Warnings: Jealousy! Ooh! Scandal! gasp

Chapter Twenty-Three: Pony Rides

I left my rooms, decked out in the proper attire for a young noble woman going riding. I hated all the frills and the stupid split skirt; they made riding horses less enjoyable and altogether too difficult. I had put a pair of Owen's pants from years ago on under the stupid skirt, and I was fully prepared to leave the frills in the stable when we went riding.

I didn't care all that much if it wasn't proper for a Princess to go riding about in her brother's clothes, but I wasn't too concerned with protocol at the moment; after all, I had met Adrian with one of the most emotional kisses that I had ever witnessed at Court. The most the other ladies usually got was a kiss on the hand, and that was if they were lucky.

I shuffled through the palace hallways, hampered by the voluminous skirts of my riding habit. I nodded politely to everyone I saw, trying to pretend that I wasn't currently out of my father's favor.

Owen met me at the stables, waiting impatiently as I stashed the skirt and all of its frilly impracticalities in Owen's royal tack box. As soon as the skirt was safely hidden, I tucked my hair down the back of my shirt and took the reins of the gelding that Owen held for me.

"Why thank you," I said, mounting lightly.

He grinned. "No problem. It took you long enough to get here."

"Not really my fault," I protested, smiling. "We had a foreign dignitary arrive during Court."

"Ah, I see!" Owen let the reins slip through his fingers until his stallion could stretch all the way out. "And who might this foreign dignitary be, Elensar?"

"A certain King Adrian of Delran, actually." I loved the shocked look on Owen's face, because it was simply priceless.

"That bastard?" He brought his horse to an abrupt halt. "Here?"

"Yes, 'that bastard' is here," I snapped in reply, reining in my palfrey so as to better talk to him.

Owen pulled a disgusted face, "I don't like to think of him here, threatening my sister. Again."

"Owen!" I glared at him in exasperation. "He won't threaten me! At least, I don't think he will." I was trying to be reasonable, and see both sides of the argument, but Owen would have none of it.

"He kidnapped you once; what's to stop him from doing it again?" Owen glared at me angrily.

"He won't do it again." I returned, matching his glare with one of my best.

Owen sneered, an un-royal thing for him to do. "How would you know this? You seem to think that he could do no wrong."

I picked up the reins quickly, trying to keep from making a huge display of my annoyance with my younger brother, and nudged my palfrey into an anxious walk. "I know he wouldn't, because kidnapping would require an unwilling victim, and I," I let a melodramatic pause dangling between us, "I am by no means unwilling."

"My sister has turned into a hussy," Owen said, trotting past me, his tension leaking into his stallion and making the poor horse edgy as well.

"Excuse me?" I drew up along side him. "Why are you insulting me so?"

"You're my sister, the princess, not my sister, the slut. Is that clear?" Owen forced me into a sudden, awkward halt as he spun his mount around so that we were facing each other.

"Who're you to tell me what I can and cannot be?" My mare threw up her head, begging me silently not to choke her with the reins. I let slack into the reins and faced Owen, "I didn't ask for your approval, you know."

"So?" He looked at me sullenly, sulking. "I don't care if you didn't ask for my approval, because you won't get it."

"Owen…" I sighed, exasperated with his masculine pride. "Owen, you don't run my life. I do." Then, as an afterthought, I added, "Sometimes."

He almost smiled. "Elensar, he's not good for you, I know it. He'd hurt you, he'd chase after another little trollop the instant you weren't looking."

"No, he wouldn't. I know him, better than you do. I spent time with him, Owen, you haven't." I reached out to touch his arm, and he flinched away.

"What's happened, Elensar?" He stroked his mount's neck distractedly. "You used to tell me everything. We used to be best friends. Now…we're not."

I stared at him, trying to comprehend the underlying root of his anxiety. "Just because I don't tell you everything…"

I stopped, because there was no one who would listen to me; Owen was riding away from me at a flat gallop, and not looking back.

"Owen…why don't you ever listen to me?" I asked the air.

The air didn't answer.

I sighed, "Come, pretty pony, and let's go and chase after the silly boy." So we did.

I kicked the palfrey into a reluctant trot to get her used to the idea of movement, and then flew into a glorious canter. From there, the horse had her own ideas and surged into a ground-eating gallop; it wasn't fast enough to catch Owen, but we certainly weren't falling behind any longer.

We continued on in this reckless manner for quite some time; Owen's mount didn't seem to tire, and neither did my own. We just kept on going, seemingly to the edges of the world, even though it could only have been to the edges of our estate.

