The Ice Eyed Mage

Chapter 7

"Good morning!" Nysia sang. Crowley glared at her, already annoyed.

"Where the hell is Bryn?" He grumbled, fishing his toothbrush out of his pack. Before Nysia could answer, the man in question entered their shared room, a tray of food in hand.

"I brought some breakfast." He beamed happily. He must've gotten some sleep last night since the circles under his eyes had lightened.

"Thanks, Bryn. You are the sweetest." The Fury ran to grab things off the tray.

"I'll put your hair up in a little bit, first we eat." He smiled happily passing Crowley a plate of food. The sight of waffles, eggs, and bacon drew a smile on the mage's face and cooled his annoyance.

Both Bryn and Crowley ate quickly and efficiently while Nysia ate slowly, her royal teaching shining through. Crowley scolded her for taking too long and made her scarf what was left. They changed clothes for a hard day's ride before re-packing their bags and heading out. Crowley led the two horses away with a final thanks to Kilin and quickly showed the young princess how to mount the tall beast.

It took her a few minutes to figure it out, thankfully the horse was well tempered and simply stood there letting her do her best. Once the mage made her mount and dismount a few times he forced her to help distribute the packs evenly across the three horses. The older nag got away with the lightest of the load so as to not put too much pressure on the older girl.

As Kilin had warned, Crowley's horse was indeed bad-tempered, stomping and bucking at the slightest bit of movement. Crowley didn't care, simply seeing the unbroken horse as a challenge. With a light single movement, he climbed into the saddle. The horse bucked trying to throw him, but he held on. He pulled the reins in such a way as to make the horse's chin come down to his chest, making it harder for him to move. The horse, however, didn't yield, trying still to buck.

With one hand tightly on the reins, Crowley reached over and harshly twisted the animal's ear, hard enough to hurt but not too badly. With a winnie the horse stopped, its head held close and breathing hard, it accepted its predicament. With a nod, the mage released the reins letting the horse look up again, and patted him on the neck. As a way to apologize, he rubbed the ear he had twisted, gently, cooing to him the whole time.

"You really know your horses Magister." Kilin had come over at the sound of the bucking beast but hadn't stepped in.

"Yes well, had I been born without magic I may have been like you, breeding and breaking horses. I shall name this stallion Hydra." He smirked down at the calmer horse.

"A good name for that youngling. The nag there is named Missy. She should be more responsive to her old name. She's a good horse, I hope she serves you well my dear." Kilin smiled at Nysia. "Be careful on your way." He waved as he headed back for his stable.

"What's your horse's name, Bryn?" Nysia asked.

"Stark. It's not my choice. My commander passed it down to me since he bought an Azoth. He's a good horse though, super responsive and strong." He patted the bay on its neck, swinging his leg over into the saddle.

"A horse isn't something you should pass on on a whim, especially a good one like that. It's been carrying all of our stuff this whole time without complaint. I guess you could say he did you a favor for giving you a good horse. Azoths are known for being temperamental." He clicked the reins starting them off on an easy stride.

"Would you really have been a horse keeper if you weren't a mage, Crowley?" She asked, getting her own horse to move.

"Probably. I had a damn good horse when I was young. Her chest was as big as a barrel and her hooves the size of dinner plates, but she was gentle and kind. I loved that horse. I took her when I ran from Nikolai. We ran into a forest at one point and were being chased by wolves.

"She threw me. She had never thrown me before and I was confused. She did it for a reason though, she gave me this look like she was telling me to keep running. Then she took off, the wolves following close behind her. I heard her screams as I ran, but those wolves never came after me." A small tear fell from Crowley's blue eye.

"I've never heard of a horse sacrificing itself for its rider before. You must have had a deep connection with her. What was her name?" Bryn asked softly, not wanting to bring more bad memories to his new friend.

"Fury. Her name was Fury."