The Horse Whisperer

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was fading slowly. He could not remember the last time he had a restful sleep; certainly not in the recent months. With Morgana’s disappearance he was often outside of the city, even the kingdom, in attempt to find her. To locate her and bring her home safely. It was no easy task and even when he was granted those seldom few hours of rest, sleep eluded him. His mind was far too consumed with the fear of losing her . . . afraid that he was too late. He could not believe that she was no longer alive, and that desperate hope was what fueled his determined actions to find her. That, and of course the fact that his father constantly sent him and a handful of men to search for her. The king was just as restless and disturbed with her kidnapping as Arthur was, and of course, as everyone else was . . . especially the others she was close to such as Guinevère. Unfortunately, this was not the only event that called for their resources. They were at war with Cenred; something inevitable and most had expected it sooner or later. But the timing could not be more horrible. While there was never a good time for war, this was certainly not a prime one for Camelot was in a weakened state with their king unable to come to terms with his adoptive daughter’s kidnapping, and with their use of resources and men being used at his disposal to find her. Arthur was not sure what to do. On the one hand, he longed to bring her home safely, but on the other . . . how many men could they risk?

It was why he was out here now as he was. He was alone, traveling in solitude with the absence of any of his fellow knights. He had rode out earlier today . . . or was it yesterday? The young prince had lost track of all time as each day became a blur. All he could recognize was that when the sun rose, a new day begun. But that would not be for several hours now for he knew it was the middle of the night. He was clad in his regular attire, a blue shirt covered with a sleeveless brown leather vest, darkly colored pants, and boots. His hands were gloved and he wore a sword by his side in its sheath attached with a belt, along with a dagger in his boot for an emergency. He was lacking any sort of armor, nothing that disclosed his true identity as a Prince or even a knight of Camelot. For those who lurked in the Forest of Balor could most certainly use that to their advantage. It was best to remain as inconspicuous as possible so that others would not be tempted to take him and hold him for ransom, or take out any frustrations they have against those of a higher class. It was a precaution Arthur took that could either work in his favor, or against him.

He stifled another yawn, feeling the impact of all that sleep deprivation. He knew his faithful companion felt it too which was why he had brought his horse to move at a steady walking pace. He had promised the steed earlier that as soon as they got to the river that dwelt somewhere nearby, that they would take a rest. He meant to stay true to his word, and he knew his animal would also make sure he stayed true to it too. But the prince’s eyes were growing heavy. He felt them literally ache from the lack of sleep in the past several days, and he was losing the strength to fight to keep them open and alert. He did not regret coming alone, but he knew that it was extremely risky doing so. He just wanted to find her. He just wanted to bring all this heartache to an end so that they could rejoice in her return, and so he could have his sister once more. He sorely missed her and that was what motivated each step he took towards the journey to find her. One that proved to be fruitless, yet one that he would not give up on until she was found. He tried to use this as incentive to remain awake but with the cooling breeze and the still night air . . . it was getting more and more impossible to remain awake. His eyes began to go into long drawn out blinks, until they remained closed . . . and there it was: that semblance of hope that perhaps, he could catch a few moments of slumber.

But fate was seldom kind to him.

He blamed his lack of sleep for his weakened senses and reflexes, so was completely caught unaware when his horse suddenly raised its two front hooves high into the air, letting out a loud cry which broke the stillness of the silent air, and immediately jolted Arthur into an awakened state. He had unconsciously loosened hold of his reins while he had been drifting so despite his skill as a horseback rider, was thrown off the animal and landed onto the ground, hitting his head. He groaned at the pain, but this would not be the first time he had hit his head. Nor was the impact great enough to render him unconscious; only slightly disorientated. He heard a louder cry from his horse and half expected it to run to a safe distance, away from whatever had caused him alarm in the first place. But he was still there, and Arthur quickly leapt to his feet, simultaneously and swiftly pulling out his sword from its sheath; holding it out defensively in front of him. He looked straight ahead of them and there stood a creature that he had encountered once before: a cockatrice.

He had defeated it in the past, upon a previous visit to the forest of Balor to retrieve the morteous flower, and here he was, faced with it once more. He glanced at his horse upon which he realized that the animal had been thrown to the ground as well, lying on its side and appearing almost too weak to stand. He noticed the blood pouring from the animal’s leg, an initial attack from the cockatrice and the creature then proceeded to leap towards it. Arthur moved quickly to stand in between his horse and the obscure creature, but not before he managed to take another bite into the animal’s flesh, causing another pained cry from the severely wounded horse. Arthur swung at the cockatrice, forcing it back before any further damage could be done. The screech made by the creature was almost deafening, but Arthur stood his ground, unafraid of this Balorian creature for he knew it was not formidable. He swung once more towards it and the creature retracted . . . only taking a few awkward steps back. Impatience however filled the cockatrice and it only remained back for a few moments. It used the distance to gain momentum(?) and charged right towards the prince. Arthur’s eyes slightly widened but as before, he held his position, his feet firmly rooted in the ground to prevent him from moving.

