Forest of Fireflies

Chapter 20

(Daniella's POV)

The morning air was a little chilly but the blue skies told me that it would soon warm up to a nice spring day. For our ride to the summer palace, I decided to wear a red and black outfit that matched my mother's. Before leaving, grandfather told me that I looked like mother when she was a teenager. Instead of wearing my hair in a plait however, I left my hair flowing freely down my back. 

The guards bowed to my mother and I as we passed them on our way to retrieve our horses. The stableboy brought them to us when we got down to the stables. Hwin nuzzled my hand and I gave her a quick stroke on her head. When Rochinante gave birth to her first foal several years ago, mother decided to name her Hwin after Rochinante's own mother. Apparently, Cora had ripped out the original Hwin's heart because she had thrown my mother off. In fact, the scar on my mother's lips was caused by this accident. It wasn't entirely Hwin's fault though...she just lost sight of young Rochinante when she was just a foal. This caused Hwin to panick and jerk, making my mother fall off horseback. 

My Hwin has a pelt like Rochinante except she is darker in shade. It must have been because of her father for nearly all of the horses in our stables are pitch black. 

Instead of taking Rochinante, mother decided to ride Equinox, her black mare. Yesterday, I realised that I would stick out of the procession like a sore thumb if I rode a brown coated horse but mother insisted that I ride Hwin. She said that since I haven't been riding for a long period of time, its a better idea to ride with Hwin as I was most comfortable with her. 

As I climbed up onto Hwin, I asked my mother, "How long should it take to reach the summer palace?"

"By nightfall if we take our time."

"And if we don't take our time?"

"Then we'll get there faster." After saying this, my mother got onto Equinox's back and straightened out her blood red riding coat, draping it over the dark glistening back of her horse. 

Then, mother rode off towards the line of guards who were waiting by the carriage. I followed her lead as she took her place at the front of the procession. 

.....................

We've been riding for several hours now and my back started to get sore. However, we were approaching a village so we'll only get some rest after we have passed the peasants. The journey so far had mainly been composed of silence as the forest remained eerily quiet. Apart from the quiet twitter of birds and rustling of leaves, the only sound present was the clop of horse hooves and the soft crunch of the road under the carriage's wheels. 

I looked beside me to speak to my mother but I was disrupted when the guard who rode in front of us turned around and said, "Your Majesty, I believe we're approaching a village right now. Would you like me to announce your arrival?"

Mother cleared her throat and answered with a grin. "Yes."

Then, the guard gave an indication with his head towards the pair of knights who rode in front of him. They nodded back and tugged at their horses, moving ahead. After a minute or so, I heard one of the knights' voice resonate through the forest. "Clear the road. Bow your head before the Queen and the Princess."

I held my breath as we approached the village. It was the first time that I came amongst people of my village in almost three months. I wonder if I'll see Teagan or any of the orphans. What will they think of me? Will they recognise me?

Despite the breezy air, my hands suddenly became clammy as I caught a glimpse of the first peasant. When we came closer, I realised that all the villagers were lined up along the sides of the road. As we rode past, I briefly glanced at my mother. I don't think I could ever forget her expression. From my angle, she possessed the perfect facade of royalty, regal, poised and beautiful; unlike me. I sighed and turned away, trying to subtly focus on the peasant's faces instead. I wanted to see if I could spot Teagan but it soon became difficult as the peasants started bowing before we even reached them.