Vanya made her way down the stone path, lifting the front of her dress slightly as she descended the smaller staircase leading away from the guest gardens.
The further she got away from the grand halls, the easier she found herself breathing.
The palace was beautiful, yes, but there was something suffocating about it too.
Too many eyes.
Too many whispers.
Too many smiles that never quite reached the eyes. Especially that
The scent reached her before the stable itself came fully into view hay, horses, worn leather, earth warmed beneath the afternoon sun.
Oddly enough, it comforted her immediately.
A few stable boys looked up the moment she entered through the wide archway.
The reaction was almost immediate.
One nearly dropped the bucket he was holding.
Another straightened so abruptly he smacked the back of his head against a wooden beam.
"My lady!"
Vanya blinked before laughing softly. "Should I apologize for frightening everyone?"
The younger boy turned bright red while the others quickly bowed.
"No, my lady!"
"Not at all, my lady."
Her eyes instinctively searched the stable.
Joseph wasn't there.
Instead, a taller young man stepped out from one of the farther stalls wiping his hands on a cloth. He looked older than the others, perhaps a few years older than Joseph, broader in the shoulders with sun-browned skin and dark blond hair tied carelessly behind his neck.
Unlike the others, he didn't immediately panic.
Though surprise still crossed his face.
"Lady Vanya?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes?"
"I'm Thomas, my lady. Joseph mentioned you before."
Vanya's lips curved faintly. "Hopefully kindly."
A small snort escaped one of the younger stable boys before he quickly hid behind a horse.
Thomas shook his head lightly. "Depends on the day."
That earned a few muffled laughs.
Vanya found herself smiling properly for the first time that day.
It felt…normal here.
No ballroom tension.
No noblewomen circling like vultures wrapped in silk.
Just people.
Just horses.
Thomas folded the cloth into his belt. "Did you need something, my lady?"
"I wanted to ride."
The stable suddenly became quieter.
Should we ready the carriage.
One of the boys glanced toward another.
Thomas blinked once. "Ride?"
"Yes."
"Alone?"
Vanya tilted her head slightly. "Is that terribly scandalous?"
The younger boys immediately looked away to hide their reactions.
Thomas, however, looked more amused than shocked now.
"I suppose that depends on who sees you."
"Well then," Vanya said softly, "let us hope the judgmental ones are occupied elsewhere."
That time Thomas laughed openly.
"Fair enough."
He motioned for her to follow him deeper into the stable rows.
As they passed, several horses shifted curiously from their stalls.
Vanya slowed near a black mare, gently brushing her fingers against its nose before moving again.
"You like horses," Thomas observed.
"I like things that don't pretend."
Something about the answer made him glance at her more carefully.
But he didn't question it.
Eventually he stopped before a tall white horse with silver-toned hair and calm pale eyes.
The horse nudged the stall door lazily.
"She's one of the calmer ones," Thomas explained. "Elegant enough for a lady. Fast enough if you anger her."
Vanya smiled immediately. "I think we'll get along."
"She bites rude people," one of the younger boys muttered.
Thomas shot him a look.
"What? She does."
Vanya laughed quietly again.
The horse seemed to relax beneath her touch when she stroked along its neck.
"What's her name?"
"Seraphine."
"Beautiful."
Thomas busied himself preparing the horse while Vanya watched nearby.
"You ride often?" he asked after a moment.
"Not lately."
"But you know how."
"Joseph insisted I learn properly."
"That sounds like Joseph."
"He said if I was going to sneak rides, I should at least survive them."
That pulled another laugh from the stable hands.
By the time Seraphine was ready, Thomas offered his arm politely.
"My lady."
Vanya placed one hand lightly against the saddle before mounting smoothly without assistance.
That time nobody even tried hiding their surprise.
The youngest stable boy's mouth actually fell open.
Thomas stared up at her for a second before shaking his head under his breath.
"You weren't joking."
"I rarely joke about surviving."
"You ride like someone raised around soldiers."
"Hardly." Vanya adjusted the reins. "Just one very stubborn stable boy."
Thomas stepped back, still looking faintly impressed.
"Well…try not to terrify the court too badly, my lady."
"No promises."
With that, she nudged Seraphine forward.
The horse moved gracefully through the stable entrance and out into the palace grounds.
The afternoon wind immediately caught strands of Vanya's dark hair as they rode across the lower pathways.
For the first time since arriving at the palace, she felt free.
Not Lady Vanya Emeraldae.
Not the quiet noble girl everyone watched too carefully.
Just Vanya.
The paths stretched farther than she expected, winding around trimmed gardens, marble fountains and towering palace walls draped in flowering ivy.
