Lou held her tongue. She didn't want to anger her father further, but the tax he was putting on the farmers was too unjust. He wasn't the lord, it's not like he could boss the townsfolk around. So she sat and frowned. Her shoulders hunched and she stared at her plate. Potatoes with butter and peas didn't seem all appealing now.
"If we increase the tax by 3 aurums, we can have more funding for defense," Christian Verrmien said.
There's nothing to defend from, Lou thought bitterly. She picked at her food, sitting straight, staring at the drab, grey, boring, old table. Her father, with his gruff face and dark brown hair, and grey eyes always judging, scowled.
Lou's mother, a pleasant woman by the name of Gwendalyn, nodded idly, her wavy blonde hair bobbing with her head. She eyed her husband with soft brown eyes.
"Yes, dear, but then produce prices go up."
Christian frowned, his face scrunched up in disgust. "Then there would be outrage."
"Indeed, husband. Maybe wait on the tax and help with a union reform."
Lou held her tongue. She would wait and have the two discuss what they wish. She would pin her anger on the members of the Legion later. Her trainer said that she could take down even the senior members now. She was, in fact, the best trainee.
"May I be excused?" Lou asked evenly. She had mastered her I-am-uncomfortable-but-I-have-to-act-professional voice when she was just a child. Her mother knew when Lou used it, but her father was absent minded in that regard.
Gwendalyn gave Lou a nervous look, but nodded. "Yes, Louanne. Give your plate to the handmaiden."
Lou bowed, and left the table. She handed off her plate quickly and jogged off before she could hear her father's quips. She tried hard not to imagine what they were, since she had heard them all before. Something about how vulgar Lou was and how she was never going to get a husband.
Lou huffed. She'd be just fine at getting a husband. They were all just too weak for her. She needed someone who offered a challenge.
The maiden rushed to her room. Once she was safely inside, she opened to the door to her personal armory. It's nothing much, just a cupboard she asked to put her breastplate in. On top of it lay a rag she used to wipe it. She grabbed it, the rough fabric soothing between her fingers. She wiped off a small fingerprint from her breastplate, and smiled.
Minutes after she opened the cupboard, she twirled around in her mirror, breastplate adorned. The chain mail below it clattered and tinked, but it's not like it bothered her anymore. She admired her skirt as well, the petticoat poking out of the bottom. The pink lace draped over the white silk of her skirt looked as elegant as Louanne felt in her armor. She may be a shieldmaiden, but that doesn't mean she can't still be a maiden. Her steel boots still felt a little heavy, so she restricted the running for a while.
She opened the door and rushed by the handmaidens and the butlers, the slave boy and his mother. She rushed as fast as her heavy feet would let her. She nodded at her mother as she left the house. Her boots left indent after indent on the dirt path. She'd have to wash them again, but it's not as if she minded much. She spent more time maintaining her armor than she did speaking with her parents.
Her feet hit the final section of pathway beyond the Legion's training camp. There, she found men clad in thick steel armor and plated helmets. Although, most of the men weren't wearing any. The fencing around the training grounds was worn, old, and rotted. All the years of excited knights-to-be hopping over it had really taken a toll on the old wood.
Lou followed their guidance, and took a leap over the fence.
"Knightling Louanne! You're lucky you're not late!" Sir Mackenzie bellowed. He was more of a father figure than her actual father. Mackenzie was short and stout, with a lingering beard and a gold-capped tooth.
Lou gave him a sort of bow, grinning wide. "Sorry, sir. Father decided to discuss politics again."
The Sir scoffed. "That man's a piece of work, he is."
Lou nodded and just kept smiling. She was still riding her high all the way to the armory. She peered over the swords and axes, and the occasional lance, until her eyes landed on her prized weapon. It was her very own scythe, forged by a family friend. The jagged inside edge was buffered by a loosely-glued on piece of wood. She frowned. The day she got that off, she would be a knight.
She rubbed the blade, picking off little bits of dirt that had gotten stuck. The long, stable rod was still about half her height, but the blade was still the same. Still the same, perfect condition she kept it in. Lou sighed. She really loved that scythe.
