Bits and Pieces of the Unfinished

All The Pretty Little Horses

Amara~

Ladies don't ride horses. My mother had said it in complete disgust when I was only six and had grand dreams of adventure. I told her I was going to take only what I could carry on a horse and go somewhere so far from there that she would forget my name. I had hated her so deeply and fully, as much as a six year old could in that moment, and I burst into tears like a sudden summer storm. She wasn't surprised, she only clicked her tongue and shook her head. My only daughter and she wants to be a boy. That wasn't entirely true, but I did want a horse.

And here she is.

She's just as majestic as I ever thought she would be, only better. She has black and white splotches all over her body, a white mane and tail, and blue eyes. I stroke her soft nose and she lets out a deep breath through her big nostrils. I try to hold in my grin, but I can't. "I've never wanted something so badly in my entire life." I whisper, running my hands gingerly up her black face and into her forelock.

"She's yours for 300 crowns. You won't find a finer horse on this side of the mountains." The stablehand boasts, though he seems a bit impatient. His gaze trails out of the stall door every few seconds.

I pout slightly and look at him, my fingers dancing across her cheek mischievously. "You know, Davio... Lina is right outside, do you want me to go get her?"

His eyes go wide and I know I've struck a chord. I smile wickedly and inch closer to him. "She told me who she intends to confess to." I tell him, absently dropping my hand to stroke the side of the mare's neck. Her hair is so soft.

"Well it's not..." He looks out of the door again and then back at me. "Okay, 200 crowns. That's the lowest I can go without the stable master pitching a fit."

My wicked smile turns into a wicked grin and I slide open my gold pouch. Even if I spend every crown on her, even if I have nothing left to my name, it doesn't matter. "Deal." I say excitedly and shove the crowns into his hand before he can change his mind. "And honestly, Lina was torn for a while between you and your older brother." I pause and he grips onto the stall door as if his whole world is going to crash down around his shoulders.

On cue, Lina appears from around the corner, her golden hair shimmering in the sunlight. Hands down she's the prettiest girl in town and her father, the blacksmith, is the richest man. Her confession dress flutters in the wind, and I hear Davio suck in a sharp breath through his teeth. Her hands are behind her back, but at that moment I know that he knows what's there.

Without breathing, he slides out of the stall and stands in front of it, brushing his dirty hands on the front of his pants. He's clearly embarrassed by the state of his clothes, but she doesn't even seem to notice. Her pale pink lips lift into a smile and I lean against the door to watch. I love seeing confessions, there's something so sweet and innocent about them. This one will be talked about in town for months.

Lina stops in front of Davio and shoots me a glance that only I could perceive as nervous. Then she looks back to him and brings a pink and gold candle from behind her back. She offers it to him, her fingers trembling. I stayed up with her every night for the past week as she perfected her candle until she made one that was good enough to give to him.

"Davio Yunder, I offer this candle to you as my confession of love. Will you place it in your window and light it?" She asks softly, her cheeks flushing red.

Though I only see the back of his head, I can only imagine the silly grin on his face. "Lina Povlar, I will place your candle in my window and light it every night until it's gone."

"Do you promise to marry me after it finally burns away?" Her voice is reduced to a whisper, but I can tell she's ecstatic.

Davio takes the candle from her hands and cradles it in his own. "I promise to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you."