Anonymous: Could they have used two horses? Of course, they could. But Alice won't pass the chance to have her arms around Robin's waist while they ride.
"Here ya go, petals." Kahlan said, guiding two beautiful horses towards them. "You can uses these two for the day. It's five silver in total until sunset. After that, it's a silver every hour you're gone." She paused. "We usually would have ya leave something valuable behind, either something worth as much as the horse or information on how to track ya down, so we know you'll come back but Zelena's been a good friend these couple years so I'm gonna trust you girls, alright?"
"Thanks, Kahlan." Robin grinned, reaching up and accepting the reins on the white horse with the long blonde mane and tail. "I promise, we'll be back by this evening."
"I trust ya," Kahlan repeated, nodding her head at her before turning and holding out the reins of the second horse to Alice.
Only when Alice moved forward to take them, the horse whined loudly and pulled away suddenly, kicking his feet unhappily against the ground and huffing slightly. It shocked everyone and took Kahlan a moment to get him back under control long enough to talk.
"Huh… Wouldn't happen to have any pomb weeds in your pocket now, would ya, petal?" Kahlan asked her. "Philippe's like a blood hound when it comes to the stuff. Can smell it a mile off and sure as hell can't stand it."
"Uh. No." Alice said slowly, glancing between the horses.
"Hmm… Just having a funny day then, are you?" Kahlan said, rolling her eyes at the horse. "Silly bugger." She turned back to the girls. "Sorry, petals. These horses are more like people than you'd know. Once they get into a mood, there's no saying when they'll get out of it, specially Philippe here. And we don't have any other rides available. Nice day like this, they've all been rented or borrowed now."
Alice glanced at Robin. "Does he have a problem with me?" She asked, wandering over.
"Maximus? Oh no. He's the biggest sweetheart of the lot." Kahlan nodded, and sure enough when Alice wandered over, the tall horse leaned over and nudged at her hand lightly. "The only time you'll see his bad side is when he's defending you. Swear. That horse is more knight than most of the guards I've seen Queen Tiana hire."
Alice looked at Robin, smiling. "Why don't we share Maximus then?"
Robin paused, glancing at Kahlan who shrugged. "Be cheaper on your wallet, just hiring one horse for the day."
With that decided, Robin climbed atop of Maximus first before reaching down and helping Alice up behind her. Then, with a final wave to Kahlan and Philippe, the two girls started down the open field and along towards the mountain in the distance.
Kahlan had been right. It was a perfect day. The sun was shining, there were no clouds overhead, there was just enough wind to keep them from getting too hot and there was nothing else to do but enjoy each others company. Kahlan had been a friend of Zelena's for almost two years now and so when Alice had asked how Robin wanted to spend the day, Kahlan's horses has immediately come to mind for the young archer. They were expensive, but fair and their home was in the perfect area that, no matter which direction you rode in, you always ended somewhere beautiful.
With Robin taking the lead, she started to where she knew there was a fantastic view of a nearby neighbouring kingdom. They would set up there, enjoying the sights along the way, and have a picnic together that Alice had already packed that morning for them. Robin had brought a few things from home, including some apples, but she knew from experience that Alice went above and beyond when it came to making sandwiches for long journeys and they were sure to have plenty left over no matter how long they spent together.
While Robin was focused on guiding their steed, Alice kept one arm looped around her chest while the other dug into her pockets. She subtly pulled out the pomb weeds from her pockets that she had collected earlier. Everyone called them weeds because they were thin and grey in colour, but they were more like roots without a flower. They grew underground and didn't provide any special use so were mostly ignored by healers and witches, but their chewy texture was good when you wanted to do something with your jaw. Alice enjoyed biting on them between meals or whenever she was feeling particularly anxious and had gotten into the habit of carrying some around with her at all times just in case.
Before Robin could see her, Alice tossed the pomb weeds to the ground, letting them fade in seconds as the horse galloped on without pause. As soon as all her pockets were empty, Alice reached over and wrapped her arms tightly around Robin's waist, nuzzling into the side of her neck slightly and smiling at the warm tickle of her long hair blowing in the wind. She smiled slightly and half shut her eyes.
Yeah. Alice could just tell, today was going to be a good day.