Page 3 of A Kingdom's Heart
It was foolish, I suppose. But I had always found comfort in that story. It made the walls of the castle feel less like a prison.
Now the rain poured hard, soaking through my cloak and dress as I rode. My horse’s hooves struck the muddy road in a steady rhythm. The torch I carried sputtered in the wind, its flame
barely holding. The fields stretched endless and dark around me.
I muttered a curse under my breath when I realized I had gone the wrong way. The storm had blurred the path, and the forest looked unfamiliar. My heart quickened. The castle should have been visible by now, its towers were usually bright even through rain. But there was nothing ahead but darkness and the sound of rain striking leaves.
I pulled the reins and slowed the horse. “Wonderful,” I said softly, though there was no one to hear it. The air was cold against my skin, my hair clinging to my neck. I tilted my head back, staring at the sky, and laughed once, quietly. “You’ve done it now, Iris.”
The torch sputtered, its flame shrinking to a single glow before it vanished into smoke. Darkness swallowed everything. I cursed angrily, clutching the reins tighter.
The road ahead was invisible now. I could only hear the rain, heavy and relentless, pounding against the trees. The storm rolled
closer. Each rumble of thunder seemed to echo through my ribs.
“Please,” I whispered to no one, “just don’t let the lightning find me.”
I rode slower, guiding my horse with what little sense of direction I had left. The forest pressed close on both sides, and the night felt endless. My cloak was already drenched. My hands were numb. I had been riding far too long.
The world felt different in the dark. The silence between thunder made me uneasy, and every shadow looked like movement. I thought of the men at the theatre, their voices, their hands. My chest tightened. The last thing I needed was to meet more like them out here.
A sudden flash tore through the sky, white and violent. The light blinded me, and before I could breathe, another followed, closer this time, splitting the dark with a deafening crack.
My horse screamed. Her muscles tensed beneath me, her head jerking hard. “Easy, girl,” I called, trying to steady her. “Easy!”
She didn’t listen. Panic took her. She reared once, then bolted down the path, hooves pounding against the mud. I gripped the reins with both hands, my heart racing, the world blurring past.
“Stop!” I shouted, but she wouldn’t. The wind tore at my hood, rain cutting against my face. Then another flash burst above us, so close it turned the world white. The thunder came instantly after, shaking the ground.
The horse jolted sideways. My balance slipped. For one breathless moment I was falling, the reins slipping through my fingers. Then I hit the ground hard, the air knocked from my chest.
Pain flared through my shoulder. I gasped and rolled onto my
side. My horse was already running, her dark shape disappearing into the rain.
“No!” I cried, my voice breaking. “Come back! Stop!”
But she didn’t. The sound of her hooves faded into the storm until I was alone, lying in the mud, the rain cold and merciless against my skin.
I scrambled to my feet, mud clinging to my dress. My shoulder throbbed with every movement, but I forced myself upright and turned in a circle, searching the darkness for any sign of shelter. The rain came in sheets now, sharp and cold, stinging my face.
“Hello?” I shouted, my voice raw. “Is anyone out there?”
Nothing. Just the wind moving through the trees.
I tried again, louder this time, but the storm swallowed my words. My heart pounded. The forest looked endless, every tree twisted and black against the flashes of lightning. I wrapped my cloak tighter, though it was soaked through. My teeth began to chatter
Another flash tore across the sky, so bright it turned the world white again. The thunder followed again, closer and more violent.
I flinched and stumbled back, a shiver running through me.
I needed to move. Standing still meant freezing. So I walked. Step after step through the mud, as my boots sank into the earth. My hands trembled, my breath came in short, uneven bursts. I prayed under my breath that I’d find someone, anyone, before the night swallowed me whole.
The rain fell harder. The trees pressed close. Their branches
were heavy with water. Each breath I took burned in my chest.
Then something changed.
