Chapter 5

It was Sunday, and Sofia picked up Ruby and Jade right after breakfast, to take them to the Royal Prep stable area, where they could choose their horses for the Flying Derby race.

Upon landing, they saw Sir Gillium.

"Why hello, Princess Sofia! What brings you here to Royal Prep on a Sunday?"

"Sir Gillium? I'd like you to meet Jade and Ruby from the village. I brought them here to choose flying horses to ride in the Flying Derby race!"

"Well, welcome Jade and Ruby! I'll be happy to take you out to the paddock to select a mount for the race!" And Sir Gillium then amiably led Sofia and her friends to a paddock, where all of the flying horses were grazing.

"You mean we can choose any of those horses, Sir Gillium?" asked an awed Jade.

"Well, no. Some are already paired with a rider, such as the small purple horse, Minimus."

"He's my mount!" said Sofia proudly.

"But, any horse without a gold badge on its mane is available, as they have not been paired with a rider," stated Sir Gillium.

So saying, Sofia entered the fenced off paddock with Ruby and Jade. Immediately, Minimus came over to greet Sofia.

"Can we pet him, Sofia?" asked Ruby.

"Sure!"

So saying Ruby and Jade gently stroked Minimus' mane.

Minimus said to Sofia, "Your two friends are very nice, Sofia! Let me recommend a few horses for them. There's Ecru. He's pretty gentle and easy to control. There's Pepper. She's a bit high spirited and would need a pretty firm rider. Oh, and there is Dove. That's the white horse grazing on the edge of the pack of horses. She is very gentle, and easy to ride, but she has an odd disorder. Her left wing didn't develop as large as her right one, so she tends to fly on a diagonal from right to left."

"Thanks for the info, Minimus," said Sofia in his ear.

Ruby and Jade were looking at the horses when Jade walked over to Ecru. Ecru seemed to like her and she him.

"I think I'd like to ride this one Sofia," stated Jade as she gently stroked Ecru's mane.

Ruby kept looking when she spotted Dove. She approached Dove and started to stroke her mane. Dove was a bit surprised, initially, because no one has ever chosen her for anything. As Ruby talked to Dove, she liked her more and more.

"I think I want to ride Dove, Sofia," stated a happy Ruby.

"Uhhh, Ruby? Dove might not be a good pick for a Derby horse," cautioned Sofia, and Dove sadly lowered her head and was about to turn and go back to grazing alone.

"Why not, Sofia? I think she likes me!"

"That's true, Ruby, but Dove has an abnormally small left wing and doesn't fly in a straight line; she flies in a diagonal line."

Ruby thought for a moment, and then asked, "What if I compensate for her wing?" she asked.

Sofia relented, "You can give it a try."

"I will!" stated a determined Ruby, and Dove, surprised by Ruby's gumption, nuzzled Ruby happily.

"Okay, then let's tell Sir Gillium of your choices," said Sofia, as they exited the paddock. Both Ecru and Dove followed their new riders to the gate and gave them a happy nuzzle. Ruby and Jade were very happy with their picks.

Or at least Jade was. On hearing Ruby's pick, Sir Gillium tried to dissuade her.

"Ecru will be fine for you, Jade, but I think you should choose another horse Miss Ruby. Dove is gentle, but flies erratically. She'll be hard to control in a Flying Derby Race."

"Please let me try, Sir Gillium! I really like Dove and I think we'll do okay!" said Ruby persuasively.

Sir Gillium thought for a moment, and then said: "Okay, let's see how you do on her tomorrow during your first practice. If it seems to be working, you can stick with Dove. But if not, you'll have to ride Pepper. Agreed?"

"Okay!" replied Ruby.

As the three friends took their leave of Sir Gillium, all Ruby and Jade could do was talk about there horse choices. Sofia happily listened, as she remembered back to how she went on and on about Minimus, when she chose him.

Now everything was set for the village game participants to practice with Royal Prep's squad for the next four weeks, leading up to the Quad School Games.