Chapter 62
After a relieved reunion between Avalina and her mother, a very, very long conversation with her mother and the king followed, while Avalina listened with wide eyes as they discussed her immediate future.
It took the king and Avalina combined to get her mother to agree to it, but in the end, her mother really had no choice in the matter, as her child's employer was in fact, the king himself.
King Gwydion wasted no time in arranging things.
Avalina had asked him if she could take the horse home and work with him there, so she could be with her family, and to everyone's surprise King Gwydion had agreed to it, telling Mueric he would be going with them and helping her train the animal. Mueric was less than pleased but had no choice in the matter.
And so a large, very high-fenced corral was made on Avalina's property specifically for a horse that was nearly impossible to confine, feed was provided by the royal stable and while things were being set up, they were already in the process of getting the horse to Avalina.
Even at normal circumstances, a trip to the village from Avalina's house was anywhere from two to three days.
It took a dozen horsemen a week to drag Marwolaeth all the way there, and they were all too happy to leave immediately, leaving Avalina, her mother, her brother, and Mueric all standing together awkwardly outside the corral, watching the foaming, raging horse galloping round and round and round.
Her mother quietly went inside, and her brother returned to the field, and Mueric followed shortly after, saying he would deal with the horse later and he might as well earn his keep around here, and then Avalina's mother promptly called for her to come and help.
"Momma, why are you upset?" Avalina asked as she helped with the dishes.
Her mother's drawn face and tight mouth were clear signs of her displeasure. Avalina didn't know why.
"Aren't you happy that I get to train my very own horse?"
Her mother sighed.
"Yes, dear. And. . .no."
"Why?"
Her mother wearily sat down at the table.
"Because I don't want you getting hurt. That horse is dangerous."
"Aren't all animals dangerous, Momma?"
"Well, yes dear. But horses are. . .different in that aspect."
"How?"
Her mother beckoned her daughter to her and gently took her hands.
"Avalina, dear, I want you to promise me you will be very, very careful whenever you are around that horse. He is extremely dangerous, and I cannot believe the king allowed you to try and tame him."
"But Momma, nobody else can touch him but me," Avalina told her. "King Gwydion told me so."
"He doesn't know that. He's only going on the fact that you are the first one to do so. If he had any consideration for your life he would not have done this thing."
"But Momma, Marwolaeth will die if he can't be gentled again. I can't let him die!"
Avalina's eyes filled with tears.
"Avalina, dear, I don't like seeing animals die either," her mother said softly, brushing the tears away from her daughter's cheeks.
"But I will always prefer the animal die over something far more important, any day."
"Momma, he won't hurt me."
Her mother sighed.
"Regardless, I want you to always be careful around him, and do not go in the pen with him unless Mueric is around."
"But he doesn't like Mueric, Momma."
"You heard what I said."
"But Momma, when other people are around he gets worse!"
"Avalina, he's going to have to get used to other people when he goes back to the castle, and he might as well start now."
"After everything they've done to him? Momma, you didn't see what they did!"
"Dear, do you even realize who that horse truly is?"
Avalina scrunched her nose up, trying to remember.
"Mueric called him Diafol Ceffyl. His other name is Marwolaeth. But what did he mean, Momma?"
"Let me explain it to you better, dear. Sit down."
Avalina sat at another chair, turning it to face her mother.
When she was settled, her mother began.
"Once, there was a man that came from a peasant family. But the king found him, and saw in him a fine knight. And so, a knight he became, the finest in all the king's army. No one was more chivalrous than he, and no one could rival him as a horseman. The horse he rode was something he allowed no one else to ride, save himself. But one day, that brave knight was killed in combat, and from that day onward his horse became as he had been before, a raging, furious beast no one could touch. Thus earned he the title of Devil Horse. And he gave nothing but Death to all who dared to try and possess him. He is the equivalent of a demon in these parts, Avalina. Uncountable people have tried to tame him, and all have failed."
"Marwolaeth's that well known around here?" Avalina asked in surprise.
"His knight was. When word of his death became known, the tales of his horse's rage soon followed."
Avalina had caught a sadness in her mother's eyes, and this prompted her to interrupt her.
"Momma, who was the knight?"
Her mother's jaw worked.
"He was my brother."
Avalina's eyes grew round.
"You mean. . .my uncle? My uncle was a knight?"
