Typhon's Revenge

Chapter Seventeen

FIRE

To be brutally honest, I wanted to get away from Andrew and Kalani and everyone in that room. I felt the immense urge to be alone. Memories played in my mind of what Andrew and I had discussed the night before and it only made me feel much worse. Was I actually doing the best thing by pushing him away?

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and kept on walking through the empty hallway. I wasn't sure of where to look for Noah but I figured I might as well get to know the rest of the castle he hadn't shown us. I still had to talk to my father, and maybe, just maybe, a part of me was actually hoping that I would bump into him while I searched for Noah. 

I was considering talking to Hades about my powers and how they seemed to be out of control. Maybe he knew what was going on better than anyone. Barbara had said that Hades had also struggled with his powers when he moved to the Underworld and accepting the crown that came with it. Maybe it had something to do with this place, or how our powers were stronger if we accepted our titles. 

I sighed and decided to find Hades once I had talked to Noah. I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to ask him. My mind felt fazed and completely out of reason. 

Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me, "Princess?" 

Alfred's voice boomed across the hallway and I couldn't help but stiffen as if I had been caught doing something bad. Which I wasn't. 

Slowly, I turned around and smiled faintly at the older man. Just like the last time I had seen him, he was wearing his black suit along with a matching black shirt that made him look paler than a ghost. "Hello, Alfred, and good morning," I said politely as he stopped in front of me.

"Good morning, Your Majesty. Is something the matter? You looked a bit lost. I am sorry to intrude but, is there something I can help you with?" He asked as he eyed me closely. I was getting the feeling he didn't usually open up to anyone and that he was wary of strangers, no matter who they were.

"Um, yes. I guess I did get lost but I was actually looking for Noah. Have you seen him?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral.

Alfred raised an eyebrow and then nodded his head. "Yes, Mr. Rivers is at the stables. He is rather busy."

I chuckled and nodded my head. "Aren't we all?" 

Alfred didn't seem fazed by my attempt to make him laugh, he looked at me as though I was speaking in another language he wasn't familiar with. 

So I cleared my throat and straightened, "right. Well then, I should get back to the others. But I am glad that I bumped into you. If you see my father, could you tell him I am looking forward to speaking to him at any spare moment he has?"

"The King of the Dead never has spare moments, but I will pass on the message, princess," he said as he stiffly bowed at me. 

Feeling uncomfortable and confused, I nodded my head and thanked the older man before turning to walk in the direction I had come from. As I walked further from the butler, I could feel his piercing gaze at the back of my head as until I turned a corner I was able to breathe again.

...

I didn't know why Alfred had seemed so defensive when he saw me. Had I walked in on something? Shaking my head, I kept on walking until I was met with the intersection and I froze. 

I considered heading back to the dining room but I doubted they were there anymore, besides, right now I didn't feel completely in control of my powers and I didn't want anything to trigger me. My fingertips were tingling uncomfortably as if I needed to let out some steam. 

On the other hand, I knew I could go outside and look for Noah. It didn't seem like Alfred wanted me to go see him, and I couldn't understand why, but I wanted to talk to him. For some reason, I was starting to see Noah as a really trustworthy person. He was funny and intent. He listened to whatever you had to say, no matter how boring. I had realized this that morning while he listened to Alex about our life back in the orphanage. 

Unexpectedly, I felt drawn to him. Not in a romantic way. At least I didn't think so. But yes, something about him pulled me in. Making me want to get to know him more. 

There is definitely something going on with you, Aileen, I thought to myself as I took a deep breath and headed for the door.

With my hands clasped into fists, I walked towards the horse barn and walked inside without a second thought. It was surprisingly bright inside and my eyes widened when I saw the horses looking at me intently. I had never been so close to a horse before and suddenly, I felt very small. 

"Aileen?" I heard Noah ask from afar and I quickly pulled my gaze from the black horse in front of me. 

"Hey. Alfred told me you were here," I said as I made my way towards him. 

Noah raised an eyebrow as he set the pitchfork aside and gave me his full attention. "Is there something wrong? Something bothering you?"

Shaking my head, I smiled. "No, I just had a question. Tomorrow, we're going to start our training and I know we can use the training room but, I was also wondering if there's a trail nearby that we can use to go on runs. You know, without risking being in danger. Truthfully, I don't even know if there's something or someone down here that could hurt us."

Noah chuckled and nodded his head. "There are a couple of things out there that might, but don't worry, the territory surrounding the castle is very protected. You are not in danger as long as you stay inside the borders. As for the trail, well, there is one but it's kind of hard to find. Let me take you. Just give me a moment to finish here or else Alfred is going to have my head if I don't finish soon."

I nodded my head and he picked up the pitchfork again. I stood awkwardly as I realized he was cleaning the stall. Without a warning, the black horse that had eyed me moved closer to me until its big nose was tangled in my hair. I yelped in surprise and quickly stepped aside feeling nervous. 

