𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕺𝖓𝖊
𝔖𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: A high-school project gone wrong sends Astraea Aphelion fifteen centuries back in time, where she has to face a world of dragons, magic, and evil sorcerers. Luckily, she is not alone. In between hardships, she finds a...
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📍 Camelot
⏳ October, 503 AD
I was softly singing Duran Duran's 'Ordinary World' to myself as I worked on brushing Dallas after he'd gotten a bit muddy during a trail ride, when I spotted Arthur marching into the stables. Remembering that I had something to ask him, I promised my horse that I'd be back soon and kissed his shoulder before climbing over the paddock fence and jogging up to the building
The Prince stood near a bronze-coloured horse that was being groomed by a stablehand, an expectant look on his attractive– on his face. My feet skidded to a stop when I reached him, stumbling a little in the process. He let out a snort when his eyes landed on me.
"Hey, what's the deal with the dark bay mare?" I wondered, choosing to ignore the fact that I'd almost face-planted next to him.
"The crazy horse?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head.
"Yeah."
He sighed before responding, "She was a spontaneous gift from one of our allied kingdoms. We thought it to be a nice gesture at first, but we quickly realised that they were simply looking to get rid of her. She is a handful."
I gazed over at the mare, who seemed uneasy in her stall as she swayed her head from side to side. My stomach churned.
"She can't be that bad," I mumbled.
"She is," I started when none other than the King abruptly entered the conversation as he moved to stand to his son's other side. "I have hired many renowned horse trainers to work with her, to no avail."
"Could I take a crack at her?" I dared to ask, which earned me confused looks from both royals. "Um. Could I attempt to train her myself?" I rephrased, realising that they obviously do not understand modern colloquial terms.
They shared an amused look and the King chuckled a little. I clenched my jaw, but stood my ground and fought the urge to avert my gaze.
"Sure, be my guest," the King extended his arms, still cackling.
"Awesome, thanks!" I replied, ignoring their mockery as I headed towards the mare's stall.
"Hey, pretty girl," I greeted her softly.
She had now moved to the back of the confined space and was munching on some hay, though she lifted her head at hearing me. I pulled a piece of carrot (which I tend to carry when working with horses to use as positive reinforcement) out of my pocket and offered it to her. She turned to face me and stretched her neck, her lips barely reaching to touch the vegetable. I carefully extended my arm a little more and she quickly grabbed the food before retreating to the back of the stall once more.
I inspected her body from afar to check for any symptoms of physical issues and I noticed some faint scars on her sides, legs, bum, and mouth.
"No wonder you're so scared of people," I whispered, feeling a pang in my heart.
