The World of Rhune

Trei’s jaw almost dropped. He couldn’t believe that someone of royal blood didn’t know how to ride. He glanced at the Princess’s brother to see if he was having the same difficulties, in case it was a culture thing he wasn’t aware of, but the Prince had already mounted his own imperial horse as well as his own guards. The Princess’s guards remained stationed around her as she stood there, looking a little less sure of herself. “Wait, you’re serious?” Trei asked, in so much shock he forgot to use his “royal” dialect.

“Um, yes,” Hannah said, an underlying tone of annoyance in her voice, “Why would I lie about something like that?” Trei shook his head slightly and responded, “Yeah, I guess. Sorry, stupid question. It’s just,” Trei paused as if his next words were not very believable to even himself, “I mean, you guys ride giant cats, right? And you seriously can’t ride a horse.” Trei realized how offensive this could be once the Princess’s jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed slightly. Her voice was cold and had an edge to it, though she spoke calmly and diplomatically, “Where I come from, the idea of riding a giant cat, as you called it, which, by the way, is much like calling a Cavalli Volanti a mere working beast of burden, but the idea of riding a Kucing Hutan,” Hannah couldn’t have put more emphasis on the words, “is, while a great achievement, still a common one. You will rarely find a horse of any sort in Cancri for riding. There they are only used for work.”

Trei hadn’t meant for it to be offensive he had just been stunned. However, this show of anger towards him already was a big surprise where he wasn’t quite sure what to do. He decided to answer as kindly as possible, “My apologies, I by no means meant to offend you or your country. You must understand that the idea of your mounts is hard to grasp without having seen one. I am sorry for the misunderstanding. I can get a carriage here right away.” The Princess seemed to lose some of her tension and shook her head, “No need, I am sure I will be able to handle it for a day.” Trei nodded, not saying anything as he watched.

He watched as the Princess gave an air of confidence but he could tell she wasn’t very sure about the imperial horse she strode towards. Her hand hesitated for the slightest of seconds before she patted its neck. When the horse didn’t turn to bite her she seemed to relax just the tiniest of bits. She took a deep breath, placed her right foot into the stirrup, and, bouncing on the balls of her feet, she swung her left leg up, so that she was sitting side saddle, as Trei was sure she had been taught as a lady. She didn’t fall off or anything but something seemed off to Trei. Maybe it was the way the horses nostrils flared slightly and its eyes were focused as far back as possible. Unable to detect a good enough reason to say anything, Trei waited till she was situated and her guards were mounted before he gave a click of the tongue for Krenari to start walking. He decided it was better to start slow.

The Prince and his guards gave their own clicks and followed but the Princess still looked hesitant. She gave a click of her tongue but the horse didn’t budge. Trei stopped Krenari and turned him slightly so he could see the Princess. It didn’t make sense for an imperial horse to not respond to its commands. After the Princess gave a few more clicks Trei gave his own in an attempt to get the horse moving, knowing Krenari would understand what he was doing. The horse wouldn’t budge; it just stood there with its legs spread slightly.

Trei was confused but gave an inward sigh, “Just go on and nudge him with you heels.” Hannah glanced up from the horse to Trei, “Are you sure?” Trei could tell she didn’t think it would go over well but he gave an encouraging nod. The Princess took a breath and Trei could see her knuckles whiten as she tightened her grip on the reins. She gave a tiny nudge but the horse did nothing, she tried again slightly harder. Trei could see the color in her cheeks, she was embarrassed it seemed. She dug her heels into the horse’s sides a final time and the horse seemed to have gone off the edge. It reared, its hooves lifted high in the air. Hannah scrambled to hold on to the reins, but she never really had a chance of getting control.

The horse bolted, Hannah clinging to its neck, her head pressed as far down as possible. “Ah, shit,” Trei said quietly to himself. He turned a worried glance towards Princess Hannah’s brother, and was astonished to see him clutching his side as he was racked with laughter. The Princess’s guards had already spurred their horses after hers, but the Prince’s guards even seemed to have smiles pulling at their mouths.

Trei clicked at Krenari and steered him towards the Prince. “Aren’t you worried she will get hurt?” He questioned him. The Prince looked at him, his blonde hair shaking a little while he laughed. He turned his eyes to Trei. Trei was a little taken aback by them. He knew that the people of Cancri had eyes that had a certain brightness to them since they could see in the dark, something Trei had a hard time wrapping his head around. Seeing them up close, however, was different than hearing about them. They really were a very bright blue that almost seemed to glow. Trei had always thought his family’s eyes were very pretty, but compared to Amir’s eyes, he felt like they were boring. Looking around at the faces of the guards Trei noticed all of their eyes shone with that same brightness. It was a little intimidating Trei thought. He imagined they must be creepy to see in the night. He vaguely wondered about Princess Hannah’s eyes, he hadn’t really given her a good look yet and now he couldn’t really.

“She’s tougher than you think. I would even bet,” Amir replied, “that she would be a little offended by that comment.” “Well we should at least go get her,” Trei persisted. “Yes, I guess so,” Amir said with a chuckle. Trei thought he heard Amir say something to himself but didn’t quite catch it. Trei brought Krenari to a trot and the group started in the direction the horse had gone. Trei glanced back to see Amir leaning from his saddle to say something to one of the guards and they both cracked grins. It seemed to Trei that this pair of young royals was very informal about everything they did. They didn’t seem to have any real thought about position in protocol. He shrugged inwardly and they continued down the cobbled streets lined with commoners. He could only imagine the jokes that would be going around about the Princess now.