A spell gone awry

Shortly after, the knight got a horse from the stable, and the prince quickly climbed onto it. Following the path the horse took, he rode away swiftly.

Meanwhile, Sera, riding Thunder, the crown prince's horse, was trying hard to calm the horse down. The horse was really agitated, moving really fast. Sera almost fell off a few times, but she held onto the horse's reins tightly.

She spoke to the horse, "Hey, boy... calm down... hey..."

But the horse kept running and soon entered a forest that bordered Eldritch kingdom, the land of witches and demons. Sera got worried when the horse zoomed through the trees at an incredible speed.

"Oh no! If we keep going like this, we will soon cross Eldritch's border! I need to do something quickly!" Sera muttered to herself with immense worry.

She tried to pull the reins to stop the horse, but it didn't work. Despite her connection with animals, she couldn't calm down this wildly rampaging horse.

Sera realized that something unusual was happening. Usually, her touch could calm down even the fiercest animals. But this horse, despite all her efforts to sooth it with her voice and touch, refused to calm down.

Feeling a bit desperate and running out of ideas, she was about to take a drastic step of jumping off the horse. Just then, a shout came from a distance, "Thunder! I said stop!"

Holding the reins tightly, Sera turned her head to see who was shouting. Initially, she couldn't see clearly because the wind was blowing her hair all over her face. As the horse approached, she recognized a man in knight's armor shouting, "Thunder, stop!"

'Oh, it's the man who was chasing after the horse earlier!' she thought.

As the man came closer, she turned around and did her best to halt the horse.

'Oh no! The Eldritch border is getting closer! What should I do? If the horse crosses into the Eldritch borders, it'll break the peace treaty, and war will commence! Do I have no choice but to use that spell? But... it might hurt the horse..." Sera worriedly thought.

Staring at the approaching Eldritch kingdom's border, Sera made a decision. She closed her eyes and quietly mumbled a spell under her breath. Soon, her hands started glowing with a purple light, and she reached forward, running her hands through the horse's mane.

The moment Sera's hand touched the horse's mane, the horse neighed loudly and leaped violently, throwing Sera off it's back. A little behind them, the crown prince, who was almost catching up, witnessed the scene.

He urged his horse faster and skillfully caught Sera midair, placing her in front of him on his horse. 

Without glancing at Sera first, the man alighted from the horse and went ahead to check on his horse, Thunder. When he saw his horse lying unconscious, he quickly knelt down and examined it. Sera, feeling a bit muddle-headed, weakly rested on the horse.

After making sure his horse wasn't too hurt, the man shifted his attention to Sera. Noticing her dazed state, he spoke in a cold tone, "What have you done to the horse?"

Still recovering from using her spell, Sera heard the man's cold question. She replied slowly, "I... I did nothing."

Furrowing his brows, the man responded sharply, "You have the audacity to lie in front of my face?! I clearly saw you doing something to the horse! And there was even a purple light that flashed from your hands!"

As the man said this, he seemed startled, as if realizing something. He looked at Sera with suspicion, taking on a defensive stance.

Then, he asked coldly, "Wait a minute... how were you able to conjure up that light in your hand? In Eldora, there is not a single person who can wield magic! Only witches from Eldritch can!"

Upon hearing this, Sera snapped back to reality and quickly got off the horse. She spoke in a nervous way, "No, you... you saw it wrong. I am a citizen of Eldora. How could I... how could I use magic?"

The man's expression turned colder, and he drew his sword from it's sheath at his side. "Why are you stuttering? Tell me... are you a spy sent from Eldritch?"

Sera stammered, "No! I... I am from Eldora! I was born here. Everyone knows me. You can ask around! I am not a spy!"

The man frowned and approached Sera, taking steps forward. "Then how can you use magic?"

Seeing the man getting closer, Sera slowly backed away. "Listen, mister knight, I am not a witch. I swear! Please believe me! I even work at the palace stables. Do you think they would let just anyone work on the palace grounds?"

The man kept advancing and demanded, "That doesn't answer my question, miss. Tell me how you can use magic, or I'll behead you right now!"

Sera's face turned pale as she continued to retreat until her back touched a tree. With no way to escape, she pleaded, "Please, let me go. I swear I was just trying to stop the horse from crossing the borders! Otherwise... a war would have started!"

The man trapped Sera, pushing his body close to hers, and smirked, "I'll give you until the count of three. Tell me why and how you can use magic, or I'll behead you! Don't test my patience!"

He pressed his sword against Sera's neck, starting the countdown, "One... two... three!"

Just as the sword was about to dig deeper into her skin, Sera screamed, "I don't know! I don't know how I can use magic, okay! Please let me go! I hate that I can use magic! I hate it! What else do you all want from me?! I am just trying to live quietly! Why can't you all leave me alone!!!!"

Her emotional outburst left the man stunned. He lowered his sword, realizing it had cut her and she was bleeding. Taking a few steps back, he watched as Sera broke down, sliding down against the tree while covering her ears.

Feeling lost and unsure how to handle the situation, he stood there dumbfoundedly. He had no experience in dealing with women. And he particularly disliked seeing women cry. Yet, strangely, as the woman before him crumpled, a small part of his heart felt a twinge of something... something strange.

A voice inside him echoed, 'It shouldn't be like this.'

The man felt confused... he had met this woman for the first time, yet there was a strange pain in his heart. He cleared his throat and, in a soft voice said, "Umm... miss, please stop crying. I..."

He didn't know what to say further and let out a frustrated sigh.

His inner voice teased him, 'Oh, the great crown prince, Lysander Nightshade is speechless? That's a first!'

Ignoring his inner thoughts, Lysander spoke to Sera, "Miss, please calm down. I just needed to check if you were a threat to the kingdom. I meant no harm."

Sera lifted her head suddenly, expressing a strong emotion that Lysander couldn't understand. She said, "A threat? Yes, this kingdom has seen me as a threat since my birth. It's nothing new."

Getting up, she added, "The horse is not dead, just unconscious. It should be awake soon. Please tend to the horse. And don't follow me."

Sera then turned around and began walking deeper into the forest. Lysander tried to stop her, "Miss! Please wait! It's dangerous..."

He couldn't finish talking when a bright light suddenly appeared, and Sera vanished.

"What?! Where... where did that woman go? I need to find her! It's not safe near Eldritch's borders. I must gather the knights and search for her!"

He glanced at his horse, Thunder, who was slowly waking up. After some time, Thunder was fully awake. Lysander hopped onto the horse and, with the other horse in tow, headed towards the kingdom, taking one last look at the dense forest.

Meanwhile, Sera, who used her magic to teleport herself away from the man, started coughing up blood.

Seeing the blood on her hands, she softly joked to herself, "Is this what happens when I take all the after-effects of the spell I cast on that horse? Well, at least the horse is fine."

Coughing up more blood, she whispered, "Mother... I miss you..."

With that, she collapsed and fell unconscious in the middle of the forest.