The horses were frolicking playfully in the light breeze, enjoying a rare hot day in the Autumn lands. I had already fed and brushed the new foals, and there was nothing more to do for the morning other than sit beneath my favorite tree and watch the beautiful creatures enjoy themselves.
The family estate stretched for acres and acres of fields for the prized horses and a small orchard on the north end. The house was spacious and the lands were rich and lovely. I rarely left, and had little cause to. Why would I leave a paradise like this?
I yawned, stretching my long limbs out and resting my back against the tree, completely content.
"There you are, Ebbie."
Well, I was completely content.
"What do you want, Everil?" I drawled, crossing my arms on my chest as I gazed up at my sister.
Her hair was even redder than mine, if it were possible. Her grin held more than its fair share of mischief and her cinnamon complexion was almost reddish in the sunlight. She was also the black sheep of the family, clearly destined for the Summer court when she grew of age. There seemed to be one in our family that went summer for every ten that didn't.
"Mother wanted you to help me practice the violin," Everil gathered her skirts and sat down beside me.
"She did no such thing, you have a private tutor for that," I scoffed.
"Well then, can't I just want to spend time with my brother?" she asked.
"If you want to spend time with your brother, you'll have to settle for a nap under this old oak," I leaned my head back on the trunk and closed my eyes.
"You're no fun, Ebbie," she complained. "I'm so tired of my lessons, I just want a break today."
"You can't run from Mother's tutors forever," I said. "Eventually you'll need to go back."
The breeze ruffled my shirt and carried scents of the river that ran behind our lands. I sighed contentedly, leaning my head away from Everil when a peculiar scent hit me.
"I know I can't hide forever, Ebbie," she said. "But I was hoping for a day off."
"Everil, do you smell that?" I interrupted her train of thoughts and she paused, raising her face to the wind.
"Smell what? Horses? Grass?" she asked.
"No its... maple and something... feral," I shivered, but something in me liked it. "There's something powerful out there."
"In the Autumn lands?" Everil scooted closer to me and dropped her voice. "It's not something from the untamed Wyldes, is it?"
I raised my head again, trying to catch another piece of the scent that was fading fast. "I don't know. But I think I want to chase after it."
Everil looked at me as though I'd grown another head. "You what? My Ebbie would never do something so close to an adventure. What have you done with my brother?"
I stood, facing the direction the scent had come from. "I'll tell you what, Everil. I'm going after it, just to see it safely away from our estate. Why don't you brush the horses and tell mother you had to finish my chores for me."
"But you've already brushed them!" she protested.
"Then brush them again!" I shouted as I ran off, leaving a confused Everil behind.
I jumped the fence and ran through the unkempt grasses outside the horse fields. I was wearing my better riding leathers and they kept the stray thorny vines from pulling at my legs as I ran.
