The King's Mistress

Chapter 90: Chosen

The other princesses, who were looking from the sidelines, noticed Sierra’s return too. Myra, who was due to go up next, was a bundle of nerves. But as soon as she saw her friend’s return, she lit up.

Ida, who had gone to return Midnight to the stables, had been worried for her princess. But as soon as she saw Sierra, she lit up too. She was about to run up to Sierra when the princess stopped her in her tracks and had everyone keep their distance just in case Macadamia acted up again.

Though she seemingly had control over the stallion, for the time being, there was no telling what could happen next. The noise at the horse track was a lot louder compared to the royal stables and it was clearly already causing the stallion to be agitated.

"It’s alright, Macadamia. I am here, don’t worry, I’m here," she whispered to him as she gently stroked his neck.

With her constant assurance, the once proud war stallion calmed down a little and had his eyes on the track. When Cassandra and Agnes saw Sierra return triumphantly, they were both in shock. They too had heard about the rumors surrounding the horse and thought Sierra was doomed for sure.

Yet once again, she had risen up on top. When Sierra caught Cassandra looking in her direction, she went up to her with a genuine smile.

"Thank you for your good wishes of luck earlier, Princess Cassandra. You must be my lucky star. I couldn’t have done it without you," Sierra thanked her for her help and watched as her expression turned into one of anger and annoyance.

"Allow me to reciprocate your kindness. Best of luck with your riding test."

"You..." Cassandra was shaking in anger. She did everything she could to keep her calm.

She could barely keep her emotions in check, let alone her actions. She took one step toward Sierra and was about to say something to her. At that moment, Macadamia seemed to have sensed the emotions Cassandra had stirred in her. freēwebnovel.com

Thinking she might attempt to hurt Sierra, Macadamia trotted forward and snorted. He brushed his hood against the ground twice, an indication he was ready to attack if need be.

Cassandra gasped in shock at the stallion’s actions. She stumbled and fell backward onto the ground. Sierra could not help but let out a hearty laugh. When the others saw it, they could not help but laugh too.

"You! You caused me to fall!" Cassandra exclaimed as she pointed her finger at Sierra.

She was not holding back any longer.

"Me? What did I do? There’s quite the space between us, Princess Cassandra. If you’re to accuse me of something, you better have sufficient evidence to back it all up," Sierra warned as she pulled on the reins and guided Macadamia away from her.

"And now we have Princess Sierra of Cair!" The announcer’s voice was broadcast throughout the horse track.

Everyone in the spectator stand cheered as Sierra made her appearance riding on Macadamia’s back. While ’Berserker’ was definitely a more suitable sounding name for a war stallion, he did not seem to like it at all.

As they came up to the starting line, Sierra narrowed her eyes as she took the full view of the race track. The test was straightforward. All she had to do was to finish making one round the race track while avoiding all obstacles. The fewer obstacles she knocked over, the more points she would receive.

Based on her and Macadamia’s performance, and their speed in completing the obstacle course, points will be awarded. Sierra leaned forward and stroked the stallion’s neck.

"Are you ready, Macadamia?" She asked.

The stallion snorted and tapped his hoof twice on the ground, indicating he was ready. Sierra smiled. Moments later, a trumpet was sounded and they began to take on the obstacle course.

The course set for them was significantly more difficult than the ones most other princesses had attempted before her. Only Princess Cassandra’s and another princess’s course were on par in terms of difficulty.

The current highest score on the board belonged to Princess Cassandra. She had achieved a near flawless score.

"I can’t wait to wipe that smirk off her face," Sierra muttered to herself as she finished facing her first obstacle flawlessly.

She was still not used to riding Macadamia, who was much taller in stature and heavier compared to Midnight. But she made the best of what she could. When she reached the end of the race track, Sierra’s performance was greeted with thunderous applause.

She turned to the spectator stand, put on her best smile, and waved to them. She could see that Alistair was clapping for her too. He was looking straight at her as she did.

She could feel her cheeks heating up, so she quickly turned away. She waited by the side of the track for her results to be read. Though she and Macadamia had done their best, they were still unable to beat Princess Cassandra off the scoreboards.

"Well, better luck next time I guess," Sierra sighed as she rode off to the side.

She still had to fulfill her promise to Macadamia, but first, she was going to spectate Myra and Taitas’ attempts. Both of them ended up doing really well. She congratulated both of them when they finished and they were intrigued to meet Macadamia. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Neither of them dared to get close at first. But with Sierra’s assurance, they lowered their defenses and approached the stallion. To everyone’s surprise, Macadamia allowed them to touch his coat.

"I have never seen Macadamia so calm amongst so many women before," Alistair’s voice caught the princess’ attention.

Everyone cleared a path for him as he walked over to where Sierra was. Myra and Taita both lowered their head and curtsied as well when they saw him approach. Sierra quickly dismounted and did the same.

Alistair walked up to Macadamia and met the stallion’s eyes. The stallion recognized him instantly and allowed the King to come close too.

"You miss him too, don’t you?" He whispered to Macadamia as he carefully stroked the side of his neck.

Sierra did not quite understand who Alistair was referring to. But remembering what Miss Marionne had told her earlier about Macadamia’s original rider, Sierra was able to put the pieces together.

"Thank you for loaning Macadamia to me, Your Majesty. I-"

"Oh no no, you’ve been mistaken, Princess Sierra," Alistair corrected her, "I never loaned Macadamia to you. He chose you."