"I noticed that you have horses," Ellie said to Katherine.

"Yes, do you ride?"

"Oh only when I get the chance, I really love it though. There is a sort of freedom there."

"I agree. If you'd like, you're more than welcome to take the horses out. I'm sure they'd appreciate the exercise!"

Ellie's grin said it all. "Lucas? Would you like to come?"

"I don't know how to ride a horse," he replied.

"Oh it's easy! I'll teach you. I'll bet you're a natural," Ellie said.

"Okay, I'll give it a shot," he said, trusting her because she'd been right all the other times something like this had come up.

When the meal was finished, Katherine stood and offered to walk them out to the stables. They walked down from the terrace and across a wide expanse of yard, skirting the pond Lucas had seen from Ellie's bedroom window. Upon entering the stables, Lucas sized up the horses that were there. There were four, each a different color: one black, one a golden color, one white and one chestnut. Ellie stepped quickly to the black horse, stroking its nose and talking to it softly.

"Ah yes, she's my favorite too. Her name is Morgaine, after a character in one of my favorite books," Katherine explained. "She's a wonderful horse; you're quite welcome to ride her."

Lucas tried to decide which of the remaining three he wanted to try. He decided to try the golden horse; he liked the way it looked. He approached it slowly, holding out his hand. The horse craned its neck toward his hand until both boy and horse were finally touching. It nuzzled his hand gently, and he was amazed by the velvety softness of it. He'd never been up close and personal with a horse before.

"And that sweet creature is Edwin," Katherine told Lucas. "He's wonderful as well, not quite as spirited as Morgaine, which is good for your first ride. Sam, I assume you can show Lucas how to saddle up?"

"Sure!"

"Great, have fun you two!" she said, walking out of the barn and back to the house.

"Okay, so what do I do?" Lucas asked.

Ellie laughed. "It's really very easy," she said, grabbing all of the necessary pieces from the walls. They led the horses out into the yard and then she showed Lucas how to saddle the horse properly, and then how to properly place the bit and reins.

He watched intently, fully planning on riding again if this time went well. He only had one question. "How do I get up there?" he said, eyeing the saddle.

"Grab the lower part of the mane and the back of the saddle and pull yourself up while pushing upward with your grounded foot."

"That sounds easier than it probably is," Lucas replied, placing his foot in the stirrup. Edwin complied by standing stock still in a seeming effort to help this novice get to where he needed to be. He grabbed the back of the saddle and jumped, pulling himself up and then throwing his leg over the other side of the horse, as Ellie had said. He was shocked when he made it on the first try.

"Great job Lucas!" Ellie said, as she mounted the horse in what he was sure was a much more fluid motion than he had managed.

"Thanks. Now what?"

"Now, give him a little kick and he'll walk for you. Think of it this way, your gas pedal is how hard you squeeze him with your legs. The harder you squeeze, the faster he will go. To keep him walking, maintain a light leg pressure. The reins are both your steering and your brakes. Pulling to the left or right gently will take you in either direction. Pulling towards you will stop him. Got it?"

"Yeah I think so," he said, giving Edwin a slight kick. The horse moved forward, taking him by surprise. "Hey! I'm doing it!"

"Yeah, easy huh? Just move with him Lucas, and you won't be sore later."

"What does that mean?"

"Just try to move with him and you'll be fine," Ellie said again as she gave Morgaine a start. They walked for a few minutes before Ellie said, "Ready to go faster?"

"Um…ok."

"Alright, all you have to do is give him another kick and he knows to go faster. Maintain the leg pressure so he knows that you want him to go."

"Okay," Lucas said uneasily, giving the horse another slight kick, which started him into a trot. As he jostled about he finally understood what she had meant by moving with the horse, and quickly settled into the rhythm of it.

Ellie kept up with him as he tried to adjust. "Okay Lucas, I'm going to see what Morgaine here can do. Just keep doing as you are and I'll be right back," she said as she gave Morgaine a double kick and the horse broke into a run.

Lucas stared in shock as she quickly drew away from him. "Hey!" he shouted after her. "I want to go that fast too!" She couldn't hear him. He pondered for a moment. It didn't look that hard. Maybe he could surprise her by catching up. He gave Edwin the same double kick he'd seen Ellie give Morgaine.

He didn't even have time to shout as Edwin took off like a shot. He grabbed the pommel to keep from falling off, holding on for dear life. This had not been a good idea. How did she say to stop him again?

"Stop! Edwin! Stop!" Lucas shouted, but the horse paid him no heed. "Ellie!" Lucas yelled. He could see her now, they were quickly catching up.

Ellie slowed and turned to see Edwin speeding toward her with Lucas shouting at him to stop. "Oh no…" she said as they flew past her. She urged Morgaine into a full gallop and took off after them.

"STOP STOP STOP!" Lucas yelled. "Whoa! Cease and desist! Basta!" Lucas screamed, trying every word and phrase he could think of.

"Lucas! Don't let go!"

He heard Ellie call out from behind him and clung tighter to the pommel. He turned his head to the right and saw her draw even with them.

"Give me the reins Lucas! Now!"

He held them out to her, straining to reach. She grabbed them from him and quickly pulled them back while pulling Morgaine to a stop. Both horses slowed and then stopped, leaving both riders shaking and gasping for breath. Lucas felt like he was going to pass out.

"What were you thinking?" Ellie yelled at him.

"It didn't look hard, it looked fun. I wanted to try it."

"Lucas! You could have been killed! Why didn't you just wait for me to come back?"

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry? I could just slap you right now!" she cried, fuming.

Lucas winced; she was really angry with him. How was he going to fix this? "Mom, really, I didn't think…"

"That's right! You didn't think!" she yelled, but he could see her anger turning into something else.

"I'm sorry; it's all I can say. I won't do it again unless you show me how. It's not an experience I want to repeat."

She sighed heavily. "Lucas, you don't understand. You have to be careful; we don't want to lose you after finally getting you back. Please, promise me you will be more careful!"

"I promise," he whispered, not knowing what else to say.

She nodded. "Let's go back now, or do you want to keep learning?"

"Let's stay out for a little longer. Show me how to do this so I don't kill myself."

She chuckled. "Okay then. From the beginning…"