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."
Lina laughs and all at once tears are falling from her cheeks. She throws her arms around his broad shoulders and buries her face against one of them. "I'm so happy."
Davio carefully wraps his arms back around her and that's when I turn away to let them have their moment alone. Now it's me and my mare, and she gazes at me intently with those big blue eyes. "Time for us to go." I whisper to her. I secure my bag to her saddle and lead her out of the stall, pausing to stand near Lina as she pulls away from Davio.
"Congratulations, both of you. May your marriage be blessed with many years of love and children." I reach to take Lina's hand, lacing our fingers together. "It's up to you to take care of her now, Davio. My best friend is now yours."
Lina looks at me in confusion, then up at the horse next to me. Within seconds her face falls and I feel a pang of guilt in my chest. "You're leaving?" She asks, her bewildered gaze turning to my face.
I nod and let go of her hand to pull her into a tight hug. "It's all I've ever wanted to do. You've pursued your future, now I'm going to pursue mine. I love you Lina, you're the closest thing I've ever had to a sister."
She shakes her head but embraces me anyway, and I feel her body shaking with quiet sobs. "Please come back eventually. Write me when you can. Don't ever forget me."
I pull away from her and smile, trying to memorize her face so that I don't forget it. "Who could ever forget someone like you? It would take a million years. I promise I won't be gone that long." I step back and fit my foot into my horse's stirrup. When I feel secure, I pull myself up into the saddle and grab the reins. "Just make sure you don't forget about me, okay?"
Davio grabs the bridle before I can kick my heels into her belly. "Her name is Queen. Take good care of her, she deserves it."
"I'm going to miss you, Amara. Travel save." Lina sighs and turns away, crossing her arms tightly underneath her chest.
I wrap a deep red burgundy scarf around my head, tucking my unruly copper hair behind my neck. I throw the spare fabric over my shoulder and turn Queen towards the main road. With a couple kicks into her stomach she starts forward at a trot and easily transitions into a canter. I lean forward, squinting my eyes against the cool wind that breezes past me. I don't look back, I can't, because it's taking everything I have to keep myself together.
***********
Thorne~
There's mud everywhere. All I see for miles around is trees, a constant drizzle of cold rain, and mud. Within the capital there's rarely any dirt that isn't confined to a garden or potted plants, and mud is becoming something I dread. It splashes up on my armor, coats my horse's legs in a thick plaster, and the worst part is the sloshing and squelching with each footstep he takes. We've been on this journey for so long that all I can think about is my disdain for mud.
"Stop at once!" A meek, whiny voice calls out from the curtained window of an intricately designed carriage and I have to keep myself from rolling my eyes.
My superior, a man named Jovani, pulls his horse to a stop and turns around to hold his fist up in the air. "Stop the caravan!" He yells, his voice loud enough for the guards in the middle to alert the ones at the end.
As each carriage rolls to a stop, the one that I'm guarding, third from the front, opens up to release a small, sickly boy that you wouldn't guess is my age. He stumbles across the mud and into the soft, wet grass on the side of the road. He falls to his knees and hurls for the 28th time since this trip started.
"Oh, Murian!" The princess peeks out of the doorway, but one glance at the mud and she doesn't move any further. "You're going to ruin your silks!" She cries, pressing a thin hand to her ivory cheek. "Why do I even bother..." She mutters, and her gaze turns towards me. Her hand falls to her chest and her cheeks fill with a bright, splotchy red. "Sir Thorne, what a pleasure it is to see your face on this dreary day."
I sigh heavily and offer her a smile, then slide off of my horse, Drogar. I walk over to Prince Murian and lift him out of the grass as if he were no heavier than a baby. "Prince Murian, your silks are getting wet." I reiterate what the princess said and brush the grass blades off his knees.
"Thorne, you've not once gotten sick on our journey." He observes, gazing up at me with pale gray eyes. "Lend me your horse. You may sit up with our carriage driver."
From behind me I hear Jovani snicker and I grit my teeth. "Yes, my prince." Just as easily as I lifted him off the ground, I place him on my horse and cinch up the stirrups so that his feet can slide into them. "Do you know how to ride a horse?"
He wobbles, but he grabs the reigns regardless. "Yes, of course," He insists haughtily, jutting out his chin, "and you would do well not to question me again."
I shrug my shoulders and pull myself up onto the carriage, settling in on the wet wooden seat next to its driver. He casts me a sympathetic glance and I lean back, tilting my head up to look at the cloudy sky. "This isn't as comfortable as a saddle, is it, Niel?"
The driver chuckles as the caravan starts to move again. "You say that as if a saddle is comfortable for as many days as we've been on the road." He adjusts his hands up the reigns and settles into the seat. "But you're right, it's not. It's fucking miserable."
I grin and rest one hand on my lap and the other on the hilt of my sword. Besides the chatter among the guards, it's mostly quiet.
"What's that?" Niel nudges my arm and I sit up, alert. My hand tightens around my hilt and I glance in the direction his finger is pointing.
At first I see nothing. Then as my eyes adjust to the foggy darkness that hovers in the trees, I see a shadow moving just slightly faster than our movement. In my head I curse the prince for taking my horse. "Commander." I call to Jovani and point out the shadow to him. No doubt a figure on a horse, and with every single carriage holding something valuable, people or not, we're on high alert for bandits. Still, just one rider? I look around the trees on either side of us, but don't see any more movement.
Jovani pulls away from the caravan and slips into the trees. I feel an uncomfortable pull in my stomach, but I'm almost certain I'm just hungry for action. I watch the shadows of Jovani and the mystery rider until they fall behind us and I can't see them anymore. I sigh heavily and lean back again, closing my eyes. Nothing is going to happen on this road, and it's two weeks to the winter palace. I start to doze off, eager for camp and a belly full of wine.
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I actually really enjoyed rereading this one. I hope you enjoy it too! Let me know what you think in a comment and if you liked it, please leave a vote <3 Thank you and I look forward to the next one!