Beyond the Books

A Child of Dreams

Characters: Elodie and Wynter
Book: This story does not take place in any of my fanfictions.
It is set about 10 years after "A Court of Snow and Storms" and 5 years before my short story "His Little Dream"

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Elodie stood out in the stables, brushing Bruma's fluffy coat until it was sleek and smooth. The warm scent of horse and hay provided a much needed relief from the scents of the small dinner she'd been making for herself.

Something about it had made her stomach churn until she had no choice but to escape the house altogether. Luckily, there was no one around to question her behavior. The guards wouldn't notice anything strange about her coming out to ride Bruma.

Colette and Cyrus weren't in Nivis at the moment. They had taken Elodie's cousins, their adopted children, on a trip to celebrate Mitsi's sixteenth birthday. And Wynter was currently in a meeting with his mother and father and their ambassadors.

He would likely stay at the palace even after the meeting was concluded so he could spend some time with his sister. That gave Elodie plenty of time to herself, and she desperately needed it. She had a lot to think about.

She set Bruma's brushes aside and went to grab a set of reins to clip onto his halter. The stallion's dark gaze tracked her every step of the way, and when she returned, he lowered his head into easy reach of her arms. Elodie smiled and secured the reins.

Bruma remained still while she opened up his stall and led him out of the stable. Despite his towering height and sturdy build, Elodie felt completely comfortable leading the Ursa stallion. It had taken her a while to reach that point and she had seldom ridden him by herself. But that had changed recently, unbeknownst to everyone else.

Bruma plodded at a steady pace behind her, his nose occasionally brushing her shoulder. He let out a snort when Elodie paused and faced him. She rubbed his muzzle affectionately, then stepped around to his side and draped the reins back over his neck.

Without any prompting, Bruma folded his legs beneath himself and lowered his massive body to the ground. He watched her closely as she climbed onto his back and situated her skirt over her fleece-lined pants.

Bruma rose only when she patted his shoulder. He began to walk again, this time in a well worn circle spanning the perimeter of the grounds. He kept his gait steady and his steps even, as though taking care not to jostle her. Elodie stroked Bruma's neck with a grin. This was why she'd been riding him more lately.

Only a few weeks ago, she had come out to the stable after Wynter left, planning to lead him around the grounds as she liked to do, when the stallion had halted and refused to walk. No matter what she did, he wouldn't budge.

When she'd approached him, he had simply settled on the ground and stared up at her. Elodie took his rebelliousness to mean he didn't wish to walk and put him back in the stable. The next day followed the same pattern, and the day after that.

On the fourth day, she decided to sit on him when he laid down to see what he would do. To her surprise, Bruma had risen and begun to walk without any further prompting. He carried her around the grounds of the estate twice, then knelt down to let her off.

Elodie had found his behavior strange and explained it to Wynter, who simply thought the stallion was being stubborn and lazy. She went out the next day and attempted to lead him again, but as before, Bruma had refused to let her.