Izrina tried to think about the events that had led to the present situation. It wasn't something grand like she had suddenly pissed the horse off or maybe was trying to escape with him.
Though the latter idea was there but she wouldn't leave without Cora and Spinola. Apparently, she wasn't doing something stupid to find herself in the king's presence again. Izrina knew better.
After leaving the stable with the horse, Izrina had broken down and cried her eyes out when she remembered her parents were gone forever and she was now a slave pretending to be a boy in another kingdom. Afterwards, she had laughed when she thought of the king being an idiot.
And she told all of that to the horse, who in his kind nature listened without judging. In Izrina's conclusion, the walk with the horse has been nothing but healing and sanative. Well, not until she progressed in her connection with this tamed beast. If she was going to escape with the horse, then some things needed to be done.
With that in mind, Izrina struggled to hop on the horse. If Izrina could see the future, she would have stopped when she couldn't get herself to climb the horse, but she took it as a challenge and went ahead.
Just when she sat comfortably on the horse, Izrina felt her legs strain. She tried to jump back down, but her movement caused the horse to panic and gallop.
And that was where it all began. Izrina screamed, yelled, cried, ordered, but the horse didn't seem to listen as it continued racing with speed.
And stopped only now.... where she stared at the king.
Neron snorted, "For someone who has killed someone, you don't look guilty at all. This isn't your first kill, is it?"
"Ki-" Izrina finally opened her mouth, her eyes widened with fear. She had killed a person. "I... I killed him?"
Neron touched his chest dramatically. "Was it me then?" he asked rhetorically. "Everyone saw you killing the man."
Izrina swallowed hard; her hands were shaking. She had killed someone out of her carelessness.
Cora noticed the princess trembling. The girl who would never even hurt a fly was being told she killed someone. Of course, her reaction was understandable. But the coincidence was perfect. Cora thought. He had been thinking of ways to silence the man, and here was the princess with a horse and an unintended murderous instinct.
"I didn't mean to kill him." Izrina forgot about her voice being feminine. She was a breath away from crying.
Neron nodded as if understanding. "Of course you didn't mean to....no killer plans their first hunt. You have to start somewhere... and while you were riding? Ray, you're a natural."
Cora gritted his jaw. The King wasn't making it easier. The poor princess looked scared for her life, and this erratic king made it worse.
"I didn't mean to-" Izrina tried to take a step forward, but she felt a sharp pain between her thighs that made her wince. She stopped moving, trying to understand the pain.
The movement didn't escape Neron's notice. He sized the stable boy and nodded. "Only if death were that easy," he remarked with a tired sigh.
Izrina's eyelashes fluttered, touching her red cheeks. She stared at the king.
Lord Edward still breathes, but he might be bedridden forever."
Even Cora doubted until he noticed the official trying to open his mouth and eyes but remaining still on the ground. The guard glanced at the king. He acted mad but was still very keen on his surrounding. Nothing ever seemed to get past him.
Izrina wiped her eyes. "He- he is alive?"
"Barely." Neron replied with a hum. "The poor man would wish he were dead," he replied with a soft exhale. Noticing the tears that would spill soon. Neron snapped his fingers.
"You three take the man inside; he will need all the care he can get," Neron ordered the guards. He walked towards his horse.
Izrina instinctively followed him, trying to wipe the tears that now slipped down from her eyes. She didn't know if she was grateful or scared, but she was glad that man wasn't dead. But being paralyzed wasn't great either.
"And you too," Neron said without turning. "You can leave; I will need some time with my dear Zeke." Neron touched his horse, caressing it gently.
"Poor Zeke must have been shocked when he saw a body without blood." Neron turned just in time to see the reaction he wanted.
"Leave."
Izrina didn't let it be told twice. She wanted to leave too. Go somewhere she can be alone and think about what had just happened. It was still morning, but it felt as though the day was about to end for her.
All Izrina wanted at the moment was to hide and think. She moved her feet. Though she still felt the sharp pain but she struggled to walk away from there.
Cora released the breath he held when he saw the princess walking away. Though he could see the worried look in her eyes, but she was safe. He will finish up quickly so he can stay beside her and comfort her. The King had not suspected, and so she was safe. He joined the other guards in lifting the man.
The official tried to say something, but he only made groaning sounds that rumbled from his throat. Cora nodded; there wasn't any reason to kill the man anymore. He was fine just like this.
"That stable boy," one guard began, "he looks beautiful for a boy," he commented.
The other guard chuckled, "I thought your attraction to boys had faded... but you're right. If I didn't know better, I would think she's a girl disguised as a boy."
"Heh." The other guard scoffed, "I should visit him tonight... did you see his mouth? I have places I can put them."
Cora dropped the official's body on the guard, then gasped. "Oh... he slipped," he said dryly. "I will go first and get a room ready." He walked away, leaving the other two guards to struggle with Lord Edward's body.
"He is a strange one." The guard hissed as they dragged the man out of the place.
Neron rubbed his chin after everyone had left the place. He rested on his horse. "What do we do now, Zeke? Seems our new friend only knows how to attract trouble."