The next day, the sun rose high in the sky; the bright light fell on the lands of Devon including the old castle that stood tall. As planned the previous day, everyone got ready to hunt in the forest, a recreational activity where the vampires often took part in. Before Madeline had even woken up, clothes had been arranged for her to wear for the day, which would make it easier for hunting. Having been used to long dresses and skirts with layers, she now stood wearing a pant-like skirt which was frilly enough to make it look like a skirt, but there were fewer layers.
The maids helped her in getting ready. Tying her golden blonde hair with small braids at the side which was later tied together to form a bigger braid which now rested on her shoulder.
Madeline stepped out of the room and towards the outside where most of them were standing next to the horses. As she walked down the stairs, Sophie whispered,
“What is she wearing?!” asked the young vampiress to her mother as it didn’t look like regular clothes she normally wore.
Calhoun, who overheard the little whisper, answered, “Those, my dear, are hunting clothes. The last time when my personalized tailor arrived, I asked him to stitch a prototype that a woman could wear during hunting and also other activities.”
“How thoughtful of you, brother Calhoun,” Sophie praised with a smile before it was replaced with a glare towards Madeline. Lady Rosamund noticed her daughter’s eyes, and she nudged her daughter by widening her eyes as a warning to not say anything more. Sophie was miffed with the attention that the human was receiving, but this was not the time to sulk, thought Lady Rosamund to herself.
When the matter concerned the throne, nobody stopped working their ways on trying to get hold of it. Not even when the throne was taken by someone. The pursuit of getting the throne never stopped. Even when her son, Markus, was not crowned to be the King, Rosamund had not given up hope on the chance of taking the rule of this kingdom. She had made sure to raise her daughter to be a suitable queen, keeping her in the castle enough for the servants and ministers to suggest, for the King to take as a wife.
“You look lovely today, Lady Madeline,” Lady Rosamund praised the human who stepped down the stairs. The girl offered a bow and a smile which the older vampiress returned.
“She looks like a doll!” Lady Lucy, who stood next to them, went to meet Madeline, “I must say, the King has a good eye.”
Madeline’s cheeks turned pink by the compliments she received. She didn’t know if it was the hairstyle or the dress that she wore that was garnering her with compliments this early in the morning.
Her eyes met Calhoun’s, who had a proud smile on his lips. When Madeline was on her way here, she had been worried about the thought that Calhoun might be upset over the question she had asked. It wasn’t Madeline’s intention, and she had asked it out of curiosity but to see him smile now, she felt somewhat relieved now.
Calhoun mounted on his stallion. As others started to mount on the horses they were riding today, Samuel who looked at the number of horses, said,
“It seems like we are short of one horse,” and the vampire’s eyes fell on Theodore who had come to join them unexpectedly as he was not invited before.
“Madeline will be riding with me,” replied Calhoun looking at her. He offered Madeline his hand. Madeline didn’t hesitate in placing her hand in his to have him pull and help her sit in front of him.
Lucy smiled, looking at the couple, her eyes when met Theodore’s who was looking at her, the smile on her face faltered. When he went to bow, Lucy turned her head to look away from him.
“Comfortable?” Calhoun asked Madeline, who gave him a nod. Madeline noticed that they were the only one’s who was riding together while the rest had their own horses. She saw Calhoun pick up the reins of his stallion with both his hands on either side of her and moved his leg to have the horse start to move.
She was surrounded by the sound of hooves on the ground as the horses started to move, “Hold tight,” and Madeline held on tightly as she could when the horse began to gallop through the path from the castle to the gates before they reached the forest.
Calhoun’s stallion moved faster than others which gave them some time alone where the others were still far behind them. The air rushed through Madeline’s face, with her hair tied, there was nothing to block or hinder her view. Every time she made her way through the forest, it reminded her of the time when she had tried to escape. The failed attempt, said Madeline in her mind.
The horse continued to gallop, and Madeline enjoyed it even though she was worried about falling off the horse. The only assurance was Calhoun’s hands on either side of her, which she believed would keep her safe from falling. He finally pulled the reins of the horse to slow down.
“This feels nice, isn’t it,” murmured Calhoun who placed his chin on her shoulder, “Do you want to try holding the reins?” he asked.
“He’s your horse,” replied Madeline and Calhoun smiled.
“What’s mine is yours.”
When she had met Calhoun’s stallion for the first time, she had seen how he adored it. People were often possessive of things, and she was aware of how people like Calhoun didn’t like to share. She wondered if it was a form of trust that Calhoun was offering her to ride his horse, not to forget he was willing for her to take charge. Madeline came to notice how Calhoun had different shades to him.
There were some bad, but then there were some good too. But the scale of bad was m-
“Ouch!” Madeline winced when Calhoun bit the side of her ear.
