EIGHT
«let's get it!»
mark shouted as he pat the horse's thigh, inciting it to go faster.
if he only had one euro for every time he said that specific sentence, he would be even richer than he already was.
we all decided to go for a ride, the boys affirmed that there were lots of things to see and do, so i agreed to join them in this short adventure.
i lightly pat my horse as well, which immediately reacted to my touch — sprinting towards, as i surpassed the other guys, running next to an excited lucas, who didn't look like he would let me lead the race.
«catch me if you can!»
the blonde male boldly shouted while looking directly at me, a mischievous smile appearing on his face.
i slowly nodded, accepting his challenge.
i kept trailing behind him, my eyes a little bit covered by my hair as they were being messed up by the wind, but still managed to keep my gaze on the male in front of me.
i was a bit uncomfortable because of the dress, but it wasn't a big deal.
the only thing that mattered in that moment was to win.
i had to win.
the race went on for a while.
the loud voices of the others slowly disappeared along with the fast steps of the quadrupeds, the last thing heard being “hey, you're taking the wrong way!”.
or i guess that was what my ears caught.
i tried to speed up and soon reached my opponent
«did you hear what the others said?»
i asked lucas, who totally ignored my question
«hey, i'm talking to you-»
«we're just taking a different path, chill out.»
he calmly answered smiling.
we then entered a small pathway, endless trees sorrounding it, the ground being covered by white irregular stones.
silent reigned in that moment, the only sound heard were the clogs of the horses steadily hitting the long path.
without even doing it on purpose, the thought of kun and my parents came into my mind: i wonder if they noticed my absence, if they've already started searching for me or whatever.
«lucas...»
i called out.
he turned around humming, a sign that he was waiting for me to speak
«what if my family notice that i'm no where to be found?»
i asked curiously. he blinked a couple of times before clearing his throat, his attention back to the road.
«a day in a painting corresponds to a minute in your real life. if you're good at maths, you'll surely know that your family is not worrying about you right now.»
he kindly answered.
«if i were you, i would start worrying about it when the days will suddenly become months and the months will become years.»
i drew the horse's reins, blocking its walk.
«why would i worry ? it's not like i'm gonna stay for long anyway...»
he didn't reply and maybe i understood why: the pathway ended.
we were now on a hill from which the view of the kingdom was fully displayed.
lucas came down from his steed and came next to me, he stretched out his hand probably wanting to help me get down from my own.
i ignored his hand and did everything by myself, clearing a bit of dust placed on my dress and walking towards the edge of the high ground.
i heard him chuckle, but ignored it.
the first thing that caught my eye was the fact that the majority of the people hanging around were bourgeois
lively bourgeois that really knew how to live a simple life.
shouting at each other at the market, kids playing hide and seek in the midst of busy street vendors and various carriages filling the thight streets.
i could already imagine myself in the midst of such a warm atmosphere, without all those pompous dresses and material wonders.
«who's better: we or they?»
the blonde male asked suddenly, surprising me as i kept staring at the city in awe
«i guess they.»
«why?»
«because they're more similar to me and because i never had a thing for nobles.
y'all still cool though...»
i simply stated looking at lucas, whose lips were now forming an 'o' shape as he came and stood next to me.
«i like them too, although they seem to be so stubborn nowadays...»
he said with a low voice, sighing. his eyes meeting the grassy ground
«what do you mean?»
«nothing...»
and with that said, he got on his horse and motioned me to do the same as we both went back to the palace.
[...]
«sirs and duchesses, dinner is ready»
the butler said, while escorting us to the lunchroom.
i noticed that the girl named hyorin followed us too, she was being called duchess and she was really close to jungwoo.
the two kept chatting all day along, making me wonder about her relationship with the boys.
as we made our entrance in the room well mentioned before, the first thing i saw was the large variety and size of food i saw on the long table.
making me drowl while i already pictured myself eating all the stuff till i was fully satisfied.
«irene, seat next to me!»
sicheng exclaimed while patting the seat next to his, being unaware that lucas was literally glaring at him.
i accepted his offer and immediately sat down, the other blonde male quickly occupying the other seat.
after thanking the maids we started eating, the food was amazingly delicious. i couldn't get better meal
«how many times do i have to say that i don't want water for dinner?»
jaehyun asked the butler fisting the table.
we all flinched at his sudden act, all eyes on him.
«i'm sorry sir, what would you like to drink?»
«i just want some milk!»
doyoung bursted in a loud laugh after hearing what the brown haired male said.
i was a bit confused by that, i unconsciously looked at the guy next to him, expecting some explanations.
«and you still wonder why the citizens are being so hard on us nowadays» taeyong calmly said, drinking his water.
«c'mon don't exaggerate, they're just being stubborn.
tomorrow we'll solve everything.»
solve what?
«stubborn ? they literally set the our biggest prison on fire.»
i froze after hearing mark saying such a thing.
i always knew nobles and bourgeois were never a thing, but this actually scared me.
were the citizens really that rebellious?
and if they were, was there a reason behind their extreme behavior?
maybe this was the dangerous flaw behind the perfection the guys tried to show me.
«i think we're scaring irene-»
i heard sicheng whisper, but he got immediately interrupted by lucas who made me look at him and firmly said
«we may live in an alternate universe, but no matter it's in a painting or in real life...
history is always history, we can't escape our destiny.»
unedited.