Noah chuckled as he noticed my reaction. "You've never seen a horse before?"

Shaking my head, I looked at him uncomfortably as the horse huffed and stepped closer to me. It was moving its head up and down with its eyes on me. "That's odd. I have never seen Thunder so happy to see anyone," Noah commented as he eyed me and the horse.

"Thunder?" I asked before realizing he was referring to the horse's name.

"Yep. A very irritable boy if you ask me. He doesn't enjoy much of anyone's company, but it looks like he likes you. Are you sure you have no experience with horses?" He asked in disbelief and I rolled my eyes.

"Nope, none. I had never seen one in real life."

"Well then, I'm impressed and now, I know how I'm going to take you to the trail. You're going to ride a horse for the first time."

My eyes widened and I started to shake my head but he had already looked away as he continued to clean the barn. 

"Do you want any help?" I asked after a couple of moments of silence. 

Noah looked at me with his lips pursed as he considered what to say. "If you want to help, I'm not going to say no but, have you ever cleaned a barn before?"

Shaking my head, I blushed and he nodded his head. 

"Alright then. How about you grab one of those brushes in the closet and brush the horses. Try not to feel nervous, they'll be able to feel it. And don't move too quickly or you could scare them," he said and I stiffly nodded my head before moving towards the closet. 

The door creaked as I opened it and my eyes quickly found the brushes for the horses hanging from the wall. Mustering all the courage I could, I grabbed one of the brushes and turned towards the horses. Thunder was quick to move away whereas the others seemed pleased to see the brush and that made me relax. 

Noah and I worked in silence as I tended to the horses and he finished cleaning the barn. At some point, I had started to hum and I didn't realize it until thunder neighed and I froze. He was looking at me with curiosity as he moved towards me and one of the beige horses I was brushing.  The beige horse moved away and Thunder stepped closer, our eyes never looking away. 

He stopped in front of me and a small rumble came out of his mouth as he looked at the brush. 

Slowly, I raised my hand and started to move it towards its body. His fur seemed soft and shiny as I ran my hands through it, being able to feel his muscles underneath. Thunder shivered under my touch but after a moment, I was able to raise the brush towards its back as I started to brush him. 

I lost track of how much time had passed until I was done cleaning his fur and I sighed as I admired my work. Somehow, his fur seemed much shinier now. 

"Great. Now, are you ready?" Noah asked and I realized he had been watching me for some time now. 

I blushed and nodded my head. A part of me was scared, but I was also excited and eager to try riding a horse. 

"Okay then, let me get the horses geared up," Noah said before getting all of the things he was going to need. 

Quicker than I expected, Noah had two horses ready, one of them being Thunder. 

"You're going to take Thunder since the two of you seemed to form a great connection. I'll be taking Camel," he said before he gave me a quick introduction to horseback riding before helping me get on Thunder. 

I let out a laugh when I realized I had managed to get on him on my first try and Noah grabbed the reins and led us out of the barn. 

Once we were outside, he got on Camel and started to move forward, leading the way. I followed behind, trusting that Thunder was going to follow them without a doubt. Thankfully, he did. 

Noah led us into the forest and I couldn't help but stare at the trees in awe. They were all sorts of green.

Noah's voice broke me out of my trance and I realized his horse was coming to a stop before Thunder did the same next to him. 

"Here we are. It's a big trail. It goes all around the territory but along the way, you can find some markings that can help you get out if you don't want to go all the way around. I'll show you," he said and we started moving again.

I wasn't sure of how much time had passed once we finished riding all around the trail. "And I guess that's all you need to know. Any questions?" 

I chuckled and nodded my head, feeling much more relaxed now than when we started riding. "Just one, when can I come riding with Thunder again?" I asked.

"Any time you like. Someone can always accompany you if it's not me. I don't think it's a good idea for you to go alone," he said and I nodded my head. 

We took the horses back to the barn and Noah showed me how to take all the gear off before he moved them to their small individual spaces and we walked out. 

For some reason, all of the energy and excitement I had felt a couple of moments ago was gone, replaced by the feeling of loss and anger. I didn't even realize my hands were on fire until Noah yelped in surprise. "Aileen! You're on fire," he said as he stepped aside and eyed me warily. 

The flames started to travel up my arms and I suddenly felt the urge to scream. An urge I couldn't hold in. 

So I let it out. 

My scream would have filled the clearing if it weren't for the loud thunder above us that rang throughout the Underworld followed by lightning. The thunder had been so strong that I could feel the ground underneath trembling. 

"Aileen, what is going on?" Noah demanded once my scream had died down along with the thunder and lightning. 

I couldn't say anything. I could barely breathe. And my hands that had been in flames slowly dimmed to normality. 

When I could finally look at Noah with wide, scared eyes, I shook my head and my voice broke as I managed to say, "I need to go."