by Robin Roseau
Racine nodded to Kend. Kend turned and disappeared into the barn then returned a minute or two later with six or seven children and several other adults. The children weren't necessarily young. I judged ages from about ten to maybe one girl of ten and four. That girl was holding the hand of the youngest of the girls.
Kend didn't bring his charges to us. He brought them to the edge of the paddock. The kids all moved to the fence, some looking between the rails. Two boys partly climbed up. When the littlest girl tried to do the same, her big sister gave her a hand, speaking quietly. Juleena, Racine, and I joined everyone at the fence.
"They ain't much for horses," one of the adults said.
I bristled a little but said nothing.
"These horses are from Garneer," Juleena said. "Far to the east. They are all bred and raised by the Arrlottan, the Horse People. They are from the queen's own herd."
There was silence for a moment, then one of the women said, "Princess Juleena? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you."
She began a curtsey, but Juleena said, "Please don't do that. Save it for a more formal setting."
"Is that-"
"Lady Yallameenara," Juleena said. "Today perhaps we can drop titles. They can be tedious." Then she pointed. "The saddled stallion is hers. And the mare who seems to be lording over the rest as well."
"It's not much of a stallion," said the man who had commented disparagingly earlier.
"Perhaps you'd care to test your riding skills against mine," I suggested. "How much money can you afford to lose?"
That shut him up -- and earned a few snickers besides.
"Yallameenara makes one point," Juleena said. "And in doing so, she also makes another. In a straight race, my Daggarwind would leave little Zana behind. But in the sort of riding Yallameenara does, Zana laughs at Daggarwind. And, indeed, when we traveled from Yallameenara's former home, her mounts were still ready to go at the end of the day, while all of ours were not."
"To be fair," I added. "My horses can't fight like Daggarwind can, and mine couldn't carry a mounted knight into battle."
"But that is not what they are for," Juleena said. "And none of these would be pleased to pull a plow."
"I think Zana would have a stern conversation with the plow and anyone who tried to get her to pull it," I suggested. That earned me more chuckles.
We stayed there at the fence for another minute before one of the women said, "I do not understand why we are here. Are you suggesting our children should ride... those... wild beasts?"
I bristled but continued to say nothing.
"These are fully trained horses," Juleena said, "adult and full size. They may not have been bred for life in Framara, but you will not find a more dependable mount."
"They're kind of-"
"Racine," Juleena interrupted. "Who is your best rider?"
The woman sighed. "I am. You're going to make me ride against her, aren't you?" She hooked a thumb at me.
I guess I had a reputation.
"If you don't mind."
The woman muttered about being embarrassed on her own course. Juleena ignored her and said, "Perhaps you wouldn't mind transferring the saddle to Zana."
* * * *
I walked the course. There were two sets of barrels, although they were arranged differently than I normally did. But I walked it, partly to set the course in my mind, and partly to assure myself to Zana's safety. I didn't find anything I shouldn't, and soon I found myself back at the cluster of people. Juleena held Zana's reins, so I jump atop and collected them from her.
Racine was already on her mount, a very pretty horse indeed, although small by Framaran standards. It was still a monster, I thought. But she sat the horse very well, and she clearly knew the barrels besides.
There were stands, and everyone else sat there watching us. Racine and I collected at the starting point. Juleena called, "Ready... Go!" And we were off.
Racine got a fast start, and she made it to her first barrel slightly and of Zana and me. After that, I couldn't afford to pay much attention to her, as Zana and I were zipping around the barrels.
For this course, it wasn't enough just to weave around them. The pattern was more of a diamond. Around the number one, then far to the right to circle the number two, then all the way across to circle number three, then to the top of the diamond to circle number four. Then back to the beginning and do the entire course twice.
Zana had fun, and she gave me everything I asked for. She'd never turned more tightly, and when we thundered over the starting line -- which was also the finishing line, I knew we had done well.
Furthermore, Racine was a good two lengths behind us. I actually thought that was quite well done on her part, although I found it likely I could stretch that to another half-length or more with a little practice.
