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Chapter 20

Blue Days

"How come she didn't know how to read?"

"Who didn't need to learn to read?"

It was a new woman, looking around at them all.

"This lady in the story."

"What story?"

"This one!"

"Interesting, please go on." She sat down among them.

"What happens next?"

Angela sat beneath her favorite willow tree, a book lying open in her lap as she watched Julietta running a hand along the body of a black foal, teaching Gwen the different parts of the horse's body as the quieter girl practiced on the gentle brown filly.

The noblewoman thought of the pretty white filly from yesterday and wondered if Julietta would allow her to ride it. She was an accomplished horsewoman but had never really had a horse. Her uncle and father had always just sort of assigned her a horse to ride and she had never been around one long enough to form a bond.

She shrugged and stood up. It wouldn't hurt just to visit the filly.

An abrupt yelp attracted her attention and she was shocked to see the horse Julietta was working with rear up and scream loudly as Raph abruptly appeared at the edge of the corral. The gypsy girl was hurled off of her feet and landed on her back just beyond the flailing hooves. The black filly bucked and kicked all the way to the other side of the paddock.

"You idiot!" Julietta hissed, rolling to her feet. "Make some noise when you come towards the horses! You make them skittish enough without you just popping up!"

Raph swelled with fury. "This's my house. I'll do whatever the hell I want!"

"Please you two!" Gwen pleaded, running a hand over her nervous horse's neck. "Don't fight!"

Both subsided reluctantly, the turtle huffing and slumping onto the fence and the girl turning her attention to running after her horse, which was still trying to get out of the corral.

Angela was impressed; it seemed that Gwen, for all her shyness, had a good influence on the two wildest inhabitants of the castle. She went to stand beside Raph.

He gave her a stiff nod, which she returned graciously before turning her attention to the dark haired girl pulling the rearing foal onto all fours.

"Where did you learn so much about horses?"

The gypsy glanced at her carelessly over her shoulder. "My family specializes in horse training. You gonna take out the white filly?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"That's the reason you're here, isn't it?"

"So y'just assume ya know what everybody wants?" Raph demanded.

"Why're ya talking 'bout something that doesn't concern you?"

Angie traded a resigned look with Gwen – was it absolutely impossible for these two to be in any kind of proximity without arguing with each other?

"What did ya say?!"

Apparently so.

The two other girls sighed deeply and walked away from the two feuding teens, towards the stables, Gwen leading Willow.

"They don't get along very well, do they?"

The noblewoman pursed her lips, just barely holding in a very unladylike snort. "Oh no. They remind me of a cat and dog."

Her friend giggled, walking into the stables. "But who's the dog and who's the cat?"

Angie chuckled. "It's hard to tell. I think they switch off."

"You know," Gwen said, leading the foal into its stall. "If you're going to be working with one of the horses, you should give it a name. Julietta says that it makes the horse more responsive to have a name to answer to."

"Julietta said that?"

"Oh, yes! She knows a lot about horses." The young woman began to rub down her horse, humming softly and slightly off-key.

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About a week later, Leo was sitting on the floor on the rug in front of the hearth, polishing his katanas and talking to Angela on the pros and cons of fighting on a horse versus those encountered when fighting on the ground.

"Well, you have the higher ground," Angie pointed out, her embroidery hoop lying abandoned on her lap. "That's always a good advantage to have."

"That's true, but while you're on a horse, you don't have as many options for moving out of the way. You're stuck on the horse. On the ground, you can get around your opponents more easily, dodging instead of just bulling through on a horse."

"Touché."

He took a moment to glance around the room.

Master Splinter was reading one of his stories in his favorite chair by the fireplace. Donny and Gwen were arguing over a complicated mathematical formula by the window. Mikey was scribbling away on the floor, breaking off on his writing to chew thoughtfully on the feather of his quill. Zoey was staring dreamily into the flames. Julietta was hunched over a piece of paper, muttering to herself. Raph glared at her as though trying to burn her alive by the sheer darkness of his gaze.

