Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 13

Anna's dress ^^

Chapter 13 (Edited)

The next day, Lola woke me up and gave me another dress from Elisa for the day, which I was very thankful for. After Lola doing my make-up and my hair, I went to the eating room for breakfast.

I found Michelle sitting at the end of the middle table and she smiled and patted the seat next to her when she saw me. I went over to her and sat down. "Good morning!", I greeted her.

"Good morning Anna!"

I helped myself with the food and asked. "So, what are you doing this morning?"

"I'm going to my dancing lessons and then to my singing lessons."

"Oh, that's great! Then we could try to play and sing together sometime."

"That's a good idea! And I should bring you to my dancing lesson, so you can be prepared for balls!"

I chuckled. "You're right. But not today, though. My maid Lola is going to give me a tour of the palace this morning."

"Oh well, you'll see a lot, then. It seems complicated at first, but I'm sure you'll get used to it."

"Yes, I hope so," I smiled at her.

We talked during the rest of breakfast and when I finished, I walked back to my room. Lola was cleaning the room while waiting for me, and when I walked in, she said, "Shall we?"

I smiled, "We shall. I'm excited to see the entire palace."

She chuckled and opened the door for me.

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"And these are our stables," Lola said, finishing the tour.

"Great! Can I take a look at the horses?"

"Of course. But be careful, some of them are dangerous."

"I'll be careful. Don't worry," I smiled.

The large wooden and metal door of the stables was closed, so with great effort, I pulled it open. I stepped inside and smiled at the sight. On either side of me were at least twenty horseboxes, some horses peaking their head slightly out of them. They all turned their head a bit towards me when I entered.

I smiled at them happily, even if they couldn't comprehend me. I had always loved horses. Their eyes were always full of expression and their ears cutely showed their emotions.

I went up to the first box on my left. The horse's hair coat was white as the snow, with dark eyes and a rosy nose. I looked at the sign near on the box and saw that her name was Belle.

I stroked her neck and whispered some sweet words to her. She looked at me with her kind eyes and her ears towards me. I think I'm in love with this horse, I thought. I would love to go for a ride with her sometime.

I moved to the next horse, stroked him too, and then to the next horse. I made the tour of the stable, stroking each horse. Some were interested and some were bored, but my favorite was still Belle.

I made it to the last horse who was dark brown with a white fleck on the forehead. He looked at me warily and didn't come closer to me. I read his name on the sign and called him gently, "Apollo?"

He looked towards me, flicking his ears. "Come here sweetie," I reached my hand and he took a step to sniff it. I retracted my hand a bit and he came closer. "Good boy," I praised him. I stroked his cheek lightly and he still eyed me a bit warily. I smiled and continued stroking and patting his neck. Slowly but surely, he relaxed and shifted his ears towards me, a sign of calmness for horses. He then lifted his head and gave me a big lick on my entire face.

I stood there shocked for a minute with my still wet face. I let out an incredulous laugh and then sighed, trying to wipe my face with my sleeves.

I then heard a chuckle behind me and spun around. I saw Thomas biting his lip to keep himself from laughing and Fabian chuckling at me. When they saw my face, he doubled over with laughter and Thomas began laughing too.

I made a face and put my hands on my hips. "You find it funny?"

"Very amusing," Thomas said.

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "I don't," I muttered, but a smile soon tugged at my lips.

Fabian looked around and handed me a not-so-clean towel. I sighed as I looked at it but decided to make the best of it, and cleaned my face as best as I can.

"I'm surprised he lets you approach him, though," Thomas said when he finished laughing. "I've never seen him licking someone's face. He's still a bit wary and he can get aggressive."

"Well, he was wary at first, but then he relaxed when I stroked his neck," I replied, smiling lightly. "And then he licked me," I mumbled.

They both lifted their eyebrows and looked at each other. "I thought you gave him something to eat, so he would come closer," Fabian said.

"He must really like you then," Thomas added.

"That's a shame considering he's your horse, Thomas," Fabian said, looking at him and grinning.

"Well, I'm the only one he tolerates enough to ridden with," he answered.

Fabian scoffed. "I'm sure he would let Anna ride him too."

"I would love to try sometime," I said smiling at Apollo and stroking his neck again.

He turned his head towards me, blinked slowly and suddenly licked my whole face again.

Thomas and Fabian burst out laughing behind me again. I groaned, but couldn't help but laugh with them.

When we finished laughing, I cleaned my face again. "But my favorite is still Belle over here," I said pointing at her box.

"Oh, yes. We got her only two days ago, so she doesn't have a rider yet," Fabian said, as we walked over to her.

I gasped and opened my eyes wide with a big smile. "Can I be her rider then?", I asked hopefully.

They looked at each other. "Well, if she lets you ride her and you take care of her, then yes. You must pay her stay and her food, though, although I'm sure it can be discussed with the queen," Thomas finally answered.

I grinned. "Thank you!" I turned back towards Belle and hugged her neck. "I'll take good care of you."

Thomas looked at his watch. "Let's go," he said, "Lunch will be served soon."

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Hi friends,

So that was chapter 13! What do you think of Belle and Apollo?

Don't hesitate to vote, comment and share!! ♡

Love,

Floriane