So far so good, Ashe thought to himself. Thankfully, Marianne was not a demanding rider, which made this long trek of theirs easier on him. He'd grown familiar with the feeling of Marianne sitting up close to him, and found their contact pleasant.
His jockey up top was focused on the ride, and this made it easy not to worry about all the stress of moving from camp. Though their conversation had come to a close, the two were quite comfortable with each other. Marianne took the time to observe Ashe as he crawled under her. She observed that he had some impressive form, and he was handling this ride without losing much stamina at all- had she and Hilda trained this into him? Or was he just a natural at this? She giggled to herself as she thought about this.
Ashe wondered what the Edmund girl giggled to herself about. He mused that she must be having a nice ride. Thinking of Marianne, he marched forwards, standing tall as he could while her waist was on top of him.
The two went many miles, in their own thoughts. Marianne turned him around corners when the road twisted, and with the two working in tandem, their minds easily drifted in any direction they wanted to. Marianne was grateful that she was able to think more positively while riding.
Ashe snapped back to the present moment when he saw a certain pink-haired girl walking back towards them.
"Oh, Hilda!" Marianne greeted. She could feel Ashe quiver a bit underneath her. What was that about? "How are you doing?"
"I'm… so… bored!" Hilda whined. "This whole 'marching across Leicester' thing is the worst! I wish I had a better ride."
"Oh," the Edmund girl responded. "Did you try one of the carts?"
"For a while, but I can't sleep on them. They're so uncomfortable. I tried everything- I tried riding Ignatz, but he was so weak! He fell after about a mile, and couldn't get back up. I tried Raphael, but he's not comfortable to sit on, and he's tough to control with his strength. He's not obedient like Ashe." Hilda paused, before making her reason for this conversation clear. "Do you think I could have him for a bit?"
"Oh, well I'm sorry to hear that, but… I think Ashe wanted me to ride him today."
Thank you, Marianne! her mount thought to himself.
"Hm…" Hilda mused, before beaming a smile at her friends. "New idea! You don't have to get off him. If you scoot back, we can both fit on him!"
Ashe's face went cold as it dawned on him that he'd failed to foresee this possible outcome. With busy legs and a bit in his mouth, he decided to trust his jockey to respond for him.
"Sorry, Hilda… That's too much weight for him. I think Ashe will be happy to help you another time, though!" A polite smile from Marianne wasn't fully received by the pink-haired girl.
Way to stand up for me, Marianne! Close call…
"Ugh, but Marianne, the carts are so uncomfortable. And so rickety. And I think I might get a splinter if I go back in," Hilda argued. "Besides, we're not so heavy that Ashe couldn't handle both of us. If it is a little bit of a challenge, it'll be good for him."
The priestess considered her friends' plight. It does sound quite fun, sharing a ride with Hilda, Marianne pondered, but could Ashe handle two riders at once…? He has seemed especially upbeat today.
The silence was worrying to the young man beneath her. Marianne, you're not thinking of letting her, are you?! the archer thought, silently panicking.
"Hm… he did say he quite enjoys your challenges!"
Ashe audibly gulped. Uh oh.
Marianne tugged the reins, pulling her mount to get him to stop. Not wanting to disobey his rider, the commoner obliged.
"Good idea, Hilda! Ashe, won't this be fun?" the Edmund girl said, with a tide of excitement that carried her speech. "Are you ready? Hop on, Hilda."
Ashe gave a spiteful look to the pink haired girl as she crossed in front of them. She squatted down in front of them, and looked right back into the mount's gaze.
You were slippery, but I got you now, Ashe! The pink-haired noble girl thought.
You're really doing this to me, aren't you? Ashe thought. He'd never been angry with a rider before. He didn't like the sensation- Hilda was still his friend, after all.
"Don't be nervous, Ashe," Marianne soothed. She petted his hair, and assumed his currently firm nature was just his way of preparation for being double-mounted. "I'm sure you can do it. Just give it a try, okay?"
He looked back at Marianne. Her smile truly was inspiring… He couldn't help but listen when she asked him so sweetly. He still had his doubts, and his frustration with Hilda was not gone. Nonetheless, he looked back at Hilda, he reluctantly submitted. His gaze fell below hers, and the Goneril girl grinned wide with the thrill of victory.