He held his sword up as the cockatrice leaped into the air and lunged towards Arthur . . . well, onto Arthur. He fell back from the weight of the creature and once again, landed onto his back. This time, he did not hit his head but he felt the heaviness of the cockatrice, practically leaving him winded for a few moments. The creature did not move. It lay on top of Arthur, lifeless, and Arthur knew exactly why. The very tip of his sword could be seen protruding from the back of the creature, as it had landed at the perfect angle against his blade. Arthur let out a small gasp, as if trying to catch his breath against the weight of the cockatrice lying on top of him. He forced himself to sit up a bit, groaning as he pushed the now deceased cockatrice off of him, and pulling out his sword from its stomach in the process. Once it was off, Arthur crawled towards the horse, hearing its pained whimpers. He knelt near it, trying to assess its condition in more detail. He first looked at the wound on its stomach as that was the more pressing and concerning one. A chunk of flesh had been ripped out of him, and Arthur was immediately filled with worry.

He hurriedly removed his vest, pushing it over the area that was heavily bleeding, applying pressure so that it would cease the blood from pouring out, but he knew this was insufficient for it would only be a matter of time before it lost too much blood. While holding it against the animal’s belly, Arthur then visually examined his leg. It was also bleeding, but not as much. It would most certainly cause the animal hindrance if it tried to move, which only made this situation more difficult to deal with. He could not move the steed anywhere . . . for it was not as if he could carry the animal over his shoulders. He continued to press his vest against the wound, while gently putting his other free hand on the horse’s head, slowly stroking it to provide what little comfort he could. He was at a complete loss as what to do. For this horse was not only a disposable animal; he had been a loyal companion of the prince, whom he had developed a strong bond with. One that held enough strength that dismissed any possibility and eliminated any thought of leaving him in the middle of the dangerous forest to bleed to death.


_{Setting: The Forest of Balor
Time of Day: In the middle of the night
Timeline: During the one year gap
Tag: Faerydae Moriarty
Notes: Credit for the title actially goes to the lovely Faerydae because I stole the term from her bio!}

[Faerydae Moriarty]

His companion had been too busy with making a fire to take heed to his disappearance now. It was not that Silver liked leaving her alone, but often times, the setting around and making camp became quite boring to him really fast, and he was not like most horses who wished to just stand around and eat. No, the white horse preferred to move around and stretch out his legs as much as possible as ran through the brush for fun, and angling his body around trees. But that was not the only thing that he was there to do, after all, they were back in Balor and not always was that a safe place to be. The woods were always filled with the most dangerous of creatures, thankfully, that often meant that the people of Balor were not deep within the woods unlike him and his companion. But there are still times when humans are foolish enough to venture in this deep, and if they were to spot their former Queen, well, even Silver knew that would not be good.

An ugly scent caught wind of his nostrils now and the white horse quickly slid to a stop now, his ears twitching as he lifted his proud head high and looked around. There was the snapping of twigs, but he was not quite certain as to what was coming. Letting loose a snort, he stomped the ground and flatten his ears against his skull now, waiting for something to charge him as the scent got stronger and whatever it was, was growing closer to the white horse. But, that was not all that was coming. Something else was, and while the scents were all beginning to mix in the air, Silver knew it was a fellow horse with a rider. The white horse moved a little, trotting forward but still using the trees as cover as through the brush, he spotted the slightest of clearings within the woods. His dark eyes rested on the clearing now as another horse came through now with its golden hair rider and then everything happened in a flash.

The stench of the animal hit Silver so hard that a snort escaped him and he backed up, tossing his head in disgust and sending his knotted mane flying everywhere and covering up his dark eyes. A cockatrice was here, such a vile creature. It was not long though before he watched the scene take place and watched as the horse went down due to a wound to the leg as well as what Silver suspected to exhaustion before the beast took another snap at it. It outraged the white horse, and just when he was about to come out of his hiding place as the creature lunged at the horse’s rider now, it was dead. His ears twitched as he craned his neck forward now, still staring at the dead cockatrice on the woodland floor before daring to take a step forward out of the trees and venture over towards the pair. The white horse stopped and took one glance at the dark horse now before letting out a low whicker and toughed his muzzle to the other’s neck, as if reassuring it. Silver turned his head now and stared at the golden hair rider, and for a moment, there was a recognition in his eyes before he quickly left and rushed back into the woods.

