" Altar," she nodded at the boy standing by her horse.
" Your Highness," he bowed slightly. "Your horse is ready as you wished."
" Very well, thank you." She smiled to herself, buttoning her shirt sleeves. She then executed her sword and attached arrows and a bow to her saddle.
" Where are you going, Your Highness, if I may ask?" Altare asked quietly.
" I'm going for a ride on a horse. Just like that, "she blinked at him. Altare was just a little older boy from Lucy. She knew he was a little weak for her.
" You look more like you're going to catch dinner," she heard a laugh. She sighed sadly. She forgot that if she didn't have brothers here, she'd have Ramon on her neck. And he, at the behest of the Highest King, would still follow her ass. There is no peaceful horseback riding now.
Ramon mounted his white horse and waited for Lucy to mount her horse.
She swung into the saddle and grabbed the reins. She walked over to Ramon.
" I confess I wanted to be alone for at least a while. So let's agree. You can come with me, but you will be far enough away to have at least a little sense of freedom. "
Ramon frowned, but nodded.
She ran through the gate and ran into the woods. She had her walked paths. Lucy loved riding.
She galloped for quite a while until she came to the forest clearing. Susan took her here once. Apparently she always pulls here when she has a bad day and shoots a bow. That was the reason why the targets were placed around the entire treatment plant.
Lucy let go of the reins and slid off the saddle. She let the horse graze and took a bow and arrow from the saddle.
" All right," she breathed. It's time to try again. If she wants to go into battle once, she has to learn.
She drew an arrow, rested it on the string, aimed. She fired. The arrow missed the target. But it was a win for her that she even managed to shoot for the first time.
She tried again and again. She managed to hit the target several times, but never to the middle.
Lucy made a strange feeling. She slowly lowered her bow. She threw him to the ground. Something or someone is here watching her. She knew there should be Ramon nearby, but this was a bad feeling.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and stood motionless for a moment. She examined every single sound, the rustle.
Before she knew, she heard a menacing growl.
Wolves, she thought in horror, pulling her sword out of its jumped away from the reach of claws and drove her sword at him. It was no ordinary wolf. It was an animal that was once talking, but it became a stupid monster.
The wolf growled again and lunged at Lucy again. No matter how stupid the animal was, it still remembered how man fought. This time he threw himself at her hand, which held the sword. He gritted his teeth into her forearm and jumped away from her again. The silence of the forest was pierced by Lucy's painful cry. Unable to hold the sword in her sore hand, she dropped it. She reached for the dagger.
The wolf circled around Lucy. She didn't take her eyes off him until he jumped at her again. Lucy slammed the handle between his eyes. The wolf was blinded for a moment, and Lucy used that moment to stab him in the ribs. The wolf whimpered, but attacked again. But he was already weakened, so Lucy had more chances to neutralize him.
The wolf finally fell at her feet, but he was not dead yet. He was breathing hard and looking at her with pleading eyes.
She shivered. She was very shaky, but she couldn't let the wolf suffer, no matter what he wanted to do with her. She raised her sword from the ground and approached the wolf.
The moment she heard Ramon calling to her from a distance, she stabbed the wolves in the chest. The animal contracted a convulsion and subsequently died.
" Queen Lucy," she heard Ramon scream. When he noticed her, he almost died of fear. She was standing over a dead wolf, leaning against a sword that was still stuck in the animal.
" Oh, for Aslan's mane, are you all right?" He exclaimed, running to her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her toward him. She was still gasping for breath, trembling from the terror that hit her.
The wolf could have killed me. But he did not fight with all his might. Why?
Lucy was scratched and covered in blood. Ramon wasn't sure if it was from her or the monster lying on the ground.
She could have died. I should have been closer, I shouldn't have listened to her, I shouldn't have left her alone, heblamed yourself.
" Lucy," he whispered when he saw her still shaking. He hugged her. He knew he shouldn't, because she's his queen, but he needed to make sure she was alive.
" What happened?" He asked in a whisper.
"He attacked me while I was shooting. He did not fight with full force. He wanted me to kill him, "she whispered so softly, he almost didn't understand her.
He pulled away from her.
" Queen, how could you defeat this animal?" He asked, stunned. Lucy was silent for a moment, wondering how she had actually killed him.
"A dagger," she raised an eyebrow. She was surprised herself.
"A dagger," Ramon repeated.
