The next morning, Eleanor dressed herself and ate breakfast with Margaret and Beatrice before taking her leave of the shop, continuing her way with an enlightened purpose. She then remembered what Purdy had said about Rob O's whereabouts in Sherwood Forest. After purchasing some provisions with the last of her coins, she headed to the nearest town, a place called Neiromeh. She didn't have the slightest idea what she would find in this town, but she would prepare herself, nevertheless.
Walking along, she noticed that the town's usual hustle and bustle was missing. Puzzled, Eleanor eventually spied a young mouse lad and asked him what was wrong.
"We're all hiding from the Nightmare of Neiromeh," he whispered.
"Nightmare? As in a bad dream?"
The boy shook his head vigorously. "The Nightmare is our town's phantom horse, and every time that she comes around, we lose all of our oats and grain crops.
"Alright. Anything else I should know?"
"Nope. Gotta hide!" The boy sped away as fast as he could to the nearest cottage, opened the door, ran inside, and slammed it shut, peeking through the window in terror.
"Hmph. A horse. Seriously? That doesn't sound frightening at all. Of course, I've never had to deal with a horse before, but I've heard that they are docile creatures most of the time. This'll be a cinch for me. I'll put her back in her place after a stern talking-to," Eleanor boasted, though no one was around to hear her.
Just then, a shrill whinny split the calm atmosphere like a lumberjack. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large mustang appeared a few feet away. Her coat was an ethereal shade of white, her hooves pitch black, fiery red eyes and a golden mane and tail. "This is it? Why everyone is so afraid? This beautiful horse is why everyone is hiding? Huh," Eleanor smiled to herself. "Not much of a fair fight. What can a horse even do?"
The Nightmare, as if in reply, whinnied, neighed, and reared up on her hind legs, sending Eleanor sprawling backwards with the force of the blow. She struggled to get back on her feet and strike the horse with her oak branch, but the Nightmare's powerful hooves batted it out of her hands and onto the ground, split in two and utterly useless. Now what? Eleanor pondered, trying to think of another strategy. Maybe I can appeal to her nature?
Fumbling in her pockets, Eleanor came upon an idea. "Hey, over here, girlie!" The wild mustang threw her head back and charged straight at Eleanor again. "I have something for you!" Eleanor said as she pulled out a rosy red delicious apple from her provisions. The horse slowed down, skidding to a stop, looked at the apple, and eased back from the grooves in the dirt she had made, wary of Eleanor's next move. "Oh come on now. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me," she said softly, holding the apple out a little further.
The horse sniffed the apple, snatched it from Eleanor's outstretched palm, and began to eat it as Eleanor attempted to climb onto her back. "There now, see? I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe here. I promise." The scarlet anger in the mare's eyes faded, replaced with warm appreciation and acceptance.
"Well, no need to call you Nightmare anymore, hmm? How about we give you a different name? Like… um… Spitfire? I can tell you've got quite a temper. How about it?" Spitfire nickered, then nodded her head, making Eleanor chuckle. "I figured you would like that name."
"What's going on? What happened? Are you okay?" The mouse lad who had told Eleanor about the Nightmare and went into hiding had reemerged and was now examining Eleanor's condition.
"Turns out the poor thing was just hungry and scared. That's why she stole your grain and other crops," Eleanor explained, failing to climb onto Spitfire's back and instead holding onto her neck. "That's why she was acting like that."
"You tamed her?"
"I suppose so," Eleanor shrugged modestly.
"Wow! Everyone come on out! It's okay, we're saved!" The citizens of Neiromeh peeked out of their homes and, sure enough, it looked safe enough to venture out again.
They spilled into the street and alleyway, surrounding Eleanor and Spitfire, jumping and dancing for joy as cheers rang out. "Hooray, we're saved!" "Three cheers for our savior!"
Eleanor smiled and blushed, not used to being the very center of attention. An elderly mouse woman ambled forward, holding Eleanor's hand in hers.
"What can we do to thank you for rescuing us from the Nightmare?" she asked, her voice trembling. Looking down at her bruised side and chafed hands, Eleanor nodded.
"Spitfire broke the weapon I had during our tussle. Is there a weapon I could borrow from you instead?"
The old woman seemed to stand very still for a moment before turning to the crowd. "Jonathan! Quickly, lad, bring out the weapons chest!"
A tall, stocky fox walked into his home and returned lugging a large wooden chest with rusted iron clasps. When he pried the chest open, a few meager weapons resided inside of it.
"Please take one of these, my dear. We here in Neiromeh are a peaceful bunch and have no need of them."
"I'll return it as soon as I am able-"
"No need to, my dear. We hardly ever have use for these weapons, hence why we store them away. If you find one you like, you may keep it as long as you wish."
Eleanor examined the selection of weapons, careful not to be poked or prodded by the sharp edges. A weapon near the bottom of the chest caught her interest, and she pulled it out to inspect it further.
"What sort of weapon is this, good woman?"
Looking the weapon over, the old woman nodded her head. "I remember that yew bow. I used a similar bow in my youth. Mind you, it is not very sturdy, but the accuracy should suffice. Perhaps you would like to try it for yourself?"
"I'm not certain about this. I've never used a bow before, and I lack experience."
"Perhaps Jonathan can help you," the old woman suggested as Jonathan stepped forward.
Holding Eleanor's hands gently, Jonathan taught her how to string the bow, load an arrow, aim at a target, and shoot towards the target. It took multiple tries and a few lost arrows, but eventually, Eleanor was able to shoot at a target a few feet away and hit it accurately.
"You've certainly improved," the old woman replied, clapping.
"Thank you, I wasn't sure I was able to make a go of it," Eleanor blushed.
"The best archer in the world would be Rob O' the Hedge. He could certainly teach you more than I could," Jonathan said as he put away his training bow.
"Rob O'? Have you seen him lately? Do you know where he could be?"
"He passed through here a few days ago, sharing what he had with us. He then left and headed in the direction of his beloved Sherwood Forest."
"How convenient. I must prepare to leave for the forest right now," Eleanor said as she took Spitfire's lead in her hand. Before leaving, the village elder slipped a dagger into her other hand, hiding it in her pocket.
"Just in case, my dear."
"I'll take great care of it, madame. Now, off to Sherwood Forest!"