The Centaur and Me

~7~

~7~

--- Third Person POV ---

He had always been handsome. From a very young age, elders and other mothers would often say it to his mother.

"He'll turn out to be so handsome,"

"Look after him, all the girls will be after that one!"

Comments like that were no stranger to him, all his life. He just expected them, and they were no shock or obstacle to him. He could have taken the comments from anyone and they would have not meant anything to him, yet he had always secretly longed for her to say something like that to him.

They had grown up together. Well, his twin sister, Kira, had, Rio being a young male, was not allowed much time around the mares, especially the princess. But she wasn't like the others.

She had two legs, a terrible shyness and a lot of self doubt. Rio could not relate to the two legged part, but the shyness and self doubt were more on his level. He remembered the first time he had seen her.

For much of her childhood, the Princess was kept under watchful protection. Rio had never known why, other than his mother telling him that she was "slightly different to the rest of the herd".

Rio's family were quite high up, close in connection with the Chief. Kira was introduced first, the Chief idolised her, in a way that Rio didn't understand. It was only until much later into his life that he fully understood why his sister was so glorified by the Chief. But for now, Rio's sister formed a close bond with the Princess and soon, Rio would find himself encountering her too.

When Rio and Kira had turned 15, (a kind of coming of age for young centaurs. The mares are educated in their duties, whilst the young stallions begin training in warfare), the Princess turned 14, and began to be more involved within the herd. Rio admired her firstly for her courage; she seemed to know that she was different and somehow accepted it. Her first public appearance was when one of the neighbouring herds visited in the annual archery contest.

Rio, being a star archer and top of his military class, had entered with the hopes of winning a victory for his family's honour. The Princess, being the daughter of the Chief and host of the competition, was to award the prizes.

When Rio stood to take his turn, he could feel all eyes on him, except hers. Glancing over, he noticed that her eyes had wandered elsewhere...

His sister, Kira was unaware of the Princess' watchful gaze. And then it dawned on him. Kira was the daughter that the Chief had always wanted. And the Princess knew that she could never be that. Wanting to recapture her attention, Rio decided to make a bold move.

"Before I begin, if I may, would like to dedicate my arrows to the young Princess, the fairest mare here today,"

It certainly brought her back to reality. For a brief moment, she locked eyes with him. He knew he had broken a few hearts, it was no secret that a lot of the young mares wished for him as a mate, but he felt a sudden urge to win for the Princess more than anything.

He fired his arrows and they won easily. The crowds cheered him on and he cast a glance back at the Princess, who was looking no where else but the at the arrows he had just fired. Rio could have sworn that a small smile crept onto her face. It was at that moment that he knew he loved her. Even the smallest and subtlest smile on her face made him go giddy.

When she awarded his prize to him, he had to struggle to keep his feelings to himself. He would not risk damaging her reputation, tainted as it was already due to her appearance.

Since that day, Rio found himself thinking about her more than he had before. He promised himself that if he could be her mate, he would make her feel protected, valued and loved. He vowed this to himself and decided that he would follow and support her, even if her own blood would not...

---

--- RIO ---

The rain had stopped by the time I'd left the cave. It had rained enough for the soil to stick in small clumps to my hooves. Perfect. Any of our tracks that we'd left behind would have washed away by now. I found myself wondering how bad things had been for her to decide to run away. But then I also found myself thinking how bad things must have been for her anyway.

I shook away the thoughts and focused on what I had come out for. Water and breakfast tomorrow morning. Before I'd found the cave, I had seen a lake not too far away. I had two water bottles strapped to my saddlebags from my night shift the day before. I'd fill them both up and bring them back, one for hot water and one for drinking.

Before long, I had arrived at the water's edge. Reaching behind me, I unfastened the water bottles from my saddlebags and bent down to fill them up. After a couple of minutes, I was sure I had enough water for us both and I was ready to head back to Sayuri.

However, something stopped me. I found myself looking down at my muddy hooves, in fact the mud had made its way up past my knees. I had been so busy trying to care for Sayuri that I had neglected myself.

I decided a quick wash down in the shallows wouldn't hurt. Stepping into the water, the mud washed away easily and almost immediately. I returned to the shoreline and content with my cleanliness, headed back towards the cave where my mate was sleeping.

It soon dawned on me that even though our tracks would have washed away, the Chief would have been sure to send out a search party sooner or later. Feeling a vulnerability that I hadn't before, I quickened to a trot back to the cave.

To my relief, she was still there, peacefully sleeping. I took it upon myself to keep the fire going before I myself settled down for the night.

I looked over at Sayuri, admiring her, falling in love with her all over again...