During all of this excitement, the young maiden had been sitting on the forest ground, trying to start a fire with stone and flint. Unfortunately, she had not been having much luck at the moment, “I have done this a thousand times, why am I having trouble now?” She mused to herself, although, it could very well be the reason because of where her and her horse currently were residing. Never had this day occur in her mind that Faerydae Moriarty thought that she would be returning to Balor, homeland of her childhood and the end of her life, figuratively of course. Her ice blue eyes stared at the woods for a moment; it was in these woods that she had met the white horse that accompanies her now. Although, even here, the young maiden already heard her screams echoing amongst the trees, and Janus’s exiled words spoken to her: ‘Do yourself a favor and use that dagger to slit your throat before my knights ever find you.’

She scowled at the thought of those words and pushed the flint against the rock a little too hard. Because of the tiny force, the flint skidded right off the top of the rock and hit the top of her exposed palm just under the thumb. The sharp sting caused her to cry out in shock and pain as Faerydae dropped the flint and stone onto the ground now, and they landed with a soft cushioned blow. Her eyes quickly glanced down at the palm of her hand though, and saw crimson liquid start to bubble up a little, and it stood out against her tanned skin. Bringing her hand to his lips, she kissed it a little and sucked away the small droplets of blood, hoping that would make the bleeding stop. It was then when the young woman heard a strangled cry break across the woods, breaking the silence and the imaginary voices that haunted her mind. Ice blue eyes darted around for a moment, and it had been then when she realized that the white horse was not there.

The cry had been that of a horse’s, and worry shot up in her. Although, she was familiar with her companion’s whinny and it had not been him. Although, something must be nearby within the deeps of the woods to startle a horse that badly, “Silver!” She cried out, glancing around the trees. No sooner than she had called his name, a flash of white appeared through the darkness. To her left, Faerydae caught sight of her guardian hopping over a fallen tree and right into their area, whinnying loudly and tossing his head before coming to a halt before her. She glanced up at the great horse now, even with his eyes covered, it was easy to see that he wanted something, “What is it?” She asked now and her horse turned quickly, tossing his head towards the direction in which he came and stomped his hoof against the ground. She stared pass him now and into the woods, that had been where that horse’s whinny had come from.

Quickly, she scrambled to her feet and grabbed up the bundle of wood as well as the snatching up the rock and flint that she had dropped to the ground. With her free hand, she uprooted a bear hide from her things and threw it onto Silver’s back now as he lowered his front to legs in a bow. Even though she was in a skirt, Faerydae had no problem throwing her leg over the side of the white horse and intertwined her free hand into the knotted tendrils of his mane, “Guide me, my friend.” The moment that she was secure, Silver jumped back up to his all four hooves and planted his back feet heavily in the ground before he took off with a large leap in the air and rushed into the woods at a collected gate, making it easier for him to maneuver with his human. Silver almost seemed to float over the ground when he ran, and when he caught sight of the clearing now, Faerydae could feel the white horse underneath her speeding up now as they broke into the clearing. No sooner than did they hit the clearing, she got off him, swinging her leg over while he was still in motion and allowed herself drop to the ground.

Faerydae hit the ground like a cat, breaking the fall with her free hand and allowed her legs to crouch beneath her to break the shock. Ice blue eyes stared across the five feet that separated her from the boy and his horse. Her eyes narrowed for a moment as she stared at the state of the horse, for a moment, an idea crossing her mind that the boy had done it. If it had not been for Silver who let out a whinny and tossing a wild kick at the dead body of the cockatrice would she have never realized what truly happened. Quickly, she got up to her feet and ran over now, dropping the bundle of wood and the flint and rock as she slide next to the blond and the dark horse now as Silver wandered over to them now and stood cautiously by his companion’s side. His hand slid over the horse’s side for a moment, and she could feel that it was drenched in sweat from its ordeals, maybe even prior to the attack. Her hand slid down the horse’s strong back legs, touching where the first bite had been.