She jogged back out, her scythe at a horizontal. She gave a half look to the fight in the practice ring, a rope fence keeping it off from the rest of the camp. Lou's face fell a bit.
"Is it a tough fight?" She asked Mackenzie. He stood outside the ropes, looking in with his arms crossed. The two men dueling looked like they were trying, but nothing hit and everything was easily dodged.
Mackenzie laughed. "They're makin' a show, not fighting. You'd think they're impressing som'one."
Lou huffed. She knew who they were trying to impress. She hated it. She gave her senior a pleading look, and he gave in.
"Swap, men! Cooper for Verrmien!"
Cooper frowned and pouted, but walked out of the ring. Lou passed him in a rush, and hopped over the ropes. She heard Cooper's footsteps but didn't listen too hard. As she prepped herself in the ring with a little warm up, she sized up her opponent. His name was Hansen, and he looked giddier than a child with a wooden horse. His short sword was very much blunted, a wooden cover lining anything that could hurt. Lou frowned. He wasn't taking her seriously. She hated being undermined.
Lou took her stance. She was low to the ground, her legs spread evenly apart. She felt much better with her center of gravity lower. Her scythe was still at a horizontal, but she tilted the blade upwards to make sure she can still defend herself.
Hansen charged, quiet-like, but still too rash. Lou moved to the left and stood up straight. Hansen barreled past with a mighty bravado. He blinked, looking disoriented. Lou snickered, and that seemed to finally make the rich boy take her seriously. He straightened up, fixed his stance, and lunged again. The blade of Lou's scythe immediately tilted downward, and with one swipe Hansen was on his ass.
The other knightling stood up slow. Lou held out her hand for him, and he took it reluctantly. He brushed himself off and laughed.
"I guess I underestimated you."
Lou glared at him. "Clearly."
He quirked an eyebrow. "How about a rematch, Verrmien?"
"Gladly."
As the two prepared for another round, Cooper vibrated on the sidelines. Lou couldn't hear what he was saying, but the Sir nodded and he ran off. By the time he came back, Lou had knocked Hansen back on the ground.
Hansen hopped back up to his feet. "Another!"
That's when Cooper chimed in, "some of us want a chance, too!"
Lou leaned on her scythe, the large, obnoxious thing it was. She pondered for a second before smiling. "We can go one after another. I don't mind."
Cooper gave a pathetic, pleading look at the Sir. Mackenzie's lip tightened and his eyes downturned. Finally, he sighed. "One at a time. I am the judge of who wins. But once Verrmien is down, this is done."
Lou smiled. This was going to be fun.
Cooper fell down in seconds. He charged like Hansen did, but it seemed he thought that blindly waving his lance around would give him an edge. He fell flat on his back, and walked out of the ring nursing a bruise.
Smithson, an axeling, came next. He charged in quick as well, nearly landing a wooden blow into Lou's side. She moved her rod and knocked the axe out of Smithson's hands. He yielded with hands up.
Sword after lance after axe, Louanne nailed her masculine foes down. It took until Hansen came around a second time that the others realized they needed to get close to harm her. Hansen had been watching closely. He moved in, taking his short sword with him. It was startling, how close his face was with hers. He attempted to wink at her as Lou's blade tipped him over once again. Lou then noticed she'd have to keep them at a distance. They would know now.
Cooper had trouble getting close, but lasted longer than last time. Smithson got closer still, and Lou had to fight a little bit harder to keep them away from her. Slow as a snail, the men got closer. Hansen was always the one to initiate new tactics. Louanne realized she really did despise that boy.
After what seemed like hours of swordplay, Sir Mackenzie said that Louanne had won. Gallantly, in fact. Not to mention that Hansen was on his ass again.
Lou breaths were ragged and exasperated from her breastplate. She smiled all the same. The day has been rather fun. The peach light of sunset shrouded the training camp. She almost didn't want to go home. She just wanted to stay there, forever.
Mackenzie came behind her and slapped an arm on her shoulder.
"It's beautiful, id'nt?"
Lou nodded. "I really don't want to go home."
Mackenzie hummed, taking his hand off her shoulder. "Yeah, seems like that father of yours isn't doin' his job right."
"I wish I could say you were wrong, Sir." Lou said, crestfallen.