I trotted a blowing, prancing Zana around for a minute or two after that, and Racine did the same with her horse.
We met in the middle, and Racine offered a small bow. "My own course," she said. "Beaten by two lengths on my own course while riding my best horse, and you on..."
"On my best horse," I said with a smile. "This isn't the normal riding for our horses, but we do breed for agility and endurance."
She nodded, and we turned both horses towards Juleena, waiting for us. Racine's horse tried to step in front, but Zana snapped at her and took two little bounces, moving us into the lead.
"I'm sorry," I said. "She's a little competitive."
She actually wasn't normally like that, but I didn't chastise her for it.
We dismounted, and I held Zana by the reins, close to her nose. She crowded into me, and for that, I chastised her. She didn't look remotely apologetic.
"What did you think of that?" Juleena called out.
The kids all talked at once, except for the littlest girl, the one with the attentive big sister. And then one of the older girls raised her hand and called out, "Lady Yallame-"
"Yallameenara," I said. "I know. It's a mouthful. Yes?"
"Do you think I could learn to ride like that?"
Frankly, I doubted it. She was a little old to get started. But I said, "You could try. I don't know if you'd want to place wagers on it, especially against me." That led to laughter. "But I suspect you could have a very good time, and it's excellent exercise for the horse. And, I'll add, yourself."
She turned to her Mom, offering a pleading look, and then back to me. "Could I try riding one of your horses?"
"If by that you mean one of the horses we brought today..." I wasn't putting her on Hamper or Zana. I looked at Juleena, but she was looking at Racine, so I turned to her.
"Perhaps we should ask the grooms to saddle them," she said. "Do they have special requirements?"
"Only that the saddles fit," I said.
I had to answer a few more questions, and then the grooms arrived, pulling the four horses we'd brought. To my relief, Hamper wasn't amongst them.
I considered, and then I led Zana to the fence and wrapped her reins about. She gave me a dirty look, but there was a little grass in reach, so she decided she could satisfy herself with a little snack.
* * * *
We spent an hour with the kids. Well, not all the kids. Two of them weren't interested, and I would have said it was four, as the little girl with her big sister stayed back and watched.
Racine, Juleena, and the grooms all helped the kids, and I didn't try to compete with Racine to supervise operations. This was her place, not mine, and I'd never taught riding before. But these kids had all sat a horse before, and some of them seemed to know what they were doing.
But then, in a lull, Juleena stepped up to me and gestured. The little girl had moved forward, and she was pointing at the horses. Her sister knelt behind her, holding her back with her arms around the little girl's shoulders.
I came to a decision. "The chestnut," I said. "Can you collect her and hold her steady, then get one of the guards to help me."
"Of course."
I walked over to the girl and knelt down, interrupting her view. She tried to look past me, but I said, "Hi. My name is Yalla. What is your name?"
The little girl didn't answer, and so her big sister did. "She's Betsa. I'm Lizzie."
"Well, hello, Betsa," I said. "I'm pleased to meet you, Lizzie. You can both call me Yalla."
"Horsie," said Betsa.
"That's right, Betsa," Lizzie said. "They're horses."
"Horsie," said the little girl again.
I looked at the sister. "She doesn't talk much," Lizzie explained. "Mostly she points and says a word or two."
The girl was younger than the rest, but she was long, long past the age where she should be talking.
"It's probably my fault," Lizzie continued. "I'm not a very good Mom."
"You're her mother?" I said, shocked. "How-" The girl was far, far too young to be mother to a girl this age. Oh, maybe a child of one or two summers, but this little girl was much older than that.
"Our mom died."
"Oh. Oh. I'm sorry," I said.
"It was a long time ago." She looked down. "Betsa was a baby." I thought maybe the mother had died during childbirth.
"I understand," I said.
"She's not stupid," Lizzie said. "She just doesn't really talk."
"Well," I said. "Let us see. Betsa, did you want to ride one of the horses?"
"Horsie!" she demanded.
