The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 402. The Last Day

Chapter 402: 402. The Last Day

Mauve tried to not show how much discomfort she was in as she rode the horse but this was the last day she would have to spend riding one, she could bear the pain.

She completely underestimated the journey. It was still worth it but considering how sore her rear was, she doubted it was entirely worth it.

"We can see the village," Sir Galath said, riding close to her.

She forced out a smile. Tiredness made it hard to talk. She would rather just concentrate on getting to the village than comment on whether she could see it or not.

Besides, it didn’t look as close as it sounded, it would still take an hour of riding up this path to get there. Why did the village have to be at the top of the hill?

Well, it wasn’t really much of a hill, more like higher ground but with how tired she felt even a bump would feel like riding up a mountain.

It was mid-afternoon, this was good. At least, she would have a couple of hours of rest before the journey began.

"Mauve," Galath called to her.

She turned her head to look at him, her grip on the reins steady. "Yes," she responded.

"You have been awfully quiet," he commented.

No one would have a conversation in this state. She was sure there were blisters on her behind and to be honest, she would rather slow down and continue the rest of this journey on foot than have to spend another minute on this horse but she didn’t say that.

"Oh, I have just been a bit preoccupied with my thoughts. There is no cause for alarm."

Galath nodded and looked like he was about to push the issue but simply withdrew away from her, riding ahead.

Mauve was sure her sigh of relief was loud enough to wake the dead. Just one more hour of this and it would be all over.

Her entourage consisted of Sir Galath, Owen, two other knights, and three regular guards. Mauve thought they were a little too much but Malcolm insisted they needed this much.

He couldn’t follow them on the trip even though he looked like wanted to but Mauve was glad he didn’t. Having the Crown Prince travel with them was too much of a hassle.

They were already attracting enough attention, she didn’t want to add any more to it. Besides, Malcolm had the most difficult task and that was dealing with the King.

She shook her head as she imagined the ruckus that must have ensued at her disappearance or not. For all she knew the King might have shrugged when he discovered she left the castle.

None of that matters, she was going to look ahead, the past was in the past. She would only dwell on what was in front of her.

"The village entrance," Owen said, riding closer to her.

She smiled at him, praying that her face didn’t give away her discomfort. Finally, they were here.

She didn’t know how far the inn they had used was from the entrance but since she had been able to use her feet, it was safe to assume it wasn’t very far.

The wooden gates were thrown open as soon as they got close enough. Mauve remembered Erick breaking it the first time they were here.

However, the new gates looked like even Erick would have a hard time forcing this open. She sped through the open gates just as she heard some call, "Princess."

If she wasn’t so in a hurry and tired from the journey she would have at least slowed down to see who it was.

Instead, she rode closely behind Galath as he led the way. His horse started to slow down as they got to the tavern. Mauve recognized it immediately.

She halted her horse and threw her right leg over the horse as she attempted to get off. Mauve felt her grip loosening and her eyes widened in panic as realized she was going to fall off the horse.

Mauve jumped in fright as a hand touched her waist. Her action startled the horse and it let out a loud neigh. The reins fell out of her grasp.

"Please, stay still, Princess. I am only trying to help you down," Sir Galath spoke directly into her ears.

"I know," she pouted. "You just startled me."

He dropped her to the ground, a little too easily in her opinion. "I apologize but there wasn’t enough time to warn you."

"I suppose. T-Thank you." She could deny that if he hadn’t acted fast, she would have kissed the ground.

"Princess," the familiar voice called, and Mauve felt someone tug her pants. She looked down to see the kids looking up at her.

"Sir Galath, you’re back!" They yelled.

"Hi," Mauve said with a big smile on her face.

"Welcome back."

"Thank you," she replied. She wished she could spend more time with them but she just wanted to go in and get some rest.

She most likely wouldn’t be able to see the Vampires until the sun sets and knowing them, they would want to leave immediately. It would be best to get all the rest she possibly could.

"The Princess needs to rest, okay?" Galath said. "Now, run off."

The youngest of them pouted but they went for a forced hug before running away. "Bye Princess."

"Bye," she waved vigorously at them.

"We should go in," Sir Galath said.

Mauve nodded, she thought he sounded a bit stern than usual but she didn’t pay any mind to it.

He pushed the tavern doors and she walked on behind him. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Owen and a young boy gathering the horses.

"Sir Galath," the inn lady called with a bright smile. "Welcome." She caught sight of Mauve and immediately bowed her head.

"Please raise your head," she said.

"Your finest room please," Galath said.

Mauve thought that was the wrong word to use in such a small inn. Besides, she wasn’t choosy. As long as it had a bed, she would be fine.

"Of course," the woman said eagerly. "Right this way."