The Horse in the Prince's Stables

Chp. 25

                                                                                          =25=

=Kaelyn=

          The quickly darkening sky reflected my mood.

          I should've known. No, I did know. But I decided to ignore it, hoping that maybe my prince might actually want me instead. Now I had the pleasure of being force fed a bitter spoonful of reality.

          When would I get my head out of the clouds? Is my mind really so thick and brainwashed that I can't simply take in the truth? 

          fool...

          Her skinny little arms were draped over his neck... and her perfect body was pressing close to the prince... I could handle that. Maybe if that was all that was happening, it wouldn't hurt so bad. But his hands were touching her. He wasn't pulling away. Then again, why should he? That's his future wife after all.

          Jealous fool...

          Feeling numb all over again, I followed Gabriella into the stables. A familiar warm glow lit the space from multiple lamps nailed to stalls. A long row of stalls extended before me, most of them were occupied with other horses. I was sad to see that my own stall had a new resident, some random chestnut colored horse quietly munched on hay, completely ignoring my glare.

          "Matilda!" Gabriella called out sharply. "Come out here. I brought somebody to see you."

          I perked up my ears at the sound of a chair scuffing the ground as it was pushed back. Back in the corner, a small room was set up for the stable hands or other servants who wanted to sit there for an idle game of cards and friendly chatter. It wasn't exactly anything impressive, but I knew Matilda liked to spend time in there.

          A small figure of a woman peeked around the doorway. My heart leaped as I recognized her frizzy graying hair. With her face hidden in shadow, I couldn't see her expression, though her body language suggested disbelief. Her shoulders stiffened quite noticeably. 

          I noticed Gabriella do some sort of weird hand gesture out of the corner of my eye. I didn't really see what she did, nor did I care at the moment. At this moment I felt wanted and loved. 

          "Kaelyn?" A shaky voice penetrated the stillness. My voice caught in my throat. "Kaelyn?" She repeated. "Is that you?"

          Gabriella sighed, and pushed against my uninjured shoulder with enough force to cause me to walk forward a few steps. "Yes Matilda, it's Kaelyn. I brought her back, and now you can have your little reunion. I'll leave you two alone," her footsteps began to fade, but she paused at the stable entrance. "By the way, don't let the prince in. He knows, but she needs time to recover." With that said, Gabriella left. 

          The very second all traces of Gabriella's presence vanished, Matilda rushed forward and threw her frail arms around my neck. Words were tumbling out of her mouth, and she kept on saying how much she missed me, and asking where I've been and how happy she was to have me safe at home again. I nuzzled her gently, taking comfort in her affection.

           Pulling away, she stared into my eyes with her own misty blue-green eyes. A few strands of her disheveled hair fell into her face. Then she began to lead me through the long selection of stalls.

          "I'm sorry," she murmured as we passed my old stall. "I tried to save it for you, but nobody would listen to an old woman ranting about her favorite horse. As we passed the chestnut horse I snorted at her, even went so far as to bare my teeth. Thankfully, Matilda was oblivious to my rudeness.