"Y'know, I can think of a way to fix that. So that you don't have to go back."
"Sir... Are you promoting me?" Lou stammered.
Mackenzie grinned, his golden teeth glinting in the sunlight. "Maybe, Verrmien. Maybe."
Louanne choked out a sob. Her voice broke. "Sir... You have no clue what this means to me."
The large man guffawed, "I think I do, soldier! Now scurry on home and tell your parents that you're finally leaving the nest!"
Lou bowed one, two, three times, before running off. Her skirt stuck to the chain underneath, but she didn't care. Her steps might have been heavier, her breathing worse, but she smiled through it all. How could she think of anything other than going home and telling her parents, "Look! I did it! You said I couldn't, but I did!"
Her heart was pounding just thinking of it. The familiar clumps of stone on her pathway home were just a blur of greys. She rushed so much she almost collapsed.
The knightling – no, knight-to-be – whipped open the door with all the energy she had left. The servant boy, who had been standing precariously close to the door, yelped. His sandy hair was poking up from soot, and he had a bucket of coal in his hands. He almost dropped it, poor thing.
"My... My lady, do you need me to walk you to your quarters?" He mumbled.
Lou nodded. She couldn't even talk.
The servant boy placed the bucket down, and pulled Lou up. She leaned heavily on him. She felt kind of bad, because she surely smelled of men and a sty. Lou tempted her breath to even. The servant boy smiled.
"Did something good happen today, m'lady?"
Lou nodded.
"That's good. Your father threatened to fire me again."
"He... he can't?" Lou managed.
"He threatens anyway."
Lou hummed. "I would... Not let him. You are... Good to us."
The servant sighed. "Thank you, my lady. Here is your room. May you dress in peace. Dinner will be done within the hour."
Lou nodded. She really enjoyed that servant's company, he always proved to be a good man. She hoped that she could free him one day. But not this day. She needed to get out of her mail.
Louanne took her time getting out of her mail. She did not feel especially inspired to get out of it. She had made a good memory with it. She truly hoped she could keep it after she was knighted.
She was going to be knighted. The thought rang in Lou's head. She still, honestly, did not believe it. How could she be knighted? Hansen and Cooper have been in the program since they could hold a sword, but they weren't being knighted. Was she that much better than them? Was she, truly?
Lou slapped her hands on her cheeks. She was to be knighted. Knights do not worry about such nonsense. Knights are strong, sensible, skilled, and brave. They are benevolent. They only harm when the must. They were everything that Lou aspired to be. And if Sir Mackenzie thought she was ready; she must be. He had seen hundreds of knightlings. He'd seen dropouts, those who inherit the blade, those signing up for glory and fame. He'd seen, as he told her "a total of five girls ever go through this, and you're the only one who's made it this far."
She tipped her head back. She knew, for certain, she was not the only female knight, but the fact that so little signed up in her small little village and she was the only one who made it through... It gave her chills. It should not be that way. Lou was going to prove it.
Her hair was combed, she had fixed her face, and she adored a pale cream dress for the evening. She swallowed hard as she opened the door to her room.
"Okay, not much can go wrong from here."
The empty hallways adorned with painting after painting of old men with graying beards. She scowled at the early ones. Her family was supposed to be a noble line of dragon-slayers, but she doubted they really did kill any. The dragons were just made up, anyway.
She thought about the old tales as her feet tapped across linoleum floors. The Sacred Seven, the old group of dragons that brought the first humans to this world. They had stumbled across primitive beings on a boat in the middle of nowhere. The beings, they called themselves "humans," had all lost their homes to a large fire.
The Seven, dragons of immense power, felt pity for the humans. They had built themselves a world, far away from where they were. Unfortunately, the world was inhabited by their many children. Their children were not immortal, like the Seven themselves, but lived for far too long and took too many resources.
The Seven made a deal with the humans. If they could eradicate the dragons from that world, then they would be allowed to live there. One small group of humans took the task upon themselves. They called themselves "Verrmien" the humans of great strength and power. There were other groups too, such as Cooper and Baker and Whittler. They were not as brave, as Lou's father would tell her. They were not weak, either, as her mother reminded her.
