Not Princess Material

Chapter 5

"He's yours."

Skylette looked skeptically from her father to Lightning. "This isn't some sort of joke, is it?"

"Just take him and go for a ride. Stop trying to look for a trap. I've work to do, I'll see you later." He bent and kissed her cheek before leaving her standing before the stall staring at the horse peering back at her.

It was bittersweet, his giving her Lightning as a gift. She loved the stallion, but without Codey here it seemed empty. Two years and she still had no idea what had happened to him. It was as if he'd simply vanished from the castle grounds. Reaching out, she stroked the horse's nose.

"Hey boy, do you miss him too?" Of course, there was no answer, but Lightning seemed to enjoy her petting. She leaned forward, pressed her forehead to his nose, and remained there. He didn't seem to mind the snuggling, either.

"Communing with the horse are you, Sky?"

She lifted her head away from Lightning and smiled at her brother. "Shhh, I'm reading his mind!"

Darrien rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you say the strangest things."

Tremma giggled. "Oh stop, she's quite funny. Do you want to ride with us?"

Skylette smiled broadly, when she'd turned sixteen her father had finally allowed her to begin riding alone. Well not precisely alone, she still had to take guards with her. She assumed his sudden agreement to allow her to ride had to do with Codey's mysterious absence. Still it made her happy. She wasn't going to turn down any invitation to ride!

"Yes, please! Give me a moment to get Lightning ready!" She called to one of the stable boys and asked him to saddle the horse.

Before long they were heading out of the castle gates and down the road, Darrien took a turn and cut across a field. Skylette knew he was taking them on a path that would skirt the woods. He was showing Tremma some of the countryside. It would be a pretty ride showing off a lot of the forest and fields of wildflowers along the way.

Skylette wasn't interested in the view, it was one she'd seen most of her life. She wanted to ride. No, she wanted to run free. A grin spread across her face as she sent a sidelong glance at her brother and Tremma who were deep in conversation about flowers. Ug, she hoped she never became like them.

"Come on let's really ride!" She tapped Lightning's side and he jumped forward. Codey had trained him to respond easily to commands. She tossed her head and laughed before she bent low over the horse's back. She felt free with the wind whipping her hair about her.

The pounding of hooves over the ground matched the pounding of her heart. A beat that told her she wasn't a princess just now she was simply a girl. No responsibilities, no one telling her what to do and when to do it. She laughed again.

Behind her, she heard Darrien screaming her name, probably yelling at her to slow down and come back. More laughter erupted from her from somewhere deep in her chest. Freedom.

Tremma screamed shrilly and Skylette pulled back hard on the reins, turning to look back over her shoulder.

The other girl was pulling her mount to a skidding halt and scrambling from her seat. She fell to her knees, uncaring about the state of her gown as she threw herself forward to the ground.

Skylette stared in confusion for a moment before she realized that Darrien's horse was standing several feet away, moving skittishly about and Darrien wasn't in the saddle. Turning Lightning around she trotted quickly back to where Tremma sat weeping on the ground. As she neared the spot, she slowed her mount. Darrien was lying on the ground, unmoving. She stopped and slid to the ground, running to his side.