Leo caught his eye and gave him a reproachful look. Be civil! He mouthed.

His brother responded with an equally silent retort, though this one involved much stronger words. But he went over to Julietta and peered over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" his voice was strained with forced politeness.

"Reading."

"Oh."

"Think fast, Raph!"

Before anyone could stop him, Mikey hurled a balled up piece of paper at his brother. Raph growled and tried to bat the projectile away, but somehow managed to get his feet tangled up in Julietta's skirt and fell hard backwards onto the table she had been using as a desk, splitting it with a terrific crash.

Everyone leapt to their feet, except for Raph who was a bit stunned and Julietta whose legs were pinned by Raph's shell.

Predictably, it was Julietta who spoke first. "You idiot!" She then rounded on Mikey. "And you! What the hell what were you thinking?! Get out of my sight!"

"Miss Julietta," Master Splinter said quietly. "Please calm down."

The young woman closed her mouth and glared down at the turtle practically sprawled on her lap. "Red? Get off me."

As Raph got up, looking ready to strangle the audacious young woman, Leo found that he was immensely glad that he was speaking with Angela instead rather than the young gypsy.

"Leo?"

"What? Oh, sorry, Angie, what were you saying?"

Silvery eyes rolled playfully. "I was just asking if you wanted to come and meet Lady tomorrow."

"Lady?"

"The white filly – Julietta gave me permission to break her to the saddle, after I tame her of course."

"I don't think so, Angie. Horses don't really like us."

The young woman ran her hands over her navy blue skirt. "Leo, if they're going to stay here they need to get used to you guys. Besides, I'd like your opinion on her.

"Please, Leo?"

He sent her a smile. "Okay, tomorrow morning after practice?"

"Sounds perfect."

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Angela hummed as she slipped the leather halter over Lady's pristine head. She and Leo had decided that him trying to walk into the stables was a sure recipe for disaster. She would introduce horse and turtle in the open area that held the mounting blocks and posts for tying horses.

It helped that everyone was occupied in the castle: Mikey and Raph were inside with Master Splinter doing some kind of punishment exercise after their insane behavior during morning training – Mikey had pulled down Raph's belt, which led his brother to tackle him and put him in a vicious headlock – Donny was in his workshop fiddling with some contraption that he was calling a phonograph, Zoey was wandering through the rooms on the fourth floor, and Gwen and Julietta were in the library practicing spelling.

Thus, there was nothing to frighten or distract the beautiful white filly.

Nothing but the six plus foot tall turtle waiting outside…

She took a firmer grip on the lead rope and walked out of the stables.

Lady stopped dead, her slender head turned towards the big green figure standing a few feet away. Her ears lay against her skull and her nostrils flared.

"Easy, pretty girl," Angie whispered into the filly's ear. "It's okay. You'll like Leo. He's very nice."

She managed to drag the nervous yearling into the center of the saddling ring, murmuring relaxingly.

"Okay, Leo!" she called, giving the signal for him to begin his slow approach.

It took almost fifteen minutes of soothing and stroking the increasingly uneasy horse until Angie could feel Leo right behind her. She turned her back on the horse and spoke to her terrapin friend.

"What do you think of her?"

Leo's strange dark eyes looked over Lady. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and gentle, "She has good lines. It looks like there might be some Arabian in her."

"Well that would explain her coloring."

"I can see why you call her Lady. She is very beautiful."

"She looks even better when she's not panicking."

"I can tell."

They continued their brisk, rather pointless conversation.

"Do you really think it's as productive to ride a horse bareback as it is to ride with a saddle?" Angie said skeptically.

"I've seen… people ride horses bareback and seen them ride better than others who rode with saddle. Sometimes better than those who use a bit and bridle."

"Ride without a bit and bridle?" She couldn't imagine being able to control the horse without at least a bit. "What about a halter?"