As the dark horse lashed out in a slight kick, Silver backed up quickly to avoid contact. A frown rested on her lips for a moment as she stared at the back leg before her eyes wandered towards the boy’s hand now, placing the cloth up against the horse’s side. Gently, she pushed his hand and the cloth away to reveal what was truly causing the animal’s pain. Judging by the look of the cloth, it was clear that the horse was losing blood now. After a moment, Faerydae unsheathed a dagger now and brought it towards the horse’s side, the metal blade lying flat against the horse’s side, comparing it’s width to the dagger. It was short by half an inch. Her ice blue eyes wandered over towards his owner’s sword now for a moment. It looked right. Quickly, she hopped over to the other side of the horse now and allowed her hand to gently slide up from it’s side and eventually his neck as Faerydae wrapped her arms around the horse’s large ahead and brought it up on her legs, and leaned over it now, her white blond hair falling against the horse’s dark fur, “I will not let you die,” she whispered to the animal before glancing up.

She stared across at the boy again now, there was something about him, but she couldn’t place what, that made him seem familiar to her. Although, this was not the time to be thinking about where she had seen boys before, “If you value your horse’s life, you’ll give me your blade,” she spoke now, her eyes resting on him hard. From afar as well, Silver stood still, his ears twitching as his dark eyes rested on the Prince of Camelot, wondering how he would treat the situation.

Setting: One year gap, Season 2
Time of Day: Nightfall
Tags: Arthur Pendragon
Music: Protectors of the Earth - Two Steps from Hell
Notes: Bwahaha, and a lovely title it is It makes me laugh because it's the title of a film too, so I unfortently, cannot take credit for the term. Btw, your post was epic!

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur knew he had not been kneeling near the horse for very long, before it seemed that someone had answered his silent prayers. He heard something step out of the trees, and jolted to the side, keeping a hand on the hilt of his sword just in case there were more predators about. But instead of another person or vicious creature . . . it was a horse. Not just a horse, but a magnificent white one. Arthur looked at it for a moment, its demeanor indicating that it meant no harm. It seemed . . . tame. And yet, there was no rider accompanying it. Arthur's gaze locked on the animal, unable to look away and unable to explain what exactly what was going on. It seemed to reassure his own horse before suddenly running off. Arthur almost wanted to stop it from leaving . . . not that a horse could help him out of this situation, but there was just something about the animal. He watched it run off and kept his eyes rested on the area that the horse had vanished from. He waited, and waited . . . trying to see if there was anyone else that was going to leap from the trees, either friend or foe.

Once again, he was not sure how much time had passed before he tore his gaze away from the still trees and turned his attention back to his horse. He gently stroked its mane, at a loss of what to do to help him. "Hang in there," he told him, looking back at the wound, keeping one hand pressed there but knowing . . . it would only be a matter of time before the stead was drained from all life. Suddenly, the ground gave a slight tremble, and this time, he'd been paying closer attention. He heard the approaching hoofprints, keeping his body in place and only turning his head in the direction that he heard an approaching rider. Once again, he was fully on guard. If they were bandits of some sort . . . Arthur knew he'd be at a strong disadvantage without his horse, and with his severely wounded companion distracting him from the fight. But when the rider revealed themselves . . . well, it was the furthest thing from a bandit. Nothing even remotely close to such a thing.

Arthur instantly recognized the horse, but this time, there was a woman riding on it. It was strange. He knew neither of them -- apart from the brief moment the horse had come to him -- and yet . . . the two seemed to be such a match. The same presence the horse had, the woman shared as well . . . alluring almost. Arthur was not sure how to describe it, but he watched her swiftly dismount from her horse and gracefully approach him. Yet, her attention seemed to be focused entirely on his wounded friend, with barley giving him a second glance. There was an undeniable sincerity in his motives and genuine concern. There was just . . . something about her. She came closer to properly inspect the horse, wordlessly pushing his hand out of the way so that she could look at was he was covering. He did not object through words nor actions. He just watched her, trying to figure out what it was about her that made her so different from every other traveler or nomad he had come across. He only pulled himself out of this somewhat odd trance when she pulled out a dagger, revealing its blade. He knew he should be alarmed. He knew he should not be so closer to someone who was so armed, and not be so relaxed when she held a dagger so close to his companion.

She was still a stranger to him . . . but every instinct within him, was telling him she was not going to harm him. That she was here to help him, or more specifically, his horse. But why would she do this? How would she do this? Either way, she did seem to know what she was doing. He just continued to silently watch as she stroked the horse, giving it instant comfort. Furthermore, she whispered a soft promise to it . . . again that same indisputable genuineness in her voice. In her entire demeanor. It was what made him less wary of the blade . . . until she asked him for his sword. That was when Arthur became less curiously entranced by her and more . . . on guard. He did not like to give his sword to anyone. It was his protection; it was what made him feel comfortable in the presence of a man -- or woman -- that he did not know. His blade was his security, especially traveling alone. But he went back to trusting his instincts . . . and the way she had come to him without a moment's hesitation to see to his horse, made him trust that her motives were innocent; that she was truly only trying to help his stead. This would either be the smartest or most foolish thing he ever did.