A few servants stopped to stare as she passed.
Two elderly noblewomen nearly gasped aloud.
One whispered something scandalized behind her fan.
Vanya pretended not to notice.
Though the corners of her lips twitched.
Eventually the quieter garden roads gave way to wider stone paths.
The sound reached her first. Steel striking steel. Men shouting. The sharp thud of boots against dirt.
Vanya slowed Seraphine slightly.
Ahead stretched a massive open training field surrounded by wooden fencing and elevated stone seating.
Dozens of knights occupied the grounds, some sparred with swords.
Others trained on horseback.
Several younger soldiers wrestled each other into the dirt while older knights barked instructions nearby.
The moment Vanya rode into view, the atmosphere shifted almost instantly.
A few soldiers stopped mid-conversation.
One man missed a block entirely and nearly got smacked across the jaw.
Another lowered his sword slowly.
Because riding calmly into the royal sparring grounds… as a noblewoman, alone, on horseback was not really idle, it was brazen.
"Well," a voice drawled somewhere nearby, "either we're being invaded by beautiful women or I've finally died during training."
Several soldiers snorted.
Vanya immediately felt amiss her face contorted.
A dark-haired knight approached first, lifting both hands slowly toward the horse.
"Easy there," he said more to Seraphine than to her.
Seraphine tossed her head once but settled.
The knight looked up at Vanya properly then, and visibly blinked. not because she was noble, because she was beautiful.
He recovered quickly enough to bow his head.
"My lady."
"I believe," Vanya said carefully, glancing around the training grounds, "I may have gotten lost."
That earned a few poorly hidden smiles, another knight laughed outright nearby.
"How exactly does one accidentally arrive at the royal sparring grounds?"
Vanya looked toward him with complete seriousness.
"I kept following the louder sounds."
That made several of them laugh properly, the tension eased almost immediately.
The first knight still stood beside her horse though, one hand lightly against the reins.
"You shouldn't really be here unattended," he admitted carefully. "The training grounds are restricted during sparring hours, especially to women not to mention a noble one."
"I did realize that shortly after everyone started gawking at me."
Again, quiet amusement spread through the nearby soldiers.
One younger knight leaned toward another. "I like her already."
"You like every woman with eyes."
"That's not true."
"It is absolutely true."
Vanya tried not to smile.
The dark-haired knight cleared his throat. "Would you like assistance dismounting, my lady?"
"No thank you."
Before anyone could protest, she swung herself down cleanly from the saddle.
Silence, actual silence.
One soldier muttered under his breath.
"Gods above."
Another looked genuinely offended.
"She rides better than you."
"Shut up."
The younger soldiers were still staring.
Not subtly either.
Vanya dusted her hands lightly against the front of her dress as though dismounting alone in the middle of a royal sparring ground was the most ordinary thing imaginable.
The dark-haired knight beside her blinked once before letting out a short breath through his nose.
"Well," he muttered, "that was humbling."
A few of the men behind him laughed.
One of the younger knights stepped closer, circling Seraphine carefully. "You rode her through the eastern paths alone?"
Vanya nodded. "Was I not supposed to?"
"That depends," another voice cut in dryly, "on whether you enjoy giving old ministers heart failure."
More laughter followed.
Vanya found herself smiling despite the attention.
The dark-haired knight finally offered a proper bow this time. "Forgive us, my lady. I'm Sir Rowan."
"Vanya."
Several brows lifted instantly.
Not Lady Vanya.
Just Vanya.
Rowan noticed too.
"Very well then…Vanya," he said carefully, almost amused by the boldness of it.
A taller knight approached from behind the others, removing one glove as he walked. Unlike the younger men, he carried himself with quieter control.
Older.
More composed.
His hair was dark brown touched faintly with silver near the temples, and a thin scar ran from the corner of his brow toward his cheek.
The conversations around them lowered slightly when he approached.
"Sir Cedric," Rowan greeted.
Cedric's eyes settled briefly on Vanya, thoughtful rather than surprised.
"My lady."
Vanya dipped her head politely.
"You've caused quite the disturbance."
"I'm beginning to realize that."
"You rode directly through the eastern military corridor."
"That sounds important."
"It is."
Vanya grimaced faintly. "Ah."
That finally pulled the slightest smile from him.
"You're either very brave or very unaware."
"Today?" she answered softly. "Perhaps both."
Rowan barked out another laugh.
Cedric, however, kept studying her.
Not rudely.
Carefully.
Like he was trying to understand why a noblewoman stood calmer than half the young recruits currently watching her.
One of the soldiers nearby suddenly straightened. "Captain."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The scattered conversations quieted.
