After Dawn

~3~

As dark blue eyes scanned through the rain footsteps could be heard.
Miranda was running for shelter. It had only been a few hours since she left home, but she was already tired. It took her two whole hours to outrun her fiance and it had recently started raining.

Her short black hair stuck to her face like glue. Her long tail was filled with mud. Her whole body was screaming after rest but she tried her best to ignore it.

10 minutes later after running in the rain, she could hear horses. Not long after she saw them too. It was three light brown half-blood centaurs. They were running the opposite direction of her. However, when they saw her the slowed down.

"Are you lost, sweetie?" One of them said. It was a woman. She was young, maybe in her 20's. Only a couple of years older than herself.

"Y-yes, mam. I think I am..." Miranda stuttered.

"What is a young girl like you doing outside at this time of the night!?" Another one asked. This one was a man. He looked a lot older than the two others. He was probably around the age of 50.

"Well, uhm... I'm trying to get to the nearest Inn. Could you perhaps tell me where I can find it?" Miranda asked.

"Oh but of course!" Now it was the third one speaking. He looked to be her age. Around 17 maybe. He was pretty. With big eyes and a big smile.
He looked at her with kind eyes and then spoke again. "The White Rabbit is not very far from here. It's a quiet little Inn with good food and nice people. You should try it!" Once again he gave her a warm smile. He then said something to the others and they all took off again.

After what felt like hours Miranda saw the lights from the Inn. When she came to the small wooden house she knocked on the door. Soon after a man opened up. He didn't look like a hybrid, but rather like a human. He smiled at her.
"Welcome to The White Rabbit, young lady! Please come inside!" He had a low voice but he seemed friendly.
"Thank you, sir." She answered.

"One night?" The man asked her.

"Yes, please!"

"Alright. Follow me."

The man showed her into a small room with four beds, three of them already occupied. The man gave her a smile and then walked out again. 

Pretty much as soon as she lied down she fell asleep. 

When she woke up again it was around noon. Miranda packed her stuff again, making sure everything was there. She walked downstairs where the friendly man from last night waited.

"Goodmorning, little lady. Off to adventure again, I assume." He said.

"Yep! But I was kind of hoping you could tell me something first..." Miranda said with a smile. "Do you know where the nearest stable is?"

"Hmm... A stable? No, I'm afraid not. Why do you need to get there?" He asked.

"Oh, that's a shame... Well, it's because I need a horse, sir."

Then the man started laughing all of a sudden.

"But why didn't you just say that to begin with? I have good horses I can sell you if you want!"

"Oh really!? I guess it's my lucky day!" Miranda laughed.

"It sure is, Mam! Follow me." 

They both went out of the door and behind the building. And just like he said there were horses. three beautiful horses.

"Well, what do you think? You like 'em?" He asked.

"Yes, they're beautiful! How much for one?" 

"How much do you have?"

"uhm..?" She hadn't counted her money yet, because of her rush to get out of town, so she didn't know. "please give me a minute.."

"But of course" He answered. 

"120 gold." She said hesitating. She was very shocked! 120 was A LOT! this must have been grandmothers whole life-saving!

"Well aren't you a little rich-kid?" He laughed. "Well, I'd be happy to sell you one for... Let's say 40. Then you have a friend for the next twenty years."

Again she was shocked.

"Are you sure? You could probably get a lot more for a horse like that." Miranda asked.

"Yes yes I know, but you look like you need one, so it's fine." The man answered.

"Well, then it's a deal then." She gave him a bright smile.

40 gold was cheap for a horse. 
In the village, there was only one horse, everyone had to share. The whole village had to give money, so they could buy one. At the time some of the adults complained about the price. Her father had told her that it had cost 70 gold. That was a lot of money.

Miranda got so lost in her own thoughts, that she totally forgot what was going on.

"Hello? Are you alright?" The man asked her with worry.

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry, I got lost in my head,  heh" She said

"It's no problem!" He said with a smile. "But now for the big question, Missy. Which horse do you want?"

"Hmm... I don't know they're all beautiful. Which one would you recommend?" She asked.

"Well, if you want a travel companion you should without a doubt get Dakota! She's great." He then pointed at the biggest of the three. She was a strong build black horse. Her hooves, muzzle, mane and tail were white, but everything else had the colour of a deep night sky.

"I'll take her!" Miranda said with excitement. 

"Yes! Of course. I'll get her for you." He said happily.

As soon as the horse was next to Miranda, she wrapped her arms around its neck. "Hi there, Dakota. Let's be great friends."

She could hear the man laugh behind her, and she laughed along.

"Well, I'm sure that you two are gonna make a great team!" He said.

"I sure hope so!"

The two talked for a while before Miranda decided to get going. She paid the nice man and got on Dakota.

"Please come back and tell me about your adventures another time, young lady!" The man shouted after her as she rode away.

"I will! Thank you for everything!" She yelled back as she waved."BYEEE!!" Then she signalled for Dakota to go faster.

Now she was on her way again. But this time with a new friend, Dakota.