Royal Academy Diaries I

Viking Blood ⚜ Ch. 3

The Equestrian elective was always at the end of the day. Well, all electives were at the end of the day. 

But the basics class was in the middle of the day, and had a course on equestrian riding, safety, and care. 

Eirik had thought it might be fun. It turned out to be more of a laugh. Most of them could barely ride at a walk. They couldn't tell you what end of the saddle faced forward, let alone how to check a horse's hooves.

A red roan he named Heimdall was Eirik's most steady horse, and so he decided to ride him with the rest of the class. 

They were going for an afternoon ride when, to his disappointment, the cloud cover dissipated. He was actually enjoying the ride, and so he pulled his sleeves down lower, not wanting to leave.

The clouds returned soon enough, but by his next class, he was starting to feel sick. The elective hour came around, and he wanted to ride so badly, he went anyway.

In the stable, he saddled up another horse of his - Fenrir, a blue roan that had belonged to his older brother Henrik. His hands shook as he tightened the cinch, but he was as stubborn as his mother feared. He needed the freedom of riding before he could do another day of school - especially military history.

He led the horse out and waited in the shade of the massive stables. Once the others were starting to bring their horses out, he mounted and followed them. 

But as he got out into the early evening sun, he knew it was too much. 

He pushed Fenris into a canter and headed back towards the dorms. The guards would return the horse.

The prince took a shortcut across an open field, but as he ran, he saw something out of this periphery. He looked to see a dreamy sort of sight. 

A boy was riding a pure white horse, his semi-long hair catching the sun's rays. He looked like a god from the ancient myths. 

As Eirik stared, he pulled up next to him. "You're sure in a hurry," he noted.

He was feeling so sick, he could hardly think straight. Curse the sun! "Yeah. What's your name?"

"My name is Landon. And no, I'm not a student."

His curiosity was killing him. "No? Who are you then?"

He kept pace with him easily. "I'm a Franzisca. I help in the stables here and back home in Austria. We raise Lippizaners."

He nodded, getting dizzy. "It was a pleasure, Mr Landon. I hope to see you again." Turning off towards the dorms, he glanced back to see the dream once more.