But slowly, he began to pull out the sword from its sheath, hesitantly passing it to her, with the hilt of it towards her so that she would not cut herself while taking it from the blade's side. Foolish . . . or stupid indeed. She could easily run him through with his weaponless state -- apart from the dagger tucked in his boot -- so he only hoped that this time, his instincts were not wrong. That they would result in making a wise decision for it meant that his horse's life had been saved. That he would not lose such a dear and loyal friend. "Can you help him?" He asked in a low voice, finally breaking the silence her presence had put him in. He wanted to know if she was able to do something . . . and could only pray that she did not ask for his blade to make his horse's passing more swift, and make him suffer as little as possible by killing him quickly. If that were the case, then Arthur certainly could not sit here and just watch. Her words contradicted this thought -- or fear -- but still; the young prince could not control the various possibilities rushing through his mind about the sudden presence of this mysterious woman.

[[ Awwww Thank you!!! But your post was even MORE epic!! One post in and I'm already loving Faerydae!! ]]

[Faerydae Moriarty]

Their eyes rested on the blond now, and he looked uncertain about handing over his sword to her. She could not understand why. While it may be true for anybody, a sword would be the comfort that brought them amongst strangers, handing it over to her could not be that terrible, could it? After all, Faerydae honestly thought that she hardly looked like a threat, more like a 15 year old child if anything by her tiny height. Ice blue eyes glanced back over towards the bay horse now and watched it’s sides heave up and down in a slowing motion. The great animal truly had lost a lot of blood due to the cockatrice. If anything, it was probably in exhaustion from both the fight of trying to defend his rider as it came from him as well as the ride they were on. After a moment, her gaze lifted towards Silver who stood still, staring at the boy with great interest now. Although, she could not understand why entirely, at least not at first for men had never settled well with the white stallion so the whole thing was turning into quite a mystery and it grew even bigger once she heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

Ice blue eyes moved towards the sword now as it had been presented to her. Even though it was rather simple looking, she could tell that it had been finely made and the craftsmanship that went into it. The hilt was unlike something she had seen for quite some time, and of course, swords were only as good as the lands that they came from, “You’re from Camelot,” she mused slightly in a whisper now as her hand extended and grasped hold of the blade from the hilt and carefully pulled it away from its owner now. Holding it in front of her, her eyes glanced up the metal as the moonlight reflected off it. Why would somebody with a blade like this be so far out here? After all, these were the woods of Balor, even the bravest of men have been said to turn their backs away at going too far deep into the wood were in the shadows, dangerous creatures lie that simply were not stories. She knew this, the cockatrice proved to be an example, but there were far worse things deep in the woods and she knew well, for she used to call this kingdom her home and ruled over it with her king.

“Can you help him?” a voice asked now and her gaze turned from the sword that she held towards its owner now. It was funny how such simple words could tell so much about a person, at least what they thought about their horse. Faerydae’s gaze rested on the bay horse now who lay before them, a great war horse no doubt that must have seen plenty of battles with this boy, “I plan to,” she replied now as her hand reached up to the white horse and slid the bear hide off of his back now and let it hit the floor, “Silver, get water and rope from camp.” The white horse still looked at the boy with some curiosity before he backed up now and turned to run back into the woods. The young woman watched the horse go for a moment before she lay the sword down on the ground and pushed herself up to her feet and picked up the bear hide. Moving around the blond, she slid the bear hide over the horse’s face now to block his eyes from what would happen and force him to trust them with what they were going to do. Next she walked over to the bundle of wood that she dropped and knelt down beside it.

Quickly, she unraveled the thin string from the bundle and pushed it all into a pile before pulling out the flint and the rock. One of each sat in her hand for a moment before she brought them close to the wood and rthymically hit them together before sparks started to light up. Unlike earlier, the flame came quick and slowly but surely, the branches started to catch fire and light up their small area. Ice blue eyes gazed at the dancing flames now as they grew higher. A few feet behind them, the sound of hoof beats grew and like a ghost, Silver appeared out of nowhere with things handing from his mouth. They were dropped by the horse now and after taking one last look of the fire, she was back by the horse and his boy and began to get to work. First thing first though, the saddle had to go and quickly, she undid the girth before hoping over the horse and pulled at the saddle. When it would not budge under the horses weight, she pulled harder until it finally freed and did not dare about how much time that had wasted. Tucking it over her arms, she walked over towards the white horse now with it.

