Chapter IV – Colors

"So, why are we at the stables?" I asked confused when Edward led me to the last place I wanted to go. "Garrett's going to see me here and get upset," I mumbled anxiously.

"Nah, he's off on some secret mission somewhere," Edward replied unexpectedly.

My heart jumped. "Secret mission?"

Edward chuckled. "That's just what I call it when the king asks him to do something away from the stables. Garrett always refuses to tell me anything about it, so I'm convinced the king has him doing something pretty terrible that he's ashamed of. He always looks so upset when he comes back."

"That's….awful," I said quietly, thinking once again that it was very possible for Garrett to be a fellow conspirator, or at the very least, aware of would-be assassins and supportive of the cause.

"Okay, suit up," Edward said while handing me what looked like men's riding clothes.

"Uh…"

He smirked. "Do you want to go for a ride or not?"

"We're taking the king's horses somewhere?" I asked baffled. "Couldn't we get into trouble for that?"

"No, it's part of the job. These horses need to be ran regularly, and that includes off the palace grounds….but they'd never let a woman go, so suit up, and pull your hair under the hat."

"You're serious?" I asked as my stomach did flips with joy. Was Edward really going to get me out of the palace's suffocating gates? I could take the horse and run away and never look back. The thought was definitely enticing.

I quickly took the clothes and changed in an obscure part of the stables, and easily tied my hair up under the hat Edward provided. It wasn't my first experience with men's trousers; I used to wear my brother's old pants when I did my chores back at the farm, but it had been a while, and these cow skin pants were definitely a new feeling against my skin.

"Wow," Edward said when I emerged from my changing location. "You…don't look like a boy."

"Oh….Is my hair slipping out?" I asked concerned.

"A little," he said while walking over to me, before straightening my hat, and then shoving his hand under the rim to tuck in the rogue strands. It was way more intimate than I was prepared for, and his close proximity actually made me hold my breath to the point of dizziness. God, he was even more beautiful up close.

"There," he said, pleased by his work. "You still don't look like a boy though."

"Should I rub dirt on my face?" I asked, desperately hoping he wouldn't change his mind about taking me.

"No, it'll be fine, just keep your head down. Now, which of these beasts would you like to ride?"

I smiled mischievously and pointed to BD.

Edward laughed. "How did I know you were going to pick him? Sorry to disappoint you, but only the king and Garrett are allowed to ride him."

"Oh, too bad."

He laughed again. "Okay, how about this one?" he said, pointing at a medium sized red horse. "He's a strong reliable horse. Used to be Prince Caius's when he was learning to ride, but he has since outgrown him…or he pretended to anyway. He's a fine horse, just not as fast as some."

"Well I'd be honored to ride him," I said sincerely. A horse deemed not good enough by the prince was probably just not mean enough, which made him more than fine by me.

I mounted the horse, and automatically kicked my leg over, which made Edward raise his brows with amused surprise. "And here I thought I would have to instruct you on how to ride like a man. I guess I should have known better."

I giggled. "It's just easier this way. I never understood the point to side saddle," I said honestly.

"A lady always keeps her legs closed," he said in some ridiculous old lady accent.

"Well then I guess I'm no lady."

"No, you're far more interesting that some boring stuffy lady," he said with a grin.

"Thank you. Now get on your horse, or am I going alone?"

He laughed once, and then took a big buck skinned horse from the stall across from us.

"Wow, he's beautiful too," I said while reaching over to pat his horse.

"This used to be the queen's before she passed. Now, he was too much for her and she hated him. I swear, my grandfather purposely acquired horses they'd all hate."

"Maybe he was hoping BD would end up killing the king," I joked, but Edward's face fell flat.

"Do you think that's really why?" he mused.

I shrugged. "Maybe…I'm sure there are a lot of people here that wish the king would suffer a worse fate."

I was expecting Edward to laugh and agree, but he seemed to be momentarily lost in some distant thought. Then he took a deep breath. "Let's go before the guard shift change."

"What happens after the guard shift change?" I questioned.

"Nothing really, but the men working the gate right now are friendly and won't give us a second thought. The men taking over after noon will be more nosey and give us a harder time."

"Let's hurry then," I agreed.

We rode slowly through the grounds towards the gate, and I did my best to keep my head down so people wouldn't recognize me, but I did notice something odd – Edward, who kept his head up high, didn't acknowledge anyone we passed in the busy courtyard, and they didn't attempt to say hello to him either. The entire thing was odd.

