Chapter 34

Wiping the last bit of excess water off Mitternacht, Avalina stood back and looked him over, shaking with exhaustion, but a look of triumph sat happily on her face.

Realizing after about three minutes that ordinary brushes just weren't going to do it this time, she had led the horse out behind the stable where the pump was and tied him up, before starting to pump water into as many pails as she could find.

The servants had taken over pumping and filling buckets almost immediately so she could focus on scrubbing the horse clean.

It was a huge surprise when the buckets turned white with soapsuds, making her job much easier and having longer-lasting effects.

She had to laugh at how white Mitternacht had been. He had looked like a giant sooty snowball.

Snorting in an equine laugh, he had chosen that very moment to shake violently, spraying everything and anything around him lavishly in soapsuds for a good fifteen or twenty feet, Avalina included.

Now, washed, rinsed and nearly completely dry, he looked like the equivalent of the feeling of waking up to a fresh spring morning.

His dark, still damp coat shone brighter than any precious stone, to the point Avalina fancied she might have seen her reflection in his silvery black side.

His mane, tail and feather had curled and waved themselves back to their normal, regal and yet somehow wild-looking state.

It reminded Avalina a great deal of her own untameable hair.

While he had dried out she had sat down on a bench to take a break and clean out all the brushes, as her legs were sending warning signals.

After she washed them all out and laid them out to dry, her legs felt well enough to walk inside the stable and get Mitternacht's stable ready for him. She was very tired but there was no way she was going to let all that hard work on her horse go to waste by putting him in a dirty stall.

Only to find that the servants had already cleaned his stall from top to bottom.

The hay rack and trough were full and waiting, fresh straw had been laid, the water bucket scrubbed and refilled, and the boards that had been gnawed on had been replaced.

It looked like new!

"Thank you," Avalina said gratefully.

Normally she would have wanted to do it, but she was simply too tired now. She was glad they had did it for her.

Seeing a broom literally dancing across the hall, sweeping up the old oats and wood splinters, however, she spoke up.

"Please, don't do that."

The broom stopped in total astonishment.

"Oh, its not that I don't appreciate it, I do," Avalina reassured it, "Its just that. . .well. . .I-I. . .I'm going to need something to keep myself occupied. Y-y. . .you know."

She tried not to flinch at the thought.

She had tried not to think much about it, but judging by the Horned King's behavior towards her, he had no intention of letting her go anytime soon.

Possibly not ever.

Avalina felt her eyes prickle violently and she held back tears with a colossal effort, not wanting to think about what might lie in store for her.

She felt the presence give off a sense of pity as the broom bowed to her and returned to its rightful place in the tackroom, hanging on a nail.

Trying to suppress her frightened apprehension, Avalina went outside to bring Mitternacht in.

To her surprise, she noticed that it was gloomier outside than it had been only a minute earlier, and she realized the sun was setting.

'I've been out here all day again,' she realized.

'Just like at home, I lost track of time. I guess old habits die hard.'

Smiling a bit, trying not to succumb to her tears, she led Mitternacht inside and turned him into his stall.

Sitting down comfortably in the deep straw, leaning her back against the door, she watched him eat ferociously, like he hadn't had anything in days.

It helped to ease her troubled mind somewhat.

She was very glad to see him eating.

While she had been bathing him, she had found old skinned marks under the new hair growing in around his knees and mouth, probably where he had savaged the walls and everything else he could reach, trying to get to her.

She nearly wept at the thought.

Her small amount of rest unfortunately didn't last long as a piece of parchment drifted down into her lap after a few minutes.

Fear knocking her heart against her ribs, she unrolled it to see exactly what she expected.

The Master will see you now.

Feeling suddenly cold, she slowly got to her feet and stepped out, bolting the door behind her.

Mitternacht immediately came over and began to panic, tossing his head and nickering nervously.

"Oh, boy," she said softly, rubbing his face, "I completely understand you don't want me to leave, after everything that's happened, but I have to. The master here is not someone to mess with, and I don't wish to anger him. Again."

Shivering at the memory of those blood red eyes burning right through her soul, she fought back the urge to crawl into Mitternacht's stall and hide in there with him for the rest of the night, but she couldn't, as badly as she wanted to.

Mitternacht was not easily reassured, and it took several, several minutes for him to calm down enough to where he wasn't lunging about.

"I promise, boy, I'll come back," she soothed.

"I've never broken a promise, have I?"

The horse still looked very doubtful, but he quit thrashing around, at least.

Stepping into the throne room, Avalina fought down a horrible feeling of Déjà vu as she slowly approached the throne, which to her mild surprise, was still cloaked in shadows, despite the fact that she already knew who he was.

Maybe the architecture of the building made it like that.

She knelt a moment before rising, her legs shaking under her weight. She silently willed them not to give.

A rasping sound as the Horned King drew in a slow breath before speaking.

"As you have recovered sufficiently enough to move again, you are free to go anywhere you wish here, except below the dungeon level and off my grounds. Try to escape, and I will kill you. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

His voice was like stone, and Avalina knew he meant every word he said.

Shivering, trying to keep her fear and tears under control, she stammered out, "Y-yes sir."

Not daring to look up, she didn't see the Horned King's eyes narrow, taking in her terrified form.

"Obey my orders, and nothing here will harm you," that cold monotone rumbled out, echoing off the walls softly, adding emphasis to his words.

Avalina could only nod, not daring to try and speak or look up, trying miserably to keep her tears from spilling over completely. She couldn't let him see her crying! Heaven knew what he'd do!

"That will be all," the Horned King echoed out.

Avalina bowed at the waist and turned to go, but his voice brought her to a screeching halt.

"Stop."

Turning back, terrified, Avalina stared up at the throne.

"Y-Yes?"

Panicked thoughts raced through her mind of what she could have done wrong, anticipating the very worst.

"What hit you?"

She paused, completely floored for a moment, until she slowly shook her head.

"N-No_nothing."

"Do not lie to me," he ground out, rising from the throne.

The mere movement made her jump back nearly three feet.

"I'm sorry!" She cried, her eyes blurring with tears as she watched him walk down the steps.

"I-I can't t-tell you!"

She inwardly screamed at herself for panicking and saying something that stupid, to the *Horned King* of all people, but it was too late to take it back now. He was going to kill her for sure now!

"Stop."

He ordered her coldly, stopping two steps short of the bottom, the shadows hiding his face.

Avalina realized she had been backing up a step for every one he took, and stopped immediately, terrified of what he might do.

She felt his gaze staring very hard at her face, more specifically her left cheekbone, where the bruise was several shades of black, purple and yellow around the edges.

"Why not?"

Avalina tried to think of why again, but her mind wasn't processing things properly.

There was a long, brooding silence from the stairs as she floundered for an answer.

Seeing she had none, the Horned King picked up where he had left off.

"Was it the goblin?"

Avalina jumped and stared at him, half in fear and half in guilt, completely at a stalemate.

"Answer me."

Although his voice remained as calm as ever, she saw his hands fist into his robe and knew his patience was nearly gone.

With nothing else to say, Avalina could only whisper out an affirmative, shaking like she had a very bad fever.

"Yes, it was."

Staring fearfully at him, she saw him clench his hands tighter, and she flinched at the action.

Upon this, the Horned King seemed to gather himself and ground out, "You may go," relaxing his hands as he did so.

Turning his back to her as he walked back up the steps, she stared for a moment as he ordered the servants in a voice like ice,

"Bring me the goblin. Now."

Before he could turn around and see her still standing there she was walking out as quickly as her shaking legs could carry her.