously it had to go. I ripped the material so it was mid-thigh length. I done this so that it would be easier to run – I’m not going to run in a floor length dress. There’d be more chance of me falling over then actually getting away. I slipped my shoes off and left them in the mud. My clothes were completely ruined and there was no way Amy or my mother could get these stains out. These stains were permanent. I started to return the way I came and found myself outside the woods very quickly. I saw the horses and the carriage and decided it would be best to take both horses in case he woke up. I got onto one of the horses swiftly and easily. I weren’t the best horse rider but I knew how to get on and off a horse pretty easily. I tied the ropes from the other horse round my waist and wrapped my hands into the horses’ hair. This made the horse seem uneasy. It obviously hadn’t been treated very well.
“Shh... It’s okay... No one’s going to hurt you now... You’re safe with me...”
I knew this horse was very intelligent as it seemed to calm down at these words. I urged it forward and as if it could sense my urgency it galloped and the other horse stayed close behind. I knew my whereabouts fairly well and I knew that I wasn’t too far from home. I’d get there in maybe an hour or less if I stopped for a couple of breaks along the way. It was still quite dark but I knew that sunrise wasn’t that far behind. The moon was glowing in the dark sky and the contrast left me breathless. The moon was so bright and looked so full of life whereas the dark sky and gloomy clouds looked so dull and lifeless. The stallion I was riding was beautiful and I wondered how such a poor man could afford two such majestic and beautiful horses. The one I was riding was a dark black horse with a mane which had a bluish tinge to it. The other horse was a white horse which had a golden mane. Not to pick favourites but I liked the gold one better. The horse, as if hearing what I had thought, faced me and neighed in reply. As I got closer to home I wondered who that man was and why he wanted to kidnap me. I mean, I’m not even that special... I wasn’t going to marry the prince! Then again he wouldn’t have even known that my mother expected me to marry him. Hopefully I would never see him again. But wait! I’d forgotten that someone else had tried to hurt me tonight. When I was waiting to be taken to the ball! Oh no, the ball! What is mother going to think! I didn’t even get to see who was at the ball and everything that happened! Hopefully, this meant that the prince has already found a bride and it won’t be me! The prince would never meet me and I would stay single! That is if I don’t have to meet him again. No, I need to see whether they left any other clues when they tried to kidnap me. I could see in the distance my house was nearing closer and closer. I got off the horse and walked silently up the path to where I waited for my coach. I didn’t want to alert my mother that I had come home yet. I surveyed the area but even though I looked everywhere there was no evidence to show that the assault had ever even taken place. The rope was gone and there was nothing else there. I checked it and checked it but everything was gone. I slowly looked around to make sure nobody had quickly taken it away when I wasn’t looking, no one was there. They must have taken it when I went onto that wretched coach. I wonder whether the two people were connected in some sort of way. Even if they were, I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it unless I encountered them again. The moon was slowly hitting the horizon and I wondered what I’d have to tell mother when I got home. Should I tell her that I nearly got killed twice today or just say that I got caught up with something on the way home and had to spent longer doing other stuff. How would I explain the state of my dress? I guess I’ll have to take it in my stride and see what happens. If I tell her then I tell her, if I don’t tell her then I don’t tell her. What harm can come from it. I started to walk to the house but turned to the stables. I knew I should have just gone home but these horses needed somewhere to stay and I wanted to make sure they had good accommodation. I walked in and the scent of hay and horse manure hit me. Others would have been bothered by it, but I loved it. It felt like I could be free and I was in my own separate bubble from the entire world. There were separate blocks for each horse and my horse, Stargazer, was in the furthest corner. That way I could always hide if someone was searching for me. I lead the two horses down with me and placed them next to my horse. I filled the corner with hay and straw to make sure that if they wanted to they could graze on the hay. I walked over and held my hands over both of the horses’ foreheads and whispered to them.
“It’s okay; I promise that you will be kept out of harm’s way as long as you stay by my side.”
With that I left the stables and braced myself with what was about to come.
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