It was getting harder and harder to keep up this charade and stay at the mansion when she could be out there, doing something, anything to help instead of scraping and bowing before the Fae. Instead of serving the very beings she despised.
Some days, Amelia felt like she was standing idly by, and it cost her so much to remain here, but biding her time was getting her closer to her revenge.
Still, she needed this one moment for herself.
Her timing wasn’t the best, though. The black-and-white coated guards who bore the family’s seal on their chests quite proudly were already staring at her, and the female stationed on the left with the big scowl on her face was about one breath away from yelling at her and demanding to know what Amelia was doing out there.
Creating a scene might very well mean that she would be left behind, and she couldn’t have that, so Amelia heaved a huge sigh and started for the stables. Then she remembered that Aroan might leave on his own anyway if he got tired of waiting for a lowly slave, and she immediately hurried her reluctant steps.
By the time Amelia rounded the corner and the stable finally came into view, her heart was beating a mile a minute. She broke into a jog while she scanned the long, low building in front of her, hoping against hope that her stolen moment hadn’t cost her this chance to learn more and to enjoy being outside in relative freedom. Then two figures walked from the wooden structure, one tall and powerfully built with longish hair, the other young, small and definitely not Fae, and Amelia breathed a sigh of relief.
Aroan hadn’t gone yet. He hadn’t left her behind.
The males were deep in conversation, and they were both leading a horse by the reins. The animal behind Aroan was an impressive stallion the color of midnight, and judging by the familiarity he showed towards the Fae, he clearly belonged to him. The other equine was a mare, a blood bay of much smaller stature, but from the looks of her, she was also a very fine mount and not a jade. Quite a surprise, since given Aroan’s inquiry at breakfast and the fact that there weren’t any other potential riders about, the horse had to be meant for her.
“Ah, Amelia, there you are,” Roan called out as she got closer, giving her a small, friendly smile – the first smile she’d ever seen on his face.
The Fae’s shout prompted his companion to turn in Amelia’s direction, too, and as she got a glimpse of his features, Amelia immediately knew the lean boy who regarded her with undisguised curiosity had to be Damian, Evana’s little brother. The same bone structure. The same dark coloring. They looked so much alike that Amelia would’ve known the two of them were related even if her elven friend hadn’t mentioned having a sibling who worked at the stables.
“Are you ready?” Aroan asked then, obviously wishing to finally set out, so Amelia was forced to turn her attention back to the Fae.
The male didn’t look impatient, though. He just seemed excited and spoiling to move. And sure enough, as soon as Amelia nodded assent, Aroan swung himself into the saddle without further ado.
“Come on, then,” he prompted her, adding with a smirk, “Don’t worry, Camille is quite tame. She has a gentle nature, you’ll see.”
So much for a well-meant reassurance.
With that, Aroan touched his heels to the horse’s flanks and started towards the front of the mansion at a gallop.
Flashing a quick grin at Damian, Amelia took Camille’s reins and got onto the mare with the swiftness of an experienced rider. Quick as lightning, she started after the departing Fae, only pausing long enough to look back at the elven boy and holler, “Thank you!”
Then she shot off, accepting Roan’s unspoken challenge, eager to wipe that superior smirk off his face. She allowed the joy of speed, freedom and simply being alive to take over.
~ *** ~
Roan
They rode long and hard. At a pace Roan highly doubted many humans could match. And Amelia … With her long hair streaming behind her and clad in more close-fitting clothes than her usual drab dress that hid her form, she looked absolutely stunning.
Roan couldn’t take his eyes off her.
His constant regard of her person made other things besides her beauty evident, too. Amelia sat astride with the sureness of someone who rode on a regular basis and had learned to do so well. Her posture wasn’t stiff in the least. She moved with the horse, hips and shoulders shifting at exactly the right moments, to the extent that their bodies practically became one. She steered her mount along the roads and off-beaten paths with barely-there nudges of his heels, only holding on to the reins for appearances’ sake.
They changed tack yet again, weaving their way through thickets and dodging low-hanging branches at breakneck speed, but Amelia never tensed. She didn’t even break a sweat. The girl stayed relaxed, completely at ease, flowing with the animal as it changed gait and finally overtook Roan’s own, all swiftness, power and grace. And as the trees at last thinned around them, giving way to green, flowing grass and the swift river that wound its way at the forest’s edge, his human turned around in the saddle to look back at him, and he got a glimpse at a face that was alight with exuberance. With wild joy and unadulterated happiness.
Right until a spindly twig caught her in the back of the head.
True. That’s what one got for not looking where they were going, Roan reminded himself while he did his best to keep a grin off his face. He turned his attention back to the task at hand, staring straight ahead and focusing on the rocks strewn about, creating a treacherous obstacle course, but his ears caught the unrestrained laugh that burst from Amelia’s throat in response to the indignity even so, and this time, he, too, smiled in earnest.
Roan had only wanted to get away from the mansion and the multitude of duties crowding upon him when he decided to go for a ride this morning. He knew Midnight would be chomping at the bit right about now, too – the huge beast needed his exercise as well as his freedom, and he intimidated everyone. Not even Afton, the skilled horse master who could rein in any headstrong equine, would agree to take him out, so it was always up to Roan to ride the steed, and he was secretly grateful for it, because it meant he could justly escape.
