Proof read by Danaye

Chapter 35

Daine covered her face with her muddy hands. Her little display with her gift had backfired. As soon as she had allowed the horses to stand back up on their four legs, the Riders had bombarded her with questions regarding her magical abilities, her parentage and her former life.

She had tried her best to answer everyone's questions, but she had soon realized that there were some questions that couldn't be answered. Now the questions had taken an unpleasant turn towards the rumors of her involvement in the incident at the Chamber of Ordeal, and she was finding that she was no longer able to maintain a mask of absolute calmness.

As if noticing her discomfort, the queen called the attention away from Daine with the clear order to the Riders that she expected to hear how far they had progressed when she returned to the paddock after attending to her royal duties.

Some of the male Riders whistled after the queen as she walked away from them, but they were firmly silenced when a dagger split the air, embedding itself deep into a fence post. Suddenly, Daine was once again reanalyzing everything she ever knew about queens, or at least what was proper or improper when it came to royalty. The queen's actions hadn't been something she anticipated. Therefore, it left her more confused than ever. What was she supposed to expect next? Would the king suddenly show up and dip the queen back, kissing her thoroughly as everyone around just looked on?

Sliding her hands down over her autumn-bitten face, Daine didn't even care about the streaks of mud left behind. She then sighed, because against all odds, the King of Tortall did show up and he did kiss the queen when he finally caught up with her. Why couldn't they just behave normally? Daine tried not to blush deeply over the open affection the two royal displayed as plainly as the sun that peaked through heavy clouds above their heads. The rain had stilled, but that didn't mean that it would not return. Slowly, she realized that the scene in front of her wasn't that out of the ordinary. Wouldn't she want to kiss her husband if he came up to her, smiling just like the king had been?

She blushed deeply once more. Back home, at the Gallan court, such shows of affection were unheard of. Back home, no one would ever see a couple kiss like that. The only thing that would tell the world that a couple was in love was the way they looked at each other, the small discreet caresses that happened between them or the way they stood so close to each other as if they were afraid that one of them would disappear into thin air.

The Gallans were a traditional people that kept to a strict code of etiquette. She knew first-hand that the country enforced their customs in order to present a perfect image to the outer world. This included everything from how a couple was matched, how long a betrothal lasted, to the hand-fasting ceremony. The very ceremony that she, herself, had participated in. However, that only applied to the upper class, which she wasn't a part of. As it was, she was unsure how to handle the current situation.

Daine looked on as the king and queen finished with their open affections and began to walk away, an impressive cheering from the Trainees filling the room. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who had witnessed the shared love between the two monarchs. She couldn't help but allow a small smile to linger on her lips. Touching them slowly, she wondered where her husband had gone and when he would return. Would he kiss her again as he had on the ground in the paddock?

Turning her attention back to the Riders, Daine noticed that they that stood patiently, waiting for her to begin their training. She voiced her orders uncertainly, unsure if they would follow them — or her. After consulting with Sarge and Onua on how to proceed with the Riders' training in horsemanship, she had almost given up. She hadn't achieved the result she wanted by splitting up the group of thirty, so she was now left with ten Riders standing in front of her, gaping over her command to strip the ponies of their gear.

"You can't seriously mean that we are to ride without a saddle?" A woman, older than Daine, asked.

"Do you expect the enemy to willingly saddle a horse or a pony for you if you were to steal it from underneath his nose while he is sleeping?" Daine countered, waiting for the Rider's baffled reaction that she was becoming increasingly familiar with.

The woman looked skeptical. "No," she replied, and was about to ask another question when Daine cut in.

"Then see to it that the pony is stripped from its tack," she said, turning to the other nine Riders in front of her. "And that goes for all of you. We are going to start from scratch," she paused, noticing that everyone's eyebrows rose considerately upwards towards the graying sky, "I can't help you improve if I can't see how much you've already been taught."

