Pampered by the Villainous Tyrant King

Chapter 39

A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!

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Annabeth gritted her teeth and held on tightly to the reins. "Whoa, whoa! Guido, whoa!"

Guido, who had been so gentle and obedient in every ride Annabeth had been on, didn't seem to register the command to stop.

"Come on, Guido! Whoa!"

There was something wrong with Guido, Annabeth felt. Though it was logical that a horse could be startled by the snake, it didn't mean that Guido would continue to act in such an untamed way especially when the danger was so far away now and she had killed the snake by throwing her knife at it.

Guido tossed its head, and flecks of white foam flew from its mouth. Annabeth didn't risk pulling one hand away from the reins to wipe away the foam that landed on her face. She only had a few seconds to observe that Guido's normally calm eyes were yellow in the whites and the pupils were dilated. This wasn't normal.

There were people up ahead in the path of Guido's frenzied charge. If any of them were in his path, they would be crushed under his hooves. Annabeth gritted her teeth and tugged hard at his reins, trying to change direction if she couldn't at least stop the horse. The horse balked and turned at the last few seconds, allowing the people nearby to avoid the crash.

"Come on, Guido! Snap out of it!"

The horse reared on its hind legs again, swinging Annabeth around and around. She tried her best to either halt the horse or to avoid hurting others.

"Ah!"

She felt her hands loosen from the reins. Her hands made a desperate grab for the reins, or anything really. This was it, Annabeth thought grimly as gravity and trajectory from the horse's throw took over.

Before Annabeth thought the ground would connect with her head, a whoosh of wind blew onto her back and lifted her up. Annabeth barely registered three words, "what the fuck," when her arm was grabbed.

The king had caught up to Guido on Blackjack and snatched Annabeth mid-fall and onto his horse. Annabeth found herself firmly held on around the waist.

Guido didn't seem to notice that his rider had disappeared off his back. Still holding on to Annabeth, the king made sure that she was uninjured.

"Percy, there's something wrong with Guido!" Annabeth pleaded. "He's foaming at his mouth and his eyes don't look right!"

The king grimaced. "Got it. Stay safe and away from the horses."

The crown prince of Tynan had also caught up on his horse. In a feat that surprised Annabeth who was unused to such sights, Prince Jason galloped alongside Guido and flipped from his own horse onto Guido. With a firm tug on the reins, Prince Jason brought Guido to a screeching halt, balancing on the saddle as the horse tossed its mane and reared up.

By this time, knights had also caught up with wooden rods in their hands. They put the rods to their mouth and blew several darts into the horse's body. Now slowed, Guido stumbled before tumbling onto the ground. Prince Jason dismounted swiftly and safely.

"Your Majesties!" A steward ran up. "Is everything all right? Do we need to call a physician?"

"I'm fine," Annabeth said.

She was just a little startled with her heart pounding in her chest. Other than her legs feeling like jelly, she was unharmed. The king carefully looked over her, finding some grass stains and mud flecks from the horse's escapade.