Chapter 44: Chapter 44

“Cassius!” I groaned as I pulled my body out of his arms. I stood up with the sheets wrapped around me. I walked to his closet and picked a fresh set of clothing.

“Come back to bed,” Cassius' soft tone made me smirk. This man, really! He’s insatiable. We’ve been up all night and now he can’t get his hands off of me.

“I have somewhere else to be and I already told you that,” Once I’ve finished changing, I grab the hair brush to fix my hair.

“Where? Is it important?” He leaned back on the headboard, only his lower body being covered by white sheets. Now his torso is exposed I can’t help but to take a quick glance at his ripped abs.

“She promised to teach me horseback riding,” I smiled to myself, excited to learn a new activity. I haven’t been going out enough and I need this.

“I can teach you horseback riding,” Cassius pressed his lips, eyeing me intently.

After what happened at our date in the woods, we became an official couple and I’m really glad I didn’t hold back that night. Now, we’re even closer than ever. I’ve always thought of him as a friend but the tension was just too much for me to accept him only as a friend. He’s so much more and I intended to keep him for as long as I can.

“Cassius,” I was about to open my mouth but he cut me off.

“I don’t want you to go,” His frown made my smile even wider.

I rolled my eyes, smiling.

“Stop being a clingy husband. We’ll be back shortly,” Before he could even say a thing, I damped a quick kiss on his lips and sped up away.

I heard him groan a few steps away while I’m walking in the hallway. A chuckle escaped my lips at the thought of his annoyed expression.

On my way outside the castle, I walked past the dining hall. The door was wide open and I spotted Rosamund talking with her grandmother, the Queen. They were both smiling and laughing while having tea.

Maybe, it is Rosamund who will be a great company to the Queen upon tea parties. Rosamund looks like she really enjoys spending time with her grandmother. I stretched a smile and left the hall.

I walked towards the back of the castle which is a vast field where a huge barn lies on the right side. There were horses everywhere, some were eating on the field grass. I saw Vienna tending to her beautiful, white horse. It has braids on her hair and flowers too.

“Isn’t she pretty like her owner?” Vienna looked at the horse in awe. The horse neighed and smelled Vienna’s neck while the latter giggled helplessly.

I almost did an eye roll but I’ll let it slide because her horse got really nice hair. I’m wondering if I can ever have the same sleek hair as hers.

“She’s majestic. What’s her name?” I leaned in on the white fence that serves as a barrier between the field and the back castle.

“Her name is Adela,” Vienna caressed Adela’s neck.

A smile stretched my lips, “Hm, nice name.”

“I would’ve name my horse Rosette if I have one,”

Vienna stared at me blankly, “Are you serious?”

“What? I like roses,” I smiled as I pushed the fence open to the side so I could get in the field.

Vienna pressed her lips, “That’s quite obvious considering you named your child Rosamund and Cas had the maze built of rose bushes,”

My lips parted, “Your brother did that?”

She nodded with a smirk, “Yes, you actually like roses even before. Funny that didn’t change.”

I didn’t know how to respond so I kept quiet.

“Come on, let’s get you a horse!” Vienna beamed with excitement.

I followed Vienna towards the barn where most of their horses rested after taking a walk and feeding. As we stepped into the barn, the smell of horse dump and hay invaded our nostrils. I tried not to breathe through my nose and kept my lips parted.

“Nikolo!” Vienna yelled, making me jolt in surprise.

After a swift second, a young man came up to us with a shovel in his hand. He was a blonde guy with a pair of gray eyes. Nikolo wore a dirty set of clothes and boots covered in mud and hay. I assume he’s the one taking care of the barn.

“Your highness,” He was looking at Vienna with a blank expression but I could see a hint of fear in his eyes.

The moment our eyes met, his eyes widened and immediately bowed.

“Your highness, you’re back.” He muttered, it didn’t take long for me to realize that he indeed knew me.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” He asked in all politeness as he lowered his gaze.

Vienna pointed at the stable, “Fetch Alister and bring him out in the field,”

Nikolo nodded instantly, “I will fetch him at once, your highnesses.” He bowed once again, waiting for us to leave.

After that, Vienna turned her heels and made her way towards the huge wooden doors. I followed her to the field.

