When Zack comes back out, I give him a small smile, but he ignores it.
"Hurry up," he growls, and I scramble after him. He's too fast! It's not fair! We finally get back to the small hotel. I can't help but be breathing slightly heavily, having run the entire way here. "Here," he mutters, shoving a small bag of clinking coin into my hands. I look up at him curiously, his jaw ticks, "I'm going out. Go get groceries," he orders in an angry mutter. I nod slightly, "Go out, turn to the left, go two streets and you're at the market," he mutters.
"Okay," I smile slightly at him. His jaw ticks again. He grabs his scythe, swinging it over his shoulder. He just leaves. I wait for a moment.
I look down at the small bag of coin. I know, deep down... I'm going to need it. I can't just leave it here, not if I want to get home alive. But the idea of stealing from him makes my stomach turn. I sigh and tucks it away into the cloak. I'll find a way to pay him back... I will! I take a deep breath and then slip out the door. I go to the left, and two streets down. And just as he promised... there's the bustling market. I quickly make my way to a small booth selling little crystals.
"Excuse me, could you please tell me where we are?" I ask softly.
"You're in Rimion," the person says calmly, I nod in thanks, and move off. I go to another booth, this one clearly more established with an array of beautiful pieces of close. Probably due to the insane amount of royals and nobles who pass through Rimion.
"Hello, I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but could you please point me toward a good person who'll sell me a horse?" I ask the elder woman behind the table. She smiles brightly at me,
"'Corse Honey. Lemme get me husband to watch this booth, and I'll show you to a good 'ne," she tells me, and I smile in thanks. She waddles to the back, and a moment later, she comes back with a tall, intimidating man. She waddles out from behind the counter, "A'right now Honey, let's get goin'," she says with a kindly smile. I follow quickly after her. I ask her a few questions along the way and end up learning about her and her family. She has three young children and one older one that's gone off with her own husband. It's almost like hearing a classic love story when I ask about her meeting her husband. She tells me how they met as children and didn't know how much they loved each other until he was drafted in one of the many wars.
I feel... both guilty and happy. I'm glad that allowed them to realize how much they cared about each other. But I also know how we would've talked about the war. We call them 'scuffles', and we only bring up death rates when it hurts our pride somehow.
We finally get to the edge of town, where there's a large stable.
"NORMAN! Kid 'ere who wants to buy!" she shouts, and a minute later, a portly man comes striding toward us, he bypasses her,
"Hello there little miss. What are you looking for today?" he asks. "I've got a horse for just about anything," he adds with pride.
"I need a horse that's quite fast. But I also need it to have stamina. I'll be riding for a few days straight, with little rest. It won't often be hard riding though," I tell him, he nods,
"Ah, so you need a strong one then," he says with a grin,
"Oh, um, no I don't believe so. It'll just be carrying me and a small pack of food," I tell him, shaking my head slightly. He nods again,
"Ah, alright, alright then... you'll need one that's less strong and heavy, and more light and muscled," he says,
"You're the expert," I say, nodding slightly. He grins,
"Good, good! Come with me, I'll show you the ones we've got," he says, his hand on my back leading me toward the stables, I glance over my shoulder,
"Thank you!" I call out to the older woman, and she smiles before turning to quickly waddle back toward her booth. Norman takes me into the barn, and back toward a few stalls. He shows me a few horses, and they all seem to be fairly the same... I should've paid more attention to the horses at my palace. He takes me back toward the back, and my eyes catch on a lovely black horse.
I stop, turning toward the horse. It watches me calmly, it's dark eyes calm and pretty. I smile slightly, stretching my hand across the small divider, it allows me to lightly stroke its mane.
"Wow, I've never seen someone able to pet that one, much less ride," Norman says with shocked a chuckle. I smile,
"Sorry," I mumble, taking my hand away.
"Oh, nah. It's fine. That's Auraimien, I got her a year ago, but since then, she's never allowed anyone to ride her," he tells me, I gently go back to petting her,
"C-Could I try to ride her?" I ask him softly.
"Ah, of course," he says, he goes back toward the entrance and comes back with reins and a saddle. I step back so he can let her out of the stall, and I help saddle her, learning exactly how to. "Alright, come on up," he says with a warm smile. I quickly scramble onto the horse. The horse stamps her foot. She shakes underneath me. I quickly scramble off and undo the saddle. I set it onto the top of the stall door and climb back up,
"There..." I say soothingly, petting her neck, "Better?" I ask her softly. She nickers, shifting slightly, she's impatient and walks to get going... "I'll take her!" I tell the man, "And the reins if possible," I add, he smiles slightly,
"Take her. I've tried to get her out of here for a year, and she never lets anyone ride her. She's all yours," he tells me, I feel my smile stretch.
"Thank you Norman," I tell him softly, I'm going to make sure I give back to him! I smile brightly at him, "Could... could I pay you to teach me how to ride?" I ask with a blush. "I know a bit, but I'm going to be riding through rougher terrain and riding faster than I learned," I add, still blushing. He laughs,
"I don't know much about riding her, but there's a small pen out back to practice with her," he says warmly. gesturing toward the large door, he quickly pulls the door open, and I gently ease Auraimien to turn around by gently tugging on the left, and lightly pushing my left heel and right toes into her side. She turns around smoothly, "Good girl," I tell her happily, and I release the tension in the reins and tap my heels against her side, she walks steadily forward.
"Very good!" he says, and I give him a quick smile, focusing on letting my body flow with Auraimien, and letting her set the pace. I hold myself upright, my shoulders held firmly back, and my back straightened. I gently lead her into the pen Norman gestures toward. "Alright then, try just going around the ring one way, turn around, and then go the other way," he tells me, leaning on a post. I gently ease her to go one way, and then have her turn to go the other way. "Speed her up!" Norman orders from the sidelines. I tap my heels against her side again, and she quickly speeds up into a trot. I make sure I don't press my legs against her sides, letting her movements bounce me slightly. "Try to go faster," he orders, and I nudge her sides again. She shifts into a faster trot, and I'm careful to not bounce too much. "Faster?" he asks again, I press my heels against her sides again, and she immediately lurches into a cantar. I press myself lightly down, making sure I stay firmly on her back instead of bouncing. I allow myself to lean back slightly, allowing her to move easily. "Very good! Very good! If you can, a bit faster should have her at a gallop," Norman shouts from the sidelines. I tap my heels against her side, though this time I'm firmer. She immedatiely breaks into a gallop. I can't help it, I grin.
YOU ARE READING
Kingdom Come
De Todo[Y/N] is the princess of the Gardener Kingdom, but when her carriage is attacked, she finds herself with the wanted murderer, Isaac (Zack) Foster. As she masquerades as a simple peasant, she finds herself no longer fearing Zack, and realizing more a...