The Verrmien took to their swords and axes, and charged into the other world. The family slayed dragon after dragon. It took them years to finish off a majority. There were a section of dragons with pitch-black scales and blood red eyes. They had never been killed, and the Verrmien were confused as to why they were so difficult to kill.
The First, the leader of the Seven and the most honest of them, took it upon himself.
"There is an Eighth," he said, low and stern. Lou laughed when she thought of the voice her mother used while telling the story, almost like she was copying her father.
"An Eighth? Why did you not tell us, deity?" The senior Verrmien said.
"We had thought he was... Not a problem," said The Second, the First's wife.
"Not a problem?" The Verrmien man shouted. "We have lost many men to that devil! How do we defeat it?"
It came upon the Sixth, the wisest of the Seven, to come up with a plan. She conferred with her twin sister, the Seventh, and they both agreed that bartering with the Eighth would be best.
The senior scowled, for this was far below him. The Verrmien people were not particularly democratic, much to Lou's father's chagrin, but they did have friends in high places. Particularly, the ruler of their small clan. He was a greasy man with slits for eyes, and pupils that made up the whole thing. His whitish skin was nearly translucent. He was, against all his physical... determinants, a fair and just ruler. And an excellent diplomat.
The senior Verrmien took the ruler to the dragons. He conversed with the Sixth for a while, and they agreed on talking to the Eighth. There was to be no prompting from any of the Seven to what he was to say, but they did tell him what was "over the limit."
That was the end of the story, as far as Lou knew. Her mother was forbidden to continue it. She did say that the deal went very wrong, and that is why there are no more dragons. Lou turned the final corner of her long walk to the dining room. That story had shaped her childhood. Everyone's childhood, in fact. There was not a child in the world who had not heard it.
Even the dwarves in the caves and the fae in the trees had heard it. They inhabited the land before humans, they knew it better than she did. Lou nodded to the servant boy again as she passed him and sat down. Her napkin sat upon her lap, her feet planted on the ground, but she was not thinking there.
Maybe, when she was knighted, she could travel the world and ask for the end of that story. She would be pleased for that.
Knighted! Right! Lou was going to be knighted!
Her head jolted up, and she nearly knocked over the poor maid's platter of food.
Her mother gave her a short look. "Louanne?"
"Ah, yes, Mother! I have grand news!" Said Lou, her voice faltering.
Her father glared at his daughter. His face was tense and harmful, but he seemed intrigued all the same. His head pulled up, and Lou took it as her chance to tell them what she had earned.
"I have been accepted as knight!" She nearly wailed, her voice quivering at the end.
Her mother bolted up. Her hands clapped together. She and her daughter were almost on the verge of tears. "Oh my stars, Louanne! This is wonderful! My love, my little girl, you are so wonderful!"
Louanne's face flushed. She looked to her father for support, but he only grunted.
"Ah, Father! It's good, right?"
"I expected it sooner, but well done, child."
Lou choked out a sob, and smiled so wide her cheeks were bound to hurt for ages. Her small freckles disappeared into the creases of her eyes.
The rest of the night Lou spent with her mother. They packed and packed. Her mother put in fine dresses and skirts and blouses, while Lou shoved her bag full of low-rising pants and collared button-ups. They both packed a smaller bag to be filled with jewels and precious metals. They meant a lot to their family name.
Of course, Gwen insisted Lou try on all her clothes so that they fit. It ended up being a show of fashion for her. Lou didn't mind much, but she made sure to be honest with her mother about the clothes. She hated it when they fit badly.
When she stood in front of her mirror with her mother, Lou was shocked to see how similar they looked. They had the same face shape, the same hair color. Although Lou's hair was to her shoulders and her mother's nearly hit the floor, they still had the same waves to them. Their eyes were both thin and lidded, and disappeared whenever they smiled too wide.
So, curious, she asked Lou asked her mother a question.
"Mother? Who are your parents?"
Gwen was on Lou's bed, folding up clothes and storing them away. When she heard the question, she hummed.
"They are far away, in a kingdom in the sky."
"Do not lie to me, Mother. I am no child."
"They live too far away for me to visit. They are powerful and strong. They do not need my love and compassion."
Lou moved next to her mother. "Everyone needs your love."
