Chapter Three
A Special Talent
Felipe had brought out a smaller chestnut gelding and cross-tied him in the isle. The child stood at the horse's head and softly spoke to him while Felipe went to get a grooming bucket, saddle, and bridle. The child brushed the hose out and talked to him the entire time. Felipe place the somewhat heavy saddle on the horse's back and tightened it. He then slipped the bit into the horse's mouth and buckled the throatlatch. He then pulled the reins around the horse's neck, unclipped him from the cross tie, leading him into the large indoor arena. The child followed him quickly and quietly.
Once in the arena, Felipe mounted the horse and rode in a few quick circles. The horse did everything that Felipe asked. He seemed not to have much spirit and willingness, just did what was asked of him and no more. Felipe sighed and stopped in front of the child. He dismounted swiftly and patted the horse.
"He is almost ready for battle," Felipe replied, "but he just doesn't have the spirit that most do. It means that he probably won't run off in a scary situation, but it also means that he won't have a bond with his rider. That is one of the most important parts. Horse and rider must depend on each other to get them through the battle."
The child nodded and shifted her weight to the foot. She was anxious to see if she could try and help him.
"Well, I suppose that you could try him out now," Felipe said, "Would you like me to give you a leg up…" his voice trailed off as the girl lightly sprang into the saddle. The horse took off at a brisk walk around the arena. There seemed to be a fire in his eyes.
Felipe stood there a minute watching and then called out, "I am going to go get another horse. I'll be right back." The girl just nodded.
Several minutes later Felipe returned, leading a tall chestnut mare. His mouth opened as the gelding gave a playful buck when the girl asked for a canter. The just laughed, never losing her seat. Their second time around the arena she seemed to finally spot Felipe standing there and pulled the gelding to a sliding stop. When the dust cleared she smiled and looked breathlessly down at the stunned man.
"He is a wonderful horse," she gasped, "Far better than any I worked with in Bree." The gelding pranced in place and arched his neck. His mane flowed gently and he held his tail high. Now he looked like a noble steed of Rohan instead of just any old horse.
"What have you done?" Felipe exclaimed. For a moment the girl thought that she had done something wrong, but Felipe continued, "He has never bucked. Never held his head like that or stood so proudly. What have you done?"
"I just talked to him," the girl replied simply, "He told me that he didn't mind barring a rider, but said that he wished that they would ask. He says he would have gladly done so if only they had asked. He is also tired of the same old work in here. He wants to get out and see the world. A very said thing that he told me was that he has never seen the sun. Only a shimmer through the dusty windows in the barn. Now that troubles me greatly. No earth-born creature should be locked in a cage."
Felipe stood their dumbfounded for a moment. Her words seemed so wise for someone so young. Suddenly, snapping back to reality, he said, "Let me ride this mare a bit and we can go for a quick ride outside."
The pair of horses and riders circled the arena several times and the headed for the outdoors. The moment the horses set foot on the grass they started dancing about. The gelding, who was named Brentino, gently shook his head in the beaming sunlight. But Felipe's mare, who had never been outside either, stopped suddenly and started shaking. She was just about to do something drastic when the girl called out in a cam but stern voice,
"Thala le isto farn."
The mare stopped shaking and walked calmly forward. This time Felipe turned to her, "What did you say? How long have you known elfish?"
"I simply told her to relax and that she knew better. As for the elfish, I have know idea. It just came to me," she replied as they continued down the worn trail.
"And back in the arena, you told me that you worked with horses in Bree. How did you remember that?"
"I'm not sure. I just remembered working with several awful horses there when my parents and I visited before…"
There were several long minutes of awkward silence. Suddenly Brentino whipped around and planted his feet. It took a moment for the girl to recover and sit up. She found herself staring face to face with a goblin. It had a hideous face and it was drooling. His black tongue hung slightly out of his mouth and his yellow eyes gazed at her greedily. He did not appear to have any weapons on him and strangely, he was all alone.
Felipe's mare had caught the goblin's scent. She reared, throwing Felipe to the ground, and took off. Felipe quickly stood up, ready to fight. The goblin turned to Felipe and swung at Felipe. He ducked and hit the goblin in the stomach. It growled and brought his fist down on the crouching man's head. Felipe's eyes glazed over and his mouth opened. A small trickle of blood came out as he fell to the ground.
The goblin turned to the child. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Her mouth had gone completely dry. Suddenly she reached down and pulled out a small dagger out of her boot. She threw it with all her might and sunk it deep into the goblin's throat, cutting off his air supply. It slowly choked to death as the girl jumped off Brentino. She rushed to Felipe's side. His breathing was slow, but he was still alive. Barely. She lay a hand on his head and she could feel energy surging out of her hand and into Felipe. He moaned and his eyes fluttered open. He looked at the girl with pain in his eyes. A moment later his eyes closed again.
Great fear rushed through the child, for in the short time that she had known Felipe she had grown very close to him. She did not want to lose him now. Not after what he had done for her. Again she raised her hand to his head and held it there. This time when he moaned she did not move. Not until the flow of energy stopped did she move.
Felipe still lay there on the ground but his breath came easily and he had a somewhat peaceful look on his face. Slowly the girl rose and pulled Felipe onto Brentino's back. With her last remaining strength she crawled on behind him.
Brentino slowly and carefully ran back to Rohan. As they neared the gates several guards called out when the saw Felipe heaped in the saddle, for he was very well known in Rohan. He was one of the best around when it came to horses. The gate swung open and several guards came rushing out to them.
"Bashar," the child whispered. A taller man with blond hair nodded and led Brentino to the old cottage.
Bashar cam out and saw the child astride the horse. Her first thought was that something had happened to the girl, but her gazed fell upon Felipe. The gourd carried Felipe in and lay him on the cot next to the one the girl had slept on. He came back outside just in time to catch the girl as she fell from the horse. He carried her in and set her on her own cot. He nodded to Bashar as he left and lead Brentino back to the barn.
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Thala le isto farn basically translates to "Steady. You know better" It's not quite that and I don't know if it's even in proper grammical form, but hey, what can you do? Thanks to LadyoftheRings for the elfish translation.