Story of A Prince

Chapter XI

After lunch, Ja Rin was almost bouncing off the walls in excitement, as she strapped on the now familiar white helmet. Ji Hoo could sense her palpable curiosity, and grinned, kicking the engine into life as he headed further North.

The stables and riding grounds were quite a distance from the main building, and had their own entrance. Their ride to the stables was quiet, since the incident with the waitress had occurred.

Ji Hoo hated the girl with all his heart, for bringing a sour note into his first date with the girl he loved. He had only just found her, too. Ja Rin, on the other hand, was rather puzzled about a lot of things, not just one. She had noticed how sweet the girl was with her companion, but so distinctly spiteful and disdainful towards her. The only logical explanation was jealousy, or she liked Ji Hoo, but it didn't make sense. How could you like a guy you hadn't had one conversation with? Also, the girl's flirting had made her very uneasy. She had fought to quell some untamed instinct that rose in her, telling her to maul out the girl. Where did that come from? She might be a mafia princess who loved a good bashing, but she wasn't bloodthirsty. This was... bloodlust.

"We're here, Ja Rin," Ji Hoo said, uneasy with the tense silence between them. He took off his helmet and helped her down from the bike.

"Oh... are these your grounds?" It was neat, and too spacious. A perfect place to ride, though.

"Yeah. I parked in the garage, so come on out. We can ride down to the rodeo," he suggested.

"Really?!" Ja Rin positively beamed. Ji Hoo looked at her and laughed, ruffling up her hair.

"Yeah," he smiled, and took her hand hesitantly. When she didn't pull away, he led her to the stables, with a satisfied smile on his face.

Never before had Ja Rin imagined that someone could own so many horses, all ever so beautiful. Two long, almost endless rows of whinnying, stamping and mane tossing horses almost swept her off her feet as she walked in, as if in a trance.

"I could never leave, and still be happy." She walked up to the nearest one, unable to restrain herself, and touched the palomino's muzzle.

"That's Cassandra. She used to be my mother's." Ji Hoo came to stand by her side, looking wistful.

"Used to?" Ja Rin turned to him, confused. If her memory was right, his mother was the Queen of Italy. And nothing had happened to her... so?

"She injured her hip in a riding accident. She hasn't been able to ride since then." Ji Hoo picked up a sugar lump and fed it to the palomino.

"Oh... I'm sorry." She could tell that it still affected him, and she couldn't remember much of her.

"It's okay," he smiled. "It's been a long time. I've always gone riding alone, but I think I'll like riding with you. Which one do you want to ride?"

After walking down all the stalls, her eyes fell on a beautiful, night black Arabian stallion, a war horse with beautiful blue eyes, uncharacteristic of Arabian horses. Ji Hoo followed her gaze.

"Do you want to ride Alex?" He asked, walking up to the horse. She had a good eye for horses.

"Is he the one you normally ride?" She asked  stroking the beautiful, velvet like muzzle.

"No, I usually ride Pierre. That's him, two stalls down." Ja Rin looked over, to find a tall, royal white Thoroughbred with large coal eyes.

"Oh..." It didn't take two seconds for her gaze to return longingly to Alex, who was now gently nuzzling into her hand. Ji Hoo noticed the overly adoring behaviour of the stallion, and smiled.

"He likes you," he said. "Normally, he's nearly impossible to ride, and is quite temperamental. I think you've found your soulmate in the world of horses, don't you think?" He laughed.

"Can I really have him? I mean, don't you ride him or ... well ..." Ja Rin turned to him.

"Are you implying that you don't want to get him for free or something like that, perhaps?" Ji Hoo asked, wondering about her sudden hesitance.

"Well, it's just... I don't usually work that way," she confessed. "It's just... difficult for me to accept."

"Well, maybe I'll just give him to you if you agree to a condition?" Ji Hoo suggested. His idea may not have been the best, but it was certainly worth a try, no matter how underhanded it seemed.

"What is it?" She looked like she had already accepted it, no matter what he put forth.

"Will you agree to be my girlfriend?"