"That makes sense," the young man, Evin, said calmly. He was the first to do her bidding. Most of the others followed his lead, as did the woman who had asked the question. Only one Rider didn't move an inch and Daine calmly shifted her glance to the woman, Selda, who had been dropped to the ground by her pony the first time Daine had left the stables.

"I'm not riding without a saddle," she declared firmly, crossing her arms in front of herself, a movement that clearly spoke of disobedience.

"Then you are riding without a pony," Daine stated. She silently asked the mare to leave, telling it that it should wait inside the stable for someone to tend to it. She then reached out and found a pony, one who was new and had just been broken in a few months ago. The pony willingly complied to be the one to teach the woman some better manners and came trotting out with his tail lifted high into the air.

Behind him came Cloud, in a slower trot, as if to state that she was in no hurry at all. 'All eager and young,' Cloud snorted, rolling her eyes, 'Soon you will realize that it is not that grand a life you are going to live.'

The pony responded with a swift kick behind, as if responding to her words, but had to hurry away as Cloud's teeth caught hold of his tail. 'Don't be naughty,' Cloud scolded angrily, 'I've experienced worse. Oh, by the way, where is that self-absorbed, bloated...'

'Cloud,' Daine said, stopping her pony from saying anything else offensive, 'He's off with Numair somewhere.Don't offend someone who isn't around to defend themselves.'

She felt so alone, standing in front of everyone. It was so different from what she was used to. Ten pairs of eyes were constantly observing her, taking in everything she did and judging her for it. She knew that it was necessary. She, herself, had offered the help, but she hadn't expected this. Standing in front of Riders that looked at her as if she was the expert, it was a different way of living and she wasn't at all as confident on the inside as she appeared to the outer world.

Observing the mare who stood beside Selda, watching him trot off with a swift jerk of the reins, Daine realized that she missed him. She missed seeing his friendly, understanding smile. She missed the way he had looked at her while they had eaten by the stream or the way his eyes had smoldered into flames when he had lifted his head up to meet her eyes in the study.

She was, in some corner of her mind, wondering about the future development of their relationship. They were married, yes, but they hadn't yet had time to get to know one another. She wanted so much to know of his past, his former life and his present life. She knew his position at court was important and from what she had heard at the meeting with the king, he was a man that was respected and feared at the same time. It was a fear he, Numair, had confirmed himself the evening before. Though, she couldn't understand why a man like him — handsome, tall and dangerously attractive, had been a bachelor until his twenty-seventh year.

Daine was abruptly brought back to herself just as a trainee walked up to her, positioning herself in front of her with her hands placed at her hips. "You can't just take away my pony because you…" Selda told her with clear dissatisfaction, but was silenced once more by Daine's stern gaze.

Stopping any more complaints, she answered calmly, but she was clearly irritated over the interference in her thoughts. "You are not in the position to disobey me, Trainee Selda," she said clearly, using the same words that Sarge had used, "and I'm not taking your pony away from you. I'm giving her maternity leave."

A large 'O' formed on Selda's lips, but before she was able say anything Daine turned away from her and was looking at the other nine Riders who had returned to stand in front of her. She had agreed to help train them and train them she would. "The first basic rule of horsemanship is to mount a horse or a pony without the use of stirrups and saddle."

Daine turned her left shoulder to Cloud's right and in one quick and fluent movement, she twisted her body to the left while lifting her right leg. A second later, Daine was seated on Cloud. Altering her balance, she turned her blue-gray eyes towards the trainees. "Now, my small butterflies, it's your turn."

'I wager that nine of them are going to fall on their bums,' Cloud snorted underneath her and twisted her ears back and forth.

"Eight," Daine answered back as the Riders positioned themselves beside their mounts. She looked down and patted her friend. "If we are to wager, then we need a prize — what do you offer?"

'Tricky,' Cloud answered, 'I...' Cloud stopped as she noticed that eight Riders sat seated on their ponies and two of them had landed on the other side of theirs. Cloud cursed low, complaining, 'I didn't even get to name a prize!'