Finally, he stopped and turned. "Why are you following me?" His voice was strangled, and I almost pitied him.

"Because." I trotted the last few yards to him, closing the physical gap that had opened between us.

"That's not an answer." Both of our horses were breathing heavily.

"Yes it is."

"No, it's not."

"It is an answer, just not the one you were looking for."

"Fine." He huffed, almost feminine in his mannerisms. "I suppose it is, then. May I have a more complete answer?"

"No."

"Fine." Owen glared at me.

In solemn retribution, I stuck my tongue out at him.

He suppressed a smile. "You are incorrigible," He pronounced, equally serious.

"Thank you." I felt only slightly guilty that I had not actually bridged the abyss that had suddenly developed between us, but all of that was washed away when he smiled again.

"But of course, milady." Owen bowed to me from his saddle, inserting as many flourishes as he possibly could from such and awkward position. "Shall we carry on?" His horse took a few steps forward, as if agreeing with him.

"Yes, I believe that would be best." I gave the palfrey her head and walked beside Owen. "Did you enjoy your ride?" I asked him solicitously.

"Oh, yes, 'twas very invigorating." He grinned lightheartedly, so like the brother I was used to. "And yours? How did you enjoy your ride."

"Well, it was going nicely up until the part where my hair was mussed," I sniffed delicately, pretending that I was a simpering court lady who did not know what thinking was. "I rather enjoyed it, except for the speed. And the horses, I don't like horses much, you know, they smell quite dreadfully." I rambled on in that stream of think for quite sometime, until I was laughing so hard that I was having difficulties breathing. Owen too was doubled over in his saddle, his loud guffaw echoing through the air.

I wonder what the horses must have thought of us.

After collecting ourselves, Owen and I turned around and continued at a far more leisurely pace than that which had carried us out to the outer fringes of our property. We laughed the time away, joking as we had before I had been taken away. It was comfortable and enjoyable, and I hoped that we could stay like that forever…

As we arrived in the stable yard, Owen called over one of the grooms to take our horses, and then helped me dismount, as was proper. Alone, we probably could have done without all the formalities and extra service, but for the time being, it was simply nice not to have to do any work.

I picked up the riding habit from where I had stashed it and glared at it. "Stupid waste of cloth," I muttered in annoyance.

Draping it over one arm, I let Owen take the other and we strolled into the palace through the servants' hallway.

"Where to, Elensar?" Owen dropped my arm the instant we were out of plain sight.

"Um…" I studied the ceiling, searching for a destination. "My rooms, I think. I must change out of these clothes." I nodded emphatically. "I smell."

He snorted, very un-princely, in my opinion. "No, you just want to get ride of that thing." Owen pointed to my skirt.

"That too," I smirked.

"I knew it." He put on a haughty face. "I am just too smart for you, Elensar."

It was my turn to be unladylike and reply with a snort. "I seriously doubt that. I've got at least a year of knowledge on you, Owen. I mean, I can embroider a whole napkin set, can you?"

He frowned, perplexed but the sudden tangent out conversation had taken. "…No…" Then, his face lit up. "Can you duel a man?"

"Alas," I sighed, "That talent is lost to me." I pulled a face of distaste, "And I rather wouldn't want to have it, anyway."

"You're just saying that," He protested, playfully drawing a mock sword. "En guard!"

"Ah! No! Good sir knight, don't hurt me!" I pretended to cower against the nearest wall.

"Good?" Owen laughed manically. "I am the antithesis of good! I am…" He paused, searching for the right word. "…bad," he concluded sheepishly.

I giggled, but continued the charade. "Oh no, milord, don't hurt me! Please, I am just a simple woman, I wouldn't ever do anything mean to you!" I added a little squeal of terror at the end as punctuation.

"Oh ho, what is this I hear?" Owen cupped his ear in his hand. "Is that the voice of a Princess?" He feigned surprise, "Why, it is! I shall capture her and use her for my evil plans." Owen tried to force out evil laughter, but his regular laugh kept spurting out in bursts.

"Oh no! I must run away!" I turned, and ran, laughing as I tripped over the carpet. Owen gave chase, easily overtaking me as fell, but letting his advantage slip away as he stumbled over me. I laughed, scrambled to my feet and ran away again.

By the time I had reached my chambers, I was out of breath and Owen had taken to jogging occasionally to keep up.

"I give up," I said, leaning against my door, trying desperately to regain my breath.

"Hah. I win." Owen grinned lopsidedly.

