It was a little past sunset when they approached the gates of Ridah. Aveedah was both embarrassed and in awe as they passed through the kingdom. It exceeded her expectations which made her cower in shame and embarrassment.
How many other things was she in the dark about?
A kingdom as large and developed as this was right next to her food producing city, on a land her father had conquered and later abandoned but she was just seeing it for the first time and that only because the king decided he wanted her to see it.
Ridah was possibly as big as Vedarah or maybe a little smaller judging from the time Leo had estimated they would have to travel to get to the palace . The kingdom bustled with people as they went about their day to day activities. They looked happy, well fed and there was unity as far as she could see. Then how had she never even heard of it?
"Do not berate yourself too much. Vedarah on it's own is large enough talk more of other subsidiary kingdoms of the fire wielders. You do not have liberty to know all the kingdoms around you." He stated, allowing his horse move closer to hers.
She glanced at him and turned away before she said, her voice barely audible.
"When did you start offering words of comfort? Mockery suits you better."
He chuckled deeply before he replied.
"Does it?"
Leo found himself paying attention to the two Infront of him more than he wished to.
He had known Velaine for a long time and he also knows that he mostly has a smile to adorn his face but most of those smiles or those short chuckles, were of mockery, amusement at one's stupidity or ignorance or simply delight at someone's misery. However , this chuckle fit none of the aforementioned and he wondered if it was the rarest reason.
A chuckle borne solely of humour.
He had seen him give out quite a few during this trip and he was beginning to doubt if what Irina feared was coming to pass.
Does his king fancy the fire wielders queen.
Was that why he was taking his time with her?
Not that she was not worth fancying, she had managed to earn even his respect by her judgement and love for her people. The problem was with their goal. If Velaine begins to fancy Aveedah, he would see what she wanted him to see, he would do what she wanted him to do and at the end, she will have the upper hand in this game. A game they had set the table for.
He shook the thought away as he channeled his focus on simply doing what he was assigned to do.
He is not Irina yet he was beginning to think like her.
Velaine is not one to lose, ever. Except if that loss was the stepping stone to a greater victory.
"Your highness, the people are beginning to recognize you. It is best we take a detour." He advised, moving closer to Velaine so he could hear him.
Velaine nodded at him in response and he rushed back to mobilize the guards.
Soon, the arrangement changed and Aveedah found herself being led by more than a dozen guards and Eric who made sure he was closest to her down a bushy road at the back of the city.
"It is a rocky road but it is faster and away from the crowd." He offered.
She simply nodded and followed him quietly until she had a rustling sound and immediately glanced around to see if any other person heard it and to her relief, they all did.
"Your highness, I apologize but you will have to travel within our circle until we are sure whatever it is would not pose a threat." Leo explained to both of them.
Without warning, Velaine wrapped his hand around Aveedah's waist and pulled her off her horse and instinctively, she turned around to face him, pulled the knife she had cleverly hidden in her dress and aimed it at his neck.
He glanced at it then at her before he returned his gaze to Leo, his poise still intact.
"We will head away first. Tackle the issue and return."
"As you wish your highness." Leo replied, his gaze fixed on the knife aimed at his king's neck
Velaine followed his gaze and it landed on the knife once again, he glanced at the astounded woman before him and he smiled a bit, an amused smile before he whispered.
"Eric will be coming with us, will that reassure you?"
She managed to blink away her surprise and withdrew the knife.
"I apologize. You took me by surprise."
"He may return with the others." She added, her thoughts fixed on how best she could turn around without embarrassing herself. This position was awkward, any movement by the horse will throw her into his arms and moreover, she was backing the road ahead.
Eric looked at her to make sure she meant what she was saying and she nodded to reassure him, she could take care of herself and she was sure he knew that.
"Do you prefer this position or would you like to turn around?" He asked knowing fully well what her reply would be.
She raised an eyebrow at him then threw all caution away as she held his shoulders and rose up, then turned around swiftly and sat back down.
"Hold on tight." He warned, humour in his voice.
She may have replied or may have not, the sound of the horse's hoofs as they rode away was loud enough to bury whatever she may have said.
Uncomfortable, unsettling, inappropriate would do nothing to describe the rest of the journey.
She understood he simply wanted them to be faster instead of her having to follow his lead and he, slowing down so she would not lose him but this, she was not enjoying this.
He was holding the reins of the horse and controlling it from behind her which made him sit closer than she would have liked.
Due to the speed he was running with, she sometimes found herself falling back on him and her hair flying in directions she did not know they could reach even though she was pretty sure she had tied it.
At one point where he had to come to an abrupt stop due to a fallen tree, she had not seen that coming so he took her by surprise and she found herself almost knocking him off the horse. She thought she heard him chuckle and angrily, she asked.
"You are doing this on purpose, are you not?"
"What?"
"Yes, I can not wait to reach the palace so we can get some rest. We are embarking on a long journey tomorrow. Bear with it, we are almost there." He had replied nonchalantly.
'So he is trying to play ignorant, is that it?'
Make her feel like she was a pervert for noticing their proximity and just how wide his chest was anytime she found herself thrown in his arms, right?
She nodded to herself as a plan began to form in her head.
'Two can play this game.' She thought.
Not bothering to be discrete, she moulded a little ball of fire and threw it where the horse could see it yet making sure it landed on sand so it would not cause further trouble than intended.
As expected, the sight of the flame agitated the horse and it began to prance about, threatening to throw them off if necessary.
While Velaine held the rein tightly with one hand and used the other hand to stroke his mane while calling his name soothingly, she laid comfortably in his broad chest smiling at her accomplishment.
It took a while to calm the horse down and once he was sure, he had full control, she heard his hoarse voice.
"What was that?" He asked, the strain in his voice indicating his irritation.
"Oh, I apologize your highness. The flame tends to flip out if i jerk too hard." She replied innocently, trying her best to keep the laugh threatening to erupt from her.
He was quiet for a while before she heard him whisper
"You know if I had not been able to calm him down, my behind would not be the only one on the floor right?"
"At least I would not be the only victim." She replied sassily and to her surprise he burst out laughing, his soft laugh somehow triggering her own and she found herself smiling so wide that her face hurt.