The Golden Promise

Chapter One - The Creature

In the early light, his coat was dark and glossy. "Good morning sweet boy. Are you ready for a ride?" I greeted him, gently brushing down his muscled neck. I moved my hand to his forehead, gently scratching. He nodded his head up and down enjoying the attention. Apollo was by far my favorite horse in the barn, and my the best way to forget about everything else. He had proven to me long ago that he was sure footed and good tempered. "Maybe I can find something for us to jump today." I whispered to him before I climbed up into the saddle. Nothing compared to how it felt to be on a horse, especially Apollo. He had never let me down.

My riding instructor, Jaques, approached us, already on his horse. "Good morning Sinclaira! You are ready to go?" said a jovial voice nearby with a subtle French accent.

I smiled. "Good morning! Yes, we're ready. I think Apollo enjoys this kind of weather." I patted Apollo's neck.

Jaques and I rode along, side by side, down the usual path. We passed lush fields surrounded by white fencing. The morning fog was still heavy in the air, making it hard to see even a few paces in front of us. Unusual, as it had normally lifted by now. We reached the riding arena on the far side of the barn, and after a brief warm up, we set off into the field together. As soon as we were out of sight of the stable, I urged Apollo faster.

The wind whipped strands of my hair as we galloped through the grassy expanse. I felt contrast of the cool air on my warm cheeks, even as the heavy mist dampened them. I scanned the path ahead for any fallen trees or fence lines we could turn into a jump. Jacques hated when I did this, but I loved the thrill, and besides, he was somewhere behind me. Apollo loved it too, and he was his usual sure-footed self as sped across the fields. We slowed as the mist became even thicker, making it hard to see even a few feet in front of me. It wasn't until they surrounded us that I noticed we were passing through a line of trees. We now seemed to be standing in the middle of a little path that stretched in both directions, lined by trees on both sides.

Apollo looked down the lane and faltered slightly, distracted by something moving farther down the path. A large shape moved in the mist. As big as Apollo, it had to be another horse, but where was the rider? As the shape moved closer to us, the fog shimmered and shifted in the light enough for me to see the animal. It was a beautiful creature with a slick coat the color of midnight. Its mane and tail flowed in thick tendrils that nearly touched the ground. But it wasn't a horse. Rising up from its shoulder blades was a set of huge and magnificent wings.

This didn't look like the winged horse of fairy tales, but a creature that resembled something between a horse and a dragon. A scream was building in my chest, but the creature looked right at me and its beauty was silencing, my scream faded before it made it out of me. It stamped its hooves and then reared, pawing the air between us, the wings fanning out, spanning the entire laneway. I could feel my heartbeat in my hands, what I was seeing was impossible.The beast continued to stare at us for a moment, and then turned and walked into the mist, disappearing from view. From the time we had stepped onto the path to the creature disappearing couldn't have taken more than a moment, although it felt like time had stopped.

Apollo stared after the creature, though it had disappeared. What had I just seen? I was not going to follow it, but there was a small part of me that wanted to, where was that coming from? Seeing whatever that was had me rattled I realized, that's why my hands were shaking and my palms were sweating. But I couldn't help the creeping curiosity. Glancing behind, I debated for half a second, and then shook the desire out of my head. What was I thinking? Apollo walked on, back through the treeline, but there was no sign of the creature.

Jacques came riding toward us quickly.

"Sinclaira, where did you go?" I was still processing what I had just witnessed and I just before I told him what I had seen, I knew I couldn't. I couldn't tell him, or anyone, without them wondering about my sanity. So I said a version of the truth, a very stripped down version.