Taking Amelia along for the ride had been necessary since he had to keep her close, but surprisingly enough, the girl joining him didn’t bother Roan. Instead of bristling at the thought of her intruding on his privacy, her presence lifted his spirits. He didn’t just tolerate her around him anymore, either. He looked forward to seeing her at the start of each day and kind of missed her in the brief intervals she wasn’t in his vicinity. Wanting to reassure her about the mare’s gentle disposition had seemed natural, but for some reason, he also couldn’t keep a bit of sarcasm out of his voice.
He didn’t think badly about Amelia. In the past weeks, she’d proven often enough that she was studious and capable of doing whatever was expected of her. She was also adept at putting up a good front, even keeping her emotions in check, as if she suspected – or knew – that most Fae could easily gauge them. So, given that to Roan’s knowledge, most humans didn’t ride all that often, he’d made that remark, only intending to be accommodating, but maybe because he’d spent so much time cooped up inside, his façade had slipped, and a bit of condescension had crept into his tone.
His human hadn’t been daunted by it, though. Not Amelia.
She hadn’t only taken note of the gauntlet he’d half-unwittingly thrown down, but also dared to pick it up. In spite of being human, in spite of being his slave, she had risen to Roan’s challenge, baffling him tremendously.
Roan had only gone on ahead to inform the guards of their departure, meaning to wait for Amelia at the front of the mansion, maybe even give her some tips on how to sit a horse well, then set a sedate pace as they got going. When he’d looked back, though, the human had already been on his heels, riding with a dexterity that had taken him quite aback, and since it’d seemed she could ride, indeed, he’d quickly changed his mind. He’d shot out, riding faster and faster.
And yet Amelia had made him work for it, harder than he’d have ever thought possible. She’d kept up with him throughout without difficulty, which was making Roan rethink his opinion on humans, even consider whether the general belief about the Fae’s natural supremacy was valid.
The boldness, stamina, skill and endurance Amelia exhibited was nothing short of impressive, and the fact that her kind mostly lacked magical powers now and had never had abilities that were anything like those of the Fae in the first place, yet still found ways to make up for that shortcoming by craftiness and intelligence, even though humans’ lives were much shorter and they had fewer opportunities to learn ... Well, that adaptability and circumvention spoke for itself.
Regardless, one thing was certain.
His ΄Melia was an extraordinary creature.
Taking the lead, she had changed direction, veering off the course Roan had set to follow the river without asking for his say-so. As far as she knew, he might have some urgent business to attend to, but that didn’t seem to bother the girl. At the moment, she was in high spirits, and acting without thought.
Right now, Roan was seeing the real Amelia. Or whatever her true name might be.
Elated by that, Roan simply followed behind, not even trying to outstrip her. This wasn’t what Roan had planned. Not at all. But being out here, racing along with this beautiful, self-forgotten human girl was more than enough. It filled him with contentment, and he felt like he could be himself for once, even though another person was there to see it.
“We should stop here,” Roan called out, raising his voice so it’d reach Amelia’s ears even through the whoosh of the wind streaming past them.
It was more of a proposal, though. A suggestion the human girl could take or leave. Not the order he should have issued to let his will be known. Still, Amelia heeded him, slowing, then stopping her mount as Roan reached them. Letting go of the mare’s reins, she jumped off her horse, landing with practiced ease. Then she leisurely meandered over to the edge of the water, without waiting for instruction or even glancing in his direction, and plumped down unceremoniously, leaning back on her elbows and tilting her head back, offering her face up to the sun.
Roan simply shook his head, not even thinking of reprimanding her. Lying there, stretched out on the shore under the bright blue sky, as much at ease in her inertness as she’d been with the swift pace they’d set before, her placidity a stark contrast to the unbridled energy she’d demonstrated before … Amelia mesmerized him.
He’d never seen a being who looked less like a slave than his girl that very moment.
Being a Fae, he understood well how one could revel in the nearness of nature. His kind needed to see the sun and the stars, feel the breeze in their hair and the touch of gentle raindrops running down their skin. They needed to walk on the bare ground as they breathed in the fragrance of blooming flowers or the fresh, earthy smell of fallen autumn leaves that would ferment the soil. Those with Fae blood had to be outdoors, so they could seek out the elements and connect with the world around them.
How a human could delight in such a simple pleasure as this to the same degree as a Fae would, though, find enjoyment in something her kind supposedly thought of as mundane and took hardly any notice of, Roan didn’t understand. Still, here they were yet again, with Roan wordlessly gazing at Amelia as she relished the tranquility that surrounded them.
For a long time, Roan just stood there, vary of rupturing the peace for some unfathomable reason. In the end, though, his desire to join in won out, and he made his way to the river as well, sitting down some distance away from his companion.
Crossing his legs in front of him, Roan turned his eyes to the water rushing past them, its roar the only thing disturbing the almost reverential quiet that permeated the air. His mind wandered, then, and he found himself opening his mouth, wanting to tell Amelia about memories he hadn’t even thought of in quite a while.
