Chapter Ten

With a little more freedom and a lot more to read, the time spent waiting for Aidan wasn't as lonely or as long. I looked forward to his visits and his surprises – sometimes it was a simple gift, sometimes it was a walk to a surprise location, and sometimes it was just news of what was happening outside these walls.

Today he wanted to take me to the stables to show me the new horse he had acquired.

"She's beautiful." I say as I looked up at the pure white horse in front of me. I reached out to touch her face and she leaned into my touch.

I smiled and started to pet her head.

"You like her?"

"She's stunning."

"She's yours."

"Wh-what? You don't have to do that!" I say and bring my hands up.

"I got her for you."

"F-for me?" I asked and looked back at her.

"I like to go riding to clear my head sometimes…I thought you could go with me next time."

"I'd love to!"

"Have you been riding before?"

"Um, not on my own – there was the time my father took me riding and the ride on the way here."

"R-right. Well we could ride her together the first time."

"Can she carry both of us?"

He laughed. "How heavy do you think I am?"

"N-no that's not what I meant. I-I mean she's just kind of small com-compared to the other horses in here."

"Ah, yes, that's because these are all my horses. I have bigger horses that can go long distances."

"Oh." I say then look around at the horses in the stable. "Th-these are all yours?"

He chuckled. "It's not unusual…for a King."

"A King…right." I say then look back at the beauty in front of me.

"Does that make you uncomfortable?" He asked. "That I'm a King?"

"No I just…I guess I didn't think of you like that…should I be curtseying or-or something."

"Do you want to?"

"To curtsey?"

"Yes."

"U-um I can."

He let out a loud, hearty laugh and pulled me to him. He pressed his front to his back, wrapped his arms around me, and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"It's been so long since I've had people bow and curtsey at me. I never liked all that pomp and circumstance to begin with. I don't want to you change a thing about who you are or how you act." He places a kiss on my neck, his breath is hot and sends a shiver down my spine. "Well, unless you want to be more intimate – I will never turn that down."

"Ai-Aidan." I say in a flustered voice.

He let out a light moan. "When you say my name like that…you don't know what you do to me Ari."

"Y-Your Highness." We hear. I can feel Aidan's anger as he lets go of me and turns around to face the voice.

"What?" He asks.

"Th-this came for you." He said and tentatively handed him a parchment. The servant bows and rushes out of the stable. Aidan opens the letter and reads its contents. He furrows his brows and crumbles the page in his hands.

"What is it?" I ask.

"King Thebes response to our demands." He was clearly annoyed.

"Oh…he doesn't want peace after all."

"He's willing to agree to peace, withdraw his troops, and turn Britania over to me."

"Oh…then what is…"

"He wants Cordona's missing citizen back first."

"Ci-citizens? Well they could go back if they wanted to right?"

"Not citizens Ari, citizen. It seems the hermit is fond of you after all."