Chapter 56

"Not in the stable," the Horned King had told her. "Your beast will lose his mind either way, but he will have room to run in the courtyard should he feel the need."

Avalina was now regretting that she had said anything, but it was far too late to turn back now.

Trembling, she saddled Mitternacht as he watched her curiously, wondering what was going on.

He had healed admirably over the course of the week, his wounds sealing up and simply leaving ugly clotted strips. Luckily, none of them were in the way of the equipment straps.

Avalina took a deep breath to calm herself, before going around to Mitternacht's head.

"Boy," she said softly, placing a hand on the side of his face, "I know you trust me with all of your heart, or we would never have the friendship we do now. I trust you too, and I know you know that."

Avalina took in a breath, noticing how the horse was listening to her every syllable.

"I want you to prove to the Horned King that it isn't completely impossible for every living thing to fear and hate him. I'll be right there with you the whole time, I promise. And I know you've done this before, but he wasn't really conscious then. So its almost the same thing."

'Almost.'

Giving him a light kiss on the nose, she walked around and mounted, careful of her back. There was no way she was trying this on the ground. If Mitternacht acted up she would be safer on his back than on the ground. He would never hurt her on purpose, but being at ground level with a frightened horse, no matter what type, was all but asking to get hurt.

Nudging his sides lightly, she rode toward the doors as they opened and her horse stepped through.

'Well, here we go,' she thought, resolved. 'No turning back now.'

The Horned King was sitting at a stone bench facing the stable, roughly thirty five or forty feet from the entrance, watching.

Avalina knew when Mitternacht saw him.

The horse froze dead in his tracks, and Avalina could almost feel that flesh underneath her turn to stone as he took the Horned King in. Instantly his coat began to dampen with sweat as he stood there trembling.

The walk across the courtyard wouldn't even have taken a minute under normal terms, but making it to the halfway mark had already taken at least fifteen.

Sweat rolled down both of their bodies as Avalina kept urging him forward, trying to keep herself from shivering in fear. Despite this painfully slow pace and the fact that her hands were blistering from keeping the terrified animal on a straight course, (He kept wanting to turn off to the side and his attempts were nearly constant) and her legs ached from pressing against his ribs to keep him from going backwards, she couldn't find it in herself to be angry, or even irritated. She knew exactly how Mitternacht felt, and no doubt he was wondering to himself why in heaven's name she was doing this to him. Again.

"My apologies," she panted to the Horned King, who had the good grace not to move a muscle the entire time, "This is taking longer than I thought."

"I did not think you would make it this far."

At the sound of his dredging, monotone voice, Mitternacht immediately lost it.

In one, conjoined movement, the horse reared up, screaming, wrenched himself around in the opposite direction and kicked off the ground like a catapult.

Avalina gave a short scream in surprise and fright as he shot like an arrow across the courtyard, nearly unseating her, making it back to the stable in three massive strides.

Luckily for Avalina, the door was closed, so he could go no further, or else he very probably would have scraped her off his back as he went through.

"Mitternacht!" She shouted above the racket, her sudden strike of fear finally giving way to anger. "Listen to me! Great stars, *Listen* to me!"

She managed to pull him up by the stable door as he thrashed about in panic, throwing his head about and leaping high in the air.

For a moment it felt like he was going to start bucking, and she gripped the saddle tighter with her legs, praying she wouldn't come off, while she used both hands to try and keep his head up.

"I said *Listen!*"

By the time he finally stopped fighting her, her hands felt like she had grabbed a burning coal. They were literally on fire.

He stood, facing the Horned King now, staring in horror at this monstrosity that his rider was trying to urge him toward, his eyes rimmed in white, breathing like a bellows as he flared his nostrils.

Foam dripped from his mouth and lather streaked his sides, which were heaving from exertion, but Avalina could tell his fit was up.

For now.

The Horned King had stood up when the horse had bolted, but seeing as Avalina had things more or less under control again, gracefully sat back down.

The horse shivered violently at this, and Avalina mentally prepared herself for another explosion, gently rubbing his neck and murmuring soft words to him, telling him what a silly boy he was and that she would never put him in any danger.

The horse, at last, heaved a great sigh, like the sweeping of a snowblast on a stormy night, and finally flicked his ears back to listen to her, rather than devoting all his attention to the Horned King.

