When I reached the palomino mare, she whinnied loudly and I could have sworn she was happy to see me. Emy had walked over to watch but she was keeping her distance for some reason. I reached out the hand with feed in it for the mare and she ate it all up, I noticed her fangs but she was careful not to catch me with them.
Suddenly, someone shouted from across the garden and I peered around as the mare lifted her head. A woman in full riding gear was running towards us with a wooden club in one hand. I looked at her in shock and stepped between her and the mare, wondering what she planned to do with that club.
"You were told not to go near the horses. Do you not listen to instruction?"
She was a young woman, maybe late twenties by my reckoning but she was stern looking and her grey eyes never left the horses as she neared us.
"I was and I do, but they were hungry and I couldn't help myself, they're not dangerous."
I was a little agitated by this woman, they were only horses but even as I thought it, my mind zipped back to the barn when Blaike had told me that mare's could rip limps off. This mare was just like the other, she didn't mind me going near her but I had a feeling she did not like that club.
"Not dangerous? Do you know anything about horses? They are particularly temperamental and can be quite vicious, especially the females. This mare could have taken your hand off and then some... wait just one moment, you were feeding her and she took it? No missing limbs or digits?"
I shrugged and the woman looked baffled, she moved towards the mare who reared up and snorted angrily.
The woman narrowed her eyes, "Go near her again, but be careful and be ready to move when I tell you."
I rolled my eyes and moved towards the mare. She was staring at me and lowered her head to get a stroke when I got close enough.
The woman gasped in astonishment and I glanced sideways at her.
"What is it?"
She shook her head, "Nobody gets near a mare, especially while she's foaling. We had to take her foal for shoes this morning and she nearly trampled two of my men. Yet she treats you like one of her own, I would like you to do something for me before we begin our lesson."
I felt like a performing monkey and peered at Emy who just shrugged, she looked as confused and intrigued as the woman staring at me for an answer.
"Alright and what would that be?"
"My name is Jessup, I am head horse trainer, rider and carer for the whole of Dumair. My team and I must deal with mares like this one causing trouble on a regular basis, we have injuries and sometimes even deaths. I have never in all my years seen a mare react like that, I want you to saddle her up with my instruction."
I frowned at her, "I don't know... but maybe if you didn't use a club then she wouldn't be so aggressive."
Jessup looked at the club and smiled a fraction, "We do not use these on the horses. They are a barrier, something for the mares to bite that is not someone's leg or torso."
I still didn't like it but they had to use something for protection I supposed, I sighed and agreed to saddle up the horse. I opened the stable door as instructed by Jessup and grabbed the reins already around the mare's neck.
"Now, ease her out carefully but if she starts to struggle then let her go and we will get her back later."
I nodded to Jessup and proceeded to gently tug on the reins, the mare responded immediately and trotted out of the stable, stopping exactly when I wanted her to.
"Incredible!" Jessup exclaimed, she had lowered the club but she was still standing a few feet away with Emy. "Now, grab the saddle from the side there and place it on her, be extra careful, the weight could scare her."
I complied and placed the saddle on the mare, it was almost as though she helped me get it on. She stood there while I buckled it up according to Jessup's instructions. When I was done, Jessup was gaping in awe while I stroked the mare's nose and stared at Jessup and Emy.
"You do not realise how momentous this is, do you?" Jessup asked as she took a step closer.
I shrugged and looked back at the mare, she was watching me with her big brown eyes and I rubbed a hand down her flank.
"I saddled a horse, I wouldn't call it momentous but it did feel good," I admitted.
I understood that the mare could have been dangerous but she didn't seem it to me. She was friendly and loving, exactly what I'd always known a horse to be before coming to this upside down world.
Jessup shook her head, "I must tell your parents as soon as this lesson is over. For now, I will teach you how to ride and every other basic skill you should need. I am sorry but for your trip to Eribourne tomorrow, you cannot take that mare. You must get used to a different horse today and take that one."
I was disappointed at the thought of not going with the mare, I had formed a bond with her, but I could also feel that she wouldn't want to be away from her foal for too long. An agreement passed between us however, that once we were back from the dinner, she would be my horse from then onwards.
I nodded and proceeded to take the saddle off, Jessup watched again in amazement when I led the mare back into her stable and she thanked me by snuffling at my hair. I giggled, walking back to join Emy and Jessup, who looked at me like I'd just laid a golden egg.