“I am still confused as to why they call me a highness,”

“Of course they will address you as such, it is a must for you to be married to a prince who will soon become the next king after father’s retirement so eventually you will sit next to him on the throne. To end it shortly, you will become the next Queen of Syrr.”

I bit the inside of my cheek nervously, “Do I have to?”

“Yes, duh.” She grinned to herself. She got up on her horse, swinging her long legs over Adela’s back without any struggles.

“Oh my god,” Thinking about it now makes me somehow uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.”

Nikolo approached us with a horse, its name must be Alister. Boy, he’s huge! He has black skin and silver gray hair; he looked so elegant and mighty. He stood tall, even taller than Adela. As soon as our eyes met, the horse started nickering and hurriedly strided towards us.

Alister walked up to me and smelled my hair. He neighed against my shoulder. I smiled and caressed his neck, stroking his beautiful hair.

I let out a chuckle, “Oh my,” I think he likes me.

Vienna looked at me and smiled, “Look who misses his partner,” She approached Alister and patted him.

“Alister was yours. Well, he still is,” Vienna smiled at me with a wink.

“You mean I rode a horse before?” My lips parted.

She nodded, “Hop on so we can start,” She tapped on Adela and they started moving.

I turned to Alister and hopped on his back although I kind of struggled because he’s really tall and big. Once I sat on his back, Alister neighed and rushed forward. I held onto his neck and leaned forward to avoid falling.

“Oh, look, you don’t even need riding lessons anymore! Alister has your back, Feyre. He’ll guide you,” Vienna chuckled, riding alongside me.

I shook my head, smiling. “I think so,” Looks like Alister here has a mind of his own seeing he moves without me having to tell him.

My hand will caress Alister’s neck whenever he’s speeding up and every time I do that, he somehow manages to slow down his pace. Our connection seemed to be much more deep. I think he really knows what I want and I need not tell him.

We rode for a while, circling around the field with only the sound of twigs cracking and the noise of our horses’ feet against the snow. Adela is catching up fast and Vienna would laugh when Adela bumps onto Alister playfully. It took us hours before we decided to jump off our horses and let them rest. We fetched them water and food too before Vienna called Nikolo and she ordered him to take the horses back to their stables.

Vienna and I climbed on the fences and sat there for a while.

“When you left after giving birth to Rose, nobody ever saw you again. Even my persistent brother never heard a single news of you. The castle became more quiet, cold and gloomy.”

I kept silent for her to continue, “Then Rose grew older, she was four when she asked about you. Cassius struggled to tell her but he managed to anyway. He just couldn’t lie to Rose I guess.”

“Somehow, the castle became more alive as Rose grew up. Mother learned to take care of her while my brother trained to take over the throne. The two of them became inseparable. You can see how much mother loves Rose. Mother even taught Rose her favorite instrument.”

“The harp,” I mumbled as I smiled to myself, looking at the endless forest before us.

Vienna chuckled, “Yes, the one I never did like. Mother taught me too but I just can’t with music. It’s not my thing. However, Rose was always eager to learn new things. Something she didn’t get from my brother for sure.”

I can’t help but to laugh.

Vienna gave me a genuine smile, “What I want to say is that my brother did a great job raising Rose. He is a good father and I hope you can stay with him and take care of him. Cassius won’t probably admit it but we all know he’s been through a lot.”

I nodded with a smile, “I know and I am beyond grateful to you all, especially to Cassius. And I can assure you, I will never leave him. Not this time.”

Vienna smirked, “I’m glad to hear that and please don’t mention this conversation to my brother. He will tease me to death if he hears about this.”

“Alright. Cassius is pretty lucky to have a caring sister like you, Vienna.” I said with a grin.

“Damn right, he is.”

Both of us cracked into laughter after that. I actually enjoyed being with Vienna. She’s so carefree and down to earth.

“Well, I didn’t get to apologize to you.”

“For what?” My eyebrow shot up.

Vienna looked at me intently, “When I pretended not to know you at the ball. I’m sorry. Cas won’t let me tell you. He believed it wasn’t the right timing.” Her gray eyes sparked with sincerity.

“It’s alright. It’s in the past.” I stretched a smile.

After hanging out with Vienna, we went back inside for dinner.