lady.
It was another lovely hot day. The knights and Lilian were lounging in the herb garden again, before going out on a ride. Lilian, who was wearing the blue velvet riding habit again, was just telling Kel "simply the most THRILLING news" when Lord Edmund strode into the garden. "Hello, wonderful day!" he boomed. Lilian jumped up and went over to take his arm.
"Hello Edmund, darling. Did you come to visit me?" she smiled coquettishly.
"No, I was going to go for a ride and visit Flurrie. Greetings Your Highness, Sir Kel, Neal, Cleon." he nodded.
"Won't you come for a ride with us then, darling? I'm sure they don't mind."
"Certainly, if the lords and lady do not mind!"
"Please do." spoke up Kel, eagerly.
"Fine by me."
"Sure!"
"In that case,.... you boy!" called to a small stableboy. "Saddle these ladies' and gentlemen's horses as well as mine."
"No, that's fine,..." protested Kel.
"The boy needs the experience." before she could protest further, he went on "So tell me, Highness, I hear that you are working a wonder with Flurrie."
"She is magnificent!" Roald answered eagerly. "She has a smooth gait. The only problem is that this week, she seems to be getting quite skittish. A few days ago, she was so nervous that we had to walk all the way back. But she was fine again yesterday."
Lord Edmund looked very worried. "Perhaps I should find someone else to ride her then. If something were to happen to you, the Crown Prince...."
"No, that's alright. She's used to me now and she just needs a firmer hand."
He still looked doubtful. "If you're quite sure..."
"Yes! I really like her."
The boy and a friend came back a long while later with all the horses. "Ah, there you are! Thank you." said Lord Edmund, flipping him a coin.
"Ladies first." he bowed to them, as Kel and Lilian glanced at each other trying not to giggle. As the group crossed the courtyard, Lilian waved merrily to Daine, who was sitting on the edge of the garden fountain, deep in serious conversation with some ravens. All of them, except Lilian, mounted up from the ground.
"Oh dear!" she exclaimed almost as she was about to mount from the ladies' mounting block (sidesaddles and long skirts made it hard to do). "I left my gloves in the garden. I won't be a minute!" she called, trotting off to fetch them.
But as Lilian entered the courtyard again, she was met by screams from the horses and shouts of "No, Highness!" "Stop her!" Flurrie was bucking madly and kicking, the light of madness in her eyes. Roald was on her back trying desperately to control her. Suddenly, she reared and screamed. The next moment, she had started galloping headlong out the yard and into the Forest. "Follow him." yelled Edmund, digging his heals in.
"Lily, run and get Daine." shouted Kel as she, Cleon and Neal tore madly after the runaway horse.
"Daine, DAINE!" she screamed hysterically, grabbing her skirts and running towards the fountain. "Flurrie -- Roald--ran off--stop her!" she gasped, panting. Daine, immediately understanding the situation, gave a brisk nod and shifted to hawk form. She took to the skies after them.
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The horses thundered off in hot pursuit. But when they came to a place where the path split, they weren't sure which way to go. The hoofbeats were getting fainter and fainter... "You go to the left, I'll take the right!" ordered Lord Edmund. They didn't even wait to nod before rushing off. Lord Edmund galloped deeper into the forest, but gradually he slowed down as if unsure which way to go.
Meanwhile, Roald was gasping for breath. Flurrie had tried to scrape him off on a low branch and he was bleeding heavily, his clothes in tatters. The horse was racing madly through the woods now, clearing logs and other obstacles with miraculous leaps and bounds. His ears were filled with the sound of pounding hooves.
"Where is he?!" thought Kel frantically. The three thundered on ahead into....
"AHHhh! Stop! Dead end!" yelled Neal and Cleon together. The two had narrowly escaped running headlong into a giant oak. Obviously, Roald couldn't have gone here. "Turn back!"
<Flurrie, stop!> cried Daine. The mad scream she got in reply almost knocked her out of the air. Spotting a clearing ahead, Daine landed, and tried to mind-connect with the maddened mare. Instead, all she found was a swirling fog, filled with odious yellow gases. She pulled back out, head dizzy from the mess in the mare's head.
Why, oh why, moaned Roald. The mare had been running for a long time now, more than he had thought possible. He was starting to slip, his hands sweaty, trembling and numb. Jumping off wouldn't have been too bad, except that there were no openings in the trees ahead. Am I hallucinating or is there another set of horses' hooves? "HELP!"
Daine took off. Suddenly, she spotted the horse and boy ahead.
Was that a shadow or a tall black stallion and rider? No time to think...
"He's up ahead!" coughed Kel. She was wheezing slightly, from the fast pace and riding through a low branch. "Edmund must have found him, there's someone there!"
Roald clung on weakly. Suddenly the black stallion and its bareback rider who was all dressed in black burst out of the surrounding trees. Racing neck to neck with the running mare, they got closer and closer. They were right next to him. The rider got even closer. The black figure reached an arm out. Roald felt himself being yanked out of the saddle and into the arms of his rescuer. The mare thundered on ahead, but this person slowed the stallion to a stop. "Thank you..." wheezed Roald. The person gently lowered him to the ground. He or she sprang cat-like off the horse's back and landed on two feet on the ground. After making a quick check for injuries, the person wrapped up the worst of his injuries using his tattered shirt. Abruptly, the person jerked his or her head up, listening. There were horses coming closer and closer in the distance and a hawk circled overhead. Before Roald could say anything more, the figure gave a low whistle, calling the stallion over. The
person leaped onto the trotting horse and giving one more backward glance, galloped off into the trees.
Kel, Cleon and Neal burst from the trees! "Roald! You alive?" shouted Cleon, jumping off from the horse and running over.
"Yeah *cough* I'm alive." this was followed by a groan as he tried to turn over and couldn't.
"Where's Edmund?"
"Don't know."
"How come you're already bandaged-who did that?" asked Kel, as they gently helped him up.
He frowned. "There was this figure in black. I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, but probably a man though. You could tell he was really strong."
"Uh huh. How many fingers am I holding up?" tested Cleon, disbelieving.
"Two. And I know what I saw."
"Highness thanks be to the Gods you're alright!" Lord Edmund had just arrived, pale and breathless.
"Let's get him back to the palace. I can heal some things but the palace healers are better." Neal gently sent a pain relieving spell down towards Roald.
As they left the clearing, Kel saw something fluttering in the wind. "What's this?" Picking it up off a bush she saw that it was a piece of parchment. On it was the mark of a paw print - a panther paw print.
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As they arrived at the stables, they were greeted by the sounds of hysterical sobbing. Lilian, a tear-stained, red-eyed Lilian rushed over. Her clothes were all askew, as if she had wanted to tear them up in shreds like her handkerchief. "Is he alive?" she asked, tearfully.
"Yes, he is. C'mon, let's get him to the healers."
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As Stefan groomed the horses, he saw Myles' black horse chewing something. "Hey, give that here." he ordered.
The horse blew his nostrils out deliberately ignoring him. "Horses." he snorted. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that the horse was chewing on a bundle of straw and roses.
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