Have fun carrying both of us, Ashe!
"Could you scoot back, Marianne? I'd like to steer, at least for now," Hilda requested, turning around and walking backwards over Ashe's head.
"Um, I think he wanted me to-"
The priestess was interrupted when Hilda had already begun to sit down, and so she reflexively scooted backwards, now sitting on the edge of Ashe's ribs. Hilda had a rough landing right on Ashe's upper back, knocking him down a moment.
"Okay, that'd be fine!" Marianne said, optimistic and excited to share a trek with her friend Hilda.
Hilda received the reins, and adjusted herself until she was comfortable. Ashe recognized that she'd robbed Marianne of her seat up front of him, mounted on his ribs. Seeing the Goneril warrior's knees to his left and right was more daunting than those of the Edmund priestess… and the weight being placed on his arms was heftier than before. Hilda adjusted herself, haughtily wrapping the reins around her right hand. He noted the difference in body temperature between the two- Marianne's rear felt cold on his back, and Hilda's was a bit warmer. She had no extra places to set her feet in, but was apparently fine with letting Marianne keep the stirrups.
"Mush, boy!" Fwip!
Experiencing the combined weight of both his riders, it was immediately apparent to Ashe that this would not be easy. Taking the cue of the rein-crack, he slowly set forward, managing to keep both girls seated up on his back. He missed Marianne being in control the moment he stepped forward.
"Ashe, you've gotten very strong!" Marianne commented, impressed with his ability to maintain both of them.
She had bounced a little as she said it, so the archer had to correct his balance from the impact. Marianne, wanting to hold onto something, leaned closer to Hilda, and reached forward to rest her hands on Ashe's shoulders. Feeling the gentle girls' soft hands clutching him, Ashe gushed, and felt that fuzzy feeling that Marianne knew how to give him.
Hilda was not as impressed. "Marianne, hit him with the crop. We might fall behind at this pace!"
"Um, okay!" the blue-haired girl agreed, reaching her right hand back for a moment.
THWACK! Ashe felt his butt being swatted by the priestess's crop, and he took a breath as he strode forward a tad faster. The return of Marianne's hand to his shoulder reassured him, her fingers lightly pushing onto him.
He can do faster than this… Hilda thought. The steering Goneril girl in the front wanted to protest at first, but she was feeling satisfied from her victory today… And with Marianne here, she may not be able to push Ashe as hard as she'd like.
"Okay. This pace should be fine, Ashe. Just don't slow down."
Ashe felt less frustrated for the moment that Hilda petted his head through his hair. It quickly passed when she stopped. Under the rears of two noble girls, it was impossible to relax any of his muscles, for fear of collapsing to the ground.
After about an hour of being double-mounted, the weight had taken its toll on him. He couldn't carry both of these two any further, and he hadn't agreed to Hilda joining in the first place. This exhaustion allowed him to express his frustration- when he stopped still on the road. Hilda looked down at Ashe, wondering what he was thinking.
Fwip!
Her mount didn't respond with more than heavy breathing.
"Hey, Ashe, we're not there yet, lazy," Hilda reminded.
Marianne could feel his breath through her hands on his shoulders. "Hilda, he's tired. Let's give him a break, okay?"
"He can still go further," she insisted.
Fwip!
"Ugh, Ashe! Mush!"
The mount was caught off guard when Hilda tried a new tactic. After wrapping the reins taught in her right hand, Hilda yanked them, and hard. Ashe's head flinched in response to the punishment, and his legs moved again, giving his obedience to the Goneril sister.
Good, Hilda thought to herself. Don't disobey me.
Where's Lorenz when you need him? Ashe thought.
"Hilda, are you having trouble?" Marianne thought. "Maybe he'd like me to have a turn. Is that it, Ashe?"
The archer wondered what to do. Being winded like this made it tough to speak, and he probably wouldn't be able to get out of this without disappointing his noble friends. And so he nodded, accepting a compromise.
"Oh, what?" the Goneril girl complained. "Alright, fine. I guess I could use a break. This does get a bit tiring, you know."