"You will be taught to ride on these stallions and they will take you to Eribourne. You need to learn every aspect from cantering to galloping. If done right, you should not ache too much tomorrow and you should be in good form for the dinner."
I didn't like the sound of aching the whole day and from the look on Emy's face, neither did she. We proceeded to do what we were told though and soon, Jessup had us cantering around one of the gardens. My horse, who was apparently named Ulric, was only too happy to oblige to my very subtle nudges.
It was as if he knew what and where I wanted to go and just did it, riding was the most fun skill I had learned to do since arriving in Nentarli. I didn't want to stop when Jessup led us back to the stables, I felt exhilarated when I jumped down. Ulric butted me with his head and I stroked him between unbuckling the saddle.
Once the horses were tucked away, Jessup turned to Emy and I excitedly.
"I must report back to your parents, congratulations on a very successful first riding lesson."
She nodded to both of us then rushed off before we could thank her.
Emy was grinning at me and I arched a brow at her, "What? What is it now?"
I turned my attention over to the mare who was watching me, I couldn't help smiling.
"Nothing, it's just... I didn't realise I was best friends with a horse whisperer."
I raised my brow and turned to her, "I'm not a horse whisperer."
"Oh please, didn't you hear what Jessup said about mares? This is the second time one hasn't attacked you when it wants to rip everyone else apart. And you had no trouble at all getting that male horse to go where you wanted. Twice, mine steered me in a circle and my backside is so sore from bumping against the saddle, not sure how I'm going to cope tomorrow."
I hadn't noticed the trouble Emy had had with her horse, I had been so caught up in the amazing feeling of riding. I did feel a certain connection to the horses that I couldn't explain, despite always being an animal lover. That's when I realised, there weren't many animals around, no cats roaming the gardens or dogs barking in the streets.
It was yet another thing to find out about. I let my mind wander to the answers while Emy and I headed back into the house. I expected a long winded conversation with my parents about the dangers of the horses when we arrived for supper, but nobody was around. The food was laid out, steaming on silver platters but it was just Emy and I alone again for the meal.
"Well happy families didn't last long, did it?" I muttered to Emy as I sipped my juice.
She had brought her designs down with her and wouldn't let me see until the final product but I caught a shimmer of green fabric when she had come out of her suite. The sample Colensa had sent up for what I could wear was nice and nothing like a dress, but it was dull and basic. Emy was appalled and she went about making the outfit herself, as soon as the materials had arrived. She had repeatedly told me she was nearly done but we only had hours left and I needed to see what I was meant to be wearing.
"Hmm? Oh, no it didn't, they've all got back to their every day lives now, I suppose family meals aren't that important anymore."
I nodded at our similar thoughts and frowned when she stacked the papers together, serving herself some food and picking up the plate.
"I really need to get this finished, Cass, I'm gonna have to cut this short too."
I frowned at her but she was doing me a huge favour by making my outfit so I couldn't be mad at her. I watched her walk out of the dining room and stared around the table. The room felt colder all of a sudden, we hadn't had a meal all together for several days and the coming dinner already made me feel nervous, I didn't want to sit and dwell on it. I sighed and finished what was left on my plate, I left the dining room and decided to go for a walk. It was too early to sleep and I was a bit too agitated to read.
I traipsed through the corridors aimlessly, passing a few servants who were very chatty and asked about my day. I passed my dad at one point who was carrying a pile of papers and we managed a brief conversation before he had to go. I growled in frustration under my breath and continued on my way, if this had happened at home I would have put the TV on or gone for a walk outside but I couldn't do either here.
I made my way upstairs and decided to try and find the sprawling library again. It didn't take long once, I'd remembered the right floor and I spent an hour looking through the countless books; taking the ones that looked interesting so I could read them at a later time. I carried the books back to the stairs and made my way back to my suite, I walked down the corridor but stopped abruptly when I saw Blaike up ahead. He was pacing around the corridor and to my shock and surprise, he looked nervous.
It seemed like he had been heading for mine or Emy's suite but for what reason, I didn't know. I carried on walking and he turned as though to leave, stopping suddenly when he saw me moving towards him. I wasn't sure if I was seeing correctly but he looked guilty, for some unknown reason.
"What's wrong with you?" I couldn't keep the suspicion from my voice and Blaike must have heard it, he immediately became defensive.
