Castle of Flame

Chapter Three: The Caleidoscopic Conifer

It rained as Ren and Trevonna walked back to the castle, although by the time they arrived, sopping wet and cold, the clouds had cleared and a rainbow stretched across the turrets of the castle. They both went to change before dinner, which proved to be a quiet affair, since Laric didn't show up.

The next morning, Ren woke early and ate breakfast alone before wandering out into the gardens again. Of their own volition, her feet took her to the stable. As she walked in, the sound of horses munching hay greeted her, and she found Hunter cleaning stalls. He stopped when he saw her, leaning his pitchfork against the wall.

"Good morning, Princess," he said. "Recovered from all that dancing yet?"

"Completely recovered, thank you."

"Well then," Hunter said, "there's nothing stopping us from going for a ride."

Ren's stomach twisted. "I can't. I, um, have to get back up to the castle for something."

Hunter stepped out from behind the wheelbarrow in the stall entrance to stand in front of her. "You're lying. You just got here." He studied her. "I know there's something you're not telling me, Ren, and that's fine. But if you want to learn to ride, I can assure you that I'm an excellent teacher."

"I just came to visit Sophie," said Ren, turning away from Hunter and striding towards Sophie's stall. Hunter followed her. Ren stopped a few feet away from the stall door. Sophie had her head down in the corner eating hay, but she lifted it when she heard Ren and came over to the door. As Sophie reached her head towards Ren, Ren's breath caught in her throat. She forced herself not to back up as Sophie reached her nose out. Ren lifted one trembling hand and let Sophie sniff it. Sophie licked her hand, and Ren laughed, reaching up to rub her forehead with her other hand, picking a piece of hay out of her forelock.

Hunter stood watching them. "Every princess should have a horse. Sophie could be yours. She likes you."

"What, you're just offering to give me a horse?"

Hunter laughed. "They're already your horses. These are all owned by the MacIteags. Most of them are products of our Highland Pony breeding program. And Sophie thinks that the two of you could make a great team."

"Oh, so you can read her mind?" Ren joked.

"Yes," said Hunter. Ren looked at him in surprise, but of course, she had forgotten that she was talking to a fairy. "My family has taken care of the horses in this stable for generations, and our gift is an ability to communicate with them. Horses dinnae think in words, so it's not exactly mind-reading, but I can understand the pictures in their heads, and I can send pictures back in return."

Ren raised her eyebrows and turned back to Sophie. "Well, I suppose Sophie and I could be a team, if that's really what she wants." She smiled at the pretty dun pony. "But we may have to hold off on riding for a while."

"Sophie seems to be convinced otherwise," said Hunter. "She's telling me that she feels like a nice gallop on the beach."

"Is she now, or are you just making that up?" mused Ren.

Hunter winked. "You'll never know, will you?" He moved back down the aisle towards the stall he had been cleaning. "I'd best get back to work. Do you have plans tonight?"

"What?" said Ren, confused by the sudden change of topic. "I don't think so, why?"

"I'm taking you to dinner," Hunter announced, climbing back into the stall.