Chapter Nineteen: Flight & Fight
It didn't take Christine long to find Étoile.
The mare had made herself quite comfortable in one of the stable's roomy stalls.
Hearing the redhead's footsteps on the cobblestones, she looked up mid-mouthful of hay and cocked her head as if to ask, "What are you doing here?"
Throwing the saddle over her back, Christine didn't respond.
She pulled the mare out of the stall instead and quickly mounted.
Then the redhead gave Étoile's sides a kick.
The mare didn't hesitate.
She broke into a canter and headed toward the castle's gate.
Moments later, they were safely through the gate and back in the woods that surrounded the castle.
But it didn't take long for Christine to realize that she had just traded one terrifying situation for another.
As Étoile cantered along, the redhead caught glimpses of shadows out of the corners of her eyes.
They gradually grew larger and more clear, and by the time Christine heard the first howl, she already knew that she and Étoile were being followed by a pack of wolves.
Urging Étoile on, Christine tried not to panic.
Étoile was a small, dainty horse with extremely light hooves, and could run quite fast when the situation called for it.
If they could just get close enough to the village, she was sure that the wolves would be frightened away by the signs of civilization.
As long as they didn't run into any obstacles before then, they should be alright.
And then Étoile ran right out onto a frozen pond.
Beneath her hooves, the ice groaned.
Christine leaned over and saw cracks begin to appear.
Small at first, they grew larger as the mare slipped and slid across the frozen surface.
Shouting encouragement, Christine tried to calm Étoile, who was growing more and more panicked as the ice began to give out beneath them and the wolves closed in from behind.
Christine felt the mare's haunches bunch beneath her and the redhead grabbed a fistful of her mane.
Then...Étoile leapt.
Christine's breath caught in her throat as they hung suspended in the air for a moment, before Étoile's front hooves landed on the pond's edge.
A moment later, her back hooves followed.
But the cry of relief that Christine wanted to let out got caught in her throat as the first of the wolves, seeing its chance, attacked.
One wolf's large jaws snapped as it went after Étoile's back leg.
A moment later, another wolf joined in.
Étoile kicked out and bucked wildly, trying to defend both herself and her rider.
On her back, Christine clung to the mare's mane desperately, but Étoile's frantic movements were just too strong.
As her hind legs once again flew into the air, the redhead was knocked out of the saddle and went flying headfirst into a nearby tree.
As she slid painfully to the ground, Christine moaned weakly, her head feeling like it was splitting open.
Unable to do more than just lie there and wait for death to take her, she closed her eyes.
But then she heard a yelp, followed by a dull thud.
Confused as to why she wasn't dead yet, she opened her eyes to see a tall masked figure in a black velvet cloak expertly wielding a thin piece of rope.
Two wolves already lay dead in the snow, their necks clearly broken.
Then her eyes fell closed once more as she passed out.
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