My Choice

Chapter 4

A dream? I open my eyes and look around at the unfamiliar atmosphere that surrounded me. A knock comes from the door. "Yes?" The door opens and in steps Dain. "Morning, sleepyhead." I lay back down, covering my face. Ugh,not a dream Dain sits on my bed waiting for me to say something. I uncover my face and look around the room again. It was a magnificent room with the color gold everywhere. I shake my head,"I guess your father really likes his gold, huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck and nods. "Well, I guess it would kill him to add a little blue in here." He looks at me,"I'm guessing your favorite color is blue?" "What's it to you?" He sighs in defeat,"You're as cold as they say." I nod. Another knock comes from the door. "Enter!" Berinon walks in,"Goodmorn-... Dain! What are you doing in here?!" Dain smiles and waves his hand. This pisses Berinon off. "Don't you not to enter a ladies bedroom without permission!?" He looks at Berinon with a bored expression,"She said I could come in." I sigh and get out of bed. "Out, you two! I have to change!" They both sigh and walk out. I go to the closet and scan through the clothes. As expected, the servants packed dresses that my mother would want me to wear. I notice in the far left corner of the closet, there was a black dress that I would probably wear while hunting with Asher. I took it out and a note fell onto the floor. It read From:Hadri To:Ry I smile as I put it on. I also put on some black heels and light make up. I walk out the room and down to the dinning room. There stood Lord Oliver, Lady Julia, Dain, and Berinon. Lady Julia looked at me with disgust. "Princess, why are you wearing that slutty outfit?" I look at her coldly," It is not a "slutty" outfit as you would say. It's an outfit that allows you to move and breath freely. Unlike those tents you wear on your body." She scoffs and walks off with Lord Oliver behind her, trying to calm her down. I sit down and eat breakfast before heading out the door. The brothers hurry after me. "Where are you going?" I don't reply. Dain sighs and follows me along with Berinon. "Stop following me. My business is my own." Berinon laughs,"Damn, you have spirit." I roll my eyes and go to the horse stalls. I pick a black horse with white spots. The boys follow suite. "Leave me be. I'm going by myself." They shake their heads,"No. We said we'd protect you so we must accompany you. Whether you like it or not." Berinon always was an ass. "Fine, but I don't need both of you. You will shoot and arrow at a target. The closer one wins. It's simple." I smirk. Dain looks confident unlike Berinon who shifted uncomfortably. The game takes place and Dain naturally wins. We hop on our horses and set out. I come up with a plan to ditch the youngest brother. I decide to put that off until later. We ride into the town where most of my subjects live. I stop by the bakery to visit an old friend that I haven't seen in a while. "Suzana, I'd like two of your delicious chocolate muffins." She spins around all most too fast and smothers me in a giant hug. "Ryia! It's been ages! How have ya been?!" I regain my balance and smile,"I'm alright. Just stopped by for a quick visit. Seems Dain here wants to move on soon so we'd best be off." She looks at him and blushes. Suzana rushes, grabs two muffins, and hurried back. "Here ya are. One for you and one for ya charming boyfriend." I choke and the muffin that I had just taken a bite out of. "I am not dating him! Come on, Dain lets go. See you around Suz!" She smiles and waves. I finish my muffin and walk down the street. Somewhere down the line, I lost track of Dain. I kept walking sense I didn't care. As I walk past one of those dark alleys, a hand grabs me roughly and another is placed on my mouth as to keep me from screaming. "Stay still, princess, if you don't want to die." One of the men say. Another on stands in front of me. "Aye, she's worth a pretty penny I'd say." I stare at them, uninterested. I kick one of them where the sun don't shine and the other in the knee cap. The man that was holding me let's go only to throw me to the other guy I had just put in his place. He growls and takes out a dagger, placing it a my throat. "That was a very bold and stupid thing to do, your highness. Guess I'll have to teach you a lesson." He punches me hard in my face then slits my arm with the dagger. I yelp in pain as he slices me again, but this time in my side. I hear a familiar yelling and recognize Dain running towards us. I take this chance to grab the dagger from the man and kill both the criminals. I drop the dagger and cough up blood. Dain rushes to my side,"Are you alright? Your side it's....." I cover it up and walk away. He follows me still asking if I'm alright. "I'm..fine. Its not deep. I'll live." I lied. It was, in fact, deep but not deep enough to where it would concern me. I wince in pain as I climb onto my horse. I speed off with Dain hot on my trail. I decide to ditch him by riding into the forest, letting the horse go find its way home, and staggering up a tree. I watch as Dain follows the horse. When he is out of sight, I hop down from the tree and walk to the nearest supply of water. I look at my wound and sigh. I could tell it would be there for weeks. I clean it out and wrap it with some cloth. I lay down in the snow. My breath was slowing down and the fear had soon dissolved. I might not have shown it and I'm not even sure I felt it but I know I was scared. I lay there for several hours until the sun had started setting. I stand up, calling for my horse. It came galloping through the snow. I climb up and headed back. It was dark by the time I got back. The brothers greeted me with giant, gentle hugs. Dain had obviously told his brother about the incident in town. They guid me inside to the large bathroom in my room. They step out so I can do my own business. A couple minutes later, I step out of the bathroom in a short, silky nightgown. The boys bid me a goodnight and I drift off to a silent slumber.