Amber eyes watched her for a moment before he realized what she was about to do. A quick snort escaped Silver now as he shook his head, not liking where she was going with this, “It will only be on there for five minutes, if that,” she replied and he still looked at her begrudgily but allowed her to throw the saddle on top of him. The white stallion heaved a sigh, as if his life was about to end when she tighten the girth and she simply rolled her eyes at his action. Next came the rope. Pulling out her dagger once again, she cut a foot off of it and let it hit the ground before taking the rest of it towards the horse’s front legs. Quickly, she tied the one end around the horse’s front legs and secured them. This was mostly because horses tend to kick out and were capable of breaking their legs in the process now. Even with the legs tied up though, there was still rope left as she pulled on it, stretching out the bay horse’s legs and tied the rest to the horn of the saddle. Quickly, her hands pushed against Silver’s chest now and he backed up so the rope stretched and tighten and held the horse’s legs still.

During this time, the fire was growing bigger and hotter now and she quickly took the piece of rope that she had cut off and tied it around the horse’s back legs now. While they did not secure him from kicking out, it did make sure that both of his legs were attached to not do as much damage. By now, the fire was calling to her and she reached for the blade now and pushed the little leather sac of water with her foot towards the horse’s belly for he will be needing it soon. Holding the blade out towards the fire now, ice blue eyes watched as the flame began to lick the steel hungrily now and she watched as started to pale yellow with the heat, “I’m going to cauterize his wound and he will not enjoy it. Your friend will need your help to get him through this,” Faerydae said now, and gestured for the boy to move his steed’s neck and head now which was still under the bear skin, “Go to him.” The sword felt a little hot at the hilt now, but that hardly bothered as she brought it before her now as her eyes glanced over the hot blade before kneeling down besides the horse, her one hand running over its side before she brought the hot blade to its wound.

A squeal arose from the horse and she knew that it wanted to lash out but it could not with being bonded up and having to deal with Silver’s weight holding back his front legs. Although, after a few seconds past, she removed the blade and tossed it aside as she opened up her little water pouch and poured it onto the steaming wound. Her eyes glanced down now, and but alas, the wound had closed up, “You’ll live now,” she said thoughtfully and she rubbed the horse’s side before glancing towards the boy now. Questions and thoughts plagued her at the moment, but she for now, she needed to free the horse. Quickly, she took out her dagger now and freed the horse from its bindings before freeing Silver of that saddle. The moment that the riding equipment was off of him, the white stallion shook himself and leapt away from her and threw out a large buck, as if stating his freedom. Faerydae did nothing but roll her eyes as she glanced back towards the blond now, “You two will have to rest for a few days,” the young maiden said before adding on, “Who are you?” it was annoying to her how he looked so familiar to her and yet, she could not place it.

Notes: Awhhh. Well, I'm glad you like her and I'm still pretty certain that you had the epic post ;D And I'm sorry for having to control Arthur's horse for a little bit, but I really was not sure on how else to complete this post XD I can rewrite it though if you wish.

[Arthur Pendragon]

"You’re from Camelot." Arthur was a bit surprised by that. He had not expected her to be able to recognize Camelot handcrafted weapons. Did she come across many? Was she from Camelot herself? So many questions, and yet at the present moment they seemed insignificant. He could not engage in an entire other conversation, fully focused, when his horse's life was at stake. That was far more pressing, far more important right now. But he felt he needed to say something, even if she did not feel it merited a response, he spoke the words regardless. "You know your weapons," he said with a soft smile, of course meaning the craft of it. He meant it as more of a compliment, a curious one rather than an obscure fact that she knew precisely where this sword was from. Her confirmation however that she was planning to help his stead, brought him immense comfort, making him wonder once again the extent of her expertise was in such a field. He just gave a short nod, planning to express his gratitude at a later time . . . whether she could actually help him or not, he was at least grateful for her effort.

