For the Ones We Love (Merlin Fan Fiction)

Chaper One

               Part 1

We sped past trees and over fallen branches. Stella jumped over rotting log after rotting log, never hesitating. The hood of my cloak had flown off and the string keeping it attached to me threatened to come untied. I gripped her torso with my knees. If I fell off, I was likely to fall and impale myself on a fallen tree branch. After the long week of harsh winds and steady rain, the forest floor was covered in branches and twigs. Even if we hadn’t strayed from the trail, there was no telling what I could have fallen on.

Slow down, I urged her silently.

Her only reply was a terrified Whiney!

I slowly unlaced one of my hands from her mane. I placed it palm-down on her neck. Stella, slow down. I summoned all my calm thoughts and forced that energy through my hand.

She slowed, but only a little.

Good girl. Now a little more.

She shook her head ferociously.

Stella,

I warned.

Again, nothing.

I hesitated a moment. I don’t want to do this. Finally, taking a deep breath, I let go of her thick mane and pressed both palms against her neck. “I said to slow down!” I yelled. With my mind, I forced her muscles to slow.

She skittered down a hill before coming to a complete stop. Snorting, she bent her neck to look around at me. The look on her face sent me a clear message.

I shrugged it off. “I warned you.”

To my left there was a rough sound like a cough. “Do you always talk to your horse?”

Together, Stella and I jerked our heads to the left.

Sitting on two finely dressed horses were two young men. One was a muscular dirty blonde and the other was a thin, dark haired man with notably blue eyes.

I wondered how I hadn’t seen them before. Next I wondered how long they’d been there. Had they seen me flying through the woods, unable to control my horse? Had they seen what I’d done to gain control? No. I shook the thought away. Even if they had, it wouldn’t mean much to them.

Next I remember that my cloak was falling off and my hair was almost definitely a mess. I reached back to readjust my cloak, stalling somewhat as I tried to think of a counter to his question.

“Don’t you?” I retorted. It was a lame come-back, but it was all I could think of.

The man closest to me, the blonde, frowned as if it were a dumb question. From the chainmail he was wearing, I deduced that he was the leader of the two. Probably a knight or a noble. “No, of course not.”

The edges of my lips twitched upward and I forced a mocking laugh. “Oh, how silly of me. You have people to do that for you, don’t you?” My eyes flickered to the other young man long enough to see him smirk. Blondie, on the other hand, was not amused. A short burst of anger flashed in his eyes.

“Well, if you’ll let us by, we’ll be on our way.” Without waiting for me to respond, he urged his horse forward.

I clucked. “Come on, Stella.” She grudgingly stepped forward off the trail.

The blue eyed man nodded to me as he passed. He had a playful grin on his face.

The two riders made it maybe ten steps before there was a loud crash coming from the direction Stella and I had come. Both the riders and I flung our heads in the direction the sound had originated from.