“In case it has escaped your notice, I am a prince, Corinna. I was brought up with more grace than you,” Alexander grunted, but Corinna could tell he meant no serious harm. That, or she hoped Alexander didn’t mean anything harsh by that. Still, Corinna smiled. Alexander didn’t notice as he glanced over to the corner of the house by the garden. “And Morgana’s a witch. She can probably fly and hasn’t told me yet.”
When Alexander looked back at her, Corinna was still smiling like an idiot. She could feel the muscles in her face stretching, telling her she looked like a fool, but she didn’t care. She felt somehow elated looking at Alexander then. Then prince grew weary under the force of her grin. His wolf ears sort of flinched back, and the prince leaned away slightly.
“What? Why are you smiling like that? You look a fool,” he growled. Corinna couldn’t help herself. She chuckled.
“Sorry,” she said and forced herself to stop smiling. The prospect, however, made her grin more and ruined the try. She covered her mouth and shook her head. “Sorry. It’s just that… well no one ever comes out and calls you a prince, but you just did. It’s… surprisingly refreshing.”
“Well.” Alexander folded his arms about his great chest and scratched the ground beneath his feet with his claws. His ears twitched, and Corinna felt a tug in her fingers, that sense of wanting to move.
Before Alexander could say anything else, make some sort of excuse or something similar, Corinna stepped closer, reached up and touched her hand to Alexander’s right ear. The prince instantly froze, his ears standing straight up and then relaxing. Corinna smiled warmly at the feeling of it. It was soft and fuzzy – something like a dog’s ear, but silkier like a cat’s. It was warm too, like its own little insulator. As Corinna rubbed it, it flattened out to the side, and Alexander seemed to melt as he lowered himself to give Corinna an easier reach. There was a moment in which Alexander seemed almost like an actual dog: adorable and just wanting a good pet. His beastly features seemed to soften too, and he closed his eyes.
Corinna felt her lungs hammer against her ribs even though she wasn’t breathing hard. The content look on Alexander’s face was truly something special. He looked… happy.
And then his eyes snapped open, and he ripped away from Corinna’s touch. He glared at Corinna indignantly and rubbed his ear with his own hairy paw as though Corinna had scratched him instead of pet him.
“Yeah, well what do you know anyway?” Alexander grumbled. “I thought we were going to ride horses, not stand here talking.”
And with that, the prince lumbered away toward the stables. Corinna frowned. Alexander sure knew how to ruin a moment. Ah, but he was probably just embarrassed. He was a prince, after all. Corinna wasn’t well acquainted with any royalty, but she was fairly sure they didn’t go around being cuddly with farmhands. Corinna let a complacent smile adorn her lips and hurried to catch up with Alexander – who only had to take one step for every two of Corinna’s.
When they reached the stables, Gavin was pulling out the saddles for each of their horses. He nodded to the two of them, his mind on the horses now, and went to retrieve the harnesses. Alexander stopped short and looked between all of the animals. They all took notice of him as well, all fidgeted to some degree, but in the end they all settled and either watched him religiously or turned their heads away from him. All, that is, save for Kay. The proud Suffolk snorted and shook his head. He nickered then, leaning down to eat. He seemed to be ignoring Alexander’s physical state entirely. It was just another person in the area.
Archimedes trotted over to Corinna and nuzzled her shoulder. Corinna couldn’t decide if it was in joy of seeing her or in the attempt to push Corinna farther from Alexander, but either way Corinna enjoyed it and didn’t move. She pet the horse’s cloud-soft nose and smiled. While Alexander slowly moved over to Kay, Corinna pulled an apple from her pocket and sneakily held it up for Archimedes to have. In her palm, the fruit grew and shone brightly, but Archimedes simply nickered in thanks and ate it regardless. Corinna smiled.
“Yeah… You knew all along, didn’t you?” she asked softly so only Archimedes would hear. She rubbed her hand over the horse’s large cheek while it chewed and let out a gentle sigh.
