43: A PREY TO CAPTURE

This is the last chapter of The Emperor's Bride: Volume One. Enjoy! @OmaPhinaPhire🔥

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...43...

A PREY TO CAPTURE😋

When she was done with eating her fruit meal, she rose to her feet and sat on the big round bed in hopes of allowing her food to settle in her stomach. She rested for a little while before deciding to go on and have a slow ride on her horse. She needed it, the ride, on this cool evening, to feel and enjoy the atmosphere well enough. She walked to the bedroom door and opened it, peering outside. She found both her escorts there, playing cards.

'Hey,' she said softly to draw their attention to her. They both turned to her and rose to their feet.

'My Lady,' both paid obeisance to her. She nodded in acknowledgement.

'Are you done with your meal My Lady?' Vura asked her. She nodded at the warrior.

'I will like to go and have a ride in the riding arena. Shall you get Peter to prepare my horse for me?' she asked them. Xiera nodded.

'I shall have that done. But My Lady, you are not appropriately dressed for equitation,' she pointed out. 'I shall send Hyeera to you.'

'Thank you,' she said and watched as the warrior turned away, to leave and go do as she had said.

Xiera walked out of the emperor's quarters after having not found Peter in it. She had nonetheless found Hyeera and sent her to the mistress. She then descended the stairs to go look for him and found him in the receiving area directing some maids on how to arrange the new pots of flowers that he had brought for the manor. She walked up to him who was yet to notice her presence and watched him give orders, unwilling to disturb him. It was until he took notice of her did she greet him and tell him her Lady's message.

'I shall have a horse prepared for her swiftly,' he assured Xiera who nodded her thanks. Then, he turned to one of the maids and gave her quick orders before dispatching her to the stables. The maid nodded and did as she had been instructed, running out if the house and towards the royal manor's stable. In her hurry, she did not look properly and nearly bumped into someone. She immediately began to apologize the moment she looked up and into the face of her near victim. It was Princess Zoë Xing.

'I am so sorry your highness,' she began. 'I am sorry.'

'You little pixie!' Jessica snapped at her. 'Will you not watch where you are going?! You would have run into my lady had I not stopped you!' she continued with a sneer.

'I am sorry your highness. In my hurry, I didn't see you.'

'Wench! Is my lady so small that you can not see her?!' she demanded in anger. The maid shook.

'Why are you in a hurry?' Princess Zoë Xing of the Xing Kingdom asked her, noticing she was from the royal manor by her maids uniform. 'Is the royal manor in fire?'

'No your highness. It is not.'

'Then, what is it that has you running helter skelter like a kangaroo whose child has been stolen?'

'It is that the Emperor's woman wants to go riding in a heartbeat. A horse needs to be prepared for her and I need to take the message to the stables,' she explained.

'The Emperor's woman? That concubine right?' she asked her. The maid only nodded at her. 'Well then, hurry and go do as you have told me,' she urged the maid with a sly smile on her face. The maid nodded.

'Thank you your highness. I am glad that you are merciful,' she said with a deep bow of gratitude.

'Oh just go now,' Jessica said. The maid ran off while princess Zoë watch her leave. 'You should have chided her properly my Lady,' she grumbled to her mistress. But, princess Zoë Xing only smiled at her.

'I could not do that could I got she just brought me classified information,' she told her.

'Classified information? My Lady?' Jessica asked her in confusion. 'What are you thinking?'

'Never mind Jessica, let's go to the stables. We have a prey to capture,' she mused with an evil smirk. 'Let's go,' she said again.

'Yes My Lady,' she said and dutifully followed her mistress as they changed their directions and instantly headed for the stables.

The maid returned from the stables moments later with a report to Peter who in turn informed the Lady that the stables has had her horse prepared. By then, she was properly dressed in riding attire. She and both her escorts strolled to the stables, basking in the cool evening breeze which was soothing. They arrived soon enough and met Princess Zoë Xing and her escort, Jessica there. The lady smiled coldly at her.

'Oh, the Emperor's concubine is here to take a horse ride,' she said to her with contempt.

'Ignore her My Lady,' Xiera said to Lady Rose who nodded.

'Exactly. She is not deserving of your spittle My Lady,' Vura seconded her instantly.

'I mean no harm you see. I was only just soliciting for a riding partner. You see, I have been racing with Jessica for donkey years. I want to race with someone else, racing with someone else for even a second would be a breath of fresh air,' she said in a voice that was unusually nice.

'You want to race with me?' Vura asked her in a mocking tone. The princess scoffed at her words.

'Race with you? What on earth do I want with a servant like you?' she replied with a sneer. 'I would rather race with a rat!'

'Now that is more like you,' Vura pointed out to her.

'Yes Vura, I agree with you,' their Lady seconded. 'She is just like that, nasty, disrespectful and saucy, pompous bitch. A rotten personality can not be hidden no matter what.'

'Do not address My Lady in that manner!' Jessica bursted.

'It seems that you have forgotten too quickly the welts that I happily and dutifully delivered last two weeks on you, right?' Vura retorted.

'We,' Xiera corrected her with an evil triumphant smirk. 'The welts that we happily and dutifully delivered on her Vura,' she continued.

'Oh shut up!' Jessica snapped still.

'Oh, and not just on you remember?' she addressed Jessica. 'But also on your lady here too,' she said shifting her gaze to the Xing Princess. 'The welts that we administered on your lady who dares to refer indirectly to me as a servant who is lower than a rat!' she taunted her.

'Don't!' Princess Zoë snapped in irritation, fuming in anger.

'Oh I can still remember it so clearly Vura,' she said to her colleague.