For you..?
"I never get tired. Here, give me the reins!" the Edmund girl said, dismounting.
Hilda rudely scooted back on Ashe, without getting up first. She handed the other noble girl Ashe's reins. Marianne took them readily, and wasted no time sitting up front again, like before.
"Okay! Giddyup, Ashe," Marianne said, cracking the reins.
Ashe's guess was correct- the weight was more manageable with the lighter jockey up front. He began to trot again, to his surprise. The change had offered him little break, but it was enough to start once more.
"Good boy," Hilda said.
Ugh, don't say that, Ashe thought, embarrassed.
"Oh! Good boy, Ashe!" Marianne repeated.
Not you too!
Trekking forward, he wondered whether Hilda was satisfied or not. She'd likely be, in time, if he just kept moving… but this job he'd gotten into for the noble girls was something else. He thought back to how it all began… when he wanted to get to know Marianne better. And now, he'd made friends with not just her, but Hilda as well. If their friendship was a bit more advantageous to the girls, that's fine. Ashe smiled to himself as he crawled.
Thirty minutes later, his positive train of thought was interrupted.
Thwack!
Seems that Hilda'd found the crop, and had gotten a bit bored not being in control. Still, Ashe's reflexes told him to obey, and so he increased his pace, only a little.
Thwack!
This wasn't enough? Ashe went faster still. But having been mounted by two jockeys for so long, it was difficult to get more out of his body…
Thwack!
"Hilda," Marianne chided. "I think Ashe is already doing his best."
"Shh, Marianne!" Hilda ignored. "Watch this."
THWACK!
Hilda had swung as hard as she could, to make sure Ashe got the message. Having received it, the archer managed to dash forward, adrenaline fueling him in response to the sting.
"Wow!" Marianne applauded. "You're running, Ashe!"
Hearing the sweet jockey's voice was reassuring, but the archer couldn't keep this up…
THWACK!
He failed to consider that he didn't have much of a choice here. And with the sting on him twice over, he rushed forward as hard as he could.
"Haha! Mush, boy!" Hilda cheered, before reaching back a third time.
THWACK!
Though he could hardly manage it, he improved his speed a little more. He had no room to focus on anything but running, but he had managed it, thanks to Hilda's 'encouragement'.
"That's more like it! Isn't this better, Mari-ah!"
Unable to maintain her balance with Ashe ignoring form to gain speed, Hilda slipped. She tilted to the side and fell to the ground.
"Ow!" she yelped out, landing on the dirt road beneath them.
"Hilda!" Marianne called, quickly pulling Ashe to a stop, before turning him to the right to face her. "Are you okay?"
Ashe looked her in the eyes, with genuine concern. Are you okay? his eyes said to her, mirroring Marianne's intent.
"Ugh, I'm… I'm okay."
Good, Ashe thought. It was this moment of relief that the surge of energy within him had crashed. He collapsed underneath Marianne, landing on his stomach.
"Ashe!" she cried, reaching her hand down to his face. "Are you okay?"
The archer used a lot of strength to merely nod and smile in response, hoping that the Edmund girl wasn't about to start worrying. Hilda was still on the ground, in his line of sight. He watched her sit up.
"I think we got carried away," Marianne commented, still seated on him. "Two riders is too many for him." She stroked her fingers through his hair.
"I pushed him, and you know what?" Hilda agreed. "Maybe I deserved to fall like that."
"Itsh… okay…" Ashe mustered out, against his better judgement.
His concern changed when he felt the priestess grow colder, and a light shudder started.
"Oh," Marianne began. "Ashe, have we mistreated you?"
He looked up at her, and saw the tears welling in her eyes. He had to act, fast.
"No, of coursh not..!" he said, before a heavy breath. "I had fun…"
"We can't really be your friends if we treat you like this, can we?" Marianne responded. "Riding you until you fall to the ground… It's-"
Marianne stopped when she felt Ashe's hand in hers.
"Itsh okay," he mustered. "You are my friendsh- you and Helda bof."
"Oh…" Marianne's eyes let loose a bit, before she leaned down to hug him.