There was absolutely no reason for him to share these things with her. Moreover, he knew he shouldn’t relate anything so meaningful to this girl … But he didn’t want to stop himself from doing just that.
So, he didn’t.
Instead, he decided to follow Amelia’s example, and for this one strange morning, he let himself go and began to speak.
~ *** ~
Amelia
“When I was young, I liked to play outside, and for some mysterious reason, I nearly always ended up covered in mud.” He chuckled. “From head to toe.”
As Roan started talking, Amelia startled.
The silence had hung between them for so long, that for a couple of blissful seconds, she’d even kind of forgotten that she wasn’t alone. Not that she minded the company ... Not right then, anyway. But for the close-mouthed, haughty Fae with the icy demeanor to bring up something like this … It was more than unexpected. More than baffling.
She wasn’t wrong, though – no, that was definitely still Roan sitting beside her, with his long legs stretched out so far that they nearly reached the bank. The male’s attention didn’t seem to be on her, though. As he gazed straight ahead, staring out onto the water, he had a faraway look about him. Like he’d completely forgotten about the present, too. Even more so than Amelia.
“Not even my mother could keep me in the mansion. I’d slip away whenever I could manage it and stay away all day long,” Roan went on, with no change in his countenance. “My father was always furious when returned, hair tousled, knee scraped and clothing completely ruined.”
A smile hushed over his face at the memory, then he turned serious again.
“He hated it when anything that was less than perfect. And his own son, the only heir to his grand legacy was running around like a street rat.” He shot her a side glance. “His words, not mine.”
So, he hadn’t forgotten she was there after all.
“I didn’t care, though. I didn’t behave. In those days, I didn’t mind in the least that my actions didn’t befit my station.”
As Roan finished that sentence, it was clear from his mocking tone that he was repeating what he’d so often heard from the father who’d clearly cared a lot more about appearances than his child’s happiness even back then.
“Mama was different. She wasn’t as strict … as stiff. Actually, she was the complete opposite of my sire.” He sighed. “I think he chose her for political reasons. But why she ever accepted his suit …”
Roan trailed off, shaking his head.
For a while, the rushing of the river was the only sound to be perceived. Roan didn’t continue, but he made no move to get going, either, so Amelia let herself falls back again, the long grass cushioning her landing. Staring into the blinding sun, she allowed herself to enjoy the momentary reprieve. Her eyes actually started to drift shut, and she was on the verge on falling asleep right where she was when Roan stated up anew, speaking on in a gravelly tone.
“My mother let me have the freedom I needed to thrive. She understood me.”
He looked out over the river again, and Amelia closed her own eyes, focusing her whole attention on listening.
“This place …” Roan began, but he choked up, his voice failing him, and it took a couple of minutes for him to be able to go on. “The river is so wide here … And the currents are really, really dangerous. There are even rocks in the water that could break even a grown male’s body if he happened to be thrown against one of them. Yet Mama let me dive right in when we came out here together so that I could wash off the dirt I’d gotten on myself. So I wouldn’t be in trouble.” His voice wavered again, but hastened to explain, “She wasn’t careless, and she did fear that I’d be hurt, be she knew me. Knew that I needed this bit of wildness. Jumping in again and again, splashing around, swinging over the river’s expanse on a tree branch … She let me have my freedom.”
He must’ve been quite a handful, Amelia thought, a wry grin stretching over her face. And strangely enough, she could imagine Roan running around here as a little boy, fierce
and untamed and bold. Not at all like the reserved male who walked through the big mansion nowadays, alone but for a bevy of servants.
“Mama allowed me to be who I was …” He sighed, and remained silent for a while before he spoke again. “I asked her about it some years later. Paying it forward. That’s what she called it. Preserving one’s soul … Letting people be who they really are and do as they like, so they’d go out into the world whole and unbroken, helping others and doing good instead of oppressing others to further their own interests. Repaying kindness in kind.”
Even though her own remained closed, Amelia could feel Roan’s eyes on her as he finished with, "I've sworn that here, in this one place, I'd always extend that courtesy to the others." Then he added on so quietly that Amelia instinctively knew it wasn’t meant for her ears, “Even though the world is ruled by the complete opposite of those sentiments.”
At those words, Amelia felt a huge weight settle around her shoulders.
Reality was intruding upon this elusive yet substantial moment. She wanted to preserve it, though. To hold on to it just a bit longer. So, she jokingly asked, “Does that mean that if I wanted to jump into the river right this second, you'd let me?"
A twinkle of mischief entered Roan’s eyes as he gestured towards the swirling water.
"Go ahead," he said with a half-smile.
And Amelia knew both that the male was aware of her intention and that she’d succeeded.
"And if I made a run for it, you'd just let me escape?"
The question slipped out before Amelia became aware that it’d even entered her mind. But though she dreaded openly bringing up a topic like this with a Fae Lord, even in joking, she had to know.
And anyway, she couldn’t take it back.
Roan cocked his head to the side.
"I'd certainly let you try to get away from me," he answered, before adding, "As I said, I wouldn't be in pursuit … Until you left this place.”
Hidden Revenge (The Kingdoms Book 1) Page 11