Daine laughed low, "Too late, Cloud, but I shall have more carrots sneaked into your evening meal."

'Right, as if you will remember that,' Cloud snorted as Daine slid to the ground.

Looking over the Riders, she determined that it was time to teach them another trick. The Riders were silent and eager to learn. The two who didn't manage the first test were told that they would be getting time to practice later, but for now Daine wanted them to move on. She wanted them to at least learn two tricks before lunch and more after they had eaten. After that, she was going to find out where exactly her husband had ventured.

"Your ponies is your partner. They are your second half — your companion," Daine started to explain, "they can be the difference between life or death and should always be treated as if they are the only family you have." As she spoke, her fingers traveled through Cloud's gray long mane, making the mare shiver underneath her touch.

"They need to trust you as much as you need to trust them. Without trust, there is no foundation on which to build a relationship..." Daine began to say more, but was cut off when a male Rider muttered a low comment to the person beside him.

"Do you think that she can teach Master Salmalin such tricks? Relationships, if you get my drift?" As the last word left his lips he found himself hitting the ground with a loud thump and turned to see his pony snorting directly into his face.

Evin laughed loudly, glancing down at his comrade. "That should teach you to hold your tongue, Randi. No one talks dirty around the wild-mage," he said and then became serious, "and I wager that she didn't even ask your horse to do that — am I right?" Evin turned to Daine, who only nodded. He raised his eyebrows and he looked back at Randi who was picking himself up off the ground. "You should have known better after the last performance," he told the other man gravely.

Randi only shrugged. "Well, I had to try," he said and then did a perfect mount and seated himself on his pony once again. Leaning forth while the mare's ears twisted back, he whispered low, "Truce?"

The mare's low snort was her only response. "I'll take that as a small 'yes'," Randi retorted. "Once upon a time, ponies were just ponies. Now they have a mind of their own. Everything used to be so simple," he said, rolling his eyes and glancing at Daine, "now it's anything but."

She met his eyes calmly. "Horses or ponies have always had a mind of their own," she replied. She leaned forth and tapped a finger to the side of her temple, "People, such as you, have just been too foolish to realize that before it was too late."

Every Rider looked at her with a dumfounded expression. Some gasped at her blatant insult, but she didn't care anymore. Without saying anything, she walked away from them, frustrated and irritated over their lack of understanding. Where was her husband when she needed to be encouraged? This had been the hardest day ever, but she was eager to make it just as hard for the Riders. Also, she was going to give her husband a piece of her mind about abandoning her!

She continued to walk away from them, but stopped as Cloud's voice sounded in her mind. 'Maybe you should tell them to stay.'

Daine stopped and turned around. Behind her, in the middle of the training area, stood ten Riders looking like ducklings behind their mother. "Ehm...maybe you should all stand over at the fence," she said slowly and gestured to the side, before she explaining further, "I need some space to do this and when I'm done, all of you are going to try."

The Riders looked at each other. Some shrugged, some only nodded and others were already making their way to the fence.

'What are you going to do?' Cloud asked as she trotted beside Daine.

"I'm going to teach them a thing or two about mounting a horse while running," Daine explained as they reached the end of the training area. Despite her mind still being occupied with speculating about where her husband might have gone, she still noticed the three shadows that stood lingering in the shadows of the Royal forest, observing every movement she made.

Daine paused for a minute, trying to see past the darkness of the trees. Suddenly the first shadow moved away and then the second. Only the third stood behind, looking directly at her. It gave her the shivers even though she was warmly dressed.

Cloud nudged her, taking her attention away from the people in the shadows. 'Did the stork-man keep you up all night with his kisses?Is that why you've decided to doze off now?'

"What? Who?"

'Your mate?' Cloud nipped her hand, 'The man who gets this funny expression on his face every time he looks at you? The one who took us from our home and didn't give you time to say goodbye?'

