Chapter 39 Dulcie and Shadow

Chapter 39 Dulcie and Shadow
“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” Lucy asked as the cat scurried away at the king’s presence. 

The cloak covered his face, but she could tell he shrugged without a care. “Someone likes to roam.”

There was a pause as neither of them said anything else. Finally, Lucy let out a sigh. 

“I took a nap and couldn’t sleep through the day,” Lucy said, crossing her arms, annoyed that she was having to explain herself. 

“Well, I couldn’t sleep either. Why are you all the way in the stables?” He questioned her.

“Are you following me?” Her eyes narrowed. 

“You make the guards nervous going out in the day.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the stables. 

Lucy looked around for eyes she did not see. How did she make vampires nervous? She wanted to laugh

“So they woke you? Are you my babysitter?” She was half joking, half wondering. 

“I was already awake and found the guards drawing straws as to who had to go out in the sun to make sure you were ok.” He told her factually. “Also, I’m not your babysitter. I’m your betrothed.”

The latter was said with emphasis, as if it were a warning. It surprised Lucy that she stood straight. 

“Why do you even have horses?” Lucy asked, looking around the stables. They were grand and even that way an understatement. It was quite an operation. 

“That’s an odd question.” His face was still hidden beneath the cloak, leaving only her imagination of his expression. 

“Are you not faster than a horse?” Her lessons with Bethias indicated that the horses were pointless for a vampire. 

He let out a laugh as his body relaxed. “Yes.”

“Then why the carriages?” Surely they did not need to be carried about. They were far more than capable. 

“The carriages are for moving when the sun may come out. It gives us a place to escape. The horses that pull the carriage are trained to go home. That way, no one has to guide them,” he told her, before adding, “The other horses are just a hobby. Many like just riding. Walking everywhere can get boring.” He shrugged. 

Lucy listened to the information as she tried to process it. 

“How do they see at night? Horses are not nocturnal.” She said. 

“That’s why we have so many lanterns along the streets. For the horses to see.”

It seemed to make sense to Lucy, but not what she had been expecting. She thought about it, and it appeared the roads had lanterns placed every few feet or so

“And now you,” He added. 

“So the lights in the palace are only lit for me?” She was unsure whether she was flattered or not. 

“They also look nice.” 

“How kind of you,” She said flatly. 

The sun was beginning to set, and she found herself a little relieved to have Caen with her as the vampires would soon be out. 

Caen walked over to the door, his body completely shielded from the last of the lingering rays of the sun. Lucy heard a whistle, then the thunder of hooves. 

“You might want to stand back,” He called to her. 

Lucy looked around and found stairs leading to the hayloft above the stalls. She quickly scurried up before looking back down to see what was coming. 

The doors to the stalls had been swung open, she assumed by Caen when she was not looking. 

The sound of hooves grew louder as they grew closer than a herd of horses came trotting through the front door. They each went to their own stall as if they knew which one belonged to them. 

Caen came out of the saddle room carrying two saddles as if they weighed nothing. “Would you like to go for a ride?”

“I must confess I don’t have much riding experience.”

“You’ll be fine,” he said, turning away. 

She watched from her perch as he saddled a small buckskin. He tied her to the post of one of the stalls, then moved on to the giant black horse he had seen out in the pasture. 

The horse sat obediently, though he seemed not to like being told what to do. 

When he was done, he motioned for her with a gloved hand. “Come here.”

She obediently went to his side. “This is Dulcie,” he said, petting the mare’s mane. “She is gentle and hates to run. You will ride her.”

“Hello Dulcie,” Lucy said, petting the horse's snout. He then helped her mount the horse and handed her the reins after he untied her from the post. 

She sat there as he went to the stallion and quickly climbed into the saddle. 

“What’s his name?” Lucy asked as he began to steer the horse towards the exit. 

He did not answer for a few seconds. 

“Shadow”

Lucy let out a laugh. “How fitting.”

“Do not mock my naming skills.”

“I would never dream of such a thing.” Dulcie walked calmly next to Shadow. The mare stretched her neck without a worry in the world. Shadow, however, held his head high, his pride shining through. 

The horses walked out of the stable, and Caen steered Shadow towards a hill. They walked past the paddocks, some of the horses were still out, not having come to the king’s whistle, or at least they could not get out, as their gates had been locked. 

The other horses that had come into the stables stayed in their stalls, and Caen shut the doors till the stable hands could tend to them. 

The past the brown horse that Lucy had petted earlier. “What’s her name?” Lucy asked.

Caen turned only slightly before saying, “Cinnamon.” 

“She was awfully sweet earlier,” Lucy said, recalling how she walked over to her. 

“She was my mother’s horse.” Lucy barely heard him when he spoke. The horses were definitely old, and it made sense if she belonged to the late queen. 

“I’m sorry for your loss.” It was what everyone said when someone died. It didn't seem to help, at least for her; it didn’t, but everyone said so. It must be good to say. 

Caen’s shoulders went up and down in a shrug, but he said nothing. 

“My mother is gone as well.” She did not know why she said it, but it felt right. 

“So the baroness is your stepmother?” he asked, piecing together the puzzle. 

“Yes,” She said wearily.

They passed through a gate in the walls that surrounded the palace. Lucy wondered where they were going, but did not ask aloud.

“Thank goodness.”

Lucy laughed. “Why do you say that?”

“Let’s just say she wrote a letter that was found to be interesting while discussing the treaty.”

“Oh no,” She groaned. Dulcie trudged up the hill they were traveling along. The mare did not appear to be enjoying the exercise. Her breathing was heavy with each step.,

Now Caen laughed. “She was very pleased with your coming to Kunlun.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” She was not surprised. She was surprised her stepmother had not danced when she left. 

“Turn around,” He whispered.