He shrugged his big shoulders carelessly. "The best rider I ever knew could ride without anything at all. He could ride circles around any rider around."

"Who was he?"

"Raph."

"Raphael?" She tried to imagine the wild-tempered Raph working with horses and failed.

"Yeah." A rather wistful smile spread across the green face. "Raph used to be the best rider in the whole country. He could outride anyone."

"What happened?"

"Well, Raph got older and he… well, changed."

"Changed? How do you mean?"

Angie barely noticed Lady's inquisitive nose coming between them, until she extended her head to sniff timidly at Leo's arm.

She watched carefully as Leo very slowly raised his large hand up to the horse.

Lady promptly threw up her head, snorting, and shied away as far as the lead rope would allow.

"C'mon, pretty one," Leo said softly, not moving. "I'm not going hurt you…"

It took another twenty minutes for Lady to gather up her courage again and very carefully take the five steps that separated her from the blue-banded turtle. When the filly placed her quivering nose into his hand, a serene smile spread across his broad cheeks.

This gave her pause.

She had seen Leo smile many times of course… but never like this.

Heat spread on her cheeks.

Control yourself, Angela! She scolded herself, staring determinedly at her hands, twisting the leather of the lead nervously.

"Angie?"

She looked up and saw the smile he had given Lady was now directed at her.

Had she really thought she was hot before? She was sadly mistaken – she had somehow managed to spontaneously combust.

"Angie? You okay?"

"What?"

"You're all flushed." He reached out a concerned hand.

She ducked away from his hand. "Of course, it's just the heat."

He looked up at the sun. "Is it really that hot?"

Surprised, Angie glanced at him. "Can't you feel it?"

"Sure, but it doesn't really bother me… Is that why you're wearing that dress?"

Her blush deepened. It had been oppressively hot when she had woken up, though the servants had done their level best to cool her room, opening the windows and offering her fresh fruit and a strange meal that she was growing very fond of – little bits of flavored dry bread floating in milk (A.N. Let's pretend they had cereal). She had opted to trade in her very formal dressing habit for a much lighter outfit.

The skirt was a pale blue with nothing beneath it and the plain bodice was white, with sleeves that were wide and reached only to her elbows instead of to her wrists. It was much more casual than anything she had ever worn before, but it had just been too hot to deal with petticoats, brocade, laces, or ribbons.

"It's too hot to wear anything else."

"Well, it looks nice on you."

A smile, one that was neither vague nor polite, spread across her face. "Thank you. So what do you think of her?"

Leo laid a hand on Lady's graceful neck, earning a nervous shiver but nothing else. "She's beautiful and brave. She's a good horse."

Angela grinned up at him. "Do you think she's good for me?"

The turtle looked her up and down for a moment, then turned to the yearling swinging her head from him to Angie, curious about the strange feelings swirling between her mistress and the strange, gentle creature.

A pause –

"Definitely. A lady always needs the company of another Lady."

She laughed lightly. "The other horses are growing used to you all. I believe Zoey introduced Rosie to Mikey yesterday when he came to see the one he calls Titan."

"Titan." He shook his head. "If it had been a Clydesdale I would have understood but it's just a Quarter Horse with a little Morgan blood."

"Actually, Titan has a bit of racing blood in him. You should see him run from Julietta whenever she tries to put him away for the night."

"I'm sure that doesn't help her temper." He stroked Lady's neck and smiled when the horse merely arched her neck.

"Actually, she handles it remarkably well – she might be faster than me. Almost all of the horses have names now, you know: there's Lady, Willow, Titan, Dancer, Demonio, Rosie, Angel, and Boomer."

"Who're Angel and Boomer?"

"The spotted filly and the lighter chestnut colt. Angel is a sweetheart and Boomer won't stop kicking the stable wall."

"Who does that leave?"

"The grey colt and the dun colt. Donny's naming the grey colt tomorrow, so that just leaves the dun." She turned to him, smiling. "You should name him."

