The Chateau (Chateau 1)

I’d never ridden a horse before. It was terrifying being this high off the ground, on top of a strong beast that could buck me off if she didn’t like me. But I’d never get there quickly enough on foot, so she and I would just have to trust each other.

The camp was on my right, so I dug my heels into her belly and clicked my tongue. “Let’s go.” She started at a walk, which was comfortable, but I knew I had to get there quickly, so a walk or a steady gait wouldn’t be good enough. I knocked my boots into her again, telling her to run.

Then she took off.

“Oh my god…” The reins were wrapped in my hand, but I gripped the pommel because it was the only thing to hold. “Jesus.” My whole body shook as she ran into the forest, moving around tree roots and choosing her own path away, deeper into the wilderness. But I held on and watched the light start to fade over the horizon. The snow had melted in the past week, so the land was mostly flat. The horse could see where we were going and avoid the obstacles. I started to loosen up when I got more used to it, but it was still one of the scariest experiences of my life. “I trust you, girl…”

It was pretty much dark, the sky slightly blue like I had a minute or left before I plunged into complete darkness.

“Where the fuck is this river?” I had my flashlight out, scanning the landscape, listening for the sound of rushing water. “Do you hear it?” I’d started to talk to her like she was my friend, because she was the only thing I had right now. And she was literally getting me there.

She suddenly slowed down, going from a run to a walk. Then she stopped in front of the river.

“Yes!” I clapped my heels against her belly. “Let’s go.”

She released a neigh and wiggled her ears.

“I know it’s going to be cold, but we have to do it.”

She still wouldn’t move.

Then I heard a distant bark.

“Oh fuck no…” I turned in my saddle, and far in the distance, was the far-off burning of torches. “Girl, we’ve got to do this.” I clicked into her saddle again.

She didn’t budge.

I got off the saddle and moved to the river. The water was wide and moving slowly, but I knew the current could be swift underneath. He never told me where to cross, probably because that was too difficult to detail.

I looked back behind me then grabbed the reins. “I can’t leave you here, so you’re coming with me.” I started to pull her toward the water. I put the flashlight in my mouth and pointed it forward to see where I was going. Then I stuck one foot in the water. I groaned with the flashlight in my mouth.

Jesus Christ, that was cold.

But I didn’t have time to take this slow. I had to just get through. I moved deeper into the water and pulled her with me.

She wouldn’t budge.

I turned back to her, the water up to my thighs. “Girl, I know this fucking sucks, but you’ve got to do this. Please.” I gave the reins a gentle tug.

Her eyes twitched.

I clicked my tongue and started to pull her.

She let me this time.

We both moved into the water. It was deeper than I wanted it to be, reaching all the way to my neck. But I kept going, fighting the current of the stream, and focused on the other side so I wouldn’t give in to the cold, in to the fear.

If it went any deeper, I wouldn’t know what to do. The current would pull me away.

But it started to become shallow.

“Oh, thank god…” My body emerged out of the water, even colder when it was exposed to the dry air. I began to shiver as more of my body was revealed. “Almost there…” I made it to the other bank, the water dripping from my clothes and onto land, the shivers taking me hard.

The horse came with me.

I was so cold I almost couldn’t move.

She neighed and looked at me.

“God, I’m so cold…” I looked behind me and saw the distant torches. The hardest part was over. They would probably assume I didn’t cross the river, because if I didn’t find shelter soon, I would die. Magnus never told me if they knew about his chateau, but if they didn’t, they would never suspect anything.

I just had to live long enough to get there.

I pulled myself into the saddle and dug my heels into her sides. “L-let’s…g-go.” My teeth chattered so much that my jaw ached. I could barely get the words out.

She started at a run, and that was enough to jolt my heart to life and get me going again.