What Might Have Been
By Cybra
A/N: Who knew that two new Valdemar CDs along with the songbooks that go along with them could help get the creative juices on this going again? :) I have the whole thing planned out, but I just have problems getting it written. I get stuck! But I'm back!
Disclaimer: The worlds of Hey Arnold! and Velgarth do not belong to me. They belong to Craig Bartlett and Mercedes Lackey respectively.
Chapter 4: The Field and Questions
Phoebe strolled through the gate of the field, hoping to watch Sarabi. While it unnerved her that something that resembled a horse could have the intelligence of a human, she was absolutely fascinated by the Companion. And who would not be?
As she entered the field, she heard, to her surprise, a tenor voice laughing. Intrigued, the princess hurried closer to see what was going on. What she saw surprised her before making her smile:
Herald Arnold, a wide smile on his face, was laughing and playing with Sarabi.
The Companion, frisking about like filly, circled about her Chosen. All the while, the graceful creature whinnied. At the same time, she was being chased by Arnold who seemed to be trying to catch hold of her.
"Almost got you, Sarabi!" he called to his Companion.
Phoebe laughed to herself as the Herald actually managed to grab hold on the mare's neck, but she gasped as Sarabi reared, tossing her Herald in the air over towards her back. Then she realized that Arnold had pushed off the ground simultaneously, helping Sarabi do this without hurting herself. He twisted in mid-air and landed in a crouch on Sarabi's back.
Automatically, Phoebe laughed aloud and clapped.
Now aware that they had an audience, Herald and Companion rode over, Arnold still riding bareback in that crouched position. The pair moved as one as if this they had done this many times.
Sarabi stopped before the princess, and Arnold stood up straight on his Companion's back. Then, as one, both bowed as they each did: Sarabi at the neck, and Arnold at the waist.
"You two could work in fairs," Rethwellan's Heir told them, smiling.
Arnold smiled widely, half-closing his eyes. "Us? Fairs? Nah. Sarabi's too much of a prima donna."
Sarabi snorted and shifted, forcing her Herald to pinwheel his arms in order to keep his balance.
"Forgive this unworthy one, Hoofed Lady!"
This seemed to appease the Companion, and she gave Phoebe a slow wink.
"If this is a preview of what traveling with you two is going to be like, I think I should be worried," Phoebe commented.
"Worried about traveling with us? You couldn't be in better hands…and hooves." Arnold scratched his head. "I keep forgetting that you're not human, Sarabi." He paused and then chuckled.
"What'd she say?"
"She said, 'Thanks, I think.'"
The two humans had a good chuckle at the Companion's expense. The Companion seemed content to stand and plot for the moment.
Phoebe reached out to touch the silky-looking Companion but hesitated. Remembering that the Companion was as intelligent as and with the personality of a human, she realized that Sarabi might not want to be petted. She met Sarabi's eye. "May I?"
The mare nodded her head.
She stroked Sarabi, smiling.
Arnold crouched down again. "You've never seen a Companion before?"
"Not this close. Only from far away. She's so…beautiful. Are they all like this?"
"Not all of them. They're all different."
"But they're all the same," she argued. "According to the chronicles, they're not like horses, which have different colored coats. They're all white with blue eyes and silver hooves."
The Herald nodded. "True."
"So they're all the same."
"No, they're different."
She shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't get it."
He laughed. "Each one of them has slightly different looks. Barris is the King's Own Companion. Huge Companion; muscular, too. And then there's Wythern. He's a slim little guy who does a lot of message runs since he's one of the fastest Companions. Plus he's the best at stairs since his hooves are so small." He smiled. "See what I mean now?"
"Yes, but could I tell the difference right away?" she asked.
"Probably not." His smile widened.
She laughed.
"So, when is this dinner supposed to be?"
Phoebe paled and turned towards the clock tower. "Oh, no. We have five minutes to get there…"
"Now you're going to know one of the nice things about Companions: speed. Sarabi?" As the Companion nodded, he slid into a sitting position and reached down. "Grab hold, I'll pull you up."
The princess grabbed his hand and yelped as he swung her up behind him.
"Sorry. Now grab onto me." He waited as she did so. "Sarabi, let's hoof it!"
Sarabi took off, and Phoebe gasped as the surrounding area flew past faster than it had on any horse.
Within seconds, the fence of the fields came into view.
"Herald Arnold! The fence!" she warned.
The princess barely felt the slight leap as the Companion's hooves left the ground. She gaped as they easily cleared the fence. She barely even noticed that they had landed until after the fence was a few feet behind them.
Her eyes were still wide when Arnold turned his wide head around, gave her a smirk, and asked, "What fence?"
They reached the palace gates in less than a minute, admitted entrance in only a few seconds, and rode on. Sarabi stopped as close to the doors of the palace as possible, giving her Herald a look.
"I know," he sighed. "And it'd look bad to ride through the Palace back in Haven just to make it to dinner. Looks like we run from here, Princess."
The humans slid off of Sarabi's back and raced through the doors, Phoebe in the lead since she knew the way. They made it to the dining hall with a minute to spare.
The Queen raised her eyebrows as her daughter ran up to the doors of the dining hall, the Herald behind her. She teased her daughter, "Dare I ask what took so long?"
"We were talking, Mother," Phoebe explained, blushing, "in the fields with Sarabi."
"Ah."
"My apologies, Your Majesties," Herald Arnold said.
Phoebe turned her head to look at her friend, her eyes widened a bit in surprise. The warm, friendly person she had met earlier had vanished. In his place was the person she had met when Sarabi had first entered the gates: the cool, polite Herald. It saddened her that the other person was gone.
"There is nothing to forgive," the King stated, waving a hand. "Sit."
They did so, and dinner went on for about an hour.