Gwen stroked her daughter's hair, thoughtful. "Everyone needs your love, my dear. Go out and save the world."
Lou's brows furrowed. "Does the world need saving?"
Gwen's voice, like silk, laughed. "More than you know. Now I must return to your father, he is undoubtedly restless from this morning's discussion."
Lou went to change, pulling off her dress shirt. "Do you think he will raise the taxes like he says?"
"I do not know," Gwen said, her eyes darting around. "But I do hope he does not."
Lou spent the rest of the night in an excited unease. Her dreams were filled with dragons of old and scythe cuts too deep to heal. In the back of her adventures dreams was the singsong voice of someone she didn't know. It was a heavy, pleasing voice telling her to travel. "Travel to the mountain child." She didn't know who the mountain child was, but when she woke, she was determined to find him.
Her eyes blinked open, and with a start, she slipped her armor on.
With her bags slung over her shoulder, Lou headed out onto the trail. She still needed to see Sir Mackenzie before she left on her knightly duties. She gave the servant boy a handful of coins and a loaf of bread. He needed it.
"Thank you, m'lady." His voice was heavy with longing. He wanted to leave the house as much as she did.
"Of course, my friend. I do hope you leave this town and see the world someday." Lou said, nodding.
"I will. You wait, m'lady, I will leave and find you out in the world! I swear, or my name isn't Ronan!" Tears started flowing out of his eyes.
"Do well, Ronan. Do well!" Lou smiled as she walked off, waving slowly.
"You too! Do exceptionally well!"
The old paved stones felt weak under her heavy steps. Lou didn't notice how strong her legs had gotten from running down this path every day. She reached the fence once again, placing her bags below the broken pole.
She hopped the fence for the last time, and made her way to Mackenzie.
His gruff features softened when he saw the girl. His chest puffed out and he looked readily proud. Mackenzie smiled his golden-clad smile.
"I see you are as punc'ual as ever, Verrmien." He bellowed.
Lou smiled. "I must be, shouldn't I be?"
Mackenzie just huffed. "Stand over here, lass. I have someth'ng to give ya."
Lou walked over, tentative. Mackenzie shuffled her over a few steps, so she had a good vantage of the camp. Lou looked over, at the smaller kids playing with wooden swords. She looked at the older children with wood covering their blades. Her eyes rested on Cooper and Hansen, chatting idly while polishing their weapons. She would miss this camp.
"What is it, Sir?" Lou asked in a quiet voice.
"Y'could stay, you know. Tell the kids these days how to be honorable and strong."
Lou shook her head. "No, I want to leave. I am sorry Mackenzie."
The gruff man chuckled. "I thought you would say that. Let's get this wood off your blade, eh? It'll be much lighter then."
Lou's face softened. The two went over to Cooper and Hansen, and asked them to get the blade. Cooper happily obliged, and came prancing back with the lumbering scythe in tow.
"You're taking the wood off, yeah?" He asked. He looked like he has stars in his eyes.
"Yeah, want to watch?" Lou said.
Cooper nodded excitedly and turned to Hansen. "You want to watch, Aron? It'll be awesome!"
Hansen shook his head, going back to polish his blade. "It's going to look the same as before, what's the big deal about it anyway."
Cooper looked back to Lou with a worried expression. As they walked over to the camp's smith, he chatted with her.
"Oh, don't mind Aron. He's just jealous that you get to be knighted before him," Cooper supplied.
"He's got such a stick up his ass," Lou frowned. "Why do you hang around him, Cooper? You're so much nicer."
Mackenzie, who was walking a few paces behind the two, chuckled. He seemed to be amused by the affairs of knightlings. Jerk, Lou thought.
"He's not so bad," Cooper said, scraping for words. "He just gets jealous easily. And he really likes you, you know? That's why he tried so hard to beat you."
"I don't like him." Lou said plainly. "He is rude."
Cooper and Mackenzie started bubbling out with laughter. Mackenzie's guffaws turned slowly into words.
"Blunt as ever, my dear lass!"
Lou took her proud stance. Her hands were places on her hips, legs spread evenly apart. She looked like a wonderful woman. "I am a lass no longer!" She smiled. "I am a knight! Address me as so, Mackenzie!"
