III. The Impact of Her

My eyes widened as I watched everything unfold.

The horse had a light brown body. Its mane, legs, tail and snout were a darker shade of brown. A white line traced down from its forehead down to its nose.

In the manner that it behaved, the horse came from the mountains. And those horses were not used to other creatures other than their own kind.

I looked into its eyes. It was in panic, horrified that a rope held it back.

“My deepest apologies for the ruckus, Your Highness,” Lord Cyrus knelt before me. He continued, “This horse still needs more time to be trained.”

My eyes reverted back to the horse when I heard a whip. As its tip landed on the horse’s arse, it immediately screamed in pain. It stood and swung its legs in the air and the caretakers ducked for their lives. It didn’t calm down. Its frantic actions only worsened.

My heart broke as I saw it all. Laura’s grip on me tightened and I knew we felt the same agony.

I lightly squeezed her hand before I broke away from her.

“Your Highness! You will get hurt!” Lord Cyrus blocked my path along with his servants.

I nodded at him with a smile and proceeded to approach the horse.

The whipping continued and it only agonised the horse even more. I turned to the person who held the rope and said, “Hand me the rope, please.”

The caretakers looked at each other, baffled and afraid.

“There is no need to be afraid, gentlemen. I know what I am doing,” I reassured them.

They shared another worried look. The man handed his end of the rope as his hands shook in fear. As soon as the rope was in my hands, they ran and hid behind Lord Cyrus.

The horse panicked even more. But instead of fighting with it, I kept my composure. I held firmly onto the rope but not to the point that it hurt the horse. I raised my hand and slowly, I pulled the horse closer to my outstretched hand.

I looked away as I didn’t want to add more to the horse’s already shocked state. And after a few more attempts, I was able to caress the horse and it calmed down.

As the horse settled completely, I turned back to it. As our eyes met, a surge of electricity flowed within my body. It was still afraid but its eyes expressed that it was willing to trust me.

‘This is the champion that I am looking for,’ I thought.

“Well done, Your Highness,” Lord Cyrus remarked.

I turned to them and they were all amazed. Their mouths agape and their eyes wide open in shock. Laura, on the other hand, smiled as we shared a similar understanding.

“What is the name of this champion?” I asked Lord Cyrus.

One of the servants entered the conversation, “Unfortunately, we have not given her a name yet, Your Highness. She was only rescued today. She was wandering on her own when we found her.”

I turned to the horse once more and immediately came to a decision. “I shall have this beautiful champion. And she is to be named… Wonder,” I smiled. I rested my forehead on her face and she accepted it. I looked back to Lord Cyrus and asked, “How much for this lovely creature?”

“To be frank, you don’t have to pay for anything, Your Highness,” Lord Cyrus stepped forward but still kept his distance. He continued, “Since she is a new rescue, we still haven’t put a price on her. And besides, you two seem to have a special connection. No amount of money can be enough to compensate for that.”

He added, “The only thing that’s left to do is to sign a few documents for ownership. She is, after all, from our care.”

“You are very kind, Lord Cyrus,” I nodded.

Lord Cyrus then turned to the servants who struggled with Wonder. “Prepare all necessary documents in my office,” he instructed.

They nodded and went on their way.

Laura finally approached me with a smile. “What did I tell you?” she started with her hands behind her, “Let the champion choose you, not the other way around,” she repeated her ways.

With a smirk, I rolled my eyes before I laid a gentle kiss on Laura’s nose. I encouraged her to come forward and introduced her to Wonder. The ever-so-bold Laura reached out her hand to stroke Wonder. Wonder happily accepted and the two immediately got along.

As Laura enjoyed her newly-formed friendship with Wonder, I looked at her, astonished. It was a good thing that she accompanied me in finding a new champion. I remarked, “Thank you for your presence. You brought me good luck once again.”

Laura chuckled. “Does this mean we are going to have a race back home?” she smiled teasingly as her brow arched.

“I am amazed at how quick you are to dare me and how confident you are of yourself,” I replied as I stepped closer. “How about we have a calm trot back to the fields? I would like for Lady to meet Wonder,” I requested.

Laura nodded.

One of the servants returned and whispered something to Lord Cyrus. He called my name, which caught my attention, as well as Laura’s. “Would you be so kind as to accompany me to my study?” he asked.

I turned to Laura and asked, “Would you like to come with me?”

Laura smiled as she cupped my hands with hers. “I am not needed there. I can wait with Wonder,” she said.

The two servants who accompanied us walked over. “Do not worry, Your Highness,” one of them entered the conversation, “We will watch over the lady and Wonder.”

I didn’t pay attention to what the servant said. I held Laura’s hands as I kept my eyes on her. Something inside of me was pursuing me not to leave her alone. But I didn’t know what it was and why I had that thought. Truth be told, there was no reason for me to be afraid to leave her with the servants.

‘But, why do I feel this way?’ I thought to myself.

“Robert, I assure you: nothing will happen to me,” Laura insisted.

My protest was interrupted when Lord Cyrus called for me once again. Defeated, I sighed and asked, “Are you certain that you will wait for me?”

Laura giggled briefly. “I admire your protective nature. But you are overreacting. What is a few minutes to sort out important documents?” she asked. She moved closer and added, “I am not needed there. I will wait with Wonder and the workers.”

Hesitant, I nodded. Caressing her soft cheek with my thumb, I gently kissed it. “This will not take long, I promise,” I said, determined.

“Take all the time that you need,” Laura answered.

I turned away from her and refused to move. Laura gave me a light push forward and I was forced to walk. I then followed Lord Cyrus to his office. I stopped myself from looking back as I dragged myself towards the office.