Slowly, Avalina felt that stone-hard body beneath her turn to flesh again, felt his mouth loose through the reins, and by extension his mind, become more receptive to her soothing.

After several minutes, he finally dropped his neck from the high-alert position at the very top of his withers and slowly lowered his head, giving her control of him again.

Tiredly, he turned his head around to look at her and nuzzle her left boot.

Avalina rubbed his face and spoke softly to him, the words meaningless to anyone else who might have heard. It was a language only an equestrian and their horse could ever understand.

It was their song.

The horse now stood quietly, waiting for orders, one ear cocked back to listen to her, the other on the obstacle in front of him, the item he knew she wished him to approach.

Gently, she tapped his ribs with her heels and whispered firmly, "Walk on."

Mitternacht took a hesitant step forward, his body listening to her every cue.

"Go on, I'll be doing this right here with you."

Feeling quiet courage emanating from his rider, the horse took heart and moved forward another few paces, then some more, until he was walking firmly across the courtyard, his head up, his strides even, the very picture of confidence.

His tail switched once as he flicked both ears forward now, paying attention to what was in front, not bothering to check with his rider. He knew she was right there beside him, and she would stay there. He wasn't alone.

Together, they marched right up to the stone bench, not missing a single beat, until the horse sensed the air around them change at the ten-foot mark as the Horned King's horrible aura swept over them.

Chomping nervously, he felt his rider's comforting hand on his neck, gently asking, and he slowly covered the rest of the distance until he was standing directly in front of the creature, and, with a soft, resigned snort, rested his muzzle against the Horned King's knee.

"Merciful gods."

The words sounded like they were not meant to be voiced at all, but Avalina could hear the pure, time-stopping shock that dripped from every syllable. She had never heard anyone sound this shocked, this completely *emotional* in her life, and it was the only thing that had not sounded like a dead man talking that the Horned King had ever uttered in her presence.

It was so strong she felt tears spring to her eyes with its intensity as she looked at him. Those syllables he had spoken sounded like a massive dam breaking, and she felt the wave of soaring emotion from behind that wall hit her like a typhoon.

She knew Mitternacht felt it too, and raising his head, he looked straight at the Horned King, ears forward, eyes bright under that messy forelock, and blew softly in the lich's face, the edges of the Horned King's hood bending slightly from it.

That wave of emotion rose to a nearly staggering crescendo in the air, as the lich met the horse's eyes, which stared back with all the regal calm of an elegant eagle.

Avalina smiled down at him, unable to look away from the lich's face. He looked like he had seen something so groundshaking, that he was having trouble comprehending it. He looked like how anyone else might look if they'd just been kissed.

'In a way,' Avalina mused thoughtfully, 'He has.'

Feeling her horse's ribs twitch, she realized that she was having a little trouble breathing, as was her horse. Carefully, she backed him up until they were out of the Horned King's aura, where Mitternacht stood like a war horse of the highest nobility, tossing his head slightly as he pawed once, sparks flying from his shoe to dissipate in the air.

The Horned King stared at both of them with an expression Avalina had never seen anyone in her life use, but the soaring feeling it gave her heart made it more than worth it.

After another moment, the Horned King seemed to gain control of himself again and moved his features back into that cold, emotionless mask he had worn since the beginning of time as he weakly twitched his fingers in dismissal.

Avalina inclined her head slightly at the Horned King, unable to keep the smile off her face, and turned Mitternacht back to the stable.

He walked away like a conqueror, his head held high, and Avalina could not help but do so as well, grinning like mad through her tears.

"We did it, Mitternacht," she murmured joyfully, causing the horse's feet to lift a little higher.

"We did it."

The Horned King accepted the fact that if the girl would not listen to him, she would have to learn the hard way. The obvious conclusion that her horse would lose his mind was inevitable.

He knew the countries he conquered had always questioned themselves why the Horned King's men never had any horsemen. Conquest would certainly have been a whole lot easier, but the sheer fact of it was that no animal of any type could stay very long in the Horned King's presence without going mad. The one and only time he had tried to incorporate horses into his army was also the last time.

