Walking out into the sunshine made Valerie blink several times as her eyes adjusted. She took in the scenery. The tower jutted out of a grassy circular clearing in the middle of a forest. Or at least she assumed it was a forest due to the sea of trees in front of her. She could hear the calls of birds, both familiar and unfamiliar, along with the rustling of small animals in the underbrush. To her right three horses were cropping the grass, ears flicking towards them occasionally but for the most part ignoring the humans.
Erramun grabbed the reins of the brown horse, Lyel the black horse, and Darren patted the neck of the grey one. “We should leave soon,” the prince called to her. “I want to make Oakstead before dark.”
Valerie walked over and eyed the horses with a bit of nervousness. Apart from the time she had ridden pony at the fair when she was five, she’d never been on a horse before. “I don’t know how to ride,” she said, stopping a good six feet from the horses.
Darren grinned. “That’s fine. We only have three horses anyway so you’ll ride double with me.”
Lyel glared at his friend. “And we’re lucky to still have three after that little stunt you pulled. We had to go chase after Storm when you jumped off.”
“Then thank you. And before you lecture me further, think what you’d have done if our positions had been reversed,” He retorted before turning to Valerie. “Come over here and I’ll help you mount. Would you prefer to sit in front or back?”
Valerie took a handful of steps forward as she eyed Erramun who was already comfortably seated on his horse. Thinking of the movies she’d seen as well, she dismissed the idea of herself being forced to cling onto Darren from behind. “I’ll sit in front,” she said, figuring she could at least get an idea of how one steered a horse that way.
Darren grinned at her. She was still two feet away from being able to touch his horse. “You’ll have to move closer. Don’t worry, Storm is well behaved. He won’t bite.”
She glared and marched over to stand beside him. “I’m not afraid. I’m just not used to horses.”
“Of course,” he replied, lips twitching. “Just put your hand on the pommel of the saddle, your foot in the stirrup and I’ll boost you up.”
Valerie hesitated . “What’s a pommel?”
“Sorry. It’s the raised part at the front of the saddle. No, a bit farther up. A little to the right, yes! There. Can you reach the stirrup?”
Val nodded, the firm leather under her hand reassuring. Also the fact that Darren’s horse seemed far more interested in eating grass than in her attempt to mount him helped relax her. Not that she was about to tell Darren. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her right foot and awkwardly slipped it into the narrow metal bar hanging from leather straps attached to the saddle.
Darren covered his mouth as he grinned again. “Wrong foot,” he said once he was able to smooth the expression off. “If you use that foot, you’ll be facing backwards. Not that I’d mind, but I figure you want to see in front.”
A faint blush creeping into her cheeks, Valerie was forced to hop as she struggled to get her foot out of the stirrup. Once it was free, she quickly put her left foot in. She turned to look at Darren over her shoulder for further directions.
“Okay, now I’m going to take your other foot and push you up. Try and swing your leg over the saddle. You can grab the pommel if you feel unsteady. Are you ready?”
She nodded, her hand already clutching the pommel. Darren grabbed her right foot, cupping it in his hands. “On three,” he said. “One…two…Three!” He boosted her upwards on the last part.
Valerie scrabbled with both hands at the pommel. She felt herself sliding over the other side. She twisted and stuck her right foot over as she leaned forward, her hands wrapped around and under the pommel.
“There you go,” Darren told her. “That wasn’t so bad now was it?”
She glared down at him. He only smiled up at her. “Now you’re going to need to move up farther and pull your foot out of the stirrup. I can hold onto you if you think you’ll fall.”
Val’s pride warred with her fear of falling off the horse which seemed far taller now that she was sitting on it. Her pride won, as it so often did, and she shook her head. “I’ll be fine.” Moving slowly and carefully, she slid herself up until she was almost on top of the pommel which she was not happy about being forced to release. Shaking her foot out of the stirrup was more movement than she could deal with and she almost fell. Darren’s hands were there in an instant, steadying her back and helping her pull her foot out of the stirrup.
“Thanks,” she muttered, cheeks red.
Darren chuckled. “No problem. Now just stay where you are. Grab some of Storm’s mane. It’ll help keep you from falling.”
She took his advice and watched with envy as he swung himself up behind her in one fluid movement. “I think I need riding lessons,” she told him.
He slid his arms around either side of her and grabbed the reins. “No problem. If you take up archery as well you could try going on a hunt sometime.”
Valerie leaned back slightly, Darren’s solid warmth a comfort. She no longer felt like she was going to come tumbling down any second. “If it’s not trophy hunting I’ll think about it.”
“As glad as I am that Lady Valerie safe and that you two get along now, I still think we need to get moving. You can talk and ride at the same time,” Lyel said, watching them from atop his own mount.
“You’re right even if the only reason you’re hurrying us on is because of who’s waiting at Oakstead.”
Lyel snorted. “Because of you I had to spend an entire year away so excuse me for not wanting to spend any more time apart.”
“What?” Val asked, looking from Darren to Lyel and back again.
The prince smiled down at her. “Oakstead is Lyel’s home. And it’s where Miette is.”
“Who’s Miette?”
“My fiancée,” Lyel called over his shoulder as he gently kicked his horse into a trot. “Now can we please go?”
Chuckling, Darren followed his best friend down the narrow game trail while Erramun took the rear position. As the forest closed in on them, Valerie turned for one last glance at the tower. Green movement against the grey stone made her look up. The blanket she’d put out fluttered in the wind, as if waving goodbye. She shook her head but smiled as she turned back around.