Chapter 55: Hate.

Chapter 55 - Hate."Blurgh ..." Lee vomited for the forth time on the way to the stables, but now only the stomach acid came out.

He found it hilarious that every New Year party he attended in Sunwell he had to vomit as if he was an old drunkard. Of course, that was only a form of self ridicule to lessen the splitting headache and the burning feeling from his right side where Ian's kick landed.

It was clear it broke few of Lee's ribs, but now he had more urgent matters to think of.

While the guests were still arriving, the jockeys, under Prides's supervision, were saddling their horses for the race. Lee's task, on the other hand, was to make sure Zeus and Hera were properly prepared as they were the presents Minister Orpen intended to gift Victoria and Edward. Besides that, he somehow had to feed the ginkgo extract to the horse Cai was going to bet on.

Unfortunately, by now it was clear he had bitten off more than he could chew.

The two white steeds met Lee nickering and pocking his chest. This time the show of affection only caused Lee pain, but he gathered his last bits of willpower and, while complaining out loud about his own stupidity, put on exquisite saddles, that were specifically crafted as a part of the gift.

Then he took both bridles and went out for a walk, he in the middle and the horses at each side. Of course, the intent was to somehow get to the other guys who were about to race, and for the first time that day Lady Luck smiled at him.

When Lee got to the racecourse, Prides was holding a lengthy lecture, and all jockeys were attentively listening, although judging from what Lee heard, nothing new was said. But it didn't matter. Most of the spectator seats were already full, thus everything that happened was witnessed by hundreds pairs of eyes.

For a brief moment Lee let go of his two white friends and walked over to the eight horses that were about to race.



Patting each on the neck, he quickly greeted all of them, but while passing the chestnut colored one with the white mark on the right cheek, he emptied the flask with ginkgo essence in its water bucket.

Following the invitation of the alluring scent, the horse immediately drank to its fullest, but Lee quickly returned to Zeus and Hera.

He knew minister Orpen was trying to put up an honest show, and let eight equal steeds and jockeys compete with each other. And while the ginkgo essence he just fed was rather stimulating, it was a harmless natural product.

Lee knew that usually in horse scams people drugged the weakest horses so much they were basically crippled after the race, but they had to compete with much stronger competitors.

In this case, though, Lee only needed the chestnut colored one to be a tad more energetic than the rest, and the win was almost guaranteed. And the best part was – the stimulant didn't have any side effects.

But his luck ended right there. Prides was finished and noticed Lee, but at the same time Orpen started his speech. Because of the dizziness Lee didn't hear much, but it seemed that the minister greeted the guests and wished everyone a good time, when Prides said, "Alright, run a couple of laps with them. Let everyone admire the fruits of your hard work!"

Any other time Lee would've been shocked by the nicest words Prides ever said to him. But now he couldn't decide what he wanted more – to kill the man or die on the spot himself. He was barely walking straight while holding back the nausea, but now he was supposed to run? And that was ignoring the chest pain!

But there was no way around it. Trying to keep as carefree expression as possible, he took both horses and started to jog, pretending there was no excruciating pain torturing him. What was worse – Zeus was ecstatic with the sudden activity – he rushed forward and Hera happily followed.

Luckily Lee's cry of agony was received as a shout of encouragement by the crowd, and while listening to Orpen's speech, all the spectators watched the graceful animals rushing around the track, while the tiny human was barely keeping up with them.

Lee didn't know how he finished the two laps, but was pretty sure he passed out several times while running. But the trouble was not over yet.

The moment he stopped, Pride's arrived along with Minister Orpen, but right then Lee was forced to swallow the mouthful of blood that he just coughed up. Apparently while running his broken ribs punctured a lung.

Meanwhile Orpen loudly announced that the two steeds were being gifted to Victoria and Edward.

The crowd burst in cheers, but when the princess unexpectedly rushed out, the cheers turned into ovations with everyone standing up and loudly clapping.

Following her, Edward also came over, but she already mounted Zeus despite the horse showing obvious displeasure. Purely out of habit, Lee patted its neck while closing his eyes and focusing on the spot below his navel, but he could barely stand straight, to not speak about anything else.

Lee didn't notice Edward's embarrassment after Victoria picked Zeus and he had to mount Hera that was shorter and smaller. Lee also didn't notice Victoria ignoring her groom and the loathing in Edward's eyes when he glanced at her.

But Lee knew she was there – he could grab her if he stretched out his hand. The problem was – he could barely lift it.

Either because of all the thoughts of revenge that accumulated throughout the years, or the immense pain he currently felt, suddenly Lee felt a burst of hatred rising up in his consciousness. It got multiplied by his helplessness and the inability to deal with her in any way.

The recent encounter with Ian Foxson clearly showed that they were worlds apart in their abilities, and taking revenge was nothing but a fool's dream.

There was no other way than to swallow all the hatred, like another mouthful of blood he just coughed up. But he really, really didn't want to give up. Especially with how close the bitch currently was.



What Lee didn't know was that Zeus partially sensed his feelings, and instinctively began to dislike the person sitting on top of him. He neighed and stomped its front foot, and from the side it looked like a majestic reaction. But both Prides and Lee knew it was anything but that.

Unfortunately Prides was a tad too slow, and, before he grabbed Zeus's bridle, the white stallion charged down the track, hating on its rider, while the clueless Hera happily charged after, carrying the even more clueless Edward on top of her.

One had to give the proper respect to Victoria. She was incredibly good in the saddle. And not only she wasn't upset with the moody horse, she welcomed the challenge. No one knew how bored she was sitting around the capital, and the sudden event made her blood boil with excitement.

Especially when Zeus finished the lap and without stopping leapt over the gate, princess felt the thrill she had never felt before. Edward was slightly panicked, but fortunately Hera followed Zeus's suit, and the two white horses along with their riders disappeared in the distance under the loud cheers from the spectators.

Lee didn't see much of it. His earlier hate and anger quickly transformed into sadness, but the physical pain forced to forget even that. He waved his hand towards the gate the two horses just jumped over, as if saying goodbyes, and then slowly proceeded towards the exit himself. The race was about to start and he was in the way.

With all the ruckus going on no one noticed a man, sitting next to the prime minister in the first row of the spectator seats, leisurely observing the proceedings. At first Alan watched the injured boy running two laps with professional interest.

It was obvious to him that the kid was in much pain, although for some reason tried his best to hide it. And then the two horses were gifted away, and then the princess made the mad lap around the racetrack.

But when everything was supposedly over, Alan's attention caught the seemingly inconspicuous reaction the boy had.

The wave of the hand.

For a few moments he couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, but then he paled and jumped to his feet, staring at the small stature walking away in the distance. It wasn't the waving ... it was the mark in the middle of the boy's palm!