The Caliginous Villainess

Chapter 15

"Get on my back," He said

"What?! Come again?" I asked in shock.

"Get on my back. Ride me there as your hunt. It will shake them up." He spat out.

"You aren't serious, are you?" I thought manticores were prideful creatures, but this guy...

"I am. Hurry or you'll be late." 

   I struggled to get on at first. He was tall and huge. Nidas realized that and motioned me towards a rock. Understanding, I climbed onto the rock and jumped up. His wings were gigantic as well. A plan morphed into my head.

"Nidas, what if we flew there?" 

"You are seriously such a schemer. Taking advantage of me, huh?" After he finished, I laughed. He was right. I was trying to get that 50000 gold coins by any means necessary.

"Alright then. Hold on tight!" He leaped into the sky. If I hadn't frozen up, I would have squealed. The forest looked animated from the sky. The river along the intermediate zone shone the moon brightly. A 'wow' escaped my mouth. 

   The whole landscape was shining. Even the stars in the sky were aligned. I spotted the huge bonfire in the middle of the forest and I pointed at it. Many of the nobles had gathered. I spotted Alvin chatting with the Crown Prince. Carlisa was glancing around nervously. I giggled at her reactions.

   Alvin stood next to 3 dead hermit bears with a white circle on their foreheads. He was acting cocky because of the hermit bears.

   These bears are fierce and prefer the comfortability of caves rather than hunting down in the wide open. Hunting a hermit bear is similar to putting a hand into a blazing fire. (Not literally but you get the idea)

   Nidas accelerated and landed down the ground in a soft landing. All eyes went to us. I saw a blonde figure that was surrounded by a lot of people. It must be the emperor. Alvin and Carlisa had their mouths hanging open. Many nobles gasped.

    I put my right hand on my collar and swished it. Carlisa understood and gave me a raised eyebrow followed by a certain finger. I saw her sigh and pat Alvin's shoulder with sympathy. I won the bet!

   A jury wearing a funny bow tie came at us and inspected. I slid down from Nidas and joined my group. 

"Am I late?" I asked, obliviously.

"No, you are freaking early! How did you get the manticore to fly in the air with you?" Carlisa asked at a rapid pace.

"Uh...I asked him?" I did ask so that should answer her question. *wink * I turned to look at Alvin and boast but he looked at me with a bemused expression.

"You win, I could never beat that! " Alvin told me. He was a sensible guy.

"Glad you know that! But, don't be disheartened. It's no fun if you give up this fast." I said to him with a cunning look in my eyes. I love a good competition and Alvin just supplied it. It can't end just yet.

"Who said I gave up? I want to duel with you. But, I'll accept defeat for now. Congratulations!" He said. Oh boy, I'm gonna love messing with him!

To future self:- Tease Alvin mercilessly at every chance you get!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the hunting contest this time encountered dangerous tides, and our empire, as always, won past them. Now, the most important part, the winner is...Lady Rose Eskater of the Eskater duchy.

As I predicted, I won! Winning never felt sweeter than this. I will be getting 50000 coins to add to my secret stash of escapade. I could probably buy a two-story house now. A distorted thought flashed my mind. When I leave here, I won't be able to contact this group, now, can I? 

   It would be better to cut ties with the imperial family as fast as possible and look what my stupid self go ahead and did. You got involved directly with them, Blair, you idiot!

   A running figure of a lady snapped me from my scolding to me. It was my mother. Ah, now I loved that word. 

"Rose, Rose, you won this year's hunting contest. Congratulations, I'm so proud of you!" Mum chanted a string of praises that my face turned a bright shade of red.

   A clap on my back made me turn around face to face with a grinning Robert and waving Richard.

The final horn that marks the end of the contest blared on time and Carlisa smacked her hands on her head. It made a loud sound. That must have hurt real good!
  
   Nidas and I looked at each other and I sent him a winning smile. I mouthed a thank you and waved. The crowd around dispersed. I went near him and thanked him again. He nodded his head in reply and turned sidewise. Aww, was he embarrassed?!

   I held up my arm and motioned it towards a secluded tree grove in the forest to let him know that he is free to go. He didn't understand at first but quickly regained my signal. He bowed to me and crept out.

  Alvin had secured second place and a count became third. The jury advised us to follow him to retrieve our prizes by the emperor himself.

   The duke accompanied me with permission to which I nodded. He gave a few compliments about my achievement. Even though he was described as a cold character, the one in front of me was far from it.

<<Alvin>>

   The hunting competition went on smoothly after we regained composure following the monster rampage. It was odd for monsters to attack us out of nowhere.

   Lady Rose was surprisingly impressive. I stole glimpses of her hunting and even battling with a monster during the rampage.

   The most embarrassing thing is losing a bet. The money wasn't the problem. Lady Rose's capture was.

   I have no idea how she tamed a manticore! She's amazing and somehow that questioned my skills and idiotically I requested a duel.

   By any means, I must win this. We were walking to meet dad and get our prizes. Count Vien followed suit promptly. He had a weird smile on his face that I was starting to suspect.

   He was a trusted envoy of the kingdom but his presence always irked me. It was as if he was hiding something.

   Lady Rose and Duke Eskater walked along with me. They had a cheery conversation. It surprised me as I always thought Lady Rose never had a good relationship with the duchy. What's more, she even became quick friends with Carlisa. Carlisa always used to stick to herself but now she looked relaxed.

   Come to think of it, I never asked if I could call Lady Rose with her given name. My stupid pride meddled in!

   We entered the huge tent of dad. He welcomed us with a smile.

"Greetings, your majesty!" We all bowed in respect.

"This year's hunt was quite eventful! Congratulations to you all! I'm especially curious about our Lady Rose. You may gather your prizes from the table over there." Dad said.

"You may all leave. May I ask a question from Lady Rose?" He asked with a small smile.

" Of course, your majesty" Lady Rose replied.

   Dad looked at me with an unusual expression. No way!

"You want me to go too?" I asked in a loud tone. Dad nodded and shooed me with his hand. Unbelievable!

   Just to spite him, I climbed a tree and moved across a sturdy branch to listen in to the conversation. I know it was rude but I was curious.

   Carlisa came and leaned in on the tree bark. Oh, great! If she sees me, I'm doomed! She seemed to be mumbling. I turned my ear towards her to hear more clearly.

   I couldn't make out her words clearly but I picked up on some words like 'sorry, execution, and Rose'

What was that supposed to mean? And why did she say Lady Rose's name?

Good day all,
-What do my dear eaders think about Chapter 15? Leave your thoughts in the comments like how I always ask you to. Thank you for reading! Enjoy!