"Shush." I brushed my hair out of my face and opened the door. "Good Prince, I bid thee adieu!" Slipping inside my room, I noticed the new outfit that had been laid out for me. "Sweet Saints," I breathed, "Servants anticipate everything."

Quickly, I stripped and launched myself at the tub of waiting water, splashing as I got in. "Clean!" I exclaimed, blowing bubbles in the water.

Soon, with the help of the servants who arrived in short order, I was washed, dressed and smelling more like human and less like horse.

"Thank you," I spun around, not caring that I was acting so giddy and immature. It was fun to break from the traditional role of solemn princess every once and a while.

Raquel stepped back, gave me a disapproving look for mussing my gown and replied in her soft way, "You're welcome, majesty."

Still in a jocular mood, I waltzed out into the hallway, where I found Owen waiting for me.

"Hello again, 'Lensar." He bowed stiffly.

"Don't I look pretty?" I whirled into him.

He nodded, "You look like quite the lady."

"Why thank you!" I fluttered my eyelashes. "What would you like to do?"

Owen thought for a moment. "Shall we go and see what our court is up to?"

"That sounds like as good of an idea as any," I answered, dropping the façade of the sophisticated court butterfly.

"Come, then," He walked off, and I followed. "We shall see if our foreign guest is still here."

I flushed, and grinned stupidly. "Adrian!" I giggled, but suppressed them when Owen shot me a dirty look. "Just because you don't like him doesn't me I can't," I justified myself.

"Whatever." He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless anyway."

"That I am." I nodded solemnly. "I'm a lost cause, a sunken ship…" I trailed off, mostly because Owen had thrown up his hands and run off. I suppose he had wanted me to be serious. "Oh well." I sighed and continued on toward the Great Hall.

As I reached the great hall, I could hear my father yelling at someone. I didn't know whom, but by the sound of his voice, I was glad it wasn't me.

I peered around the gilded frame of the doorway, and stared, my attention riveted on the scene unfolding before me.

Author's Note: No I did not just leave you with a cliffhanger. Why would I do a silly thing like that? ) I thank you all for being patient with me and my slow updates…and thank you for getting me to over 200 reviews! What fun! D

Shout-Outs:

TinkerBell394587: Wow, thank you! I'm glad you think that I write that well…to tell you the truth, I've always pictured this story set somewhere in Europe. I guess because a lot of fairytales originate there, and because it's just so pretty!

Lilred-07: Adrian's back! Yay indeed! D

Miss Piratess: So you're enjoying Elensar's little love life? Good! Confusion is always the best part of a story, to me. I mean, wouldn't it be so boring if we all knew from the very beginning that Elensar was going to fall in love/marry Adrian, and have nothing to dissuade us of this opinion along the way?

Glaze: She doesn't know that she loves him because she's a teenager, and everyone knows that teenagers are stupid! Or at least unobservant, haha. P

Lalaith: Yup, I do swimming. Our season started oh…in November, and we're just about through, I think. I hope.

Fell4adeadguy: Bad timing? Lol…maybe a little.

Pea: Thank you!

Panemonium: No, Adrian didn't see them dancing. If Elensar has her way, he will. But the whole dancing at night thing is like the worst kept secret everywhere, but no one can actually prove it with witnesses or anything. Yeah…

ElvisLivesAgain: I don't like sad endings. They are depressing. Happy ones are so much better. D

Cheekychik: Are you so sure that she loves Markus? It could just be the crazy author introducing some more random characters just to be confusing…or it might not be. And thanks!

Amelia: I like Adrian better than Markus too, and I still have no idea how the story is going to end. I gave myself too many choices when I introduced Markus, I think, so right now everything is open-ended and just having a good old time not going anywhere. Yeah. P

HalfbludPr1ncess: Challenges are fun! I'm glad you like the vocabulary I use- words are just too fun to waste.

Mistyqueen: Ah, the wonderful world of musical performance! Me and my tuba don't particularly like soloing, but everyone says we should…I bet you'll do better at your next competition, and good luck with the bass clarinet! Bass instruments are always better, and I'm only a little biased…)

Ruler of the Disenchanted Forest: I've read that version too…and yay for you since you like my version better! I do too! Hehe D

DragonbladeGoddess: New reviewers are always nice, and welcome to my story!

LindyLou78: And now, for your entertainment, even more suspense! Mwahha!

Moonlight and Starlight: Good old LotR…gotta love it, and everything associated with it!

Jaid Ziaen: Yay! Thank you for reviewing! Just don't be too sure about your assumptions on the state of Elensar's romantic interests…)