Chapter 57: Civil war?
Lee was upset at himself. The intended harmless tease caused a heartache that overshadowed the physical pain he had by a mile. But it was his own fault.
He looked one more time at his stepfather and then turned around, and walked away. Alan remained standing, lost in thoughts, and fighting his own inner pain, clueless about the storm that was about to hit the capital.
Lee was similarly clueless, but he was already leaving. Fortunately the guards let him through without lengthy explanations, and Lee found himself on a street, alone.
He picked a direction and slowly walked for a while, until found an inn, but then realized he didn't have a single coin on him. After a hearty laugh about his own stupidity, he went to the side of the inn, where the horses of the guests were kept.
The guy that was supposed to look after the horses for some reason wasn't around. Either he ran off to take a leak, or to grab something to eat, it didn't matter. Lee quickly inspected the horses, picked a brown, inconspicuous one, and casually led it away, simply by holding a hand on its neck.
It didn't have a bridle or a saddle, but Lee didn't care. When he was far enough, he used the last bits of strength he had, and got on it, said go, and passed out.
From a random passerby's perspective it looked like the boy was glued to a horse's back, afraid to fall off because he was riding without a saddle. Lee knew that the horse on its own will try to return home, thus he picked the one that was most likely from somewhere in the countryside.
Turns out learning from Prides for over two months wasn't a wasted time. While Lee was passed out, the horse steadily left the center of the capital, then walked through the suburbs, and when the sun set, arrived at a farm in hills, somewhere north of Sunwell.
Lee woke up when the horse charged up the last hill, sensing the proximity to the home. The stinging pain in his chest quickly returned him to the reality and, after throwing a glance around, he slid off the horse. Afterwards he sneaked in the barn, and passed out in a stack of hay.