The entire time, Phoebe watched for signs of the warm, friendly person she had met earlier. But all she saw was the cool, polite Herald.
~@~
"It was so weird, Helga," Phoebe told her maid. "He was so open and friendly. I really liked him. But as soon as he was around my parents…" She clapped her hands together to simulate a door slamming.
Helga scratched her head. "Maybe he felt intimidated by your parents. Maybe he just doesn't want your parents to think that he'll try anything while you guys are riding together."
Raising an eyebrow, the princess gave her friend an odd look, adjusting her position on the bed across from Helga.
"Well, maybe it's because he felt comfortable around Sarabi. This isn't his home turf. With Sarabi, the playing ground is more even."
"Then explain the first meeting."
"Okay, that was on palace grounds. And remember: He and Sarabi did have a brief spat then. He did try to kick her, you know."
"True."
Helga gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. He won't be a total stick in the mud on the ride. You know that now. If anything, he's quirky."
"Now there's a word I never thought I'd hear you say: 'quirky.'" Rethwellan's Heir grinned. "Though that does sum him up pretty well, doesn't it?"
"Got that right. If you happen to figure him out, write me a letter to tell me what makes him tick. You'll probably be the first to know."
"Besides Sarabi?"
"Yeah. Besides her."
Both girls smiled.
After a few minutes of silence, Phoebe sighed. "I'm really going to miss you, Helga."
"Hey, I'm always a letter away. Besides, if I'm lucky, I'll get to come with your luggage and stay at the Valdemar Palace with you." Helga smirked. "Then you'll want to get rid of me."
Phoebe did not have a verbal response to that. Instead, she reached behind herself and grabbed one of the fluffy pillows. She then squarely hit her maid in the head with it.
"This means war, my lady!" Helga mocked, diving over her friend to grab another of the pillows as Phoebe dealt another blow.
Within seconds, the pair was reduced to a pillow fight that would last for quite some time.
~@~
:You want to explain to me why you did that?: Sarabi demanded.
:Did what?: Lying on his back on the bed, Arnold idly cleaned the dirt from under one of his fingernails with the tip of his knife.
:You know what you did! You threw your guard right back up once you were back in the King and Queen's presence. Don't think I didn't see Phoebe's look!:
:Mental spying, Sarabi? I thought that was beneath you.:
:Shut up!: She sent him a mental picture of herself stamping her foot. :Arnold, I think you seriously hurt her feelings! Don't tell me you didn't feel that!:
In truth, he had. She might as well have put up a sign that said, "I don't understand. What happened to him?" Her emotions had been loud and clear at dinner.
Arnold stopped picking at the fingernail, rolled to one side, and held it up to the candlelight to check to see if it was clean enough to meet his standards. :Yes, I did feel that.:
:Then why did you act like that?:
It pleased him to know that he could block her out sometimes, that he could keep her from knowing what he was thinking or feeling, that he could plan something without her knowledge. There were days when having her continually in his thoughts was highly irritating. Still, he had to reveal at least some of these hidden things to her every once in a while.
:Because I had to.:
:Care to explain?:
:Yes.: Satisfied that the fingernail was clean, he rolled onto his back again and started on the next one. :Her parents don't understand why King Martin and his Queen would send someone as young as me to undertake this duty, right?:
:Right.:
:So I have to show them that I am mature enough to perform this task. If that means I have to be a bit on the cold side and extremely polite, I'll do it. Fine.: Once again, he rolled onto his side and held up the fingernail to the candlelight. :Of course, I intend to loosen up little by little in front of her parents so they can get used to me.:
:You manipulative little…: Sarabi's mental "voice" trailed off as Arnold pictured her shaking her head. :It's a good thing you're on our side.:[1]
:Thank you, thank you.: Satisfied with that nail, the Herald rolled onto his back and prepared to start on the next when he heard the clock tower chiming ten. :I'm hitting the hay. G'night.:
:Good night, Arnold.:
He rose from his bed and swiftly changed out of his Whites into his nightshirt. Lying back down on his side and sliding under the comforter, he placed one hand behind the candle flame and blew it out before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
~@~
Sarabi stayed up a little later. She pawed at the ground of her box and paced a bit, for she was still a bit confused. There was still one question left unanswered in her mind.
Arnold never opened up to strangers easily. Perhaps it was because he had become afraid to care about someone dearly for fear of losing them, but someone had to earn his trust before he would drop his defenses. He would be polite and warm to them (unless he did not like them, and then he acted a bit cold), yet never really let them in.
The Companions had always been a bit of an exception to the rule. He trusted them completely and cared deeply about them. Most of his time at the Collegium had been spent around Companion's Field, and a great deal of his time was still spent around it. (It was well-known among the Heralds that if you were seeking Herald Arnold, look around Companion's Field first.) The reasons for the exception were most likely due to the facts that the Companions had been so quick to take him in with having Sarabi Choose him years before she normally would have and that he had always been around Companions with his father's and grandparents' Companions.
Prince Gerald had had equal time alone with Arnold before the fight with the Blues and had not made much progress until the fight when the pair was on equal ground. Only then did her Chosen start to lower his defenses and let the prince truly become his friend. After that, the pair had become quite close.
But the reason for him lowering his defenses around Princess Phoebalania puzzled the Companion. On top of that, she had the feeling that if questioned, Arnold would be unable to provide the answer for her question as well.
Sighing, she lowered her head and closed her eyes. Maybe sleep would bring answers.
[1] If you want a peek at Arnold's manipulative side, take a look at Hey Arnold! The Movie. In the scene where Arnold and Gerald are trying to gain Mr. Bailey's help, Arnold does not obtain his help by appealing to the man's good nature but by appealing to the man's selfish love of Dolly's Donuts.