"Nothing, I was just... never mind," he stumbled over his words which wasn't like him and only made me more suspicious.
"Did you want something? You were hanging around mine and Emy's rooms, weren't you?"
"Yes, I was, I mean... no, I was going to ask if you have everything you need for our trip to Eribourne?"
I frowned at him in disbelief, that isn't what he had wanted but I couldn't call him out on it and risk letting him know I was onto whatever he was doing.
I nodded and walked over to my door, "We're almost ready, Emy's finishing my outfit and we know how to ride a horse now. What else could we need?"
He looked flustered and it was honestly a strange look on him, he usually looked so confident and serious.
"I do not know, Kayle mentioned dancing and... it does not matter, I will see you in the morning."
And despite the low lighting in the house, I could have sworn I saw him blush as he turned and walked away as quickly as he could pull it off. I was utterly bewildered, I wandered into my suite and dumped the books on the sofa. That was the strangest I had ever seen Blaike act and that was saying something. Also, what did dancing have to do with anything?
Suddenly I had the horrifying thought that we might actually have to dance at this dinner. Could it actually be more like a ball than we thought? I hurried over to Emy's and knocked on the door, it took her a minute to answer but when she did, she had pins in her mouth. I widened my eyes at her and she took them out, chuckling as she pushed her way out into the corridor.
"It's nearly finished but you still can't see it, what's up?"
I told her what happened with Blaike and then the thought that occurred to me because of it. The annoying part was, she was more interested in what Blaike had said than my revelation.
"Did he mention dancing specifically or just imply it? And did he really blush?"
"Emy, please focus. I don't care about Blaike being weird, what if they want us to dance in front of loads of people? I can't even dance when I'm drunk, never mind at a fancy dinner where they probably have steps to learn and fancy moves."
Emy smiled and held my arm with the hand that didn't have pins in it, thankfully.
"Calm down, they'd have told us already if we needed to know and we can't be expected to learn everything we have as well as dancing. It's fine, you need to go get an early night and stop stressing about what anyone else might want, we can always say no if asked."
I felt a smile tug at my mouth, a reassuring feeling settled over me. "You're right, we don't have to do it even if they ask. Thanks Emy, I think I will go to bed early actually."
"You're welcome, and what you should be thinking about is whether or not Blaike was planning to teach us... or namely, you, how to dance. Otherwise, why wouldn't Kayle have come himself?"
She smirked widely and I was left stunned, she shooed me over to my suite before I could come round. I couldn't think clearly, my thoughts were racing while I went to get changed for bed. Could Emy be right? Is that why Blaike had looked so nervous and jumpy?
Maybe I had let my imagination run away from me. I decided an early night and good amount of sleep should sort me out. I got into bed and fidgeted until I was comfortable, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep but my dreams were a jumbled mess. I couldn't make heads or tails of it when I woke up the next morning.
I washed and dressed reluctantly, I knew it was going to be a long day and even longer evening. I didn't know what to expect from the dinner, and all the lessons in the world wouldn't prepare me for the real thing. There was a knock on my door just as I reached for the bronze panel to ask for breakfast; I didn't feel like seeing or eating with anyone.
I felt rested but irritated, like my forgotten dreams had somehow put me in a terrible mood. I went to open the door and Emy came pouring in, she reached to cover my eyes before I could even say hello and shut the door behind herself. She positioned me near the sofa and a second later she moved her hand away.
She had finally brought in the outfit she'd been making me, still on the mannequin and my jaw fell open. It was incredible, even on the dummy I was astounded at how good it looked. I circled around it and stared at every inch, the detail and the work she'd put into it was outstanding.
"It's a work of art, Emy, thank you. I love it."
"I'm so glad, we have to wrap it up until we get there but I'm so happy you love it. It's my new favourite piece... along with my outfit, of course."
She grinned and left the outfit with me while she went to find some kind of garment bag to put it in for travelling. I couldn't stop staring at it, I would be wearing that for the dinner, in front of numerous strangers and somehow I wasn't nervous. I could fight and run in this outfit, if anything happened I'd be ready and suddenly my mood wasn't as downtrodden as it had been minutes before.
I thanked my lucky stars for about the hundredth time that I had Emy in my life and went to order breakfast for us. I felt better but I still didn't want to sit down in the dining room with anyone else, I wasn't about to chance ruining my better mood before I had to.