Archimedes was an animal. He had probably always sensed the magic. Now that Corinna thought back on it, her horse seemed to intuitively know when Corinna wanted him to stop, when to turn, when they were about to go out to market. Archimedes was just prepared and always where Corinna needed him to be. Until now, Corinna always thought Archie was the magic one, but maybe there was a bit of spirit in both of them. It would explain how a draft horse almost beat a saddle horse in a race, certainly, but Corinna would always like to believe that was just Archie’s special nature showing through. He was more than he appeared to be. They both were.
“Alright. We should saddle up as quick as we can. Those storm clouds won’t hold off forever,” Gavin warned, bringing a saddle and reins over to Corinna. “For you and Archimedes,” he said.
“No,” Alexander broke in. Both Gavin and Corinna turned to look at him. Even Archimedes seemed to take a moment to consider him. “I want her to ride Elaine.”
“But that’s your horse,” Corinna said. “I’ll be fine on Archimedes.”
“Ride Elaine. She needs to exercise. Plus, you look smaller on a big horse,” Alexander said. Gavin was already taking the supplies over to the sleek black thoroughbred.
“Right. Well you’ll look small riding Kay. Maybe we should do one better and find you a pony,” Corinna said and pat Archie on the neck. The dark Clydesdale understood and trotted back to its temporary stall.
Corinna walked over to Elaine begrudgingly while Alexander stood looking bemused and fluffed. Elaine was a beautiful horse. She was lean and powerful. Her legs were strong. Her stance was commanding. She was graceful, and she looked at Corinna as a mother would. Corinna ran her hands along the horse’s sleek, black coat and pat her gently on the back.
Gavin helped her set up at first, since this was Corinna’s first time on a saddle horse, but left partway through to help Alexander as it was the prince’s first time riding since his curse. Corinna tightened her saddle till it fit snug and then slid the reins into place on Elaine’s head. The horse didn’t begrudge her and obeyed easily. She seemed prepared for this, ready to show she was still worth something.
Corinna hefted herself up into the saddle and then shifted back and forth until she found a semi-comfortable position. She had never ridden a horse so skinny before. All of the farm horses were draft horses, wide and sturdy. This horse was thin and refined.
“Well, time to see if we match together, Mrs. Elaine,” Corinna said to her horse as she lifted the reins. Elaine snorted in agreement, and together they moved out toward the field. A short distance out, Corinna turned around to check on Alexander. Gavin was on Galeshin, standing beside Alexander and checking the prince’s posture. Elaine grunted in displeasure beneath Corinna and tugged the reins to alert the girl to the fact that she was squeezing the horse too tightly. A lifetime of practice holding onto a larger seat.
“Come now, Alexander,” Corinna called over. “If I can learn to ride side saddle, you can learn to ride like a man.”
Alexander’s expression grew tense at the tease, and he gripped his reins forcefully. Kay trotted over to Elaine and then complained about the close proximity. Alexander sat up straight and tried to look regal.
“I can ride more like a man on this great steed than you could ever hope to do on my old horse,” he said. Then he sniffed. “Anyway, since when can someone like you ride side saddle?”
Corinna shrugged. “When you grow up on a farm with nothing but a horse to help you work, you learn a few tricks to get the job done quicker.”
“Fine then. We’re all on horseback. Now what?”
Alexander moved Kay away from Elaine and backed him up to a more comfortable distance. Corinna looked around in contemplation at the yard before she shrugged.
&nb
sp; “It hadn’t really occurred to me that I should have something planned,” she said with a smile. Alexander looked up at the sky and sighed. “But,” Corinna began again, “why do we need to plan it? All we have to plan to do is ride the horses and enjoy it. Come on. I bet it’s been a while since you’ve been out of the house. Let’s just take a nice trot around the edge of the fence.”
