DISCLAIMER: I do not own any piece of the wonderful world that Tolkien named Middle-Earth, none of the characters, places or names. Anything you recognize is not mine. All elvish (mainly sindarin) is from the site The council of Elrond. Don't steal my original characters, if you want to use them, ask first. This and the following chapters have been slightly edited, but the plot remains unchanged.
Wild horse
Chapter 1: Runaway horse.
She walked down the line of boxes, checking every horse for signs of illness and that they were all were eating, as they should be. The stables of Mirkwood held many horses and the noise of them softly chewing the dry hay and the rustle they made as they shifted about was all she heard. The smell of hay, mixed with the sweet smell the horses gave of, made the crisp air heavy. She was the last of the stable crew to leave for the day, as every day.
She finished her round with checking that all the oil lamps were put out. The pale light flowing in through the windows was the only source of light and it was making wonderful shadows on the carved wood. The sun had set an hour ago, but it only being mid September, the blue light would not turn into darkness for another couple of hours. She could not help but smile; the world was at total peace.
She was just about to shut the big stable doors when she thought of something that made her smile turn into an angry frown. Gladholion was not making his usual racket. The new stallion of the prince had been nothing but trouble since the prince had brought him here a week ago, when he returned. She pushed the door open again and ran down the line, making a few horses lift their heads to see what was going on. When she stopped in front of the open half door, she found it not surprisingly empty.
"Where could he be this time?" she thought as she ran out of the stables. She found the hoof prints of the horse easily; the gravel covering the yard had been broomed after all the horses had been put in for the night. The happy hoof prints after the dancing horse made their way towards the open gate.
She followed the hoof prints out of the gate, along the road and then onto the lawn. Still the prints were as clear as day, it seemed as if the horse had taken of here, and galloped its way over the field, kicking up dirt in some places. The five other times the blasted horse had run of this week she had found him somewhere around here. Tonight she was left with no such luck, as the grey stallion was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh no..." she muttered as she saw where the tracks were headed, into the gardens surrounding the palace… Those gardens were certainly no place for a runaway horse; it could do severe damage to the beautiful lawns and carefully grown flowerbeds in only few minutes!
She now hated that horse dearly. Why could she not be allowed to teach it some manners, for it had none! Gladholion had been a gift from the Prince of Dol Amroth to the Prince of Mirkwood. "The horses of Dol Amroth must be mad," she thought as she made her way along the path leading into the Garden, still running.
When she entered the big open space in the middle of the garden, she saw clearly that the horse had been here. A couple of flowerbeds looked like a complete mess and the horse tracks in the soft turf were easy to spot. The horse had also managed leave a manure in the middle of the road.
"Guess who is going to have to pick that up," she groaned inside, knowing it to be herself. The track still kept on and on and when she saw where it was headed, she broke into a sprint.
The horse had of course found its way into the gardens of the Queen. They were said to be the most beautiful gardens in the whole Wood, and it did not make them more fitted for the horse if you added the fact that they belonged to the Queen. Now, where was that mad horse!
She found him all right, in the midst of a bed of blue flowers. As Gladholion heard her he stopped eating and lifted his large head to look at who was coming. He neighed. She put aside her anger, knowing she would never catch him if she seemed a threat. She put on her most welcoming body language and made her voice sugar sweet.
"Come here boy," she said softly as she started to approach the horse. It did not move, but continued to stare at her.
"Come here, you excuse of a horse that makes me run around after you when I should be at home eating dinner," she said, her voice still as sweet as ever, as she closed in on him. The horse only stared at her, but when she was only two meters away from him, he spun around on his hind legs and took of.
She cursed the horse and stayed where she was, until it stopped running. Then she approached Gladholion the same way as before and again, it ran away from her in a soft canter, as she was just about to catch it. Now, the proud stallion trotted over the small bridge leading over a pond and the stable girl followed. She took of her long woollen scarf and walked over the bridge. As she was on the middle of the fenceless bridge, Gladholion turned towards her.
"That's a good boy. Come here."
The horse came, but not in the way she expected. It sped up, running straight towards her. Not a single horse she had ever met had been so respect less against humans as Gladholion. Horses never run people down, only when they were cornered, and this one certainly wasn't. She still stood her ground, waving her arms like a madman. It did not help; the horse was not slowing down.
"Ey! Shhh! Go away!" she yelled, but to no use. The horse would not stop. When it was some meters before her, she had no choice and threw herself into the cold water.
OOO
Prince Legolas of Mirkwood looked up from his book when he heard yelling coming from the royal gardens. He put the book on the table and got up from the armchair, dressed in his usual royal robes. He walked out one of the large windows and straight into the garden. He could hear sounds of splashing water and started to jog along the path, wondering whatever this was. When he walked into the clearing, the first thing he saw was Gladholion, standing on the same side of the pond that Legolas currently was standing on. The horse neighed when he saw its master.
