Blooded
A Kalasin oneshot.
Prompt 29. restraint taken from tammydrabbles on Live Journal.
By silverymare. Thanks go to Lilith.Seraphim for editing this little one!
Disclaimer: Kalasin, Thayet and Tortall belong to Tamora Pierce. All I've done is borrowed them for my little story. I hope you enjoy!
The horse was fretting under Kalasin's hands, and though she laid a gentle hand on the mare, the steed still nervously pawed at the stall door. Kalasin's Kmiri eye immediately recognized the frightened ash mare as a dressage steed, some noble's showy mount. With sympathy, Kally noticed the white froth at its mouth. Somehow, the stable boys had missed this poor creature. The mare had been left in her trappings while they had marched upstairs for a late dinner of fresh bread and warm soup. Someone careless, a pompous lord or lady, no doubt, had left the horse in its stall, the door half-hinged open. The noble hadn't even bothered to wipe down the horse or to take off the uncomfortable restrictions on her body.
The horse rolled her eyes at Kally, snorting at the strange person who'd appeared in front of her. After all, she was a gentleman's horse, and very much unused to Kalasin's green Court dress, which covered the girl all the way down past her feet. But comfort and kindness seemed to emulate from this human, so the mare allowed her closer.
Kally gently patted its velvet nose, letting the horse get used to her smell. Some horses got skittish around people they'd never been introduced to. Pity came to Kally's eyes at the bridle and the iron bit left in the mare's mouth. The poor horse was rolling its mouth in an effort to dislodge the bit, and so refused to eat Kalasin's offered sugar lump. The girl shrugged, tucking the treat away into the manger with the rest of the horse's food and leaving her hands free. It was unfair to leave the horse to suffer, and the princess sought to remedy the horse's discomfort. Gently, she took off the leather entrapment encasing the horse in front of her, patting and stroking as she went, unhooking the straps and easing the animal leather away from the ash nose.
Kalasin knew that a bridle was made to help a rider control the horse's passage. She had used one herself on the rare occasion. But seeing this horse's head tied so tightly, the leather cutting into its skin, made her furious. This noble, if only she knew who it was! There was no need for such harsh treatment! By commanding directions via a hard iron rod forced into the horse's mouth, a bridle effectively stopped the horse from tossing its mane, even for its own fancy. Was it so hard to learn how to grip with your knees and steer gently with your hands? Kalasin couldn't help the disgust that bubbled to the top of her curled lip. Tortall had hunting horses, both for Immortal and boar; messenger ponies, war stallions, breeding mares, carriage trotters; the list went on and on. The kingdom relied on their equine steeds. If Aunt Daine was here, then Kalasin would have a name to deal with. But though she had her father's Gift, Kally didn't have Wild Magic.
She slumped against the horse's side. Tonight, she wasn't going to fight. She didn't have any energy left. Too tired from arguing her own fate, she simply had no breath to spare. Hiking up the ridiculous green gown she was still wearing, Kalasin scowled at the hem that still trailed into the straw. The horse, decked in its finery just like her, harrumphed. Kalasin's cheeks dimpled, the mare was probably laughing at the ridiculous sight she was making. Still, they were a pair.
One was a doll of the Court, another, bound in dressage. The princess knew all too well the confines of that gentleman's horse sport – a steed would be shown off, taught to circulate an dirt arena, all the while feeling the hairs on its back rise as predators - two-leggers - watched it's every high step looking for flaws. Its hair would be tightly pulled into shining waxed buns, its tail forcefully coiled with thin iron. It was all a show, an all too familiar show. Kalasin shivered.
She'd left her own bright Court for the stables. It was empty of people, as it was now, when she'd first come down. She'd lit the light globes with her Gift, before taking a lamp with her to survey the dozing equine steeds. That was when she had found her trussed-up companion.
No doubt someone would be coming down soon to call her back in, persuading her with a sugar delicacy from dinner or a fancy compliment about her and her mother's flawless skin. The latest trend amongst courtiers was to use an insipid poet's attempts at rhyming to flourish every sentence. Every time Kalasin heard it, she had needed to count to ten before responding. Still, she took comfort in that she wasn't the only one suffering. She'd often caught a glimpse of her mother's Court smiles, which bordered on the edge of bared teeth when an aristocrat stepped on her toes while dancing.