“Fine,” Alexander grunted. He kicked Kay with his heels and the chestnut horse shuddered into motion.
Corinna sighed and shook her head. She prodded Elaine with her own heels and the beautiful mare took off at a gentle pace. Gavin was a good ways behind them since he had not been close enough to hear the plan in time to start alongside them. When Corinna looked back at him, the dark haired male smiled and waved. In his hand, Corinna spotted something red, and she frowned curiously. Gavin had picked an apple. Thinking about it, Corinna realized she had been neglecting her own store of fruit in her room. She had to remember to eat those before Belle or Morgana found them.
Alexander led the group around the house, slowing in the front yard to admire Corinna’s handiwork with the bushes and to look down the front path. It was darker than normal, shaded from above by the growing storm clouds. A gust of wind dragged a pack of leaves down the dirt path and out of sight. As soon as the wind died, Alexander was off again, with Corinna and Gavin urging their own horses to keep up.
Elaine was quick and handy, but Corinna would trade her for Archimedes any day. Maybe if she rode the other horses more she’d grow used to the feeling of riding them, but she missed the sense of her favorite horse. Alexander glanced back to check on Corinna’s location several times, and it made Corinna nudge Elaine to go faster.
Why Elaine? It was bugging Corinna. Why had Alexander wanted Corinna to ride his horse? He said it was because Corinna looked small on Archimedes. Was he feeling bad about how large he was as a beast? Or had that been a lie and he just wanted Corinna to ride Elaine specifically? All of the other horses were smaller than Archie. Why Elaine?
‘She was given to him by his mother with the promise that Elaine would always be fast enough to carry him home to her before it was too late.’
Corinna smiled. Was Elaine Alexander’s way of saying Corinna would make it home again? Well, even if she wasn’t, Corinna would think of her that way. Corinna leaned down and pat the horse’s neck. When she sat back up, Alexander was glancing at her. She smiled back in response and waved, but Alexander just sort of hunched his shoulders and looked forward again. Corinna tried not to take it to heart. After all, one day she would never seen Alexander again, and she would need to forget about her silly crush… for both of them.
They moved around to the side of the house by the garden and then back into the yard. Corinna looked, but Morgana wasn’t in with the flowers today. In a way, she was glad for it. Whenever she saw Morgana watching her, she always went to bed fearing that her blankets would swallow her in the night, and she checked the mirror twice as much to make sure Morgana hadn’t killed everyone because of Corinna trying to cure Alexander. But now Morgana was not in view, and her bracelet only jingled because of the bouncing nature that came from riding a horse.
As soon as the backyard was in full view, Alexander rode ahead faster than before. Kay ended up kicking some dirt into Elaine’s face, and she whinnied in protest. Corinna shook her head to rid herself of all the dust that had passed up into her airspace. She bit the inside of her cheek. Alexander had done that on purpose.
“Now now, Corinna, are you going to let him get away with that?” Gavin called from behind her.
“Never! Gavin, cut off his path, would you? I don’t want him going back around the house,” Corinna said. Gavin laughed.
“For victory!” he cheered and cantered on passed Corinna, heading for the left side yard.
Corinna kept her gaze on Alexander, running in circles across the backyard. Alexander was on a draft horse, and it wasn’t Archimedes. Elaine would no doubt be able to best him in speed, but catching him was only half the battle. But what could Corinna do to Alexander from the back of a horse with no lance or shield? She had no weapons. Well, not unless she wanted to grab an apple and pelt it at the prince.
“Ah. Come on, Elaine. We have to catch up,” Corinna said and pressed her heels into the animal’s sides.
The thoroughbred broke into a full gallop and sped across the grassy field like a bolt of black lightning. Alexander turned Kay to face the sound of approaching hooves and backed up at the sight of Corinna pressed close to Elaine and racing toward him. Corinna pressed her lips together. She hoped this didn’t get her seriously hurt.