"Betsa, you have to look at me. If you want to ride one of the horses, you have to look at me first."
The girl clearly didn't want to, but finally her eyes met mine.
"Very good," I said. "Did you want to ride one of the horses?" Slowly, she nodded. That was good. She understood what I was saying. "Good," I said. "Do you know who Princess Juleena is?"
At that, she pointed to the princess, now holding the chestnut and waiting for us.
"Very good," I said. "That's right. That horse is called a chestnut for her color."
"Chestnut," said the girl. "Horsie."
"Do you want to ride the chestnut, Betsa?"
The girl nodded again.
"Here's the problem though. Horses are very smart, and if you want to be good at riding them, you have to talk to them, quietly, but so they understand. And they won't understand if all you do is point and say 'Horsie'."
She looked at me, and her face turned mutinous.
"So here's the deal," I said. "If you want to ride the horse, you need to tell me. Say, Yalla, may I ride the horse?"
The big sister was giving me the world's dirtiest look, and maybe I was wrong. But I was going to make the girl at least try.
The little girl didn't look happy with me. She pointed and demanded, "Horsie!"
"Try again, Betsa," I said.
She stomped her foot, and I was positive she was quite smart. "Horsie!"
"Ah, well," I said, standing up. I turned to go. I got three steps, before the little girl cried out, "Yalla!"
I turned around. "Yes?"
"I. Ride. Horsie."
"Well, well," I said. I stepped back and knelt down. "That was close. Yalla, may I ride the horse? I'm pretty sure you can say it, Betsa, but if you can't, I don't know how you're ever going to ask enough questions to be able to learn."
Her gaze switched back and forth from me to Juleena. Lizzie was glowering at me, but then Betsa looked over her shoulder. "Lizzie?"
The girl made an oh-shape with her mouth, then slammed it shut. Instead she said, "It's time, Betsa. I know you're smart. Ask Yalla if you may ride the horse."
Betsa turned back to me. "Yalla. May. I. Ride. Horse?"
Behind her, Lizzie shoved her hand over her mouth. I simply nodded. "Yes, Betsa, but you have to take my hand." I held it out, and the girl gave me her hand. Like that, with Lizzie following behind, I brought the girl toward Juleena, pulling her to a stop a short distance away.
"Betsa," I said. "Say 'Hello' to Princess Juleena."
"Horsie."
"Betsa."
There was a pause. "Hello."
"Good enough," I said. "Now, before we ride the horse, we have to say hello to her, too. You're going to stay here with your sister while I show you. Then it will be your turn." Lizzie stepped up and wrapped arms around Betsa again. I released the girl's hand and stood, then stepped in front of the horse, speaking quietly. I stroked her nose and she side of her jaw.
She really was sweet for an Arrlottan horse.
I turned. "All right, Betsa. You have to walk slowly or you can scare her. Okay?"
She nodded.
"All right. Come to me." I held out my hand. Lizzie released her sister, and the girl walked to me. I was surprised she listened about moving slowly. She came to a stop, staring up at the horse.
I wasn't too worried. Juleena had good hold, and there were two of the guards hovering nearby.
I didn't know this particular horse. She hadn't been from my clan. And I didn't know what names might have been passed out. And so I said, "Betsa, this horse is a mare. She's a girl. Her name in Arrlottan is Secoutardé. You probably can't say that. It means Gentle Mare."
"Gentle. Mare."
"Yes. But she doesn't know that name. I want you to try her other name. Secoutardé." I said it very slowly. I wanted to see what the girl would do.
"Sec. Cou."
"Secoutardé," I prompted.
"Sécoutárde," the girl said.
I smiled. That was very close, and perhaps for today, that was close enough. I glanced at Juleena. She was grinning but not saying a word. "You can pet her here, like this."
The mare allowed the affection and even snuffled at Betsa, who giggled. Then I took the girl's hand and said, "Now. Secoutardé is a real horse, not a gentle pony. She isn't the sort of horse to be led around in a circle. She must be ridden like a proper horse. But you haven't learned how yet, so we're going to go together. Okay?"
