Challenging a Cold Heart

Chapter 11: Kin

Vincent's POV

I looked broodingly at the horses as I cleaned the stable. My back felt like it would break any moment now. I don't remember ever having to work so hard physically. In the morning, I cleaned Luc's garden and his guards showed me how to bath his lioness and lion cub. Those two were scary honestly because they growl and scratch when water is poured over them. I think it shaved ten years off my life as I scrubbed them down under Luc's guards' supervision. Afterwards, I was basically tending to gardens the whole day before being assigned to clean the stable and the horses.

My stomach started growling. In the morning I was only given a bun for breakfast. I had a water bottle with me but after so much work, I was really hungry. I felt like I would give anything to taste some fries or anything else other than bread. The thought made my mouth water. I knew it was a long walk back to Luc's place to ask for food. So I looked around to see if there was anyone in the stable apart from me. I was cleaning one side of the stable so that the horses could be moved there after I completed the cleaning. Seeing no one around, I decided to wander into the area where the horses were kept.

Some horses neighed at seeing me. Others were busy eating. They all looked huge, I thought as I stared at them.

"So..who among you is Thunderbolt?" I asked no one in particular, wondering where Luc's infamous horse was. This morning when I came to the stable I heard the commotion. Supposedly a feisty horse kicked some people who tried to touch him. I asked what happened and the stable boy explained that Luc's horse "Thunderbolt" hated being touched by anyone else other than Luc and a new stable boy tried to clean him. The only other person he tolerated was supposedly Hugo.

I looked at the horses hoping I would recognize Thunderbolt somehow. Of course none of the horses replied and sadly none responded to the name either. Most of them completely ignored me. I looked around for a black horse, imagining that to be Luc's. There were a few black horses and white horses. Most of them were different shades of brown, grey and mixed coloured ones. I gawked at the horses too scared to move closer to them even though I thought they were beautiful. In my home too, we had a stable. But since I got sick easily, my mum never allowed me to ride a horse or go near the stable. Andrew rode them pretty well and he and his friends used to compete in horse riding at our home. I would just look at them in awe from faraway because I was not allowed to touch horses or go close to them.

I was startled when someone walked inside the stable with a horse. I turned around to see it was Ulrich, the guy with long blonde hair that had braids in it.

He glanced at me when he saw me in the middle of the stable ogling the horses.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me, looking at me curiously.

"Cleaning." I said quickly trying to go back.

"Wait. You are the guy who wants to be Luc's wife." He said and I didn't try to correct him by saying that technically, I was Luc's wife.

I looked back at him reluctantly as he came in with a chestnut coloured horse that looked huge.

"Do you like horses?" He asked me conversationally.

"Maybe. I never rode them." I said warily.

"You were looking at them very longingly." He said with a chuckle. Is that so? I thought as I looked at him in surprise. Maybe I did long to ride on one of them.

"Ask Luc to take you on a ride on Thunderbolt." He said with a grin.

"Where's Thunderbolt?" I asked curiously. He pointed at the last stall where a beautiful dark brown horse was standing proudly. He had a white strip on his forehead. His mane and tail were black though.