by Piefan » Sun May 31, 2015 7:03 pm
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The loud sounds of neighs and the terrible scent of dung overtook her senses the moment she entered the stables. Lilias was unable to stop herself from pinching her nose - she had visited a few times before, yet always briefly. She adored horses, but the stables? Not so much.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to stand this," said Ralph. "Princesses are always like that." Although she was annoyed, Lilias chose not to argue. It was clear that he meant no disrespect; he genuinely believed that royalty, or at least female royalty, could not handle the stench of so much faeces - and who could blame him?
Not seeming to sense her annoyance, he walked to the end of the stables. Although she was unable to locate the source of each neigh and whinny, she thought she was heading for the one of the more silent stalls.
Ralph did not protest as she trailed along behind him, which she took to be a sign of consent, and she looked around as she walked. Horses' heads stuck out of each stall, of several colours and sizes, though she held the urge to stroke them. She had heard somewhere that they did not enjoy such a thing; besides, this was not her stable. Who knew if they were aggressive?
"Would you mind telling me about these stables?" she asked in a casual tone, only slightly muffled by her blocked nose.
He shrugged as he grabbed a pitchfork. "Pretty ordinary, actually. We provide some of the horses for the kingdom's cavalry, though for the most part, many aren't really bred for that. More transportation and such."
Lilias nodded in acknowledgement, then a sudden thought occurred to her. She had for a few moments forgotten her original purpose in coming. "May I ride a horse, in that case?" she asked. She was well-aware of the strange phrasing of her inquiry, but she cared little, only hoping that his answer would be a yes - and it was, of course. He nodded in agreement, walking towards her. She had been standing a few feet away, the pitchfork somehow reminding her that he did have work, and that he might not want her disturbing him.
"I guess we do have a couple gentler horses you could easily handle," he said, opening the door to a nearby stall. A white mare stood inside, seeming asleep. How anyone, even an animal, could sleep in such noise was incomprehensible to her, but then again, what else could they do? "Stay here while I go to the tack storage; try and talk to the horse, if you'd like. She's disciplined, so she won't run off."
With a start, she realised that the horse was fully awake, staring dully at her. Lilias stared blankly back, having nothing to say. Idle conversation had never been her thing - she far preferred action, or if nothing else then an actually useful debate or discussion. She contented herself with simply waiting until Ralph returned, grasping all the necessary riding materials.
'You've never ridden a horse, have you?" he asked as he placed the saddle upon the equine, adjusting it until it was snug upon its back. Once he had done so, he began with the other pieces of tack, before eventually leading the mare outside, into a large, open field.
The field was empty from customers or workers, to her surprise, though she was glad for it. The presence of royalty might startle people - her face was easily recognisable to most of the kingdom's inhabitants - which could in turn result in a few crashes, if they were galloping. And that would be wrong.
"I have, actually," she replied, in answer to his earlier question. "When I was younger, my father allowed me to do so, long before the war began, and I remember most of the experience."
The mare was short, thank goodness, so Lilias did not need help mounting it. The leather saddle seemed almost slippery under her dress, but by tightly gripping the reins, she managed to keep her balance. Although she was accustomed to riding side-saddle (her father insisted that was what ladies did), she chose this time to go astride, though her newfound friend paid no mind.
To her surprise, she found her positioning more comfortable than her past ones. She had been expecting, from what she had been told, that it would be practically unbearable. Just another lie, she mused silently, digging her heels - soft though they were - into the mare's side. It began at a slow walk, with Ralph watching in the background.
The ride was peaceful for several minutes, and she enjoyed it thoroughly. The mare was peaceful, as he had said; she could lead it with barely any effort.
Then, somewhere in the distance, a gunshot rang out.
Alarmed, the mare reared, nearly throwing off Lilias. Immediately regretting her decision to take a ride, she yanked with all her might at the reins, but this did not stop it. The horse began to gallop around the field, and she resisted the urge to scream, glad for her firm grip. She nearly fell off, but she managed, and Ralph quickly scurried rowards them.
She pulled the reins once again, with as much force as she could muster, trying to soothe the horse by talking softly, but the latter did not seem to work. The former, however, did. As he reached them, placing a hand on the horse's head, he gestured for her to get off. "I'm so sorry about that. Please don't tell my boss, I think he'll kill me or something."
Dizzy, she dismounted. "Aye... I mean, I will not. It was not your fault, was it?" She grasped his arm as the world spun around her, before she regained her balance and released him. The mare besiide her was now grazing, not seeming to notice her. Blasted horse... Nearly killing her, then acting like nothing had happened.
Ralph seemed anxious. "You're fine, right? Didn't hurt yourself or anything?"
"Yes, yes..." She waved a hand dismissively. "I'll live." Glancing up at the sky, she noticed that it was already late afternoon. Time ro return to the castle, most likely. "Now, I think I must leave."
He laughed nervously as he led her out, seeming to be trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah, I guess you should. You were really good there, Lilias. Most people probably would have fallen off the horse like that, or just screamed until it stopped."
At this point, she could barely bother listening to him, until he said something that caught her ear: "You could probably join the cavalry or something. Even if not, you really kept your cool. You could join any part of the army. Too bad you're a princess, right?"
And though she knew he was just joking, the thought stuck with her as she walked.
next chapter
((omg I'm so sorry this was so boring... like, I swear only two things happen that could be in any way related to the rest of the story.))
Last edited by
Piefan on Mon Jun 01, 2015 6:38 pm, edited 3 times in total.
I'm socially awkward and sometimes terse - don't mind me.
