A Blaze in the Dark (A New Dawn #1)

Chapter 45 - Sebastian (Part 2)

The next morning, right after the break of day, Sebastian was sitting stiffly in Nasira's saddle, his grip on her reins tight and a little shaky. The sandy brown Scorian mare beneath him shook her head, bit and bridle rattling. For the first time since Abby's death, he was on a horse's back and he was quite out of habit.

It was silly. Like all the other children in Laneby, he had been taught to ride at the age of four. He had been a quick learner until Father's crazy old stallion Sham had bucked him off in full gallop. Bruised and in tears, Sebastian had sworn to the Gods to never venture near another horse again.

"Real men don't cry, Sebby." Father had placed him back on the horse without any excuses, ordering him to pull through. "A Lord who can't ride isn't worthy of being a Lord."

Sebastian leant back in the saddle, slowly loosening the reins. Near the western side entrance to the castle, Alex stood talking to Aunt Crystal and Lana. Uncle Tom was there too, but after a quick hug and some words of advice, his uncle had become as much a bystander as he had.

It was a pathetic scene. Uncle Tom and Aunt Crystal had been avoiding each other all night and morning, but here—in the semi-publicness of it all—they were holding hands. The growing crowd on the market square weren't paying them any attention, anyway. There were enough guards and carriages belonging to Lord Simon to block their view. 

If anything, the Sundalers were performing unnecessary tricks to catch a few glimpses of him. Their Crown Prince.

Soon he would become even more of a spectacle. It wasn't every day that he left the city on horseback. He wasn't deaf to their whispers. Would he be travelling to the Port to get tutored by Lord Simon? Or making a tour around The Greenlands, as the Princes of old used to do?

"He's such a pretty young man. The mirror of his father, but with his mother's eyes!" shouted one of the ladies old enough to be his grandmother. They had been standing as close to the castle as the guards had allowed them too, securing the only spot to have a proper view on him.

The woman's statement was based on nothing but her imagination. He had seen the paintings of Father as a child. With the round face and rosy cheeks, Father had looked more like a boyish version of Lucy. The old Lanebyers who had known his grandfather always used to claim he was the spitting image of a young Lord Ian, except with black hair instead of light brown.

Aunt Crystal was wrapping her arms around Alex for the umptieth time. She was crying, which made his stomach churn. If it hadn't been for her and Lana jabbering on about whatever girls talked about, he would have already been halfway to Eastpond. Halfway to saying goodbye to Alex, and he still wasn't ready to let her go.

George joined his side. Fiddling with his reins, the General darted a look over his shoulders. "I don't know who's the bigger fool: me agreeing to your uncle's proposition to guard you, or you voluntarily wanting to travel with a woman."

"Alex isn't really a woman," Sebastian said in all seriousness. "And she's my friend. I wanna spend some extra time with her before she leaves. I don't know when or if I'll ever see her again."

"She'll be back by summer, right in time for the tournament. But I get it. I was once young and foolishly in love."

"I don't care what Uncle Tom told you. I'm not in love with her."

"Of course, My Lord." He shot a mocking grin at him. "It's a tale as old as time itself—the lowborn girl stealing the heart of the Prince. Life ain't no fairytale, though. You'll never marry her."

"I'm well aware. And I don't care."

George frowned. "Don't say that when you do care. It makes you look pompous and arrogant—perception is everything." He turned to Lord Simon. The Lord with hair longer than most women was approaching them on his brown stallion with a white spot on his muzzle.