Ethereal [h.s]

Chapter Twenty-One

"Alright, we're all set." Mabel states as she steps into the room for the second time this morning. I'd arranged to have flowers sent to Marielle's room as a thank you for enduring what she did. Mabel had been kind enough to ensure that the flowers arrived safely along with my thank you note.

Now that that's done, however, we're ready to leave.

"Okay, perfect. Thank you." I say, picking my bag up from the ground and swinging it over my shoulder.

"Yep." She responds shortly, stepping out into the hallway. We're still on confusing terms after our fight, if you can even call it that. She's been giving me the cold shoulder. I follow, shutting the door behind us. We walk towards the nearest exit, out the door, and through the grass, nearing the stables.

A new member of the stable staff meets us at the front, leading two horses along with him.

"Do you guys know how to ride?" He asks, glancing between the two of us.

"Yes." We say in unison. He chuckles, holding out the reigns to each of us.

"Be safe, then. We'll see you soon." He smiles.

"Thank you so much." I say, taking the reigns. He nods as we mount the horses and head down the dirt path, starting to put distance between us and the palace. We turn onto the dirt road, heading towards the forest.

The beginning of our ride is in silence. We don't say anything, and nothing but the thunk of the horses' hooves can be heard tapping dully against the ground.

"Listen, I-" We both pause after we break the silence, realizing we're speaking in at the same time. We chuckle a bit before I speak.

"You first." I urge, motioning for her to continue as we trudge through the forest.

"I went too far the other day. I shouldn't have invaded your privacy like I did." She says stiffly. It's awkward, but the way she's forcing herself to speak about it lets me know that it's genuine. She's putting aside her comfort to speak on it, and that means a lot to me.

"It's okay, I was a bitch about it." I reply. "I could've handled it much better."

"It's not okay, though. You had every right to be a bitch." She says. "And that means a lot coming from me. You know I don't put up with your bullshit." She adds, smiling ever so slightly. I laugh lightly.

"I forgive you, it's already forgotten." I say, letting go of the reigns with one of my hands to wave passively before returning my grip to its original position.

"Seriously, you can fuck whoever you want. I encourage that, even. Blow off some steam. But the second you sleep with Harry, you're dead." She says. "Seriously, you know how bad that could ruin everything. The damage that compromisation would do is-"

"I know, Mabel." I assure her. "Trust me, that's not gonna happen. Why does everyone think that's gonna happen?" I ask exasperatedly.

"Because you could cut the tension between the two of you with a knife." She replies.

"It's not sexual tension." I reply defensively, scrunching my nose up in distaste. "It's just... we really don't like each other." I state.

"Mhm." She agrees sarcastically. "Is that why his clothes were in your room?"

"You don't even know that those with his." I retort.

"I do by the way you reacted." She says with a laugh.

"He let me borrow them because I ruined my nightgown." I say. It's not a lie, but it's certainly not the whole truth. She has enough on her plate, I don't want to drag her into everything.