When we easily made it out of the gates, and were safely out of hearing range from everyone, I voiced my confusion. "So…do you not know many people here at the palace?" I asked him.

"I know everyone at the palace. Why?"

"Oh, well…you didn't say hello to anyone as we left. I would have thought you would."

Edward chuckled. "You really don't understand the way the palace is run yet, do you? When servants are working, they're not supposed to socialize; not even a quick friendly greeting. But even more importantly, when on these horses, people assume its official business; therefore, interrupting could be a punishable offense."

"Oh."

"That's the way it's always been."

"Maybe I should try to learn more from you before I get myself into trouble," I semi-joked.

"That's probably a good idea," he said seriously. "But I can't teach you if you hide from me."

"I wasn't hiding," I lied.

"No, just trying to avoid me to the point where I thought something happened to you."

"Well….Garrett said I should leave you alone," I admitted.

Surprisingly, Edward wasn't surprised. "Yeah, Garrett is very suspicious of newcomers. He thinks people get jobs at the palace to be in a position to assassinate the king."

My stomach dropped….and then flipped…and then I felt like I was going to throw up.

He laughed at whatever expression I was wearing. "Don't worry, I highly doubt anybody is there to kill the king. Nobody even gets close enough to kill him other than his court and advisers…oh, and his concubines. I'd be more suspicious of them than any of the servants…" He paused to consider something. "Well, I suppose Garrett would actually be in a good position to kill him if he really wanted to. I mean, all he'd have to do is sabotage his saddle or hurt BD in some way that will cause the king to fall. The terrain is really rocky here - he could hit his head…. And that is way too much talk of murder," he said with a laugh.

I laughed once too. "It would solve a lot of problems though," I said hesitantly, unsure what his reaction would be.

"It would solve some problems, and create a whole bunch of new ones. Caius isn't ready to be king."

"What if they were both gone?" I asked carefully.

Edward huffed. "Then that would be an even bigger problem. Volterra needs a king, so somebody would have to do it. You think things are bad now? Without a king there would be massive civil wars between the lords and their domains. Everything would be in chaos. Many people would die. Aro is a terrible oppressor, but at least he's kept the peace."

I took a deep breath as I considered what he was saying. Surely my father and Carlisle had some kind of plan for when Caius and Aro were killed, I just didn't know what it could possibly be. "Still, the king needs to be stopped somehow."

"Thankfully for us, we don't have to be the ones to figure it out," he said playfully before kicking his horse and taking off in a quick gallop. I followed his lead, but after seeing the incredible vast open space before me, I felt the overwhelming need to go even faster. It was freedom, at its most beautiful, and I couldn't get away from the palace fast enough.

I had no idea how long I kept to that speed for - it felt so incredible that I would have gone as far as the horse could take me - but suddenly Edward passed me up, and snickered as he went.

"Oh, we're racing, are we?" I said, mostly to myself since he was too far to hear. I kicked my horse and tried to make him run even faster, but at his full speed he was just no match for Edward's horse, and I silently sulked to myself knowing he probably gave me the slower horse on purpose.

All too soon Edward began to slow, and my horse automatically reduced speed to match his pace. "We're almost there," Edward informed me.

"Almost where?"

"Almost to where we're going," he replied.

I hadn't noticed until then, but the wide open terrain had begun to morph into a forested mountain type region - Both were equally beautiful and held their own appeal. I felt safe in the woods; so much safer than I had felt in a very long time, and I was already dreading the time when we would have to return to the palace. Perhaps I could convince Edward to run away with me.

"It's just through here," Edward said when the trees and shrubbery grew so thick that it was hard to see the path ahead.

"Where…" I was about to question him on his intended location, but I let my sentence trail off as the incredible sight of a meadow unfolded before us, which came complete with a crystal blue lake. I had never seen a place so colorful in all of my days, and I wondered if my eyes had even beheld such astounding hues. The various shades of green in the grass, the purples and yellows of the wildflowers, the deep rich blue of the water against the soft delicate blue of the sky; even the orange tint of the butterflies that fluttered there seemed more vibrant that any I had witnessed before. It was absolutely breathtaking; as if god himself painted it by hand. "Wow," was all I was able to say.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" Edward agreed as he dismounted his horse. "Come on, let's walk around." He offered his hand to help me down, but I refused it – Physically touching him in a magical place like that would certainly create unwelcomed tension, and I wasn't entirely sure I was strong enough to resist it.