"Okay," she said.
"I'm going to get on first, and then one of these nice guards is going to help you up in front of me. All right?"
"Okay."
Juleena continued to hold Secoutardé for me, which I think amused her to no end. I climbed up, and then one of the guards stepped forward. I'd never been handed a little girl to ride with me this way, but we got her settled in front of me, and then I collected the reins from Juleena and pulled away.
I didn't know the Framaran signals for a horse, but Secoutardé remembered how to speak Arrlottan. So I led us in a walk, Betsa laughing from in front of me. But then she pointed to the barrels and said, "Faster."
She didn't have stirrups, so I wasn't going to set a trot. That wouldn't have been pleasant. But I stepped her into an amble and turned for the barrels.
With Betsa laughing, we did one ride of the barrels at an amble, but then she said, "Faster."
"If you want to go faster, you need to learn how to ride," I said. I called over my shoulder. "Racine, could someone demonstrate a trot, please?"
"Hannah," she said with a gesture.
One of the grooms stepped forward and collected the reins from the bay. From the moment she climbed into the saddle, I knew Hannah knew what she was doing. She trotted over, then did big circles around us.
"Do you see, Betsa, how the horse bounces up and down, and Hannah bounces with her? It takes time to learn how to do that without getting hurt."
Betsa watched, and then she looked over her shoulder. "Teach."
"Hannah," I called out. "Did you learn to trot your first day?"
"Hell, no!" the girl called back.
"Thank you, Hannah."
Hannah ignored us after that, but she brought the bay over to the other set of barrels, and then she launched the horse.
Hannah was good, but it was an unfamiliar horse and rider, so she wasn't going to win any races soon. But Betsa and I watched, Betsa laughing and pointing. When Hannah finished the course, riding it just once, she looked over her shoulder and said, "Teach!"
"Well, Betsa," I said. "Here's the thing. If
you want to learn to ride, you're going to first need to learn to talk. And then you need to ask Racine to teach you."
"You teach. You faster."
"You noticed that, did you? I might be faster, but Racine is a far, far better teacher than I am. But she isn't going to teach you if you can't speak properly. And I think you're entirely able. You just haven't wanted to."
She turned away, not saying anything. I rode us around for another minute, speaking quietly, telling her what I was doing to direct the horse. "But I'm speaking Arrlottan," I said. "And if you learn, you will speak Framaran."
She looked over her shoulder at that. "Racine teach?"
"If you ask her properly," I said.
Finally I turned the horse back. Juleena took her head, and then the guard was there to help me with Betsa, who he delivered to a waiting sister. I looked at Lizzie. "Do you ride?"
She shook her head.
"Juleena, can you see to Betsa while Lizzie and I ride a minute?"
"Of course," Juleena said.
I freed a stirrup for the girl and then walked her through climbing up in front of me. We rode around for a few minutes. Finally the girl asked, "You didn't get Betsa's hopes up, did you?"
"What do you mean?"
"We're orphans, Lady Yalla," she said. "Our parents were soldiers, so the queen takes care of us, but there isn't money for things like this."
"Do you think Racine or Princess Juleena would have arranged you to be here for some sort of cruel joke?"
She was quiet for a minute. "No."
"Well then. I told Betsa if she wants lessons, she has to learn to ask properly."
"How did you know?"
"You said she was smart. She clearly understood the conversation. And she could say individual words. You've coddled her."
The girl hung her head, but from behind, I hugged her. "You've been a good big sister. You were awfully young yourself, weren't you?"
"Six," she said.
"You've kept you and your sister together," I said. "You clearly love her and take care of her." I paused. "Life on The Hippa-"
"Where's that?"
"Oh. Garneer. We call it The Hippa."
"Oh."
"Life on The Hippa is hard. Sometimes life has to be hard for you to learn. Your sister knows she doesn't have to really talk to get what she wants from you. Well, if she wants things from me, she'll have to ask properly."