"Of course, knight!" Mackenzie grinned. "Here we are, knightlings. The smithy."
Lou and Cooper gaped. The man in the smithy had a long braided beard and short, strong limbs. His face was covered in dust, and one of his top teeth was missing. The whole smithy was short and didn't look all-too fireproof, but that didn't stop the knightlings from happily bounding in and exploring every inch of it.
The smith turns his head, and chuckles when he sees Mackenzie. Louanne smiles as she gawks over blades, pointing every other one out to Cooper.
"Mackenize, my old brother," the smith bellows, somehow lower than Mackenzie. "How goes it?"
"It goes well, Gregor. I've got two here – one, really, -- that need the wood taken off their blade."
Gregor walked over to the knightlings and leaned over them. His breath reeked of ale and his beady eyes made Lou want to punch the lights out of him. He pulled the scythe out of Cooper's hands. The timid boy looked like he was about to cry.
"H-hey, you..." Lou started, frightened herself. "Ask before you take things from people. Especially if they're mine."
Gregor gave Louanne a displeased look. His eyebrow arched then his face broke into a smile. "You've got a strong one this time, Brother! I like her."
Mackenzie placed a hard hand on Lou and Cooper's shoulders. "They're like m' kids, these ones! If only Hansen'd come, you'd seen the cream of the crop!"
Cooper's face heats up at the mention of Hansen, and Lou sends him a sour look. Lou swings her head to Gregor, and declares, "I'm much better than Hansen!"
Gregor laughs at her remark. "I betcha are, knightling!"
Lou's face scrunched up. She watched as Gregor carefully heated up the glue sticking to the wood. The guard came off easily. Sticky remnants hung low from the blade to the leftover wood, but Gregor had an easy time scraping it off.
Cooper's mouth was half-open in amazement, and Lou had a hard time looking away.
Mackenzie stood behind the two with his arms crossed. While the wood was being pulled off, he rummaged through his brother's shelves getting tea and cookies out for his kids. He pulled Cooper and Lou down into their seats while the watched. The wood was finally off, and Gregor handed the scythe off to Lou.
"Now, what d' we say?" Mackenzie said with a small grin.
"Thank you very much, kind sir!" Cooper sputtered out. His face went red from the heat, but his eyes were sparkling and he sounded so excited.
"Thanks a lot, sir." Lou noded curtly. Gregor looked pleased with himself, even though he did practically nothing.
"I'm glad you like that blade, lass. Took me a good long time to finish it." He said while he sat down, and nodded to himself a few times. His hand went right into the plate of cookies and he shoved one in his mouth.
"Yessir, I love this blade very much." Lou said. She gulped.
"Take good care of it, ya'hear?"
"Yessir, I will."
"An' Cooper!" Gregor snapped and sent the boy three feet in the air. "I'll getcha a better lance soon, so you can really fight!"
By the look on Cooper's face, Gregor really didn't need an answer to that. The knightling's excited squeal was enough.
Gregor made them a small lunch, just some pork and mashed potatoes, and they all ate it quietly. Mackenzie told his brother about when Cooper, Hansen, and Lou were a few years younger, maybe 16 or 15, and they all took the horses out of the stable on a stupid dare from one of the other kids.
Mackenzie yelled at them for hours upon hours, and the three of them had to wrangle the horses back into the stable. Cooper took his horse home and learned how to care for them. From then on, he'd been spending time in the stables and rearing foals.
Cooper's hands went to his face and he turned beet red. "It's not that impressive, really."
Lou slapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me? You spent three hours teaching this baby horse how to walk after his mother abandoned him. That's impressive."
"That's pretty damn impressive indeed," Gregor said. "However. I have a client coming in soon, and as much as I love my brother's rambles, I need to get ready."
The three left the smithy, waving to Gregor as they went. Mackenzie said that he and Louanne still had a few things left to do, so he sent Cooper back to make sure Hansen hadn't harassed anyone. Lou scoffed at that, and she got hit upside the head. She was reminded not to be rude.
"I'm not being rude!" Lou protested.
Mackenzie, on the offhand, mentioned how much Lou loved her horse riding training. Lou, confused, asked why he brought it up. Did Cooper's old tales remind him of something? Mackenzie said nothing, and Lou was ushered to the stables.
