To Court a Lady

Chapter Six

I open Vesper's stall door and let him walk out, he then wanders around and greets some horses that are around him in the other stalls as I latch his stall door again. Vesper quietly nickers and turns to me, nudging my shoulder with his warm muzzle. I give him a sugar cube and lead him outside, my hand grazing his neck.

In the darkness, I step on Vesper's lifted hoof and mount him in a fluid movement, looking around; the slowly brightening horizon and the gleaming moon sets a light glow to every plant in the garden next to the stables. I look over my shoulder and see Bash bringing out Pegasus with a bridle, but no saddle.

He mounts his horse from the ground and rides over, whispering to me,
"My goal is to ride without the hindrance of a bridle or a saddle, but so far, I only manage without a saddle."

I nod, smiling,
"It is a mission to retrain a horse that has been told to ride with tack. It was easy to do with Vesper who hates tack... and hates people."

"But not you."

Bash's voice is softer, not from the whisper but there isn't a coldness or coarseness anymore. I smile,
"Not me."

We walk on, Bash taking the lead as he points to a small path that leads to the dense green forest on the eastern side, a path I wouldn't notice without looking for it.

We ride under the canopy of the trees for a while, one behind the other. Birds start to wake up and twitter peacefully and a breeze rustles through the trees. This is the nicest time to ride, in the spring when there is little warmth and not too much cold, when it is still dark and everyone else is still asleep.

When the path widens, I ride side by side with Bash, our horses not hating the proximity to each other.

"Sir Bash?"

"Yes?"

"My sister was at the debutante dinner yesterday and she described Prince Sebastian as a demonic angel - she tends to exaggerate. Have you ever met him, since I now know you live in the palace?"

He gives me a small smile,
"I have met him a few times, but I can't vouch for his character, only that he is quite distant. But may I ask why this would matter to you?"

I feel my cheeks rouge and give Vesper a nudge as he slows to a stop, telling him he can keep walking,
"I have not a proper reason, curiosity just overcame me."

Sir Bash chuckles and gives me a sly grin as the forest ended and ahead there is only fields and a small hill in the middle with a tree on it where the sun is crawling over,
"Race you to the top of that hill?"

"See you there."

I nudge Vesper's sides causing him to canter and then fully gallop, leaving Bash walking in the dust, slightly shocked.

When he registers what has happened he also gallops on, meeting me halfway to the hill, his seat on Pegasus is bouncy and slightly uncontrolled since he isn't accustomed to riding saddle-less. I urge on Vesper and he whinnies, throwing his head in the air and shaking his mane, I laugh and spread my arms and looking at the even brighter blue sky as if I were flying.

When the hill appears right in front of us Vesper slows his gallop and we arrive at the tree, cantering around it and slowing to a trot and then halting. Sir Bash appears next to us not too long after, surprise and some pride in his eyes,

"Your horse can run, good Lord! And you can ride, without any tack and then without hands!"

I laugh at his awe and walk Vesper on so that I am sitting side by side with Sir Bash, Pegasus' head meeting Vesper's tail. I pat his rein holding hand, a form of confidence over taking me,
"Don't worry, everyone can achieve this, especially if it is a big dream."

We stay silent for a while, staring into each other's eyes. Sir Bash takes the hand I am not holding and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering on my cheek.

"Your cheek is cold."

He whispers, as if it could scare this moment away, I smile and look away. He gently takes my chin and makes our eyes find each other again. We stay like this for a while before both staring at my hand, still resting on Bash's hand and Bash's hand on my face. I take it away at the same time as he removes his warm hand from my cheek and I move Vesper away,

"We -uhm- we should return to the palace, it will soon be time for you to break your fast."

I nod, both of us red in the face, and we turn back to the forest, varying between canters and walks.

Before we leave the forest, Sir Bash blocks the path with Pegasus and looks at me,

"Is something the matter?"

He smiles, shaking his head and rouging again slightly,
"No, I just wanted to have another look at you."

My cheeks warm up and I smile.

"You should go ahead and I will return later. I need to search through the forest for anything that could damage the Royals horses when they ride later today."

I nod at his explanation and walk on as Sir Bash makes room for me.

"Miss Willow?"

I turn back and see him watching me,
"Yes?"

"Can we ride again tomorrow, at the same time?"

I smile,
"Only if we stop with the 'Miss' and 'Sir'."

He smiles,
"Fine by me, see you on the morrow, Willow."

I give a small wave,
"See you on the morrow, Bash."

I turn and ride in a canter. The stables growing in size as I get closer. When I arrive at the palace walls, I use the secret door that is completely invisible to the naked eye except for a crevice between two rocks that serves as a handle. As I walk through the secret corridors, I touch my cheek, which still tingles from Bash's touch and smile to myself.

When I arrive in my sister's room a few wrong turns later there is only chaos. My sister is preparing her own hair as Freya and Maya choose dresses for themselves and Harper. When they notice I am here they stare at me, frozen, before dragging me into their chaos. I get given the job of doing Harper's hair and tightening her corset, whilst I also need to put on my corset and do my hair and put on my dress.

<<>>

Barely half an hour later, Harper sits on her bed, hair in a purposefully loose braid that falls over her shoulder and down to her waist. Her dress is a pale yellow with white and gold embroidery on the bodice. She wears white shoes and sits quietly as her three ladies in waiting get ready.

I sit myself down next, my hair open except for a small yellow ribbon that holds a few strands together at the back of my head. My dress is the same as I wore for a few hours yesterday. Except now I have placed yellow shoes on my feet to match my belt.

Maya and Freya oppose each other when they are settled. One with open hair and a blush dress, the other with hair in a chignon and a powder blue dress.

We leave the chambers and walk to the dining room. When I look through the door and see all the people and the royals around the tables my stomach gives me an odd feeling. So many voices, so many people, so many thoughts, so little space. 

I start to panic and shake my head, grabbing Harper's arm,
"Harper, I-I can't go and eat, I-I don't feel well."

As the words come from my mouth, my stomach sends another warning to my mind and I rush away from the dining room, in the direction of the staircase we walked down moments ago.

Harper, who ran after me, embraces me and nods,
"That's fine, Willow, if you can't do it, you can't do it. I will ask a servant to bring some food up to you."

I nod, my eyes watering. As I slowly start to walk up the stairs, I turn to my sister,
"I'm sorry, Harper, I really am."

"It's fine."
She smiles at me sincerely, worry laced in her eyes and I walk back into the private sitting room and curl up into a ball as I lay on the couch.