Crown Of Thorns

Chapter 3

The frozen ground crunched beneath the horses hooves. The night before was the first of winter, and Mother Nature let the Eastern Kingdom know it. It snowed like it hasn't in years, and the town was blanketed in white, freshly fallen snow.

Now, the snow is only lightly falling, but it is cold enough to cause layers; lots of them. The slate gray horse sprints through the once cobbled paths of the city, with every step causing snow to fly up. The horse itself was covered in scarlet silk, its hair done in an intricate pattern. There is gold lining the silk, catching the sun every now and then. This horse was a royal horse.

The rider was wearing all black, contradicting with their white hair. They wore black leather, a robe for heat.

The horse burst into the forest, and was having trouble going fast with all the trees. But the rider expertly avoided every tree, until finally, they found a break in the trees.

The path to the Western Kingdom.

They rode until nightfall, only stopping for a drink every now and then. When night fell, they stopped and set up a small camp. The rider started a small fire, gradually growing with every new stick placed on top.

The crickets would usually be out, but who knows what happened to them last night, what with all of the unexpected snow. The stars were exceedingly bright, lighting up the night sky.

I wonder if you can see the same stars I can.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

"What do you mean she's gone?!" The King roared from his seat on his throne.

The servant looked up from where she bowed on the floor.

"She left last night sire, she said she was going to meet them halfway." The blonde explained.

The King seemed even more frustrated, and only started yelling curses at the servant.

"Dear, she didn't make her leave, stop yelling." The royal voice of the Queen struck through the air.

The King turned to look at his wife, and calmed down a bit.

"Alright, but she better be back before I have to talk to the Northern Kingdom. I don't want to deal with those fools alone." The King responded.

"Yes, sire." The blonde replied, then stood up and darted out of the throne room.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

"What am I doing here, girl?" The white haired female says to her horse.

The horse only responds with a big exhale.

The woman laughs at this, and leans her head back against the tree she was currently sitting by. The fire had gone out a long time ago, and with the sticks being damp, she was unable to start another one.

So now she currently sat alone in the dark, looking up at the stars, listening to her horses small breaths.

They had gotten far, farther than she expected. They were already in the Western Kingdom, which would normally take about 3 days to reach.

"You did good girl, I don't even know how we got so far." She says, giving the gray animal a stroke.

"That is, unless I used magic. Which could have happened, especially since I don't ever remember seeing the barrier. Huh, must have teleported with it. Interesting."

The horse neighs, a small indication of telling her master to be quiet.

"Alright alright, I get it...-" She stops mid sentence, as she hears voices off in the distance.

She quickly stands up, and forgets about the low hanging branch above her, cracking her head against it.

"Damn."

She stumbles toward the voices, her hands out, acting as barriers between her and any upcoming obstacles.

The voices become clearer, and with her enhanced hearing, she is able to make out what they are saying.

"...Two kingdoms when I was younger. My childhood friend Rei told me, although I never asked how he knew..."

A female, a strong one it seems.

She gets closer to the source, and is able to see who is talking.

"What else?"

Emilia stops, frozen in place.

I know that voice. It's been a while since I've heard it, but I know who she is, who she is to me.

She gets closer, and who she sees makes her heart ache.

Allora.

She is looking so intently at Allora, that she doesn't even pay attention to who is speaking, what words are being said.

Allora seems to be on edge, and draws her blade quickly. She looks around and throws it into the trees.

It goes just right of Emilia, and she sinks even farther into the brush.

A male voice cuts through the woods, "Are you trying to cut my arm off?"

Emilia stiffens, she remembers who these two people are, who they are to Allora. She begins to back away, she doesn't want to do anything she will regret. But she's already released a very un-Queenly growl.

Luckily, Allora and Leona don't seem to notice, but she isn't so sure that the male didn't hear it.

Panicked, Emilia turns and sprints, she runs until she hits the familiar flat ground that is her camp site, and she smells the sent of her horse.

She is still trying to catch her breath, but she manages to rasp out five words.

"I'm going to kill him!"