She then spoke to her own horse, commanding it to get water and rope from camp. So they had a camp nearby? Wait, the horse was actually going to understand such things? Of course Arthur did not think that horses were stupid by any means . . . but he was rather impressed that the horse was tame enough to be able to fulfill such orders from its master, or more so friend. the magnificence of the horse, who's name was now revealed as Silver, increased upon this realization. Still, Arthur remained silent. He just continued to watch, staying close to his companion as he witnessed her putting together what she needed to tend to the injured animal. Her words seemed more meant for Silver than they did for Arthur, when she assured that it would only be for five minutes. But again, Arthur just gave a silent nod. He did not cringe until he saw what was going to happen to the horse. Offering full compliance to do whatever he could to aid this situation, he listened . . . holding down the horse at an angle and gently stroking its neck to provide comfort . . . though even Arthur knew it would take more than a few strokes and a few words to relax the horse. Especially after what it was about to undergo.

"It's alright," he said in a low register, knowing it was only the familiarity of his voice that would grant him some solace. But the squeal it emitted made Arthur slightly cringe even more, hating to see his companion in such pain. He continued to speak low words to him, saying it would be fine, to hang in there, and that he would give him a barrel full of carrots -- his friend's favorite treat -- once they were back home. When it seemed to be over, and she confirmed that he would survive, Arthur raised his gaze to rest on her face. "Thank you," he said in a strongly sincere voice, knowing that he could not express in mere words how much he appreciated her help. "I do not know how to repay you," he continued. He always felt it odd, to repay with coin when someone saved the life of someone. It was as if he was putting a price on the life of another . . . yet, he had no other reward he could give right now. "I have very little coin," he added, thinking of how much he held in the small pouch in his pocket.

"You two will have to rest for a few days." These words alarmed him, though he did his best to maintain the surprise . . . and concern that filled him when he heard this. There were many problems with the two of them resting for the next few days. The first, was that he was the prince of Camelot and he could not just disappear for a couple of days -- as he knew his time of leave from the city was already far too long. He meant to be home sooner, despite his fruitless efforts in his search for Morgana. The second problem was that he had no place to remain for these couple of days. He doubted there would conveniently be an inn nearby and even then, how would he move his horse? He couldn't leave him here in the middle of the forest. He would not leave him before when he was bleeding out, and Arthur sure as hell was not going to leave him now. So how did he do this; remain somewhere, somehow for the next few days? It seemed impossible! "He can not travel at all?" Arthur asked, as she seemed to be the expert. Arthur would not ride him, for he did not want to add the extra weight to him . . . but he could not even walk him? This wasn't good at all.

When she asked who he was, her voice seeming fairly curious, Arthur felt it only proper to answer. While he would not ordinarily offer his name, she had helped him greatly . . . and he owed much to her. "Arthur," he answered, leaving out any titles and his surname as well. There was no need for formality right now. She had helped him and he was not about to invoke his title or position on to anyone. She may recognize the name, or she may not. All he knew was that right now, there were far more important things than telling him he was the prince and sole heir of the great kingdom of Camelot. No. This was a time to be humbled and just focus on the matter at hand. Right now, he was not higher than her in anyway, and he did not want it to seem as such. The lines between ranks were becoming blurred to him. After having a brother like friend for a servant, and falling in love with a handmaiden . . . status was certainly no determining factor for Arthur when it came to who he developed strong ties and relationships with. "And may I ask for your name?" The name of the woman who saved his friend.

[[ I do!! She's AMAZING!! and I'm so sorry this reply took so freaking long!! I'm sure my posts will come a bit faster now! YOU ROCK for your patience!! Oh and god mod all you want ! hahah I don't mind, especially since you saved his life!! ]]

[Faerydae Moriarty]

He seemed a bit surprised that surprised that she knew where the blade had come from, and the young woman was quite certain that she had seen many questions flash across his eyes, although, those were the least of their concerns at the moment, but his horse. She was quite certain that he knew that too, for he did not speak a single word, not at first at least, “You know your weapons,” he commented with a soft smile. Ice blue eyes glanced over at him for a moment before replying, “I know Albion.” Her attention was quick to turn back to the bay horse before her though, lying in pain. Thankfully, the cockatrice bite was not entirely life fatal, well, not if it was taken care of quick enough. Faerydae ran her hand over the horse’s strong neck now, it was always a shame to see such a powerful animal fallen like this, and she was beginning to think that she might not have enough time. Upon that realization, she told Silver what she needed and the white stallion was off into the woods. Ice blue eyes watched the white horse disappear into the darkness.

