The Emerald Legend (Book 1)

Chapter Six: Snow Rider

A small bubble of excitement rose in Amalia, she would finally be able to show off the best aspect of her rider. Her head nodded as she turned towards Seian, who followed her command by kneeling low against the grass-filled terrain. She slipped her leg over the leopard and placed her feet into the first pair of stirrups. Seian's saddle was made in a way that accommodated two types of riding speeds: neutral riding and high-speed riding. The only way to ride safely at the leopard's maximum, is by holding one's body close to the rider while it engages its speed. If not, it could be painful for the leopard, and the high density of the wind speed could knock a master off of their rider.

Amalia made a clicking sound with her tongue and Seian rose without effort. Calhūn watched with envious eyes as he noticed how much they'd bonded over such short time.

"Very impressive," Calhūn said but he seemed to instantly regret saying anything and began back-tracking. "I'm sure that your rider must have been very temperamental at times during your training," he added in an attempt to save himself from sounding envious.

Amalia sat comfortably and gave Calhūn a stoic expression. "Indeed. However, those times during training have bonded us beyond measure." She fired his shot back towards him.

Calhūn's face remained deadpan while he seemed to swallow her confident tone.

"Let us make our leave," he said ignoring her attempt at furthering his envy.

Amalia nodded and smiled because throughout their friendship there had always been a sense of friendly competition between them.

"Shall I give you a head start?" she said with an envy invoking tone.

Calhūn acted as if he was completely unaffected by her banter. "Oh, that's quite alright. I'll try my best to keep up," he said through his teeth. "Please, after you."

"As you wish," she said and shifted her position down into the second set of stirrups. Seian positioned himself as if he was about to take off in a sprint. Seian's tail flicked back and his claws dug into the grassy land beneath them. His head hung low to the ground as if he was about to pounce on an unsuspecting prey.

The snow rider then pushed off with incredible force and began his graceful dash into the tree line. Calhūn gripped the reins of his white stallion and slammed them hard against the base of her saddle. His horse took off with great speed, but was no match for the swiftness of Amalia's rider.

They darted in and around trees with such a precise gracefulness that Calhūn struggled to keep up. Both riders finally reached the densest part of the forest where the only way of passage was to follow along the shore of a small river. Amalia and Seian had no problem gliding through this part and the clear passage also made it easier for Calhūn to push Syndra to the point of speed needed to close the distance between them.

As Calhūn closed in on Amalia, he heard something he wasn't expecting to hear: Amalia was bursting with laughter, letting out howls of pure joy and euphoria. Calhūn was taken aback for a moment. He realized at that moment that he was taking this way too seriously. He shouldn't be knocking himself for not having some special, rare rider like Amalia. Instead, he should be happy that he is able to experience such a beautiful, sunny day, with his beautiful best friend and their loyal riders.

Calhūn let all the ill feelings go and inhaled the fresh breath of nature. He also let out a howl of excitement, which drew Amalia's attention back to him. Her face lit up with a bliss-filled smile and she laughed and hollered back towards him. Amalia screamed as their riders now ran along the shallows of the river, splashing the water up into the air with tiny bursts of playful ecstasy. It lifted and flew into their clothes and hair, bringing a cooling sensation to their skin.