He smirked as the horse stood stone still, having already guessed what she was going to do. "A fun little spell that keeps animals under mental control. Though I do give you full credit for the attempt, even if it WAS far later than I expected."<br/><br/>He looked her in the eye, and then down the road, the manor barely visible. "Did you forget about the Winter Knight? I doubt she just wants to talk with you. And what about the war, and your father, and your maid? How about your responsibilities? Or are you going to keep being a spoiled child?"<br/><br/>He reached forward, and grabbed her arm, stopping her from trying to leap down and flee on foot. "You have a chance here to do something no one else can, end a war without butchery. And who knows? Fate tends to be gentle and kind to those that do what they can with what they get handed to them, rather than try to fling it away and hope for another hand. And make your goals modest. To see what is on the other side of one hill you haven't done so before, once a week. To finance one mercy mission, once a year. Those are the actions of heroes and heroines, as opposed to monsters such as myself that feed an innocent to a beast because it was easier."