Wanderling's Choice

by D C McLaughlin

  Wanderling's

  Choice

  D.C. McLaughlin

  Copyright © Kathleen Florio 2013

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover Design: H.A. Kennedy and Eren Fitzgerald

  Author Photo: H.A. Kennedy

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

  ISBN: 978-0-9895910-4-1

  To Ellen. Never forget how to rope, ride or shoot.

  PROLOGUE

  This is what comes of wanting to have adventures! Her mind yelled at her while she ran.

  Where is Falcon?

  A myriad of frantic thoughts raced through her head as Rhiannon fled through the halls of the castle to the courtyard below in a flurry of silks and gems. But one thought was most important to her immediate circumstances.

  She had to find her horse and get out of here.

  Her words from the night before came back to haunt her.

  "Am I permitted to ride my horse?" she had asked the king of the castle.

  He had looked at her narrowly.

  "Rhiannon, you no longer have any need of a horse. You are not permitted to leave the castle at any time, day or night. If you do, my servants have orders to kill you. Is that understood?"

  Something hadn't felt quite right about the castle and now Rhi knew why.

  This was no castle. It was her prison. A prison filled with servants with blank eyes, vacant of any soul whatsoever. A prison run by a jailer who called himself King Nazar.

  More memories from the past few days came flooding into her mind. They did little to comfort her. They only made her feel more helpless and trapped by her situation.

  Five young women had been led into the castle's sumptuous dining room where Rhi had been having dinner with King Nazar. They were all beautiful. And they each had blank faces and the same soulless eyes as the other servants.

  "These are some of my most precious possessions" he had told her. "I found five pretty birds. They were each so lovely I could not let them fly free. Something bad might happen to them. So I caught them and put them here in my golden cage where they would be safe from all harm the cruel world might do them. I gave them every little thing a bird might want. I even asked each one to marry me. And still they were not happy."

  His eyes shifted to meet Rhi's gaze.

  "So I separated them from their souls. Now they do whatever I tell them to, whenever I tell them to do it. It doesn't matter now if they are happy or not. They're just birds, pretty to look at and play with but of no good use for anything really important other than my amusement."

  His gaze held her eyes captive. They were cold and hard.

  "Now I have found a sixth pretty bird to add to my collection."

  Her blood ran cold remembering and an icy needle of dread went through her.

  She had to find Falcon. She had to find her wonderful red stallion with the white mark on his forehead that looked like a pair of wings and get out of here. She didn't even care if she could locate the saddle and bridle. She just wanted to throw a leg over his back and fly out of this damned place that held her captive.

  But the stable was empty. The stalls held nothing but cobwebs, moldy bedding and dusty tack. No horse had set foot here in quite a long time.

  What has Nazar done to Falcon? Has he fed him to his pet dragon?

  Her lungs burned and her feet ached. She wanted to be free.

  She staggered to the courtyard and fell into a helpless heap of silver fabric and glittering gems.

  This is what comes of wanting to have adventures, she thought again to herself. She had ridden Falcon mere days ago before Nazar had caught her and taken her hostage in this fine prison the rest of the world called a castle.

  Up until this point in her life, her horse Falcon had been the center of her world. He had given her the life and freedom she so craved. She had never known that one ride on Falcon might be the last time she would ever see her dear horse. Now he was gone she didn't know where or how. She didn't even know if he was alive or dead. What had Nazar done to him?

  She should have stayed home, she thought to herself. She should have stayed a simple unpretentious farmer's daughter, married the next door neighbor's son even though she only liked him, had a farm of their own and raised a bunch of kids. It would have been better. It would have been a sure thing. It would be doing what everyone around her had expected of her.

  But no, she wanted to get a horse and wander the lands just the two of them having adventures and never ever ever getting married to anyone.

  Now her only escape was to do what she had been trying to avoid all her life---getting married to a man she did not want.

  Was it worth it? she wondered. Was it really worth it at all?

  FALCON

  "Rhi has turned into such a pretty young thing, hasn't she? I don't think there's another girl rich or poor around here half as beautiful as she. You must be so proud of her," their neighbor was saying. "She and Brody are going to make such pretty babies when they get married."

  Rhiannon nearly dropped her basket of laundry. With an effort, she forced herself to continue with her chore, being careful to keep the sheets between them so no one would know she had been listening.

  Brody was their neighbor's son down the lane. Rhi had known him since they both were toddlers. They had been playmates all through their childhood. She liked him plenty---but not like that! He seemed more like one of her brothers. How could they possibly think they were lovers?

  "Yes, they will, if he would just hurry up and ask her. She's getting rather old. Just imagine a seventeen-year old lass that's unmarried! Another couple of years and people will start calling her an old maid!" her mother replied and the two older women laughed like hens clucking over some juicy tidbit.

  Rhi emptied her basket of laundry as quickly as she could then hurried around the corner of the chicken shed and sat down. She felt like an old horse who had galloped up a very steep hill. Her chest was tight and it was hard to breathe.