Her mother nodded.
"You never told me you had a brother, Momma!" Avalina cried, disappointed. "What was he like?"
Her mother's eyes moistened.
"He was the best knight. . .and the best horseman. . .I've ever known."
Avalina sat for a moment, puzzling over this, while her mother wiped her eyes with the corner of the dishtowel. She opened her mouth to ask something else, but held her tongue when she saw her mother's distress.
More questions could wait.
"I'm sorry, Momma," she said sympathetically. "I bet he was brave."
"He was. Gracious, here I am, telling stories when there's work to be done. Come on, finish those dishes! I'll be feeding an extra mouth until the horse is trained."
"Yes Momma."
Mueric found out about three minutes after he went to help the boy in the field (Arran, was it?) that this family was too poor to afford a horse. They used an ox to plow with. It was painfully, painfully slow, but at least it moved.
Mueric was silently fuming to himself as he worked. He had advised the king plainly not to do this.
'Sire, that horse is a mad animal, he's insane, he's not all there,' he remembered telling him. 'That little girl's going to get killed if you order what I think you're about to order.'
'I don't think so, Mueric,' the king had told him. 'There's something about that girl the horse took a fancy to, or he never would have allowed her to approach him like she did. This is no coincidence. She may be that animal's only hope, and I believe that, despite her age, she will be the best for the job.'
'But Sire, what if you're wrong and she dies?'
The king had looked very thoughtful for a moment, before answering.
'I'm not wrong here. You can call me a heartless king if you want, Mueric, but there's just something I can't put my finger on about that horse. I think the little girl may have an inkling of what it is, although she may not have a clue that she does. If the way she handled that skittish mare this morning was any indication, she's got quite a way with horses.'
'But Sire,' Mueric had said, trying to keep his temper, 'She is a Child. Can't you find someone older?'
'I think the horse has had his fair share of adults handling him,' the king answered. 'But nonetheless, your plan makes sense. You can help her train him.'
And so had he gotten roped into this.
The horse may have liked her, but that was still no basis for what the king had done in Mueric's opinion. He didn't want to see another family ripped apart by a member's death. The war had done that to enough people already, and as far as he could see, it might have touched this family too, but he sure wasn't going to ask. The absence of an older male in the house was a a subtle indication.
The peasants didn't want him here, he had picked that up immediately. The king had all but dumped him and a wild horse on their doorstep, expecting them to fix his problem.
He didn't blame them for not liking him. He didn't want to be either.
Despite this, there was no outward hostility toward him thus far, and he was determined to keep it that way by doing the best his old bones could do to earn his keep around the place.
Gaenor would never allow her child to see just how deep her distress ran, and after a while she had her sent outside to play while she finished. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts for a while.
The idea that the king would do this infuriated the woman. Avalina was a ten year old girl. Ten! And the king had treated her like a professional horse trainer, an adult even, allowing her to come home while she trained the animal instead of staying at the castle. That was the only thing Gaenor was happy about.
She had seen that horse in combat, she had seen him on the battlefield and in the training yards, she knew just how savage he was. He was a war horse, and only suited for war. He had no business being re-used in the way the king wanted, as a riding mount for himself. He had fought his fight, he should have been put down two years ago when it became apparent no one else could use him, now that her brother was dead.
The woman fought back tears. And now, her ten year old child, her only daughter, had been tasked with the job of taming this savage animal. It couldn't be done. It was impossible. It was very likely Avalina would get hurt or even killed. But the king had given her the responsibility anyway. Why? To fulfill his own desire. And no amount of money he paid them would change her opinion of him, especially if her daughter was hurt in any way.
Gaenor angrily wiped a plate and set it down with more force than usual.
What kind of a king was he, if he did something like that? What sort of a man would even think of allowing this?
And to top the whole thing off, he had sent yet another mouth to feed. As if Gaenor didn't have enough problems.
'This isn't right,' she thought furiously to herself, a loud whinny echoing into the house.
Looking out the window, she saw the black horse, still pawing and raging around the massive, high corral, with Avalina standing a few feet from the rails, watching him through the spaces.
Gaenor stiffened, about to call Avalina away, but kept her mouth shut for now. Avalina would have to get in the pen sometime with him sometime, and Gaenor would save her tongue for then. As long as her daughter didn't get any closer to the fence.