Off To The Races

Justin reached in as Ava did and pulled out an arrow. He did not get a chance to even open his eyes and glance at the tip before there was an audible gasp in the room and he felt a slight poke in his side from Sky. He looked at the tip of it and saw that it was, in fact, blue and different from the four that had been picked before him. He looked to the guard to see what he had to do now.

The tension in the room was almost palpable as Justin held the blue-tipped arrow in his hand. Sky could see all of the different men looking at him in raw jealousy. Some even looked stark raving mad, about to jump him. Sky wondered if they even knew that he got the first date with the queen, but suspected one of the men surely would have said something by now if he knew. No one knows about the queen's first date, she concluded and a small, smug smile formed on her sweet features as she inwardly jumped for joy for Justin.

~~~

Ava smiled, happy that Justin got the date. She put her own, regular arrow into her quiver and waited for Asher to give them the next task. "The next task," Asher said, clearing his throat, "Is to find a horse and mount it! There are no horses in the stables, they have all been released in the fields. You will need to find a horse in the fields, catch it, and mount it before riding it bareback to the stables, where I shall be waiting! Be careful which horse you choose, though, because some are apt to throw you off." Asher inwardly cringed at this particular task that the queen had picked because although he knew that the horses at the stables were well worked with and only the geldings and mares were released, they were still wild animals at heart and one thousand pound animals at that. If one of the horses perceived one of the boys as threatening or dangerous, serious injury could occur to either the horse or the boy. This could potentially be a very dangerous game they were playing.

~~~

Justin copied Ava in that he put the arrow into his bag and put the bag over his shoulder as he saw her doing. When he heard about the next task, his eyes lit up. Horses. He was excellent with horses, having lived on a farm his whole life, his only friends were the animals on the farm. He absolutely adored the two horses his family owned. They were geldings and the sweetest ones at that, one Arabian and one Fjord. He raced off to the outdoors to find a horse.

He knew if it was warm outside, horses were smart enough to find patches of shade or wherever there was any bit of cover; however, since it was not too hot out this time of year, that bit of information would not help him. He also knew that horses could always be found eating either grass or hay, whichever was present. He could potentially look for where he knew grass to be growing, or if he found any hay feeders, there were bound to be horses eating from it, or milling around it; however, he was loathed to try to catch a horse while eating. One should never interrupt an eating animal, and definitely not one that could disfigure one with a swift kick of the leg. Even though it was not too hot out, the sun was definitely up by now and beating down on the horses, so he would more likely than not catch at least one horse drinking from a fresh water source.

With that in mind, Justin started heading towards the small stream he noticed a few days ago when he first got there. He observed three horses grazing beside it. He picked the Friesian one, as that one looked the most relaxed: his ears were up, meaning the horse was alert, but not pinned back which would mean that the horse was angry. The horse also turned its head every so often which meant it was an observant one and by the looks of it, the Friesian was a gelding, which usually meant that he was sweeter and had an easier temperament than the mares and definitely more pleasant than an intact stallion, who were usually wild cards.

Approaching from the side and not from behind so as not to spook the horse, he clucked softly. When the Friesians ears were pointed forward, meaning he was looking at Justin, he walked slower, making his intentions clear. Justin held out his right hand, palm up so that the horse thought that Justin had a treat for him and knew that he was not there to hurt him. Justin made a point to have his body quiet and his movements smooth, taking into account his breathing and making sure it was steady and quiet, his arms held still and walking in a straight line. When Justin finally reached the gelding and he had not run away yet, curiosity had gotten the better of him, Justin slowly put his fist up to the horse's nostrils, his hand was balled into a fist so that the horse did not try chomping down on his fingers. After the horse had his scent, Justin walked slowly around to the horse's left side, patting the horse softly as he walked so that the horse always knew where Justin was in relation to him.

Hoisting himself up, Justin easily mounted the gelding and started riding him bareback, loving the feeling of being back on a horse and riding freely. He clucked and cooed to the horse as he expertly guided the horse towards the stables, lightly tapping his feet against the horse's sides to direct him right and left since there were no reigns or even a bridle on the horse. He loved this task because it was one of the very few in which Justin knew he held the upper hand. This task required the boys to not only be knowledgeable about horses and understand their prey behavior but also be patient and work closely with them, almost intuitively as they were not given any tack to actually help them with the task of riding and directing their horses to the stables. That last bit is what really gave Justin the lead because animals could read fear and trust, and responded accordingly. Especially prey animals, which is what horses were. It required the boys to be in tune with the horse they choose and for the horse to accept the boy as its master and understand the directions the boy is trying to convey without the help of reigns.

~~~

Ava knew exactly where her horse, Prancer, was, but she also knew that it was quite far away. She raced out to the clover fields, which were a little past the tree line. On her way there, she saw many horses. The ones in the stables were the untrained, intact ones. They had not been worked with a trainer on their back as often as the geldings and thus were liable to buck. Her sweet mare, Prancer, stood on the outer corner of the field eating her favorite treat.

To her left, she saw a boy with silver hair easily mount a dark brown and white gelding, and race towards the stables. She sprinted towards the corner but slowed down when she got close as Ava did not want to scare her. She had grabbed a carrot from Asher's pocket before she had left the Training room, skillfully without him noticing, as it was a treat for the first three horses to get to the stables, and offered it to the mare, palm flat. When her mare plucked it from her hand, Ava hoisted herself onto the warm broad back, and raced after the silver-haired boy, whom she remembered was Ethan. As she raced after him, she remembered something about their introduction. He had said that he owned a couple of racing colts and fillies... he was a jockey. That would explain his smaller stature, compared to the other boys, and his ease on a horse.

~~~

Justin did not know where the stables were, however, so he was riding blind in a sense. It was not until he saw two other horses racing towards a specific designation that was not in his direct line of sight that he realized to follow them towards the stables. He almost regretted that he would soon have to dismount the Friesian he was on...the gelding trotted wonderfully, that was until Justin saw the end goal, the stables, and commanded him to gallop. The wind blowing through his floppy hair, Justin relished in the freedom he always felt when riding. The Friesian gelding held a wonderful four-beat gallop and Justin made a mental note to visit this specific horse throughout his time at the palace, and to ask Ava if he could take him riding in his free time.

~~~

Ava raced after Ethan, hunched on Prancer's back. Her long black hair flew behind her, and Ava relished the feeling of air running through her hair. She urged her mare faster in order to catch up with Ethan's gelding. Ava had recognized that horse; it was a gift from a King, and its bloodline was said to have been descended from their top racehorse, True Blood. Ava wondered if Ethan had picked this horse because of how it walked and moved, or because it was closest to him. Ava hoped that it was because it was due to its movements because that would have made her admire him even more. However, her mare was gaining on True Fire, the gelding, her ears pricked, and let out a loud whinny. The gelding looked over and saw the mare, as did Ethan, looking over at Ava. He took one hand off the horse and waved, the wind blowing his silver hair into his blue eyes. Ava urged her horse to catch up, and maintained that speed, at the side of True Fire.