Concentrate. Alexander’s fur moved in the sun and claimed to be soft. Alexander himself was large, but he seemed smaller than the first time they’d met. Kay’s size truly seemed to balance him out. Alexander seemed confused and worried about why Corinna was closing in, about her plans. He turned to head off toward the left yard, away from Corinna’s crazy charge, but Gavin and Galeshin were pacing only a short distance off, prepared the block him. Corinna smiled and released the reins. Elaine began to slow, but not much. Corinna slipped her feet from the stirrups and pressed her hands on the saddle. Alexander flinched as Corinna came within ten feet of him, and then Corinna stood and jumped from her saddle.
“Catch!” Corinna called out. It should have been a fast moment, but it seemed comfortably slow. Alexander’s fingers let go of his reins and his arms twitched out to the sides. His mouth opened in shock, and his eyes were wide. As Corinna’s body collided with Alexander’s, all the magician felt was warm, soft fur and a solid chest. She could feel every strand of hair brush against her exposed skin, and it felt incredible – like hugging a large puppy.
Alexander let out a roar of a cry as he was ripped down from his horse. Kay neighed loudly and moved away from the momentum filled area as soon as his rider was gone. Corinna grunted and heard Alexander do the same as they crashed into the hard ground. Elaine trotted to a stop several yards away by the apple tree but went for the succulent grass below it rather than for the low hanging fruit.
Corinna felt the body beneath her move as a groan shifted its way through Alexander’s chest. Her own heart flushed at the feel of it. She wasn’t doing a very good job of squashing her growing attraction.
“What on Earth was that?” the prince coughed. “You could have killed us both!”
“Yeah,” Corinna agreed, pushing against Alexander’s chest so she could sit partway up. “But I knew it would take more than that to kill you, and I got a soft landing.”
Alexander stared up at Corinna with pleasantly confused eyes. In Corinna’s view, he was outlined in the green grass and looked much more pleasant than ever before during Corinna’s stay. Was it just Corinna or was Alexander’s nose smaller than before? Maybe it was just the heat of the moment, but Alexander’s ability to protect Corinna while they fell suddenly seemed very heroic and gallant.
“You’re crazy,” Alexander said, and his voice was almost soft despite that volume being nearly impossible for the beast. He reached up and lightly tapped the side of Corinna’s head. The sorcerer smiled and tapped her head back against Alexander’s hand.
“Thanks,” she said and chuckled.
And for a moment, one universal moment, Corinna saw Alexander as himself, not as some cursed being. She saw what Alexander could be, young and handsome and sprawled out on the grass like a loon. And he was staring at Corinna like a long lost friend, someone who had gone on a far journey but had finally come home. It was almost caring, if Corinna dared admit it. It was impossible. It was magical. It was rather romantic in some ways.
Then Alexander was back, still cursed and still hairy, and the only truly human aspect was once again the eyes. Corinna coughed then and cleared her throat. She needed to control her imagination as well.
“That was revenge for kicking dirt in my face,” she said and pushed up and off the prince. The sound of clothing rustling came to Corinna’s attention, and then Gav
in was there, sliding off his horse.
“Are the two of you alright?” he asked, offering a hand to Alexander. The prince ignored it and stood up on his own, looking torn between being put off and complacent on the matter. “I must say, that looked like fun. I thought for sure one of you would be injured.”
“I guess being cursed has some slight advantages,” Alexander grumbled and swung his arms back and forth in a stretch. He did not seem pleased with his own statement.
“I guess,” Gavin agreed. He averted his eyes for a moment and then looked back at his master. “Well, I shall retrieve your horse for you, sire, but I’m not sure Kay liked the game.”
“Me either. Grab him and take him back to the stalls, please,” Alexander ordered and motioned for Gavin to hurry.
The stableman nodded his head to Alexander and then hurried over to where Kay had wandered off. Alexander kept his eyes on Corinna the whole time and saw how Corinna coughed again.
The Rose Chateau Page 23