He could feel the tears as they pooled onto a spot on his clothes, and he requited the hug. It was nice that she didn't run away from him anymore when she worried. She clutched him tightly. Ashe smiled and felt fuzzy. He was even more surprised when he felt another's embrace joining him.
"You're a good mount, you know that? You really tried your best," Hilda offered in earnest.
Ashe's face turned red when the Goneril girl planted a kiss on his cheek.
"We'll work on it later," Hilda said, a genuine smile on her face.
"If that's okay with you, 'mount'?" Marianne added.
Ashe's gaze looked to both of their eyes and nodded happily.
"But… for todae, I need a breag."
"Yes, of course- you've more than earned it." Marianne said, as she dismounted him. She reached down, and pulled him up to his feet.
The three friends walked with the group, and eventually found a cart that was empty save for a familiar face to Ashe- Mercedes von Martritz.
"Mercedes!" he commented. "It's nice to see somebody from the Kingdom here! Speaking of, what are you doing in Leicester?"
"Oh! Ashe, hello!" she replied. "It's a long story, but… I'm here in the Alliance- at least for now!"
The archer looked back to the noble girls behind him. "If Hilda, Marianne, and I joined, would you care to tell us it?"
"I'd be pleased to!" she replied, waving them in. "But first, I have to ask- how was the ride?"
Climbing in, Ashe turned red, embarrassed that Mercedes had seen Marianne and Hilda jockeying him. With these two, he'd at least met them somewhat recently, and it was a bit of a secret, but Mercedes he'd known for much longer.
Hilda followed, sitting down next to Mercedes. "It was a good trek, until I started pushing him too hard. Sorry, Ashe."
He never thought that he'd hear Hilda apologize.
"It's alright…"
Marianne joined them, and sat next to Ashe, placing her hand on his thigh.
"All things considered, I think it went really well," she said with a gentle smile. "I didn't know Ashe had gotten this strong. He's grown, hasn't he, Hilda?"
The Goneril warrior nodded back in response, with an "Mhm!" for good measure.
"Oh, just a moment," Mercedes asked. "Is this something you've done before?"
"A couple of times, yes," Ashe conceded.
"It looks like fun!" Mercedes commented. "Do you girls think I could try riding on Ashe sometime?"
Huh?! Ashe thought.
Hilda nodded readily. "For sure! Ashe would be happy to have you ride him. I bet you'll get along well, since you're both from the kingdom."
Uh, actually, I might be too embarrassed, since I know her… he thought, but didn't say.
Mercedes clapped once, too softly to make a sound. "Oh, delightful! I've not ridden before, but I've wanted to for some time. I've just not had time to learn."
"Ashe will take good care of you then," Marianne applauded, petting Ashe's head. "He's very obedient."
"Uh, yeah, Mercedes…" he stammered, unsure how to proceed.
The Edmund girl, wanting Hilda to take the floor, prompted, "Any advice for Mercedes, Hilda?"
"Oh, of course! Try hitting him with a crop. He'll go faster if you do."
"Oh!" Mercedes blushed. "Is that really okay?" she asked, looking to Marianne for confirmation.
"Yes, it's a good way to get him moving," Marianne said. "And he enjoys a good swat, right, Ashe?"
He sheepishly nodded, though he was still unsure of his feelings about the crop.
"Okay, well I'll be sure to bring one!" Mercedes confirmed. "You two know what you're doing, don't you? Is there anything else I should keep in mind? "
Hilda proudly boasted. "We're pros! And I'm sure you'll be a great rider. Just remember that you're in control, when it really comes down to it, and Ashe will do the rest."
Mercedes beamed at the response. She was already adamant about this, even before she'd tried it. She wondered when a good time would be to take her old friend Ashe for a trek.
Ashe gave a sigh as he looked around the cart. Though the women demanded a lot from him, he did enjoy his newfound friendships. And who knows? Maybe it will be nice when Mercedes rides him. And even when these things go awry, they've all grown closer doing it. It would be nice to reconnect with Mercedes, too. And so he joined with the girls discussing, he blushed when they were giving him compliments, and he agreed to plan out future rides with them. All with a friendly smile.