Admittedly, anyone stupid enough to be down here looking for her either didn't know her temper, or was mad to begin with. Her extended family knew she needed time to herself to digest, and not even Roald would be making his way here.
The Carthakian diplomat admitted this afternoon had come with a proposal for an overseas marriage to Emperor Kaddar. It would tie Tortall and Carthak by marriage, and it was a good match if one were judging by economic degrees. Carthak's immense wealth would help with the new ship tax, as pirating along the Tortall coast and blood tensions in the Copper Isles was costing Tortall's sea-ward trade routes ruin.
Still, she deserved a moment to herself, just to be free from all the Court fettering. No Empress-to-be should be mucking around with horses, but right now, she couldn't care less. While all those thoughts were lurking, tumbling around in her mind, her hands had slowly removed every red ribbon from the mare's mane. A small pile of thin dressage wire was hidden in the straw, discarded from the mare's tail. Methodically, Kalasin took a brush to their shiny coat, losing herself in the familiar task of grooming someone else's appearance.
A happy memory came to her. It was a bit blurry, but reminded her of happy, freer times, when it fine to be just Kally.
It had been a crisp autumn day. Most of Court had been disbanded for hunting or left to some nearby estates for a banquet, leaving Kalasin to remember her mother's rich voice, humming something soft while they mucked out their horses. Both mother and daughter had been able to spend a few pleasant hours in each other's company, away from the nursemaid and the throne. Kalasin had been five, small enough to copy her mother, and on that particular day, had finished her first horse braid. She'd rushed out, intent on finding Roald or her father in his study; brimming with a five year old's confidence they would praise her handiwork. But seeing the mess that her enthusiastic daughter had left in the stable stall, Thayet marched her little girl back into the stables before pulling down a bristled brush. With a laugh, she hoisted the girl back on the horse's back.
"Princesses should know how to tidy up after themselves," said the queen.
They had spent the next ten minutes cleaning Kalasin's horse stall, with the mother guiding her daughter's hands. After they'd finished, both stowed all the equipment away and closed the stall door. It was hard work, Kally knew, but there was something really satisfying about seeing something so filthy and messy to begin with cleaned up of clutter. The horses had looked happy too, their heads sticking out in invitation, as if entreating idle hands for a scratch.
It was only when they'd both looked down at themselves that they realised that mucking stalls didn't leave the person pristine. With a laugh, Thayet bent down to pull her daughter's cream shift lower and patted off the straw. She proceeded to straighten her daughter's hair, and stole some water from a clean trough to wipe away the dirt smudge on Kally's nose. When her daughter was presentable, she carefully let Kally wipe her face, not minding that the five year old missed a bit, and ended up soaking her ear instead. The big happy smile on Thayet's face never left, and when both were done, she swept her five year old into the air, twirling around.
Thayet grinned when Kalasin pointed at the straw behind her mother's ear. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll pull it out later. I don't want to go around taking the horse's breakfast away with me."
"But Mama, doesn't Dada like you clean?" The little girl was staring at it with fascination.
"I'm sure he does. And not smelling of muck too." She kissed Kally's child-soft cheek, and then set her daughter on the ground. "I'll wash myself soon, Kally. Grown ups have to look presentable at Court dinners." There was a little sigh tucked in, but Kalasin did what a child did best: she hugged her mother's midriff, smiling into the linen.
"I don't want to grow up and have to bathe."
The stables echoed with her mother's laughter.
Kalasin, now just newly sixteen years old tonight, sighed into the now freed grey mane. The mare turned, whickering in her ear. As if feeling their shared pain of dressing up and dressing down, the mare pressed her head into the girl's shoulder, silent comfort from a friend. Kalasin smiled into the mane; she was sorely tempted to see the reaction of the Court when they notice the horse slobber on her velveteen gown. But she had escaped her duties tonight, so to go back was to accept those hobbles again. And no matter how much she loved all of Tortall, it was too much tonight. Finally done with the grooming, Kalasin pulled the horse's head along with her, opening the stall door.
"I think it's time for a good escape from reality, right?"
The mare tossed her head, as if nodding in agreement. Kalasin's smile widened. She was allowed one day off, once in a while, just to be Kally. With a guiding hand on the horse's cheek, the girl led the horse outside. To their left, there was the unruly Royal Forest. To their right, the town. Both the horse and girl disappeared in the Forest, first at a walk, then a trot, then a thundering gallop as if all the King's Own were chasing after them.
Kally had never felt so free.