"I don't think –"

A slight twinge of annoyance went through her. "Leo, please. The horses won't be terrified of you for much longer. And it's just a name, what harm could it do?"

**************************

Angela brushed Lady's tail, humming happily to herself. Leo had gone back inside a few minutes ago after dubbing the colt Ranger, with the explanation that he had to tell Master Splinter something but promising to join her for her evening walk in the garden. Before he had walked off, he had run a light hand over her shoulder in farewell.

A strange feeling had been welling up inside of her ever since, growing stronger and stronger in her stomach, making her feel gloriously light.

By the time she let Lady out in one of the paddocks, she felt as though she was going to float off of the ground in the contented haze.

"ANGIE!"

She turned to see Zoey practically bouncing towards her, Gwen and Julietta bringing up the rear.

"Isn't it such a pretty day?" the acrobat asked, hopping around her like a hyper rabbit. She wore a pale orange cotton skirt that stopped between her ankles and knees with a light yellow blouse with sleeves that stopped several inches below her elbow. As usual she had her hair in a ponytail and was barefoot.

"It is," she agreed, looking up at the bright sky.

"So what're you doing around here, Goldilocks?" Julietta was dressed in her usual attire – a burgundy skirt that stopped just beneath her knees and a white bodice that had no sleeves at all, showing off her lean tanned arms. A red bandana was twisted through her dark hair and she also spurned shoes.

"Just visiting Lady."

The gypsy nodded. "How's that going?"

"Very well, actually. And what about you all?"

Zoey giggled. "Mikey and I just got finished with a water fight."

"And pulled us into it," Gwen said, smiling, motioning to the fading water marks on her skirt. She balanced between comfort and practicality. Her skirt was lilac and ended several inches above her ankles, revealing her sandaled feet. Her shirt was white and light cotton and short sleeved.

"We're heading back to the castle. You comin'?"

"I suppose."

Immediately, Zoey looped one arm through hers and linked the other with Julietta's. "Come on then!"

"Hey let go!" Julietta complained as the cheerful girl started skipping, dragging her victims along. Pulling against Zoey was no good at all, for all her size the girl was very strong.

"Don't be so stiff! Come on Gwennie, catch up!"

Gwen laughed out loud and fell in beside Julietta, linking arms and skipping along.

There was a moment of disarray as the two hostages were forced to fall into step, but soon Angie couldn't help but skip too. After all, no one here cared if she acted like a lady all the time, did they? She laughed as her long legs put her slightly ahead of Gwen and Zoey's shorter strides and Julietta's unenthusiastic ones.

"Julie, please!" Gwen pleaded. "Lighten up! It's not so bad here – admit it, you're starting to really like it here."

The gypsy's dark look did not improve.

"Be happy Julie!" Zoey giggled, pressing her pink cheek against Julietta's bronze one.

"Leave her alone, girls," Angela scolded. "If she wants to act boring, let her."

Bright dark eyes immediately fell upon the noblewoman. "Boring, huh? We'll see about that, Goldilocks. Come on, race ya!"

The four girls were off like shots, skirts whipping around the light boots, sandals, and bare feet. They flew across the fields and hills, through the gardens, and up the steps to the huge main doors.

Julietta was a split second faster, her bare feet skidding across the rug in the entrance hall. Angela came in directly on her heels, her normally neat blond hair a mess down her back. Zoey ran in green eyes dancing with happiness. Last to enter was Gwen, giggling and panting by turns.

They collapsed together in the hall, laughing breathlessly.

"I love it here," Zoey sighed, staring up at the stained glass windows that cast multicolored patterns across the rich carpet.

"Mm-hm," Gwen murmured, sprawled carelessly across the floor.

Julietta said nothing, merely smiled lazily.

"What about you, Angie?"

Angela rolled onto her stomach, propped her chin up in her hands and kicked her legs against the floor. "It's home."

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Somewhere beyond the realm of the living, the Lady mother of a prince was beaming at her hands.

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