"He didn't take us from anything," Daine growled low and turned back to the darkness of the forest. The last person had gone, leaving no clue that he or she had ever stood beneath the huge branches of the tree. "The assassin forced us to flee, Cloud. Not Numair — not my husband." She said the last words slowly, testing out the sounds on her tongue.

'You really like him?'

Daine smiled slowly, blushing a little. "'Like' is a fascinating word," Daine mumbled, turning her back to the forest. Maybe she was seeing things that weren't really there at all. "Although, I think I find him more interesting than others."

The mare snorted, 'You are a girl.You're supposed to find males interesting'.

She shook her head and smiled while patting Cloud's neck. 'I'm not the only one who thinks that someone is handsome,' she teased her friend.

'I'm not a two-legger. The People don't fall for anyone, least of all a leggy braggart.'

Daine laughed, but was cut off as one of the Riders shouted something incoherent. "Maybe we should move this along — are you ready?" She questioned and set off in a light run.

'I wasn't born yesterday — were you?' Cloud answered back and began to trot beside her. Daine placed her left hand at the end of the gray pony's neck and her right on her back. They gained speed and when Daine felt the right moment, she planted her feet heavily into the ground. In one jump, she pulled herself up on strong arms, swung her right leg over and was seated on Cloud's back.

Coming to a halt with a big smile on her face, Daine turned to the Riders. They all just shook their heads and backed away from her. Some even climbed down the fence. Evin was the first to speak. "I know that we need this training, but that," he said, motioning towards Daine and Cloud, "was utterly insane."

"But nevertheless important."

Onua's voice rang out from behind him. "Rider Evin! Are you not satisfied with your position in the Riders?" she questioned as she came up to the fence, only to sit herself down.

"Yes, certainly, but..." he trailed off as the horse-mistress shook her head.

"There are no 'buts' when participating in the training regiment, Trainee. There is either failure or success. Which do you all prefer?" Onua directed the question at all the Riders as she took out the dagger the queen had thrown earlier. She looked over the group, her eyes lingering on each of them, seeing mud clinging to their clothes as well as their mounts' fur. Jumping down from the fence, she came to stand beside Daine, "It's time to tend to your horses. Then get something to eat and then we'll meet out here again."

Some of the Riders had already begun their journey to the stables, but some lingered moment too long and got a stern look from Onua. "Move along, toddlers. She's going to be back after lunch so don't eat too much."

Evin, Miri and some others whose names Daine couldn't remember saluted before they hurried away. "I hope they didn't give you any problems?" Onua questioned and turned to face Daine, who shook her head.

"Not at all. Although, it will take some time to get used to all this," Daine gestured to her surroundings, but stopped short when her eyes fell upon a figure lingering in a doorway, looking in her direction. The person gave her the chills.

Onua seemed to notice Daine's movements, "Yes, it's going to get cold, but I'm sure you are more used to it than we are." She reached for her pocket and produced a few pieces of sucker, offering it to Cloud who had come to greet the horse-mistress. "So, did her highness behave?"

Daine took her eyes away from the person and turned to Onua. "Yes, but she's very stubborn," she explained and patted Cloud affectionately.

'I'm not stubborn,' Cloud retorted, snapping the sugar cube from Onua's hand, 'though I like that she thinksI am of noble blood'.

"Don't flatter yourself," Daine replied shortly, She turned to Onua, adding thoughtfully, "She is without manners, though I tried for years to teach her some."

'Manners…hmph. If you call me ill-mannered, I shall give you ill-mannered.' At that, Cloud trotted away towards the stable with her tail lifted high up in the air.

Onua shrugged, smiling as she looked at the pony, "Manners or not, she's got a personality of her own. You are lucky to have her."

Daine smiled, "I know." She glanced curiously back to where the stranger had been observing her, but as her eyes settled on the door she found it closed. Deciding that it was nothing to worry about, her stomach growled loudly and she looked at Onua, "Didn't you say that it was lunchtime?"

To be continued