'Oh yes, me too,' she agreed. 'I remember her high pitched voice as she pleaded with us.'

'Oh, she cried remember? She cried like a child whose lollipop was crudely snatched. Oh I can not get the image out of my head. Can you Xiera, can you?' Xiera shook her head. They both burst into laughter, amusing their lady also. Princess Zoë and her escort gritted their teeth in frustration and anger.

'Shut up you lowly imbeciles!' Jessica ordered them with a loud voice. But, they paid her no attention, going on to continue with their taunts.

'Oh please, oh please,' Vura mimed in Zoë's voice. 'Spare me!'

'I want my mummy!' Xiera followed in the mimicking game, sucking on her thumb though the princess hadn't done so.

'You will pay! All of you! You will pay! Oh my back! My back! You will pay! You will pay!' Vura continued. They both burst into strings of laughter, their lady tagging along.

'Oh that is so funny!' Lady Rose said in between fits of laughter. 'But, still, this is all not necessary. She isn't here to fight us you know? So, stop doing that to provoke her,' she stopped them.

'My Lady,' both of her escorts groused at her intervention. They were clearly enjoying themselves at the princess' expense, having loads of fun.

'She is not here to fight us, or are you?' she asked facing princess Zoë who forced a smile on her face despite her obvious anger.

'No, no I am not,' she forced out. 'I am only on need of a suitable riding partner. That is all there is.'

'Fine then! It is no biggie. I shall ride with you.' The statement made princess Zoë's eyes light up with joy. She smiled, this time genuinely.

'Thank you,' she muttered.

'Oh, you do not need to do that Princess Zoë,' she said. 'What is there? It is not as if it is a crime to ride with you. Or is it?' she asked her who shook her head at her.

'No, no it is not.'

'My Lady,' Vura protested at her decision to tide with the princess. 'You can not do that.'

'She is not here to harm me Vura. How can I turn her away?' she said to her escort who had no idea what her mischievous mistress was thinking in that head of hers.

'But My Lady she-'

'No buts Vura. I shall ride with her since she is in dire need of a riding partner. It will not be so bad to be one for her, at a price of course,' she finally let on. Vura stared at her quizzically. She smiled.

'My Lady?'

'We shall have a bet. She wants to know who is better at riding. She is not looking for a riding partner but a competitor Vura.'

'Ah, I see,' Vura said to her in sudden realization. Her lady smiled mischievously at her.

'Let our Lady be Vura,' Xiera said to her. 'Let her teach the princess how to ride. Allow her to beat some sense and respect into her '

'Must you be rude you insolent brat?! Must you?!' Jessica asked her in anger. Xiera only smirked at her.

'I shall be the one to level your lady and not the other way round,' Princess Zoë revealed. Lady Rose laughed at her confidence.

'You are so confident about winning aren't you? Let's wait until I hit the finish line before you do,' she said to the Xing princess who only smiled at her, with a cold calculating glint in her wicked eyes.

'Well well, we shall have to see about that, shan't we?' she added.

'Then I want to believe that you have consented to this racing duel?' Lady Rose asked her again.

'Yes I have, with all of me. I wish to make you eat your words.'

'Then I bet with five opals,' Lady Rose announced confidently.

'I bet with seven opals,' the Xing princess announced to all with a smirk. 'I know that I shall win.'

'Do not be too full if your self princess Zoë Xing,' Lady Rose advised her.

'And you be wary of unforeseen events,' she said in retort. She smiled triumphantly and so do her escort. Vura found it ominous, having a bad premonition about it though she could not understand why. 'I always do that which is in my capacity Lady Rose,' she revealed to her. Lady Rose only smiled at her.

'This one may not be in your capacity Xing princess. Give up now while you still have a chance.'

'Why are you pressuring me into giving up because you are afraid?' she questioned her.

'Who is afraid of you?' Lady Rose asked her. 'It is not I, I am sure.'

'Then mount your horse and stop trying to buy time before your inevitable defeat,' the Xing princess urged her.

'I bet three opals,' Xiera suddenly announced. All eyes fell on her.

'I bet five opals,' Jessica added.

'I bet three opals,' Vura joined, not wanting to be left out.

'Well well, do many opals. It must be winners keepers,' the Xing princess said. They all agreed to the condition as they mounted their horses and went to the riding arena. They set up a racing distance and marked the finish point. The gun went off and the race began. Their escorts stood at the starting line, watching them as they raced through the sandy track. The race was fierce with both of them going head to head. Their horses drew, going simultaneously.

Suddenly, her horse reared, startled. She grabbed the trim tighter and attempted to steady the horse. Something snapped and she lost balance. She looked up and met Zoë's eyes, a dastard smile of triumph on her face and she knew that something had gone terribly wrong. Had she fallen into a trap? She did not have the time to think for she landed on the sandy floor below, just as the loud noise of an explosive hit her ears. Her mind whizzed and her ears tinged with the familiar feeling of pain. She saw the beast, smiling at her, his hair silver like his eyes, dressed in white robes. His smile was so pure and innocent, full of sincerity. She wondered fleetingly if it was part of her memory or if she was conjuring it at this inevitable moment of her death. And then, she blacked out, completely, before she even realized that she was doing so.

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...OmaPhinaPhire🔥

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Hi there Lovelies! It is an annoying cliffhanger right? Well, anticipate Volume Two of it under the title: The Emperor's Bride. For your convenience, I will not be putting it up as a separate book. Rather, I will continue the book under this one. So, add this book to your reading list and await Volume Two of The Emperor's Bride. Thanks for coming this far and I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this book. I still remain @OmaPhinaPhire🔥

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