He had lost a total of nearly three hundred men during the fracas, all trampled to death, and all eight hundred horses he had acquired had had to be destroyed. So, once again, his massive strategic intellect and warlord status had helped him much more than mere props.

Feeling somewhat reluctant, he had gone along with this ridiculous plan of hers.

He knew what was going to happen. The horse would go mad. Avalina would be completely crushed. And nothing would change.

The instant the horse had stepped out of the stable and into the courtyard, the animal's demeanor was one of complete, uncontrollable terror.

The first sign.

He watched as Avalina began to work the horse across the courtyard, watching how she worked her legs, her hands, her whole body, walking the horse slowly towards him.

The beast, being a sensible creature, wanted nothing to do with him and protested with all he had.

The Horned King watched with extreme interest as Avalina maneuvered the animal in his direction. He took great care not to move the slightest bit, lest the progress be wasted, but he knew the end result would be the same. It always was.

Around the halfway mark, his surprise that they had gotten this far had loosened his tongue, and he had foolishly answered Avalina. In truth, he could not believe this slip of a girl had handled this massive animal so well.

The horse went crazy, just as he had expected, and launched across the yard in a panic.

He stood up, watching as the horse fought and threw himself about.

How Avalina stayed on was something only a true equestrian could accomplish.

He did not expect the horse to calm down. He did not expect the horse to listen to his rider. He had expected nothing but what had happened before.

He felt everything he had ever told himself about every living thing fearing him crumbling as a change came over the big black horse on the far side of the courtyard.

Suddenly, he started walking.

And not just any walk. The horse walked like a champion across the courtyard, pace steady and resolved. The only time he balked was where the Horned King's aura became nigh-suffocating, but after a pause, the horse stepped right on through.

Dumbfounded, the Horned King had stared in amazement as the horse slowly came forward, and, with a soft sigh, rested its head against his leg, before raising it to look him over.

That horse held him motionless in its brown, liquid gaze. He doubted he could move even if he wanted to. Slowly, the horse had studied his face like a eagle would scan the land below them, through that thick black forelock, looking both noble and terribly intimidating, and the Horned King had the strangest feeling in his chest.

It wasn't fear. Not exactly. It was reverence. It was complete awe.

And then, the horse had leaned his muzzle forward, its ears pricked. . .

And breathed gently on his face.

It was so warm. . .

The Horned King's emotional dam had broken then, (Entirely against his will) with all that hope he refused to believe in rising on broken wings and mending as it touched that horse's breath.

Every hope, every despair, every hate, every bitter little thing. . .he felt them explode out of his chest and soar into the air in a release unlike anything he had ever felt. And he was powerless to stop it. He wasn't certain if he even wanted to stop it. It was just happening.

His chest had never felt so completely empty as it had in that one moment, and yet. . .it had never felt so full. Like he had released so much of himself into oblivion he would have to rebuild himself with the items around him that remained.

Staring into that horse's eyes, he saw something so magnificent, so beautiful, yet so deadly, and so much more powerful than himself, staring right back without flinching. . .it was the most humbling, brought-low-and-raised-again experience he had ever felt in his entire existence.

It was almost downright frightening. If the Horned King knew such a thing for anything besides the Cauldron, that is.

He watched as Avalina backed the horse up, where he stood for a moment, like a painting of legend come to life.

After a long, long time, he managed to compose himself and come back to earth.

The horse crossed the courtyard to the stable like a conqueror, his head up, his step lively.

Avalina looked like one too.

As the Horned King watched, spellbound, as they disappeared into the stable and the doors closed, he was deep in thought.

That was a horse for a god itself.

And Avalina rode him.

'How is that even possible?' He thought, numb in shock over what he had just experienced.

'For a beast like that to accompany someone like her?'

It took extreme power on the rider's part, of that he knew.

Suddenly, his respect for Avalina rose from nonexistent to nigh-infinity.

And deep in his chest, right where he thought he would never feel anything ever again. . .he felt the faintest, the tiniest, the dimmest. . .

Sliver of cautious, desperate hope.

'Perhaps,' he thought to himself, touching his face, still feeling that warm, awakened sensation.

'Perhaps.'

His brow furrowed slightly.

'This will have an explanation.'

I own nothing but the story and my OC's. All else belongs to Disney and Lloyd Alexander. REVIEW! XD