Carliene Stark

II Chapter 32

Carliene

"Not so fast" Lord Tyrell warned from where he leaned on the fence of the longe. 

I tightened my grip on the reigns, wondering for a moment if he was talking to me or the horse. i would not put it past him to actually speak with his animals. 

I did not encourage Tansy to slow down, instead I let her steadily gallop around the ring, feeling the strong legs of the animal thunder into the dust beneath me. All I wanted was to let her loose and see how fast she could truly go, but for now I had to be satisfied with taking her around the longe under Willa's watchful eye. He wanted to make sure she was obedient enough to be ridden, insisting that a stable boy take her a few rounds before I was even allowed to climb onto her. 

She behaved herself far better under my command than she did with the stable boy as I did not even have to talk to her much for her to do what I anted. A gentle tug of the reigns or slight pressure from my legs was enough to get her to turn or increase speed. 

"Keep her steady" the Lord ordered again. 

I felt like doing the opposite and giver her a kick and loosen the reigns for her to bolt forward and do a tight turn in the middle of the ring. I thought she would have liked that as well as I could feel the energy run through her muscles beneath me. Surely that would have been the end of our relationship though, so I gently pulled her to a stop instead. 

"I think she'll do well" I stated with a smile, leaning forward in my saddle to give her neck a pat. 

"Well, you ride better than some knights, so it may just be so" Willas agreed. 

I climbed out fo the saddle and lead the animal out of the ring. "I am very grateful, my Lord" I told him as I stoked the mare's large head. "When I was a little girl, I always wished for a horse such as this" I admitted. But all I ever got was a stubborn pony. 

"I told you when you got here Lady Stark, you shall want for nothing at Highgarden" he spoke matter-of-fact. 

Once again I felt like I needed to explain to him that I did not expect him or anyone to make such lavish presents for me, but this was just the kind of gift I could not refuse. 

"Let's take her back to the castle" he gestured with his head. "I am sure we will soon be missed" he gave a small sigh. 

Luthor walked up with his Lord's horse and I was intrigued by the special saddle it was wearing, but made sure to not stare when the squire and a stableboy heaved Willa's onto the pale gelding. 

Instead I mounted up Tansy again and turned her to meet up with Ser Vortimer who was already waiting by the street. 

"Not the same as riding a dire wolf I am sure" he mused as I stopped beside him. 

"You've been misinformed Ser" I spoke proudly as I tried to go along with his jest. "We Starks don't ride dire wolves into battle, we turn into them to feast on the flesh of our enemies"

He chuckled as I looked back to where the stable boy was fastening Willa's brace to a special contraption on the left stirrup, which seemed to hold his leg in place. 

I found myself wondering if there were also contraptions that could help a boy ride who had lost movement in both of his legs. 

"It takes a while for him to get seated, but once he's on a horse he rides no worse than any other man" Ser Vortimer spoke more serious when he followed my gaze. It sounded almost a bit like he was trying to defend his Lord from any ill thoughts I might have crafted in that moment.