Roaring 20s Royalty

Chapter 5- Breath

My hands held the reins lightly, Trident under my control.

The rhythm of his hooves on the arena's sand brought me comfort, satisfaction. Jurgelda watched me from the edge of the arena. She studied every move I made from my kicks to the cracks of my whip. She was a dedicated person whenever she put her mind to something, a trait I admired.

After a few minutes of warm ups I rode over and stopped before Jurgelda, "So, you've been taking notes. Do you think you could put them to use?" I lifted my leg up and over Tridents rear, dropping down to the ground with my feet together

"Well," she began nervously, "If this is what we're doing then I suppose I can try." She stepped up and hopped over the fence to stand beside me.

I linked my fingers and knelt down so she could use my leg as a step, "Put a hand near the front of the saddle, step into the stirrup and hoist yourself over."

carefully she placed her foot on my hands and stepped up, being wary of Tridents actions. I could see he was a little uneasy, but if she was to get into this she needed to trust him and he needed to trust her.

"Alright," she said once she was in the saddle, "I just kick and he'll go?"

It laughed at seeing her unsteadiness, but nodded either way, "Just try and be loose, don't be tense or he will be too. Now, just give him a light kick in his belly and he'll start to walk. You have to trust each other."

Indeed she did, making him begin with a slow walk, "That's just it, I don't trust him. This is very different from the cars, Ma'am, this a live being."

I agreed, "Exactly. That's why you need to work with him. Read what he's doing and give him clear commands. Like you saw me do, lightly pull the reins to the right to make him turn."

Her eyes were focused on her every movement. To me, she was doing well. He did what she asked and in turn I could see her smiling about the achievement.

A group of stablehands stood off to our right arranging jumps and courses. I hadn't noticed it myself, so I was as spooked as Trident was when one of the poles they were putting up well with a loud clatter against the base of its stand.

Trident reared up on his back legs, launching Jurgelda off his back onto the rough sand, hard. I heard her cry out and Trident bolted off. I let him go as the stablehands would get him. Instead I hopped the fence and darted to her side.

"Hey, hey look at me and focus on my eyes, the pain will pass. It's mostly shock so just stay down." I knelt by her side and took hold of her hand. I knew wthe feeling of falling like that all too well, "Trident took a while to warm to me at first too, just don't let this rattle you."

She gasped for the air that had been knocked from her lungs, her eyes were full of water and her grip on my hand tightened.

We sat there for a couple seconds while she regained her composure. Her breath slowly returned and she was able to make herself sit up, breathing hard, but breathing nonetheless.

The stablehands who had managed to detain Trident walked him back toward us and as I feared, Jurgelda shyed away at the sight of him. I still had hold of her hand so, with a little coaxing, I directed her to place her hand on his long nose. She aired caution but controlled herself well in the end.

With a little more teaching on how to look after the creature in the stables and such, we decided we'd call it a day at that. Over the next few days she could get much more acquainted after she got over the fear. There were other things I needed to get ready.

"Jurgelda," I spoke as we walked back toward the palace gardens, "My focus over the next days will be centered around getting out of this place, so I'll definitely be missing a few items off my routine schedule. If you could, please, try and stall for me in certain situations."

She nodded once beside me. After she'd fell she hadn't spoken much, but she did this time, "How exactly are you planning to leave? And with what funds I imagine you'll need?"

Her tone wasn't stern though I felt like I was being interrogated. Likely just my defensiveness about it all, "Like I said before I can't tell you where, but I'll let you know I need to go to the train station then get a train to another destination. How I'm getting to the train, I don't know, but I imagine I can source funds from my parents under a pretence the night before I leave."

She nodded in agreement and looked to me with a smile, "It's all very exciting to be a part of this, Ma'am. Let me drive you to the station, just tell me when."