Chapter 234 - First Trial (3)

Yvonne and Demon rushed forward as the time was running out.

'Stupid servant!' She scowled at whoever it was who had made things difficult for her.

A few minutes earlier,

Demon had led his Master to the location where he had sensed Howard's scent coming from.

With his monstrous speed, it did not take them much time to reach the place where their token, the handkerchief which they needed to take back to complete this trial was tied.

Once they reached their destination, Demon pointed his long nose in the direction from which the scent was originating.

True to what he had led her to, a white handkerchief was tied onto one of the branches of a tree.

Yvonne smiled when she could see that the success of the first trial was so close to her.

However, this feeling of jubilation faded when she encountered another problem.

'Earlier I had to worry about finding the handkerchief and now I have to worry about this!' She scowled as she narrowed her eyes at the tree.

Demon had an identical feeling of annoyance when he noticed the problem that his Master had come across.

The problem that arose when they reached close enough to the tree was that the goal which seemed within the grasp of her hand was not actually so.

In the literal sense, there was no way that she could grab hold of the cloth that was tied onto the branch.

'Was that servant a giant!?' She growled as fury bubbled up in her heart.

This speculation was due to the height at which the cloth was tied.

Yvonne did not have to raise her hand and try to reach out towards the cloth to know that it was out of her grasp.

The branch at which Howard's servant had tied the handkerchief was a whole head higher from her reach.

The etcher had understood his Master's worry and tried to help her out but it was all for naught.

Demon was taller and muscular than the other horses in their stable but even he could not reach for the cloth.

He stretched his neck and tried to grab onto the handkerchief with his teeth but failed to do so even after multiple attempts.

Time was beginning to run out and here she was, standing in front of her goal but no chance of reaching it.

'I need to do something! I can't give up so easily!' She encouraged herself as she needed this win at all costs.

Looking down she measured the distance between her saddle and the ground.

'I might break a bone or two…' She inferred after a single glance about what might happen if she fell down.

"Demon, get closer." She instructed and the beast soon followed.

He stood with his body touching the tree's trunk, giving Yvonne the perfect spot to make calculations for her next step.

Once she had a better look at the difference in the height she was at and the branch, she was sure that there was only one way to go about this situation.

"Stay extremely still!" She commanded in a shaky voice which revealed that she was scared to do what she had put her mind to.

'One slip and I will have a slipped disk and a few broken ribs...' She gulped as her fear was once again overshadowing the tiny ray of courage that had appeared in her heart.

Gritting her teeth, she knew that she had to succeed for her future wellbeing and this thought brought renewed vigor which helped her make the first move.

The horse was worried for his Master but he dared not move after receiving her commands.

Using the trunk of the tree and her horse's head as support, she struggled to stand upon the saddle.

'Don't look down... Don't look down...' She chanted to herself as looking down would only worsen things for her.

Her feet were trembling as she gulped a mouthful of saliva to moisten her dry throat.

'Holy fuck this shit is scary!' She cursed for the first time in a long while after she had taken possession of this body.

Standing upright after summoning all of the strength she had in her tiny body, she twisted her body to face the branch.

One hand now rested on the trunk as the other reached out for the branch.

Thankfully, Demon was a big boy and his saddle was more flat rather than being curved which helped her balance her body weight better.

Even now that she was standing on the horse's back, the cloth was still out of her reach.

Gritting her teeth, she stood on the tips of her toes and gave it her all in this last stretch which seemed to have done the trick.

Her fingers touched the cloth and without wasting a single second, Yvonne yanked on it with all of her might.

The cloth was not tied in a tight knot and a simple tug was enough to untie it.

With the edge of the handkerchief in her hold, she clung to the tree trunk as though that was her saving grace.

Taking a moment's breath to calm her trembling nerves, she decided that it was time to head back.

Demon remained still until he was sure that she was secure on his back, only then did he make any movement.

"Thank you… Thank you…" She repeated as her arms clung around the neck of the obedient boy who had followed her instructions down to the very syllable.

If the horse under her had moved an inch then Yvonne could have lost her balance and toppled to the ground which might have been a dangerous situation for her.

However, not only had he helped her find the handkerchief but he had also helped her obtain it.

"Less than three minutes left…" She recalled and took a deep breath in.

There wasn't enough time left as it would take them approximately three minutes to reach Howard and the others but she clearly did not have that time at hand.

'I need to keep this secure!' She clenched the handkerchief and knew the best place to keep it safe.

A little struggle and she had managed to tie the cloth around her tiny wrist.

She made sure that it would not fly away while riding back and nodded once she tugged at it and found it stuck to the same place.

"Demon, I know that you are worried but we need to reach big brother before the time runs out." She explained the situation to the intelligent beast.

The etcher had an inkling of what she was trying to convey here but the trepidation in his heart did not decrease as what she was asking for was something they had never done before.

"Lend me your strength. Use your full potential to reach Howard on time." She requested and placed her palm on his head.

A low neigh was heard as though he was reluctantly agreeing to her words.

Yvonne's eyes brightened as she held the reins tight in her hand.

She knew that her etcher was much better than Captain Desmo's Precious as she had sampled his speed once but the trainer had forbidden her from doing so as she was still too young to control the beast.

However, now was the time when she truly needed his aid and she knew that her etcher would not let her down.

The beast's crimson eyes flashed but she was unable to view the sparkle in those eyes before they faded.

Her horse was emitting a severe and mysterious aura which was something she had never felt before.

But, she was not frightened by this change as all she could feel was invigorated.

A surge of power, excitement, and a warmth spread throughout her being, sending shivers running down her little spine.

This resulted in her straightening her back as she prepared herself for the ride.

"Charge!" She exclaimed and her body jolted forward when her etcher leaped into action.

Demon's feet were barely touching the ground as he shot through the forest at a speed higher than what he had used before.

Though he was dodging the trees and moving along at this new speed, it was nowhere close to his full potential that his Master had asked him to unleash.

He only needed a small portion of his strength to make it to the place where his Master needed to reach in order to achieve her goal.