  How dare they! was all she could think. She had no idea people thought of her in this manner. Here she was barely an adult and everyone already had her life all planned out for her. The last thing Rhi wanted was to live her life according to everyone's preconceived expectations. No one had even asked her what she wanted.

  She didn't even like Brody, not in the romantic sense at least. How dare they!

  Rhi pulled herself to her feet and staggered over to the nearest paddock fence. She stared out at the scene before her. Bessie the family cow grazed contentedly on the long grass as it waved in the wind while the cow's calf gamboled beside her mother in the summer sun. Such a sight had always made Rhi feel free and happy before. Now she felt like the paddock rails were holding more than Bessie and the calf. The fence caged Rhi as well.

  "I know what you're thinking!"

  Rhi jumped in fright as her younger sister's voice piped up from her elbow.

  "You're dreaming of Brody aren't you?"

  Rhi's eyes narrowed and she frowned.

  "Not even close," she growled in a low voice.

  She spun on her heel and stalked away.

  This was how it had all started. Her parents were planning on marrying her off to Brody. No one asked her, it was just assumed it would happen.

  But Rhi wanted more, so much more than marriage and children.

  Her mother had dowry money set aside for each of the girls when they got married. She had stashed it in a large tin kept high up in the eaves of the house with their names on each. The next morning Rhi awoke before the rest of her family stirred, took her dowr
y money and headed down the road away from the farm. Her family used this road to go to market.

  But she wasn't going to market.

  She instead went to the horse fair three miles in the other direction.

  The horse fair happened every seven-day. It was held on the top of a hill called "Stallion's Bluff". People came from far and wide to buy and sell horses of all sizes and types. Rhi had loved coming here as a child.

  But that was a long time ago. And Rhi knew the difference now between a cart horse, a plow horse, a work horse and a merchant, or messenger horse. She could also tell the difference between a good buy and a slick deal.

  Rhi walked through the gates and took a moment to catch her breath and take in the sights. There were horses everywhere and people wheeling and dealing. The air was thick with the smell of manure and fresh hay and the squeals and neighs of frightened or excited horses.

  The first thing Rhi noticed wasn't a particular horse but a man, a small, thin man leaning up against a carriage. He was dressed all in brown and green and wore a great, floppy hat on his head. His face was weather-beaten and lined so his age was difficult to guess. He seemed to be much older than Rhi. He smiled at her from a mouth a bit too wide and his eyes looked old and sad.

  His sad eyes sparkled at her. Sweeping his great hat off his head, he bowed and nodded a greeting to her.

  A man then led two great dray horses between them and when Rhi looked again, he was gone from sight as if he had never been.

  'Well that was odd,' she thought to herself, then shook the memory out of her head. In the next moment she had forgotten all about it.

  She continued on in her search.

  It seemed to Rhi she must have spoken to every horse dealer there. They all knew of her family and tried to sell her old, plow horses no matter how much she told them she didn't want a work horse.

  Frustrated and steamed, because the day had turned hot, she sat down on a stump in the sun since all the shade was taken, to eat her meager lunch. Suddenly her bench was shielded by a welcoming, cool shadow.

  She looked up to see the man who had first nodded to her. He had removed his great, floppy hat and was holding it out to shade her, revealing his lank, blonde hair.

  "Pardon me, lass, but it is too hot a day for a miss as pretty as you to eat in the sun," he said.

  His accent was one she had never heard before.

  "The horses need the shade more. But thank I you for your kind offer," she replied.

  "You did not bring anything to drink?" he asked.

  "No," she laughed. "I remembered food but forgot drink. How silly of me!"

  He smiled and held out a small flask.

  "It's just water. I do not drink alcohol. People tend to do stupid things when they drink."

  Rhi hesitated. He was a stranger and a horse dealer. They had a murky reputation.

  But it was so hot!

  She muttered her thanks and took a shy swig from the stranger's flask. It was simply water and nothing more. But it was ice cold. She took a more daring gulp.

  The stranger pulled up another log to sit beside her.

  "How is your search for that perfect horse going?" he inquired pleasantly.

  With a roll of her eyes she told him "They all want to sell me cart and plow horses!"

  He laughed in sympathy.

  "Too many dealers here think that a pretty face such as yours cannot possibly be a good judge of horse flesh."

  "I don't want the perfect horse, just a good using horse."

  "Hmmm," he nodded. "And just what is your definition of 'a good using horse'?"

  Rhi sighed and thought a bit.

  "Well, nothing so big that I need a ladder to get on but nothing too short…not a plow horse, or a cart horse or a work horse!'

  "Ahhh!" he breathed in comprehension. "You want a riding horse!"

  "Yes!" Rhi agreed. "I don't care about the color, although something not so fancy as it attracts enough attention to get stolen but something not downright ugly would be good. Something not too flighty with a good, smart mind, something with a good turn of speed, something tough and hardy for rough terrain and weather, something that can get by on little food and without shoes, something like a good merchant or messenger horse, maybe even a light warhorse whose brain hasn't been ruined by his experience. You know, a good using horse."

