I raised my arms above my head. "Play horsie with me!" Gilby looked down, and smiled. He lifted me off the ground and sat me on his shoulders.
"How's that?" He asked. I smiled.
"I like it! Off to see Prince Frederick!" I cheered. Gilby pretended to neigh before running around the castle, looking for him. When we couldn't find him, Gilby suggested a different idea.
"He's probably at your home. I heard Fritz say he was getting one of the bedrooms comfortable for himself." I frowned.
"You mean he's moving out of Fritz' house?" I asked. He nodded.
"Yeah. He's going to be King of Germany for a while. He's expected to move out of the castle. Everyone leaves home at some point. You don't have to if you don't want to though." He said, smiling up at me. I cheered.
"Yay!" I shoved my hands into Gilby's hair and started playing with it. Gilby chuckled.
"So you wanna go see him? I'm sure Bismarck is there too." I gasped.
"Yes! I mean… please?" He chuckled before heading out of the castle and toward the barn… stables? Either one. Gilby calls it a barn but Fritz calls it the stables. Gilby set me on his horse before climbing up to sit too. I turned around and leaned into him. I wish there were a better way of fast travel. Gilby wrapped an arm around me before getting the horse to move.
"Hey! Abelard! Tell the King that we're going to Germany's place, to see the Prince and Bismarck." Gilby called.
"May God be with you! You have your sword?" Abelard called. I looked up at Gilby. He nodded.
"Yeah. I have my sword. Tell him." Gilby called and we galloped away from the castle and toward the palace gates. I squirmed around Gilby to watch the castle disappear in the background. Gilby's arm tightened around me as we galloped on until we came to a halt. "Open the gates! We're off to see the Prince!" He called. The gates were opened and we galloped onward. I squirmed back into the position I was before. I felt one of his arms wrap around my waist as we moved.
"Gilby." I giggled. It tickled to have his arm there. I stood up and put my hands on the horse to see over it's head. We were passing through the commoners, as Gilby called them, and out of the city and onto dirt paths. Gilby slowed the horse to a trot. I looked up at him curiously.
He
"Everheart may be my war horse but I don't want to make him run for too long. Besides, you can check out all the scenery while we go from my place to yours. It's not that far you know." He said, smiling at me. I smiled back and started watching the scenery. We came to a post. Gilby stopped his horse and read the sign. There was a fork in the path. However we moved on quickly.
When I could see another city. I pointed at it, looking up at him. "Lookie!" I demanded.
"Yes. We're almost there." He got Everheart into a gallop again and soon we were in the city. We passed through people until we came to a halt. "Open the gates! I'm here to see the King!" Gilby called. Soon the gates were open and Gilby galloped through them and toward the big castle.
We trotted to the stables and Gilby picked me up before getting off his horse. I was set on my feet. "Gilby?" I asked, curiously.
"Go find Frederick or Bismarck. I'm going to stay here for a few minutes to care for Everheart. He deserves a treat." He said as he walked around, grabbing a cube of sugar, a brush, and a tool to clean Everheart's hooves. I grabbed his pant leg and clung to it, walking around with him. Gilby pet the horse as he fed it the cube of sugar and then he started brushing the horse. He looked at me, smiling.
"You sure you don't want to go do something more fun?" He asked, beaming at me. I nodded.
"Staying at your side is fun for me."
"This has nothing to do with the Germans?" I nodded. He kissed my forehead before beginning to clean Everheart's hooves. It took a few minutes but when he finished he walked over to the sink and started washing his hands. "We can go find them together now!" He cheered. I cheered.
"Yay!" He picked me up from under my arms before carrying me inside. I laid my head next to his. "Will we be able to play?" He nodded.
"Yeah, playing is awesome! Not playing is for losers!" He grinned at me and I returned his grin with one of my own. We walked toward the castle as it started to thunder. I looked up and a drop of rain fell in between my eyes.
"It looks like rain."
"More like a thunder storm." He said, pointing into the sky. "See? We have lightning too." I shivered.
"Lightning? Doesn't that cause fires?"
"It can but it isn't likely to happen really. Don't worry, the Awesome Me will protect you from anything! Including fire!" I chuckled and kissed his cheek.
"Thank you Gilby." His eyes widened.
"My little brother is an adorable angel." I frowned.
"I'm not adorable! I'm a boy!" He smirked.
"Boys are adorable and girls are cute, even if they are bitches." I frowned.
"Gilby! You shouldn't say that word!" He gave me a sheepish grin. "Not all girls are bitches." His grin widened.
"My bad Luddy." I smiled.
"I forgive you." He smiled.
"Thank God. You! Where is Frederick?" Gilby asked. I turned my head quickly to see a man passing through looking around, writing things down as he walked. He looked over at Gilby and I. I hid my face in Gilby's shoulder. I didn't recognize that man but I knew he wasn't from Gilby's palace.
"Ah, yes. The King should be upstairs, you'll find him in the Master bedroom, getting it ready for a Ludwig Beilschmidt." Gilby walked on, rubbing my back.
"See? You get the biggest bedroom! Isn't that awesome?! He wants you to feel right at home."
"But the Master bedroom has so much space and I'm so… little." I whispered.
"One day you'll be bigger. Just wait. At some points you'll even want to be small again." He smiled at me. I smiled back, relaxing again. I had nothing to fear, especially with Gilby here.
