The Stable Master

"Come on Princess!" I shouted outside Zierra's room and gave her door a few taps. "Irit is going to take us at least two days to get to on horseback!"

Her door swung open and she shouldered her travel pack as she glared at me, obviously not amused with the nickname I had chosen for her. "Horseback? Since when do you have horses?"

"Technically I don't, but the stable master does. We saved his horses from a barn fire a couple of years ago and now he loans us horses when we need them."

"Of course he does," she sighed and followed me to the bar where Kari had placed two sacks of food for our trip.

"You two be safe out there. That thing in Irit could be any number of things," she shot me a glance and leaned across the counter to poke me in the chest a few times, "so no showing off. Got it?"

I swatted her hand away and grumbled. "Yes mother."

I led Zierra out of the Den as Kari continued to yell at us to be careful and made our way to the stable master on the edge of town. He was a middle aged man with a friendly face and just as friendly of a demeanor. He was cleaning out a few stalls when he saw us approach and quickly stopped his work to greet us.

"Sapphyre Rose!" He beamed at me and pulled me in for a quick hug with a few hard back pats. "What brings you here today? You haven't needed a horse from me in some time."

Zierra raised an brow inquisitively. "Do you not usually ride to your destinations?"

I shrugged. "Most of my recent jobs have been either solo or in town. I usually walk on solo jobs and I don't exactly need a horse to get around town," I turned my attention back to the stable master. "We need two horses, Seamus."

"Well lucky for you your favorite is still here!" He disappeared behind a stable door and brought out a large solid black horse. "She hasn't been ridden much lately so she's been getting a little antsy."

"Does no one wish to ride her?" Zierra asked and stuck her hand out to the mare, who sniffed her palm a few times before nuzzling into it.

I stood next to Zierra and scratched the mares forehead. "Most people are intimidated by Iris's size or think she is a slow horse. In reality she's a gentle giant and she may not be as fast as some of the horses here but she can move at a pretty quick pace for longer," Iris nudged me with her head and gave me a few soft nickers. "Yeah I know. I'll have to come see you more often."

"She really likes you," Zierra looked between me and Iris fondly.

"Of course she does!" Seamus chuckled. "Sapphyre here saved all my beauties from a fire years ago. They all love her but her bond with Iris is a special one. They've known each other since Iris here was born. Oh!" He suddenly hopped a little as he realized something. "You needed two horses!" He glanced Zierra over, not in suspicion, but because he was trying to figure out the best horse for her. "I've got it!"

Zierra watched him dart a ways down the barn and return with a horse a little smaller than Iris and completely white. She stared at it in awe before speaking something in elvish. The horse's ears perked up and it trotted to her where it nudged her with it's nose.

"I will admit I am a little confused on what just happened," I said and looked between Zierra and Seamus for an answer.

"This is a breed native to my people," Zierra stroked the horse's neck. She looks almost like she might cry. "I haven't seen one since I left."

Seamus nodded, his usual smile faltering for a moment. "This poor guy was captured by some traders looking to make some good crowns off of him. Lucky for me, thieves rarely report goods they've stolen when someone else takes them. I know they do better in the wild but I can't bring myself to release him out of fear he'd just be captured again. He's never been ridden by anyone who wasn't me but he'd probably appreciate being taken out on a trip by someone who understands him though."

She nodded eagerly and whispered something to the stallion in her native language again. He knelt down on his front legs like he was bowing to her and she gracefully slid onto his back. "Does he have a name?"

Seamus shook his head. "My understanding is that it's awfully rude for someone who isn't an elf to name these guys. Why don't you name him?"

She thought about it for only a moment. "Bylur."

"Snowstorm?" I asked and she whipped her head around to face me. I shrugged. "I'm not fluent in your language by any means but I've picked up a few words here and there."

"Sounds perfect to me!" Seamus's usual demeanor was back and he clasped his hands together. "Judging by how comfortable your friend here looks I'm going to go ahead and say you only need one set of tack for your travels?"

I nodded. "I am nowhere near as talented at bareback riding as the elves are," as he disappeared again I turned my attention back to Zierra. "I bet you could ride before you could run."

She smirked at me. "It's a silly rumor that all wood elves are taught to ride so young."

"Not all elves perhaps but you were?"

"Part of my 'princess training' you could say."

"See you shouldn't have told me that because now I'm going to tease you about it."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "You would tease me regardless," she draped herself over Bylur's back like she was hugging him and sighed. "Seamus is right though."

"About?"

"Elven horses are wild. We don't tame them like you do. We don't force them into our service or confine them to small pastures and barns, they're free to roam the woods and fields of our land. We befriend them, we provide their herds with protection from the predators around the forests and, in turn, they help us when needed. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the friendship you forge with one is special and it will stay with you for it's lifetime. I had that with one many years ago. He was stubborn and refused to make friends with anyone but I was just as stubborn. I sat in a field with his herd for two weeks before he would even let me touch him. I came home covered in grass and mud and smelled like a horse, my mother was so mad but I didn't care. I had returned with a friend," she looked up and saw me staring at her, causing her to sit up again and the tips of her ears turned red. "I'm rambling! I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I assured her. "I think it's a beautiful story. What happened to him?"

"He died," she played with Bylur's mane as she spoke. "It's cruel that my kind live so long and yet our companions lives are so short."

It suddenly dawned on me that I didn't know Zierra's actual age. "You don't look like the oldest elf I've seen," I said, hoping my round about way of getting her to speak her age didn't seem rude.

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "That's because I'm not. My kind doesn't age like yours do, we stop physically aging in our thirties, but we aren't considered 'mature' until after our hundredth year. Despite my mother treating me otherwise, I matured a little over a century ago."

-That would put her a little over two hundred years old.- I mused. -She isn't much younger than me.-

Before I could say anything else, Seamus returned with Iris's tack. "Sorry it took so long! It'd been so long since anyone took her out that her tack got a little dusty so I spiffed it up for you."

"You really didn't have to do that you know it's just going to get dirty on the trip," I groaned as I began getting the mare ready for the road.

"Nonsense! All my customers get the best service and my favorite customer gets even better service," he beamed at me before turning to Zierra. "Look after her will ya," he nodded his head in my direction. "She's stubborn as a mule and twice as likely to get into trouble."

"I can hear you!"

He barked a laugh. "Good! Now get of here! Don't you have a job to do?"

"Alright, alright! We're leaving!" I chuckled as I mounted up and led Zierra out of town and on the road to Irit, feeling at ease for the first time in weeks.