  The man laughed at her.

  "Well, you don't want much, do you, lass? Just the perfect horse."

  Rhi's face fell. She felt like she had just been slapped.

  "No, no! Don't misunderstand me. I'm not laughing at you. It just so happens I have six horses and one particularly special one that might fit the description."

  Rhi looked at him with hope and then suspicion.

  "Lass, if I was trying to hustle you, that flask would not have mere water in it."

  Rhi chewed her last bite of bread slowly and thoughtfully as she looked him up and down.

  "Finish your meal and I will show you my stock."

  She wrapped up the remainders of her meal and replaced them in her satchel and got to her feet.

  "But I think I've seen every horse on Stallion's Bluff," Rhi said.

  "Oh but you haven't seen my stock," he assured her. "I keep them off the bluff in a private grove until I think I have a potential buyer. Just follow me!"

  Her inner senses began to whisper a warning in her ear. He wanted her to follow him off the bluff, far from other people, to a secluded area? What about this sounded trustworthy?

  But follow him she did, off the bluff, onto the wooded hillside, into a small private glen. She followed at a distance, making sure she had enough space between them if she needed to make a quick retreat.

  They rounded a corner of the wood and came to a small paddock.

  "Here they are, my pretties, my beauties. Aren't they wonderful?"

  Rhi came to a sudden stop and her jaw dropped.

  Six of the loveliest horses she had ever clapped eyes on stood in the paddock. They were all groomed within an inch of their lives and their coats gleamed like metal. Their legs were clean and blemish free, their bare hooves solid and healthy, their well chiseled faces looked at her with a quiet intelligence.

  "They're….they're…beautiful!" she gasped.

  "Of course they are. I know my horseflesh and I take good care of them. But these horses are not for you."

  She had to give it a moment to let the words sink in before she realized she had lost sight of the strange little thin man.

  "Here is you perfect horse, lass." He spoke softly and he was suddenly standing right beside her.

  He held the reins of a magnificent, coppery chestnut stallion. His mane was long, thick and silky, his coat was soft as down and shiny as a penny. The eyes which met hers were intelligent and soulful. When Rhi touched his face, he lowered his head and breathed softly into her hands. He snorted and shook his head, revealing a small white mark on his forehead which looked like wings.

  "I've re-adjusted the stirrups. They should be the right length for your legs. Why don't you take him for a test ride, lass?"

  Almost in a dream, Rhi found herself putting a foot in the stirrup and bounding unaided into the saddle. The stallion waited until she settled herself and her skirts around his sides. Then he breathed softly and began to move as if she had cued him with her mind.

  His walking steps were confident and smooth making her sit deep into the saddle. He arched his neck proudly and slid into an effortless trot. They trotted an elegant figure eight formation.

  She almost startled when she heard the man call out to her, "The lassie has a good seat."

  They did two more figure eights and the stallion did just as he was bid.

  "Does he move like a plow horse?"

  She gave a trembling giggle.

  "Heavens no!"

  She chanced a look up to the horse dealer. He was beaming at her.

  "Why don't you see what a real gallop feels like?"

  She could fe
el the stallion underneath her hesitate just as she was hesitating. Then he pulled gently, quietly on the reins as if to say Please? May I?

  She turned him to face the steep slope of the bluff, leant forward over his neck, lessened her grip on the reins. At the same time she hissed in his ear and gave his sides a gentle rap with her heels.

  And the stallion exploded underneath her! With a bellow and a leap, his great hooves attacked the earth of the hill. Rhi was startled for just a moment. She found his great lunge hadn't dislodged her and they were still together, she clung like a tick and felt the power roll out of him from beneath her. He was strong and fast, faster than any horse she had ever thrown a leg over, in his prime and full of himself. And yet he was still right there with her. He hadn't left her behind.

  What a horse!

  He slowed his mad dash the minute she thought about it and easily came back to a slower pace.

  Rhi loved this horse! And she felt he liked her and would have done anything to please her. She had to have him. But she was now sure she didn't have enough money to purchase him. Not on a farmer's daughter's dowry!

  She chewed her lip as she thought this.

  The horse dealer was grinning ear to ear as she rode up to him.

  "Well, that was certainly a sight, and no mistake. You move as one! He is the perfect mount for you."

  Rhi nodded and grudgingly pulled out her small purse which she was now sure held not enough coin to purchase such an animal.

  "How much?" she muttered.

  For the first time, he touched her. The little man grabbed her hand to stop her.

  "No! This horse is not for sale for gold."

  Rhi gave him a confused look. What racket was he trying to pull?

  "Yes, you can buy this horse. But not for money."

  His hand had released hers and was now resting on the skirts over her leg.

  Rhi's eyes flew wide as the other option became clear to her.

  It seemed to dawn on the horse trader as well because suddenly he let go of her and holding both hands up in the air, he backed away from both horse and rider.