Road of the Heavenly Light

19-1: Unexpected Equestrian

Anna looked in awe through the window of the carriage as they entered onto the bridge that led to Caltara, the capital of Brightwald. It had been quite the journey from Divinia, but now they were finally approaching Iola's largest city, both in size and population. According to many, it was also the most beautiful city on the continent, but Anna had a bias towards Tousaki, the capital of her beloved Magnos. Anna tried to have an open mind, however, allowing herself to be impressed.

She was sitting in a carriage with Astrid, Laura, and Lizzie, and the other girls seemed to be just as excited as her about what they were about to see. The city was in front of the carriage, and so it was hard to see anything but the mighty Caltara River, from which the city got its name. Anna knew that the city was somewhere in the middle of the river, which gave it much of its fame on the continent.

When they finally arrived at the square in front of the royal palace and were able to step out of the carriage, Anna couldn't help but be amazed. The palace was centered on a large square that faced a sort of lake in the middle of the city. In the middle of that lake was a large statue of what looked like a fusion between a human and a fish. She had heard about the statue, and how it represented the fact that the fish of the river and the people of Caltara lived in harmony, but seeing it in person was a whole different experience.

The entire group gathered in the main hallway, where Principal Abigail explained to them that they were free to explore the city and prepare for the debutante ball for the next five days, as the ball was on Saturday. She furthermore added that the palace maids would show them to their rooms, where they could unpack and relax if they wished. Anna walked along with her friends after one of the maids until they reached a comfortable bedroom for four.

Immediately upon entering, Anna placed her luggage by her bed and sat down, glad to have a moment to rest. She was impressed by the room, with the soft colors of the walls and bedding. They seemed to be quite fond of pastel blues at the palace. Anna found that she quite liked the colors as well.

"What should we do first?" she asked the others, "do we stay here and rest, or are we going to see some of the city?"
"I would love to see some of the historical sights," Laura said.
Looking around the room, it quickly became clear that idea would be pushed down the schedule for later.
"Perhaps we should visit a dress shop and look for dresses for the ball," Elizabeth suggested, "it will be much nicer to enjoy our time here if we've got that sorted."
That idea got a lot more of an enthusiastic response, and so they headed out.

It took some looking around and asking some of the people from Caltara until they found the dress shop they were looking for. According to Laura, who had spoken to Eleanor, it was a renowned dress shop, popular among the royal and noble families for various social events. The four of them looked around the shop, hoping to find the perfect dresses for the ball. Laura, Elizabeth, and Astrid all quickly found something to their liking, but Anna had a difficult time finding what she was looking for. While all the other girls were fitting, she looked out the window while taking a break.

Outside, people were walking by the store, going about their day. Anna looked at them, knowing she would never encounter those people again, wondering what each of them was going towards. She was surprised when she saw a familiar face walking by. She recognized one of the passersby as Reeve, one of the footmen in the imperial household back in Magnos. Anna was curious to see what had brought him all the way on other side of the continent and went outside to greet him.

"Reeve!" she called out, "It's me!"
He stopped in his tracks and turned around, a surprised look on his face when he recognized her.
"Your Imperial Highness," he said with a bow, "I was not expecting to see you here."
"Neither was I. What brings you all the way to Caltara?"
"Im here for a point-to-point that's taking place on Friday just outside the city," he explained.
"I had no idea you competed in equestrian sports," Anna remarked.
She knew every member of the imperial household by name and function and sometimes liked to chat with some of them, but she never knew one of the footmen liked horses just as much as she did—if not more.

"I have been doing so since I could sit in the saddle and won some prizes along the way, Your Imperial Highness," Reeve responded with pride beaming from his face.
Anna looked back and saw that her friends were about to finish their fitting.
"I, uh... I should head back inside, but it was nice seeing you. Good luck with the point-to-point."
"Perhaps we will see each other around, Your Imperial Highness. Goodbye."

Anna walked back into the shop, and when she saw the looks other friends' faces, she knew they had seen her outside.
"Who was that?" Laura asked.
"Reeve. A footman from the household back home."
Astrid raised an eyebrow.
"Is he now?" she remarked suggestively.
Glen's manners were starting to rub off on her.
"Let's help Anna find a dress and talk about this later," Elizabeth suggested, sensing her discomfort.
Anna gave her a grateful nod, and the other girls scattered across the store.

After finally finding a dress Anna liked, they returned to their bedroom. The group then scattered as all three of the other girls wanted to see their boyfriends, with Anna deciding to head into the city to see where the point-to-point was taking place. She had seen it on a map and needed to find the bridge out of Caltara that would lead her to the left bank of the river, but quickly found herself lost in the endless maze of bridges, islands, and canals that was Caltara.

Anna was relieved when she saw Margaret and Bayard emerge from a nearby museum, glad she saw people she recognized and could ask for help.
"I'm trying to find the exit to the city for the point-to-point, but I'm lost," Anna explained.
"You're in luck; I have a map with me, so we can bring you where you need to go," Margaret offered, something Anna was grateful for.
"Let's see..." Margaret said, inspecting the map closely, "we should travel by gondola. It will be much easier than walking and save some time, as we're near the bridge to the left bank."
"Oh, but that's where I need to go," Anna responded.
"The banks of the river are determined by the direction it flows in, which is from east to west. You actually need to go to the right bank for the point-to-point," Bayard explained.

Anna let out a short 'o' before following the duo to a nearby gondola. She felt a bit embarrassed, as she probably should have remembered that detail from geography. Thankfully, Margaret and Bayard didn't seem to mind. With their more skilled guidance, they quickly reached the right bridge and walked out of the city towards the site of the point-to-point.
"Did you want to watch the practice?" Margaret asked, "Elizabeth tells me you're fond of horses."
Anna nodded.
"A friend of mine is competing, actually," Anna said, leaving out the details.
"Well, we'd be glad to join you," Bayard answered, guiding them to the stands, where they sat down.

Anna became quickly enthralled when the competition began. She was extremely excited to see people who were passionate about horses and horsemanship and making it into competition and entertainment. It was also good to see Reeve doing well. He had even managed to take the lead for a moment before other racers passed him again. Before Anna knew it, it was already over, and Reeve had finished in fourth place.

With the practice round over, Anna snuck away from Bayard and Margaret to congratulate Reeve. She found him by the sidelines, tending to his horse.
"Congratulations," Anna said, "you did quite well."
"Thank you, Your Imperial Highness. That is high praise from a seasoned equestrian like you."
"Clearly, you're the skilled equestrian here," Anna remarked.
"I meant what I said. Everyone always speaks of how good you are with horses and how well you ride," Reeve said, "have you ever ridden competitively?"
Anna shook her head.
"You should give it a try, Your Imperial Highness. Perhaps you will do quite well. There is still time to register for the point-to-point."
Anna didn't know how to respond. This was far from what she had expected when she departed from Divinia for Brightwald for a debutante ball...