"Hey boy. What are you doing here?" he asked as he petted the horse on its soft neck. The horse naturally did not answer, but continued to look at the pond. Legolas now saw the reason. Crawling out of the pond was a very wet she elf, dressed in tunic and breeches. She raised herself from the water and brushed some dirt and leaves from herself. She turned towards the horse and when she saw someone petting it, she rolled her eyes.
"Hold that horse would you?" she said and she started to walk over to the couple. Legolas grabbed Gladholion's soft mane. She approached the horse and bound the scarf around its neck, while muttering soft curses.
"Why is he here at this hour?" asked Legolas. She had not recognized the elf before, but now she saw that he was the proud owner of the animal. And she had a couple of things to tell him too.
"He ran off, my prince, from the stables."
"You should not have let him." Legolas recognized her as on of the stable crew. "See what he has done to my mother's garden."
"I am sorry, my prince, it will not happen again I can assure you." As is; if she were not allowed by the Stable master to train this horse, it would continue to run of, searching for a mare every night. And now this seemed to be all her fault too. If he had not been the Prince, she would have told him a thing or two now.
"It better not," said Legolas as he stroked Gladholion's neck. "But I can understand that he manages, when the people who are to catch him, falls into a pond while running." She tightened her grip around her scarf, if the prince only knew what she wanted to say to him right now! Luckily for her, she only said some of it.
"I did not have much choice you see, as he was running straight towards me on the bridge."
"No you would not do that, would you boy?" said the prince as he petted the horse on the forehead and down to the muzzle.
"He would without a doubt in his mind," she muttered, just loud enough for Legolas to hear.
"Do not insult my horse; he is the best trained horse in the whole of Mirkwood." Now she was about to burst. That prince was just telling her that that spoiled brat of a horse was better trained than the well-mannered horses that took up the rest of the stable.
"Actually, he is not, my prince."
"Do not dare to speak against me again," the Prince threatened.
"Oh, I think I will, my Prince," said the dripping wet girl. "That horse has been nothing but trouble since you brought him back with you after the War of the Ring. He has run of every night and I am always the one to run after him. He has no manners what so ever, he steps on our toes, and he makes so much noise when he is inside that he upsets the other horses."
"Shut your mouth!" Legolas was the best rider in all of Mirkwood, he would not tolerate that some servant told him how to handle his horse.
"No! The only thing that horse has been learnt is how to be ridden and he is like a lamb whenever someone rides him. But all the rest of the time he is nothing short of a constant nuisance!" she shouted to the prince, straight up in his face.
"But-"
"No buts! That horse is a danger for others as long as he is like this. And because of you, my prince, I am not allowed to train him in natural horsemanship!"
"Why are you not allowed to train him then?" he shouted back.
"Because you told the Stable master that no one but yourself was to train any of your horses! You may be a good rider, but you have no idea how to handle him when you are not on his ba-" She suddenly shut up.
"I am glad you found it wise to keep your tongue behind your teeth, servant," spat Legolas. Never had a servant spoken to him in that way. "Now, take him back to the stables and come to my office in the morning." She did not reply, only kept looking over his shoulder.
Legolas turned and found both the king and the queen there.
"Mother. Father."
Behind him the girl bowed.
"What has happened here, Legolas?" asked king Thranduil.
"Gladholion merely broke out," answered Legolas.
"But we heard angry shouting all the way into our living room," said Queen Risíthil.
"We were arguing of whose fault it was that the horse broke out and ruined mother's garden."
"No, no, no," muttered the queen as she saw the damage done.
"Well," the king was speaking to the girl, "it could not have been my son's fault, for he was not in the stables, but in his room."
"It was not my fault either, my king," muttered the girl, looking at her wet boots. King Thranduil laughed at this.
"Then whose fault is it?"
"The ones who trained this horse, my king."
"Wouldn't that training be your responsibility?"
"She has already explained to me that I have told the stable master that no one but me should train my horses," Legolas said.
"Then it is your fault?" Thranduil turned to his son.
"No, father. It was a gift from Imrahil remember? I have never trained this horse."
"Well, no matter what, this horse does not belong in this garden. Legolas, follow the girl back down to the stables and see to that your horse is put away properly."
"Yes, father."
"Well, be of then!" the king said when none of the younger elves moved. The girl seemed to snap out it and clicked her tongue, making the horse follow her. The prince bid his mother and father good night before he ran after the retreating horse.
OOO
A/N: That was the first chapter. A bit short, I know. The next one is longer and more interesting, I promise. Just if you were wondering, this will not be a Mary-Sue.