Several knights stepped back into place.
Vanya turned instinctively toward the direction everyone suddenly seemed aware of.
A man crossed the field toward them.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dressed entirely in dark training leathers rather than noble fabrics or polished armor. His black gloves were stained slightly with dust, and a sword rested loosely against one shoulder as though it weighed nothing.
Unlike the others, he did not look surprised to find her there.
If anything…
he looked irritated.
His sharp eyes swept across the gathered soldiers before finally landing on Vanya.
Silence stretched briefly.
Then:
"Why," he asked flatly, "is there a lady standing in my sparring grounds?"
The younger knights immediately looked away.
Rowan coughed into his fist.
Cedric looked almost entertained now.
Vanya straightened slightly beneath the man's gaze.
"I got lost."
The captain stared at her.
Then at the horse.
Then back at her.
"You got lost."
"Yes."
"And somehow arrived in the restricted military grounds."
"It appears so."
A few soldiers visibly struggled not to laugh.
The captain's eyes narrowed slightly, though not entirely in anger.
More like disbelief.
"And nobody thought to escort her out?"
"She just got here," Rowan defended quickly.
"And dismounted before anyone could help her," another knight added.
The captain looked unimpressed by all of them.
His gaze shifted back to Vanya again.
"You rode alone?"
"Yes."
"Without attendants?"
"Yes."
"You realize half the palace is likely searching for you already."
That part…
was probably true.
Vanya suddenly imagined Theresa discovering her disappearance.
Oh dear.
The captain sighed heavily, rubbing one hand across his jaw.
"What is your name?"
"Vanya Emeraldae."
The reaction was immediate.
Recognition flickered across his face.
Not dramatic.
But enough.
"The Emeraldae girl," he muttered quietly.
Vanya caught it.
"So you've heard of me?"
"Everyone's heard of the family currently turning the court upside down."
That was not reassuring.
Cedric stepped in smoothly before the conversation sharpened further.
"Captain Lucien oversees the royal grounds."
Ah.
So this was Captain Lucien.
Vanya studied him more carefully now.
He looked younger than she expected for a captain.
Perhaps early thirties.
But there was something severe about him that made him seem older. Not in appearance.
In demeanor.
Like someone who had spent too many years carrying responsibility.
Lucien finally lowered the sword from his shoulder.
"You shouldn't wander this far alone."
The words sounded less harsh that time.
More warning than reprimand.
Vanya looked around the field.
"You make it sound dangerous."
"It can be."
Before she could respond, shouting suddenly erupted from the far end of the training grounds.
A horse had broken loose.
One of the younger recruits stumbled backward as the animal jerked violently against its reins, eyes wild and panicked.
Several soldiers cursed.
"Move!"
The frightened horse reared sharply.
The recruit holding the reins lost grip instantly.
The animal bolted across the field.
Directly toward them.
Everything happened at once.
Soldiers shouted.
Someone grabbed for Vanya.
Seraphine jerked anxiously beside her.
The loose horse thundered across the dirt, panic making it unpredictable.
Several men moved immediately to intercept it
But Vanya moved first.
Before anyone could stop her, she stepped forward sharply and caught Seraphine's reins tighter, speaking low beneath the chaos.
"Easy…easy girl…"
Her calm steadied the white mare almost instantly.
Then Vanya turned toward the charging horse.
The animal was terrified.
Not aggressive.
Terrified.
Its eyes rolled wildly as it fought against its own panic.
Lucien was already moving toward it
But Vanya stepped directly into its path.
"My Lady!" Rowan shouted.
Several soldiers swore aloud.
The horse reared violently only feet away from her.
Yet she didn't move.
Didn't scream.
Didn't panic.
Her voice cut through the chaos instead.
Soft.
Steady.
"Easy…"
The horse jerked again.
Then hesitated.
The soldiers froze.
Vanya stepped closer slowly, one careful movement at a time.
"Easy now…"
The animal's breathing remained frantic, but its movements began slowing.
Lucien stopped several feet away, watching carefully now.
Even he looked tense.
Vanya reached toward the horse carefully until finally her hand brushed against its neck.
The trembling gradually eased beneath her touch.
Silence spread slowly across the training grounds.
One of the younger knights whispered:
"…what in the gods…"
The horse lowered its head.
Completely calm.
Vanya exhaled softly and stroked along its mane once more.
"There you are," she murmured gently.
Only then did she seem to realize how quiet the field had become.
When she looked up
Every single soldier was staring at her.
Including Lucien.
And for the first time since meeting him…
the captain no longer looked irritated.
He looked genuinely caught off guard.