Crowns And Swords

Chapter Four

I'm guessing that by the time I had passed through the castle gates that Sebastian had gone inside and announced that I was "kidnapped," because at the time I rode through the streets of one of our villages, I could hear the thumping of horse hooves against the ground and shouts coming from the men who rode those horses. My heart pounded in my chest when I came to this realization. My first instinct was to bring my horse's gait to a gallop. The thoughts in my head had given me anxiety about the situation I had gotten myself stuck in:
This was a bad idea...
These guards are going to catch me, I just know it.
Lord, please forgive me!
Mother won't be very happy about this if she finds out I tried to escape.
Whipping the reigns and leaning in closer to my horse, I dashed through some back alley ways and made my way to the edge of Loomant forest, which was not too far from Tenshoo. I gave the men the slip, hiding in the willow trees as they galloped away on their horses down the pathways used for trading. I sat up on my horse once the flames that emitted from their torches began to fade away from where I sat.
"I... I did it..." I whispered to myself, breathing heavily. I worked myself up over the actual escape and being caught in general that my hands were shaking once more, as they did earlier this evening.
I looked back at the castle towers; each peeking through the leaves of the trees above me. Then, I forwarded my attention to the half-moon in the sky, waiting as it slowly inched its way across the sky.
"If the moon is going to the right and sets in the west, then south must be facing..." I said aloud to myself. I looked to my left, pulled at the reigns a bit, and rode quietly in that direction.

It's been a few hours since I made my escape and aimed towards Tenshoo. I'm almost out of Loomant (I can tell by how many willow trees are left in the area, which are not many) by the time I found my self at a river. It's deep and wide; no way I'd be able to cross it in this light and not get stuck or washed away. I dismount my horse and tie his reigns to a nearby birch tree and set my sack against it. Taking off the clothes Sebastian had thrown on the sack, folding them neatly, and stuffing them inside was first priority; I didn't want to get them all muddied up. The horse nibbled at some mushrooms that had grown near the trees while I went over to the river and cup my hands in the fresh, running water. I took a few sips before I cupped my hands again and splashed water all over my face.
"That's better," I say, wiping the access water from my forehead. I stood up and slowly walked towards the birch tree, stretching and yawning as I went. I sat down against the tree, next to my sack, and dozed off to the sound of crickets chirping and owls hooting.

"Hey, lady. Wake up, we've got to get going," an unfamiliar voice, a male one at that, said rather abruptly. Something hard was being nudged against my shoulder.
"Hng.... What... What is it?" I said back, rubbing my eyes. I looked up, and as my vision got less blurry, I saw my horse standing extremely close to my face; too close for comfort. I stared at the horse in shock with widened eyes and a dropped jaw. "What- How?!"
The horse sat down and looked me dead straight in the eye. "Yeah, I can talk. What else did you think, that I'm not a horse, but instead some sort of shape shifter?"
"N-no, I didn't-"
"Listen, lady, I'm not some sort of monster."
"I never said that!"
"Then, what were you going to say? Hmm?"
"I'm just... Shocked. I didn't know horses could talk..."
"Well, they can't. There's a very few select horses out there who can."
"Uh... Okay.."
The horse got back up on his legs and looked down at me. "Untie those reigns, would ya?"
I nodded, and as quickly as I could, I untied the reigns from the tree. The horse went over to the river and took big gulps of water; I probably should've picked a tree closer to the river so this wouldn't have happened. Him being thirsty, of course.
This got me thinking. What if Sebastian knew that this specific horse could talk? Did he send me with this one on purpose? Maybe I should ask...
I walked over to the river bank and sat next to the horse. He sat down too.
"Hey, um..." I quietly said.
"What?" He asked harshly.
"I wanted to ask you some things.. I hope you don't mind."
"As long as they aren't too personal, go ahead."
"Well, for starters, what's your name? Sebastian never gave it to me before I left."
"It's Jean."
"Okay... Did Sebastian know you could talk? If so, did he purposely choose you for me to take?"
Jean nodded. "He asked for me to 'watch over you on your journey,' and as long as you survive whatever you plan to take on, I'll be doing just that."
"Huh..."
"That's enough questions for now. We've got to get going, the Guard Academy shouldn't be too far from here."
"Oh, um-- Okay then.."
We got up from the bank. I walked over to the birch tree and grabbed the sack, slung it over my back, and walked it back over to Jean. I then slung it over him, climbed up on him, and let him guide me through the treacherous waters and mysterious forest.