Grey ran as fast as his legs would take him down to the courtyard. Most servants would be gone at night, and they would soon be asleep in bed. Grey didn't bother to stop to talk to anything for fear of J catching up to me. He wasn't even sure if J was after him. Grey ran through the garden and almost tripped over a tree branch, but fortunately, his reflexes kicked in, and he did a shoulder roll. Grey was glad that he practised this move even though his spine hurt for a whole week.

Grey reached the stables at last, but out of breath. He found the stable keeper who must have dozed off in the afternoon. Grey woke him up. He told the stable keeper that the situation was urgent. He didn't want to let the poor old man panic. Grey ordered him to saddle up his horse, Winter. He went to fetch a canteen of water and a few strips of jerky. Grey made sure to take a pouch full of coins to last him for several weeks and the best sword in the army's arsenal. He also grabbed a sharp dagger and a few matches.

By the time Grey returned, the stable master had finished saddling up Grey's horse, Winter, and he told Grey the horse was a bit grouchy from being woken up and he warned me to be careful riding in the dark. Grey was glad that J didn't think to target the horses. He thanked the stable master and mounted Winter. Grey knew he probably wouldn't see the stable master again, at least not for a while. Idela's current weak army forces wouldn't be able to handle J if he had more animals stowed away somewhere. Grey's kingdom had already taken a few hits from foreign invaders, and it couldn't bear to lose any more good men. He decided that it would be better to trust his mother. He couldn't do much being a prince, and he wasn't old enough to rule yet.

Grey thought about to where he should go. If he went through the city, people would surely know it's the prince from his stallion and tell J where he was headed. Grey decided to take the longer winding path through the forest and request for help from a nearby kingdom. He didn't know how large the forest was, but it would be a long trip. Winter was quite faster than the average horse, but it was also very versatile and intelligent. He was a white Arabian stallion with black coal like smudges at the end of his muzzle. Grey's father obtained the horse from trading. Winter was a bit wild and hard to take care of, but Grey had had enough experience riding horses. The horse could be very gentle if you gave him treats.

Grey said his farewell to the stable master and went through the secret exit in the castle walls. He thought it odd to not see any other guards, but he remembered that J had probably taken care of them. Trees were blurring past him, but Grey could hear some owls and crickets chirping occasionally. He switched from a gallop to a light canter and alternated between a canter and a trot. Grey rode for half an hour in the dark before hearing running water. He thought it would've been a good idea to let Winter take a little break and have some water. Grey unmounted Winter and lead his reins to where he heard the stream.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Grey stumbled through a few trees and whistled Winter over to me. The stable master had put a rope and some sugar cubes in the saddle bag. Grey used the items to coax the stallion to come through the trees and bushes.  Grey found the stream after tripping on a tree root for the second time. He regretted forgetting to bring a lamp or some torch. Grey felt a prickly crawling sensation on his hand and scratched at it. He realised there was a giant spider on his hand. Grey started shaking his hand frantically which spooked Winter. After shaking off the spider, he murmured some soft words in the horse's ears so he would calm down. Grey then led him to the water stream and left him to drink.

Grey washed his hand in the water until the crawling feeling of the spider went away. He took a large gulp of water from his canteen before he filled it up again in the stream. Grey stowed away the canteen in the saddle bag. He decided to tie Winter up when he suddenly felt like something was watching or observing him. Grey knew that something was definitely out of place. He surveyed his surroundings and saw something near a tree that was gleaming.

Grey walked over to it and picked it up. The object was a small pendant. He held it up to the moonlight to see there was a well painted and detailed family portrait inside it. There was a handsome father, a beautiful wife, and a pretty daughter. They looked noble, but their clothes weren't very fancy. The family seemed oddly happy. The man had light brown hair that and bright blue eyes. The woman had darker brown hair that was about shoulder length and had light brown eyes. The little girl had her mother's dark brown hair that was growing long and had her father's eyes. The girl shared her father's toothy smile and looked content.

Grey was still looking at the photo when a blur streaked past him and snatched at his sleeve. An arrow hit his sleeve, snagged onto it, and pulled his arm toward a tree to lodge deep inside the bark, making Grey stuck to the tree. There was someone there, and they were hostile.