Lou complained about how she shouldn't be manhandled. She stopped protesting the instant she saw the horses and was practically running when Mackenzie said one was going to be hers.
"Keep your knickers in shape, girl!" He called, but the knightling had already made it to the gate. She bounced impatiently while Mackenzie trudged over. His heavy steps took far too long to move.
Mackenzie pushed open the gate, and Lou sprinted in front of him. She smiled at all the horses, and spun around three or four times. Mackenzie tried to get her under control, but the knightling was far too energetic for him.
"Okay, knightling." Mackenzie sighed as he grabbed her shoulders, holding her tight. "We have to wait for the stablemaster before you can pick one. You can go look, for now."
Said stablemaster, a broad shouldered man covered in a beard and flop of messy hair, walked over just as Lou ran to the horses.
She made her way over while Mackenzie and the stablemaster talked. In the fenced-off area, young horses ran around and played with each other. One of the smaller ones with a brown and white paint pattern seemed a bit too enthusiastic and nearly toppled over one of the other horses. The others neighed and whinned and shooed the smaller one away.
"Mackenzie, I want that one." Lou said.
"That one? You've got a death sentence." The stablemaster frowned. "That one's been annoying the others lately."
Lou looked at him, "Then wouldn't it be better to get rid of her?"
The stablemaster and Mackenzie exchanged a silent conversation. Lou stood in waiting, hopeful that she would be able to the horse. It was the perfect size, the perfect temperament, and Lou felt some sort of connection with the little thing.
Mackenzie told Lou to go see the horse while he talked to the stablemaster. She wandered over to the horse and reached out to her. The paint came over hesitantly, shaking her head.
Lou assumed it was a girl, anyway.
She pet the head of the horse, rubbing behind its ears and scratching its chin. She felt like she had made a connection to the little thing. She kept thinking of the horse as little, although it was much larger than she was. She could probably ride it to Eastvale and back, with no problem.
Eastvale, huh. She'd have to make her way there by the end of the day. Verrville had all she needed to start her endeavor, but she was ready to get out of the place she'd spent her whole life. Eastvale was in the same district, anyway. They'd have the same stuff on the message board. Lou smiled, and rubbed the horse's nose. She'd be glad to have her.
Mackenzie and the stablemaster came up behind her.The stablemaster unlocked the gate. The horse pulled back, apprehensive of the new person. Lou almost wanted to leap onto the horse and ride away, but she knew that would not be the best decision. Instead, she walked to the horse as slow as she could. The stablemaster pulled the horse's reins into Lou's hands.
"Now, little lady, hold on real tight. We're going to saddle her up and take her for a test walk before you get to keep her."
Lou gulped. "Okay, sir."
The young knight's knuckles went white holding the reins so tight. The stablemaster worked quick, and the paint horse hardly twitched as it was saddled. Mackenzie was right at her side, just in case Lou let go. He understood her excitement. He always does. Lou vibrated with excitement when the stablemaster stood up straight, the saddle and reins ready for work.
"Now, what are you going to name her?" He asked.
"Cookie." Lou said. She stared him straight in the face.
"A-are you sure, girl?"
"Yes. Her name is Cookie."
Mackenzie nodded. "Aye, her name is Cookie. A fine name it is."
Lou crossed her arms, looking proud of herself. "Aye it is, sir!"
Lou climbed on top of the horse and rode around. She used the technique that Mackenzie had taught her, where she used her legs to guide the horse to where she wanted. She was surprised when the horse responded with exactly she wanted.
"Excuse me, Mister Stablemaster?" Lou asked.
"Jefferson," he said. "Yes?"
"Did you teach the horses this?" Lou took her hands off the reins. Using her thighs and calves, she told the horse to walk in a circle. Cookie followed perfectly.
Jefferson's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, we teach all the horses here, but it usually takes a while for the horse to get used to it's owner enough for them to ride like that."
Cookie and Lou strolled around the stables for a moment, not fast enough to outrun Mackenzie and Jefferson, but it was nice. She thanked Jefferson, and she, the horse, and Mackenzie made their way back to camp.