It was not long before Silver returned, brining the things that she needed and she quickly set everything up now, even so much as to put the horse’s saddle upon her own’s back, which he was none too pleased about at all. Either way though, Faerydae came to the conclusion that he would live, regardless of what the white stallion currently thought. When she picked up the blonde’s sword now, the blade glowed bright red from the flame that she had set it in and her eyes quickly glanced over towards the other now, as he leaned over his horse now, reassuring it that everything was going to be fine. When the bay had let out it’s squeal, it almost seemed to shake the silence of the forest now and out of the corner of her eye, she witnessed the young male cringe. It was something she could not blame him for doing, she might have done it too if it was not a sound the young woman was used to by now. But everything was done, and she put the sword down and away from the horse and ran the water over the burn wound, cooling it and quickly drowning out the shock of the pain. Feeling a gaze upon her, she glanced up meet his own blue eyes now, “Thank you.”

He sounded quite sincerely, and it was nice to hear that within his voice. There were not a lot of people who seem to care as much for their horses as he did. If he had been like anybody else, this horse would probably not be alive right now, “I do not know how to repay you,” he continued on and Faerydae found herself staring at him blankly. Repay? Certainly not, she not been looking around for work, this was something she did on her own accord, besides, no horse’s life is worth money, not to her at least, “I have very little coin,” he finally finished, and she found a place to interject now before the blond could bring out whatever money he had, “I do not need it. I survive off of trading; money has very little use to me. Besides,” she said now, her gaze dropping to the horse’s front legs as she freed them of the rope now, “I did this because I wanted to, not because I thought you would pay me.” She might have gone on if it were not for Silver who let out a whinny, clearly demanding to have the saddle taken off of him. Rolling her eyes, she stood up and undid the girth and pulled the saddle off her white stallion. No sooner than it did, he leaped away from her and threw out a buck; clearly displeased with the ‘torture’ he had gone through.

Faerydae was quite unphased by Silver’s actions; she knew that she wasn’t going to put another saddle on him unless something like this happened again. Placing the saddle down on the ground now and informed the young man that both he and his horse would have to rest, clearly, it had not been something that he had expected. Alarm flashed through his eyes for a moment before thoughts about the whole situation, and he looked quite busy with his thoughts. The young woman just simply stared at him, waiting for a protest to happen now, “He can not travel at all?” Ice blue eyes stared at him for a moment before finally replying, “I’m not sure what you are searching for in these woods, but if you can continued one more day like you had been, both you and your horse would be dead,” she stated now, “So, he cannot travel far distances tonight, and I do not believe you can either. Tomorrow, I can get you two to Balor’s capital. I’m sure Balor’s king…Janus…will be more than willing to send word to your kingdom, where ever that may be.” Balor…how it’s be forever since she’s set foot near the capital, her old home and old life, but she would rather risk being notice and get them there rather than having them roam aimlessly about.

This might be even easier though if she knew who he was. Still, there was something about him that she felt certain that she had known at him, if not personally, through words from Janus on his visits to the different kingdoms of Albion. Faerydae was truly quite curious, whether he would tell her or not was an entirely different matter, “Arthur,” he stated simply enough. It became clear that she might not get more than that, but it did not take much to figure out who he was. The finely crafted sword from Camelot, his name, his blond hair and blue eyes, only meant one thing: Prince Arthur Pendragon. Her gaze flickered towards Silver now who glanced towards the Prince now, ears twitching with mild interesting, he had already known, “You are a far ways from home,” she commented lightly enough. Silence passed through now, and she threw dirt onto the fire now, killing the flame. She thought Arthur might not speak again, but he soon proved her wrong, “And may I ask for your name?” Faerydae stopped dead in her motions and remained still, her gaze remaining down fallen now.

The young woman did not know the extent of the Prince’s knowledge of Balor’s kingdom and their monarchy, but if he knew nothing of her prior, then she certainly was not going to give him knowledge of it either, at least not her real name. There was no need for him to know that she was Faerydae Moritary, exiled queen of Balor. Regret could not express enough how much she felt shamed by her actions and how she was not dead yet. Her gaze flickered towards the white horse now, who glanced over at her now, waiting to see what she would do. It felt as if all eyes were on her, waiting for an answer and she did nothing more than hand the young man back his sword now and go to his horse, pushing and pulling until the large animal was put on its feet now and stood there weakly, “You may call me Dae,” the young woman finally said, not looking at him once, her eyes on the ground. She did not like the conversation to be on her, and she felt those reclusive walls start to build up now that there was nothing to distract them from each other. After a moment, her gaze glanced over towards the prince, “But tell me, why is a prince out in one of the most dangerous parts of Albion?”

Notes: Awh, yay! And don't worry, like I stared before, patience is a virtue for me as I have learned from the Mummy. Besides, you were out having a life XD that is nothing to apologize for. Bwhahaha, I did. Okay, well, I don't think I will be needing the god morn your hose any more, Prince Arthur can size control again.