"Should we tie up the horses?" I asked concerned as my horse began walking off.

"No, they'll be fine. They're trained to come back when they hear a whistle, but I doubt they'll go anywhere anyway. Look at all that juicy grass for them to eat."

"How did you find this place?" I asked, still in awe by its splendor.

"My grandfather used to take me when I was a boy. I have no idea how he found it. As far as I know, you're the only other person who's been here since he died."

"Thank you," I said emotionally, not really knowing what else to say to that. I had no idea what made Edward want to bring me there, but I was so incredibly grateful.

"So…do you want to go swimming?" he asked excitedly.

"Uh – no!" I said quickly, with incredulousness heavy in my tone.

His face fell like a pouting child. "Why not?"

"What would you have us swim in, our undergarments?"

He shrugged. "Don't worry, you don't have anything I haven't seen."

My mouth fell open in offense.

"I'm only kidding," he relented. "We could go swimming fully dressed; in this heat we'd dry quick enough, or we could just walk around for a bit, or just lounge. I do carry around a small library in my saddle pouch."

"Really?" I asked eagerly. "May I see what books you have?"

"Of course."

He actually had a great selection, and after picking the one that sounded most interesting to me, Edward spread out a blanket he had tied to the back of his saddle, and we both sat and read for a while. It was an enthralling read, but I still couldn't seem to focus my attention on the words. The glory that surrounded us was just too magnificent to waste time on black and white pages; I needed to drink in all its beauty before we had to leave…and all its beauty included the wonder that was Edward. He fit so perfectly in that scene, as if he was born right out of the colorful foliage there.

"What?" he asked without looking up from his book.

"What, what?" I asked confused.

"What are you staring at? I've felt your eyes on me for the past five minutes at least."

I should have denied it, but as usual my mouth lacked the ability to discipline itself. "I've just…never seen such colors before," I admitted.

He looked up finally and glanced at the scenery. "It is beautiful this time of year. If only we could find a way to use some of the water here to hydrate our gardens…certainly less people would go hungry."

"I was talking about your coloring actually," I said like a total fool.

"My coloring?" he questioned confused.

"Yeah…your eyes are as green as this field, and your hair…it's the color of the sky when the sun sets below the horizon."

"Oh," he said in understanding. "Yeah, my mother was from Ireland. Her hair was as orange as one of those butterflies there. I'm just grateful mine isn't so bright."

"Really?" I asked surprised. "Are all Irish people colored in that way?"

"Not all; my grandfather's hair was almost black before it greyed. The orange is just more prevalent in that part of the world."

"How did your mother come to work at the palace?" I asked curiously.

"Uh…Actually I believe my grandfather originally worked for the Irish monarchy. When they came to Volterra to organize a trade agreement, they offered one of their horses as a gift…I guess my grandfather and his family came as part of the deal. He was the best horse trainer anyone had ever seen; Aro was lucky to have him."

"So you're Irish…you're not even Volterrian at all," I mused.

Edward cocked his head to the side. "My mother was a young child when they came here….I was conceived here, so I would assume that would make me at least half Volterrian."

"Oh, right… Well what about…"

"You know, we should probably be getting back," he cut me off. "The afternoon guards at the gate are bad, but the evening ones are worse. We definitely want to get you through before they start their shift."

I wanted to ask him to run away with me, it was sincerely on the tip of my tongue, but for whatever reason I chose not to voice it. "Do you think I'll ever be able to come back here?" I asked hopefully.

"Sure, we can make that happen."

"Promise?" I challenged him.

"I promise. And hey, maybe next time we can go swimming."

"How do you even know I can swim?" I asked playfully.

"I doubt there's much you can't do," he said with a laugh.

"You'd be surprised," I said as I unwillingly thought of my mission. If his statement was true, then the king would already be dead and I'd be on my way back home by then. The thought made my heart ache, and I became all that much more homesick.

We rode back to the palace, but I couldn't help the feeling of dread I had as we approached the gate; it was like voluntarily returning to prison when escape could have been so simple. I tried convincing myself to beg Edward to turn around with me, and then I mentally cursed myself when we crossed the palace boundary and I lost my chance. The only solace I found was the promise Edward had made to take me back out again soon – Perhaps next time I'd be brave enough to stay out for good…