" I wounded him with a dagger, I killed him with my sword. He wanted to be killed. Why? "She frowned." He didn't fight back. "
" Lucy, we have to go back," he whispered after a moment. He didn't feel good. The wolf was certainly not alone.
Lucy took his touch on his cheek.
" Lucy," he looked into her eyes anxiously. "We have to go,"
Lucy nodded and drew a sword from the corpse, then she wiped it on the grass and cleaned on her pants. She inserted it into his scabbard as well as the dagger. Meanwhile, Ramon attached a bow and arrows to her saddle. But before she mounted, she took an arrow and dug it into the sword wound.
After a moment of galloping, they heard a howl behind them. There were more of them.
Almost everyone in the courtyard crowded around Lucy.
" Your Majesty," they called when they saw her. "What happened?"
" When we stopped in the woods to get a drink, I asked Ramon to walk away, I needed to urinate. I was attacked by a wolf. Before Ramon came to my rescue, I dealt with the wolf as much as I could. But Ramon shot him. If he hadn't done it, I probably wouldn't have survived."
There was silence in the courtyard, but then a man from the guard approached Ramon.
" You have finally shown your courage in front of the Queen, I am proud of you for being able to defend her. If that wasn't the case, you wouldn't be worthy of a royal guard, "he patted him on the shoulder.
Lucy looked deep into his eyes. She knew that if she told the truth, Ramon would be severely punished for not being there.
" Where did it happen?"
" At the clearing where Queen Susan goes to shoot," she said calmly. Then she handed the reins to Altare and, with apology, went to her room.
Her body hurt. Especially the bitten forearm.
" Lasalene? " She exclaimed. After a moment, her maid walked through the maid's door.
" Your Highness, I'm sorry, I stayed behind, preparing herbs for your bath to cleanse your wounds," she said breathlessly, and immediately rushed to prepare her water.
" Oh, Lasalene, I knew I could always count on you."
" At your service, Your Highness," she called from behind the curtain. "Can you undress, or will I help you?"
" Thank you, I can handle it," Lucy said as she unbuttoned her buttons on her sleeves. She hissed in pain as she tried to take off her shirt. The blood on her hands dried and it hurt now. Her scratched shoulders and thighs burned as well.
She threw the bloody clothes on the pile.
" It was my favorite shirt," she sighed as she saw the white torn fabric.
" The bath is ready, madam ..." Lasalene paused as she noticed her and covered her mouth with her hand. "When I heard you look awful, I didn't think so. How big was the wolf?"
"A wolf that was a talking animal. So big. "
" I'm surprised, miss, he didn't kill you," she said, gently grasping her injured hand.
" Ramon came almost immediately. And to our surprise, the wolf didn't fight back much. "
" But he bit you. Nobody said that, "the maid frowned.
" No one should even know about it, dear Lasalene. It would be more of a problem than it will be now.
" How do you know there will be problems?"
" I know my brothers," she laughed.
She dived into the warm water and let Lasalene clean her wounds. She was accustomed to nudity in front of her maid.
She was struggling to fasten the back of her dress when there was a soft knock. Assuming it was Lasalene, she called out 'further', and continued to struggle with fastening. She turned her back on the door, wondering why Lasalene would come back when she sent her away, despite her protests.
A sharp breath woke her thoughts. She turned quickly to cover her bare back.
" Ramon, what are you doing here?" She snapped.
" It depends on what you are doing here, Your Majesty. Where is Lasalene to help you? "
" I sent her away."
" And now you're standing here struggling with buttons. Couldn't you choose a more complicated dress and then send the maid away? "
Lucy liked the way he talked to her. Like a roommate, even though he was sixteen and "just" a soldier.
" Yes, I could, I have an even more complicated dress. Now tell me what you're doing here, "she raised an eyebrow in an attempt to cover her excitement. Ramon cleared his throat.
" You know, Your Highness, I came to ask why you lied to them all?" He asked, his gaze dug into the ground.
Lucy was silent for a moment. Then she held the front of her dress with her hands to keep it from slipping out of her shoulders and approached the tall soldier.
" Do you know why, Ramon? For I know my brethren. Especially Edmund. If he know the truth, he would let your feet be tied and dragged you behind horse by them. My arguments would not help that I asked you to be far away. Edmund is not bad. He's just ... overly protective of me, "she smiled at him." And I don't want anything to happen to you, Ramon. "
The soldier looked at her in surprise.
" Thank you, Your Majesty," he bowed slightly.
" Anyway, today you have shown me how are you good for the name Lucy the Valiant." he whispered before disappearing from her room.