The Reaper's Curse #1 - Complete

I Know You

Alicia approaches the horse in the ring with confidence. She knows what she's doing, even though she hasn't had the opportunity to bond with a horse in what feels like years. The stallion's coat is an artwork of black and white splotches. He's an energetic thing, regularly running circles in the ring. It doesn't help the horses that it's often too dangerous to take them beyond the walls. Alicia knows this animal is anxious to get out and about. She used to feel the same way when she was stuck in the palace for too long.

"Hey," she says, reaching out a hand and walking closer, but the animal trots back, tossing his head, one of many that have become nervous with Grey Bloods, and people too because of it.

The boy—Viktor—watches, wrapping his small arms around the fence with a deep frown on his face. He lets out a gasp when the horse attempts to skirt past Alicia, but she gets in its way, forcing the animal back again.

"It's alright," she reassures the horse. "I just want to take you out for a little ride." The horse snorts in response, hoof digging into the dirt in a stubborn way that has Alicia shaking her head and smiling.

She moves closer again, finally lifting the rope and swinging it. If the horse doesn't want to do this the easy way, then it needs to learn that Alicia isn't going to relent because of it.

She flings the rope as the horse tries to run past her, the rope hooking around the animal's leg. She tugs as the horse struggles, trying to get the rope off. Alicia holds on, her muscles beginning to burn familiarly, something she missed dearly.

"Come now," she says with a grunt, the stallion giving a fierce pull that nearly drags Alicia off her feet, but she stands firm, moving with the horse for a moment before pulling back. The horse huffs as his hoof is lifted, taking him off balance suddenly.

Sweat trickles down her spine as the horse goes in circles around her, wrapping himself in the rope, but Alicia doesn't give him an inch, gritting her teeth, widening her stance, and hauling again.

The horse stumbles, quickly easing itself to the ground with heaving breaths. Alicia keeps the rope taut for a long moment before slackening it bit by bit, watching the stallion calm itself, realising there's no danger. Alicia approaches carefully, the horse huffing out heavy breaths. She slides her hand along the black and white coat, the horse's ear twitching, eyes moving warily. Alicia reaches for the rope around its hoof, slowly loosening it until she can take it off completely. She drops the rope to the dirt, petting the stallion, murmuring calming words.

Then she grips the horse's mane, easing her leg over its side, giving him a gentle nudge. The stallion rises, and Alicia holds on to keep seated on his back. Once they're standing, Alicia squeezes the horse's sides with her thighs, urging it into a trot.

"Okay, boy," she says to the horse, patting his neck. "You want to go for a ride?" The horse picks up its pace, jogging in circles. "Viktor!" The kid perks up, watching with wide eyes as the horse quickens. "Open the gate." The kid scrambles to do as he's told, unlatching the gate and swinging it open. Alicia tightens her hold on the horse, giving a cry that has the stallion bursting from the ring.

Alicia lets out a laugh as they sprint through the fields of the Commons, people looking up from their work as she rides past. She takes the animal close to the wall, riding along its edge, knowing she doesn't have enough space to ride freely but also knowing this horse needs it. She directs the horse in a broad circle, passing lines of crops, splashing through mud and a shallow river before turning back around.

Alicia can't stop the smile that spreads across her face as the wind tugs at her shirt, and she hugs the animal, her thighs already burning with the effort of riding bare-backed. But she used to live like this, and for a brief moment, she forgets. Forgets what came after her childhood with horses and farms, forgets the person she became during the war, forgets the masks she adorned in the palace to be queen. Alicia forgets about it all, witnessing who she is beneath her masks once again, if only briefly.