Battle Horse

Chapter Seven

       "Ena, come here." Malvin called. Ena set her cleaning supplies down and ran out of the stall to join Malvin.

"What is it?" She asked. He was holding Dancers halter. Dancer was covered from head to hoof in mud.

"I need you to give him a bath. Jaryn and Kerry are both ill. They were sent to the infirmary this morning." He said. Her eyes widened.

"I don't know how to bathe a horse!"She hissed.

"It's easy. Just wet him, scrub, put soap on and wet him again." He said. He handed him to her and left. She stood in the centre of the stables, looking at the muddy horse.

"Well come on then. Let's get you cleaned up." She said dully.  She led him over to the wash rack where she had seen many third year students giving the magnificent battle horses baths, reducing them down to shivering ponies. Water was something they desensitized them to in training, but no horse loves baths. The wash rack was near a hand pump well, so she filled up the wooden pail beside it and carried it over to Dancer, who was eyeing her suspiciously. Ena hoisted the pail up and set it on his back. He still couldn't understand what she had in mind. She slowly tipped the pail onto his back, letting the cold water hit his muddy hair. Dancer let out a whinnie and, well, danced away. In the process, spilling the whole pail onto the ground. Ena let out a frustrated groan. She refilled the pail, but this time, Dancer knew exactly what she was trying to do. She spent the next half an hour trying to scrub the horse, who seemed to be having fun teasing her. She found herself laughing as well as they chased each other around the yard.  She finally finished, and sat down beside the rack post, laughing. Dancer lowered his head, sniffing her with his wet nose. She smiled as he nudged her with his nose, leaving a wet spot on her shoulder. Ena jumped up suddenly as Dancer did. His tail flicked, hitting the new arrival in the face.

"Horace!" She exclaimed. She could see his face was now wet from Dancers tail. She gave him a shy smile and handed him a towel. He glared at her before taking it. "What are you doing here?" Ena demanded.

"I came to see Kicker, But he wasn't in his stall." He said.

"Malvin has him right now. They both needed a run." She said. "Why?" Horace shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"He is my only friend right now. I needed someone to talk to." He said.

"That's not true, Horace. We're your friends. Alyss, Jenny, George, Will, and I." Horace scoffed. "You may not believe it, but we all care for you." He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. It was a mistake coming here. Just forget about it." He growled before walking briskly away. Ena gave Dancer a look and he seemed to understand her. She smiled and untied him, leading him back to his stall.

***

After Ena finished her class work, and her chores, plus Jaryns and Kerrys, she made her way to the outer field, where Ulf helped train the new horses with the forth year students. He was standing watching as the forth years battled the horses who didn't want to be ridden. She could tell he found it quite amusing.

"Ena!" He said cheerfully. "What bring you out here?"

"I was wondering if I can have the rest of the day off. I need to go up to castle Redmont." She said.

"Have you finished all your work?" He asked. She nodded truthfully. "All right. Be back before sundown, And don't cause any trouble." He said.

"I won't. I promise." She grinned and thanked him before running off to go to the castle.

***

Ena felt back at home as she walked into the castle yard. Several younger ward students waved to her as she passed by, recognizing her after the two months she had been gone. She climbed up the stairs of the north tower up to the scribe school.

Ena knocked on the door, waiting a moment for someone to answer the door. A gangly blonde boy answered the door and stepped aside so she could enter. She nodded in thanks before entering. There was a sea of heads at desks each composing letters or reading reports.

"Can I help you, Miss Jorgen?" Nigel, the scribemaster approached her.

"I'm looking for George Carter, sir. He's an old ward mate." Ena said.

"George." Nigel called. Ena's old friend popped his head out of a book and his eyes lit up at the sight of her.

"Ena!" He beamed.

"May George and I speak alone, sir?" Nigel nodded and George stood, pulling her into a room off to the right of them. He shut the door behind her.

"How are you?" He asked, giving her a tight hug.

"I'm alright. I came because of Horace though." She said. George rose and eyebrow in question.

"Horace? Why? I thought you didn't like him?" He spouted out the questions.

"Somethings wrong with him. He's always been annoying, but something is different since he left for battle school." She said.

"How different?" He asked.

"As in doesn't care about anything anymore. He looks more tired then ever." She said.

"Battle school does that to people, En. He is probably just trying his hardest." He said.

"Are you sure?" He nodded. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes. Battle school must have changed him. It's probably for the better. Don't worry about it." Ena let out a deep breath.

"Thanks for the reassurance, George." He smiled.

"No problem. When do you need to be back?"

"Sundown." She replied. He smiled.

"Good. Come join Alyss, Jenny, and I for lunch. Jenny cooked mince pies." He offered. She grinned and nodded.

"Alright." He held out his arm and she took held the inside of his elbow as they walked off to the meeting spot.

***

   Sorry it took me a while. I've been busy with family problems and stuff. I should probably do my homework too since we go back to school from holiday next week. Oh well. Hope you liked it! Please comment and vote! I'm only three votes away from having a thousand votes from all me books! I'll give a big shout out to my thousandth vote! Love you all!

~Avis