Wild and Free #1: Freedom

CHAPTER NINE: THE TRUTH ABOUT KELAY

Sable immediately scans his eyes over the whole herd, looking for Marista. He runs back and forth, from one end of the herd to the other. He finds Jerrist, who glares at him, but no Marista.

He finally finds her, lying down on top of the hill where she had spoken with her father before. When she sees him, she doesn't know whether to listen to her father and not speak to him, or to listen to herself and see what Sable wants. In the end, she decides to listen to her own heart, and stands up to meet with the new horse.

"What brings you up here?" She asks Sable with a warm smile.

At the sound of her kind voice and the sight of her sweet smile, Sable almost forgets the reason he came up here.

"Sable?" Marista says when he doesn't reply.

Sable forces himself out of his daze, and replies, "I'd l-like to know more about your f-former leader, Kelay."

"Kelay? Why do you want to know about her?" Marista asks.

"Well, um, I-I was just... curious," he replies, still trying to keep his secret. "Relment t-told me a little bit about her, and I'd j-just like to know some more."

"What do you want to know?" Marista asks. "She and my father were really close friends. They had been since they were foals. So even though she was already gone when I was born, I know practically everything about her!"

"What happened to her?" Sable asks. "How did she get t-taken by humans?"

Marista takes a deep breath, and begins: "About three-and-a-half years ago, Kelay was taking the herd on a run. The whole herd was following her across this very land, when out of nowhere came a tamed horse with a human on his back. The human had a thing in his hand used to capture horses. My father says it's called a rope."

Sable smiles slightly, for he knows what a rope is. Being raised by humans, he has come across a lot of ropes in his life. But, of course, he would never want Marista to figure that out...

"The human, who had a strange red thing on his head, threw the rope around Kelay's neck and took her away," Marista continues. "The whole herd voted my father as the new leader, since he was Kelay's closest friend."

Sable nods his head, now understanding some things a bit clearer. But he suddenly realizes something else that he heard Marista say. "What did you mean that the human who captured Kelay had a strange red thing on his head?" He asks.

"Oh, humans wear them sometimes," Marista replies. "My dad says that they're called, um..." The mare thinks for a moment, and then says, "Cowboy hats! They're called cowboy hats."

The realization hits Sable like a ton of bricks. The same human who captured Kelay is the same human who took his mother away when he was a foal! But not wanting to reveal anything about his discovery to Marista, he tells her, "Wow, your dad really knows a lot about h-humans."

"Yeah, he used to know where Kelay was, where the humans took her. And he used to go there sometimes," Marista replies. "While he did, he picked up a few human words, and taught some of them to me."

Marista suddenly looks down at the ground and sighs. "My Dad hates humans for taking his best friend," she says. "They even changed her name!"

Sable's ears perk up when he hears this. "Do you know what they renamed her?" He asks.

Marista finds it strange that Sable has such an interest in this, but she still continues. "I think my father said that her new name was Livia."

Sable's heart again skips a beat. Without even realizing what he is doing, he blurts out, "So Kelay is my mother?!" He begins to pace back and forth, practically forgetting that Marista is there. "All her stories about Kelay... they were all true! They were all her!"

Marista stares at him, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Sable spins around to face the mare, unsure how to reply. "Oh, I was... I mean, I-I, um..." He tries to think of a way to save himself, but he cannot come up with anything to say to get out of this one. Disappointed in himself that he could be so careless about his secret, he decides to just tell Marista the truth, no matter what the cost may be. He takes a deep breath before beginning:

"The truth is, Marista, I'm not a loner. I have my own herd... of humans."

Marista gasps, genuine surprise gleaming in her amazing, brown eyes.

Sable continues reluctantly. He tells her about his mother Livia, whom he just discovered was Kelay. He tells her about how Livia told him all the stories of herself, then how the same guy with the red cowboy hat came and took his mother away from him. He tells her about Claire and her parents, and how much they loved and cared for him.

The entire time, Marista listens silently. Sable is unable to tell what she may be thinking about his story.

"So you see, I just want directions from your father to get back home, to get back to Claire," Sable finally finishes.

Marista still stands in silence.

"Please don't hate me because I live with humans," Sable pleads. "Humans, in a way, are a lot like horses. I mean, s-some horses are bad, s-some are good. Humans are the exact same way."

Marista is silent for a moment longer, but then she tells Sable, "I know. In some way, I've known that my whole life." She pauses, and then adds, "I've been raised to hate humans, but I've always secretly been curious about them."

After another moment of silence, Sable asks, "So, now that you know my s-secret, will you help me get directions from your father so that I can go home?"

Marista smiles. "I'll do my best," she replies. She begins to walk away, but then she turns around and looks back at Sable jokingly. "And try not to let your secret slip in front of anyone else, the way you just did with me!"

Sable smiles back as Marista runs off to find Jerrist. He watches her disappear, his smile glued to his face. Marista knows his secret now, and she still doesn't hate him! Maybe someday she will like him, the way he likes her.

Right now, though, he can only hope.