Post by neav on Jul 28, 2010 0:56:19 GMT -5
Neav had been checking the feet of a young mare when he heard the three horses dash from the stables. He gently set down the hoof and with a soft, hurried apology to the mare, he scrambled over the door of her stall and dashed outside, to late to see where the runaways had gone or which horses they had been.
A sense of joy and unexpected freedom swirled through the air and Neav could not help smiling. They would lead the chasers some dance! He turned to go back inside. If his help was wanted, someone would ask for it. Neav could not have said why he was not worried. Could not have said how he knew that the horses wore no tack and so were not in danger of hurting themselves, could not have said why he felt so happy at their escape.
"Nobel, Comet and Rising Sun..." Neav whispered the three names fondly. He froze. The Prince's three stallions! Not thinking how he had known which three had run, the boy raced inside to check. Sure enough, that stable was empty save for the Prince's manservant - Neav forgot his name - who appeared to be asleep in the hay. Sparing no more than half a thought on the sleeping manservant, Neav raced back to the stable's entrance, unsure what to do. There would be trouble, he knew.
"But nothing to do with me, really," he reminded himself. The horses were in no danger. He would not get himself mixed up with trouble if he could help it. And Royal people were always trouble.
And so he went back to the mare he had abandoned - a pretty grey they called Sheer Folly - and checked again the hoof it had left.
Neav had finished and was fondly playing with the horse's mane when a voice spoke behind him.
"You there. Are you Neav?"
Neav jumped violently and Sheer Folly skittered a half-second after, almost as if she had caught his fright. The two horses in the stalls either side did the same as Neav spun to find who had spoken. To his utter dismay, the man was no less than Prince Arthur. Neav stared, wide-eyed, placing a hand absently on Folly's neck to calm her. He had guessed that there would be trouble for the escape of the stallions, but it was not his fault! Neav was not even aware that the Prince knew of his existence. Eventually, he collected himself enough to answer,
"Yes, sir," forgetting in the worry of the moment what a boy was supposed to call a prince.
A sense of joy and unexpected freedom swirled through the air and Neav could not help smiling. They would lead the chasers some dance! He turned to go back inside. If his help was wanted, someone would ask for it. Neav could not have said why he was not worried. Could not have said how he knew that the horses wore no tack and so were not in danger of hurting themselves, could not have said why he felt so happy at their escape.
"Nobel, Comet and Rising Sun..." Neav whispered the three names fondly. He froze. The Prince's three stallions! Not thinking how he had known which three had run, the boy raced inside to check. Sure enough, that stable was empty save for the Prince's manservant - Neav forgot his name - who appeared to be asleep in the hay. Sparing no more than half a thought on the sleeping manservant, Neav raced back to the stable's entrance, unsure what to do. There would be trouble, he knew.
"But nothing to do with me, really," he reminded himself. The horses were in no danger. He would not get himself mixed up with trouble if he could help it. And Royal people were always trouble.
And so he went back to the mare he had abandoned - a pretty grey they called Sheer Folly - and checked again the hoof it had left.
Neav had finished and was fondly playing with the horse's mane when a voice spoke behind him.
"You there. Are you Neav?"
Neav jumped violently and Sheer Folly skittered a half-second after, almost as if she had caught his fright. The two horses in the stalls either side did the same as Neav spun to find who had spoken. To his utter dismay, the man was no less than Prince Arthur. Neav stared, wide-eyed, placing a hand absently on Folly's neck to calm her. He had guessed that there would be trouble for the escape of the stallions, but it was not his fault! Neav was not even aware that the Prince knew of his existence. Eventually, he collected himself enough to answer,
"Yes, sir," forgetting in the worry of the moment what a boy was supposed to call a prince.