Street Mouse [Yandere Archduke x Female Reader]

44. Autumn Ride.

The rest of the summer flew by without any further incidents. Before anyone seemed to realize it, the green had gone from the trees and been replaced by a hundred different fiery shades of yellow, orange, and red.

The songbirds had once again departed from the mountains with the promise of returning again with the fresh thaw of spring.

It was on a lovely day in autumn that four of the residents of Castle de Crivell decided to go for a ride together in the mountains. Wanting to make the most of what may be the last temperate day before winter, Frosino had called off the lessons for the day.

The Archduke was currently waiting for the arrival of Y/N and Abela with Ilidoro while the stable hands prepared their horses in the courtyard. After what felt like an eternity to the two men, the sound of dainty boots could be heard on the stairs.

They turned around to see the two girls entering the entrance hall in complementing riding dresses of violet, and emerald. Ilidoro offered his hand to Abela while Frosino took Y/N by the hand as she did her best not to blush.

The two pairs walked together through the large front doors, and down the steps of the castle, into the courtyard where four jet black horses stood waiting for them. The two gents helped the ladies onto their horses before mounting their own.

The only path that would be wide enough to accommodate the four riders side by side was the main road, so that was where they decided to ride. Much to Abela's disappointment, it was decided that they would ride slower to enjoy the fall scenery instead of racing.

"I don't get what's so pretty about multicolored leaves," Abela pouted sightly. "They look the same every year."

"Not everything has to be expensive to be beautiful," Ilidoro replied. "Just like not everything needs to be a  competition to be fun."

"Please, you're just saying that because you are too big of a coward to let yourself be beaten by a woman," Abela teased, sticking her tongue out at Ilidoro.

Ilidoro sighed and gripped the bridge of his nose, "you are such a child sometimes. Put that back in your mouth, it is very unladylike."

Abela stopped sticking her tongue out and said, "we at least I am closer to being a child than you, considering that you are just as immature as me."

"I never knew just how bothersome flamboyancy could be until I met you, Abela," Ilidoro sighed. Turning his attention to the other two riders he asked, "wait, I'm not as irritating as Abela am I?!"

"Yes, you are," Frosino and Y/N answered in unison. "Ouchie!" Ilidoro cried dramatically. "My poor self-esteem has been crushed, Abela, make me feel better."

"Stop touching me," Abela said, doing her best to push him away. "Your insecurity is contagious."

Frosino made eye contact with Y/N and subtly rolled his eyes at the other pair's shenanigans, causing Y/N to giggle. It was obvious to both of them that Ilidoro and Abela fancied each other, but we about as skilled as schoolchildren at showing it.

Pretty soon, the little quarrel Abela and Ilidoro had was over and they were all laughing together again. Before leaving, Y/N had been worried that her feelings for Frosino would make the outing unbearably awkward, but it turned out that even Y/N could be more subtle than her blonde friend.

Suddenly, there came an almighty rumbling, and a few moments later, several boulders came careening down the mountain and landed on the mountain road. Luckily, the falling rocks landed a good distance from the group of riders, but the echoing sound of the rocks falling spooked the horses.

Y/N, along with Frosino and Ilidoro were able to get a handle on their steeds and calm them, but Abela's took off at full tilt down the mountain road. Even though she was a skilled rider, she was having difficulty staying on.

Abela's presence on the horse's back seemed to upset her even more as she started to buck to try and get Abela off. The blonde girl was unseated from her saddle and tumbled to the ground.

Before Y/N or Frosino could respond, Ilidoro had already spurred his horse forward to the place where Abela had fallen. "Abela, are you alright!?" He exclaimed, not a hint of mirth in his voice.

"I think s-so," she replied feebly as Y/N and Frosino came riding up into earshot. She tried to stand, but one of her legs buckled under her, and she would have fallen had Ilidoro not reached out and caught her. "Well, maybe not my ankle, but everything else is alright."

"Either way, I am taking you back to the castle with me," Ilidoro replied seriously, scooping Abela into his arms. "My mind won't be at ease until I know that it's nothing major."

"Sorry for needing to cut the ride short," the brunette said, as he remounted his horse, holding Abela bridal style.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Frosino replied. "Me and Y/N will return as soon as we find where the horse ran off to."

"This is just like a scene from a romance novel," Abela commented dramatically. "An innocent defenseless maiden injured in a fall, and saved by a handsome prince charming."

"It is," Ilidoro agreed with a deep laugh. "Only instead of prince charming, you got the illegitimate son of a king, without so much as a penny to his name."

"I don't think I would like you nearly as well if you were some stuck up Prince," Abela commented as they began to ride back up the trail.

Y/N watched them go. After they disappeared from sight she turned to Frosino and asked, "I don't get it, one moment they act like they hate each other, and the next they are being super lovey and romantic with each other. How do they really feel?"

Frosino chuckled and shook his head as he replied, "don't let their antics full you, they are in love, they just show it in different ways. I remember how my parents used to go from bickering to being found of each other in a matter of minutes. It is just how they love."

"How they love?" Y/N repeated. "You mean that there are different ways that people feel love for each other?"

"Yes," Frosino replied. "There are many different types of love, one day you will learn just what I mean by that. I would say that there are as many different kinds of love in this world as there are people living in this world."

A/N

I honestly don't have much to say about this chapter. I thought Abela and Ilidoro we really cute though.

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~