"Hold still, you cowardly horse!" Rohan exclaimed as he rolled to one side in hopes of avoiding the wild mare's flying hooves. he jumped to his feet and twirled the rope in his hands, advancing toward the mare with as much care as possible. "I don't want to hurt you; just tame you."
The horse reared up again and began galloping toward Rohan, who immediately flung himself aside yet again. He scrunched his thick eyebrows together and sighed wearily, brushing his hair away from his face with an impatient hand as he leaned against a half-grown tree. The countryside was lovely this spring morning, or would be if he weren't so upset, both with himself and the horse.
The mare paused as she chewed quietly on a mouthful of grass, and Rohan's gaze matched hers. The wild horse shook her mane indignantly, neighing as though she were laughing at the young warrior.
"It's nothing personal, you see," Rohan said, taking one small step in the horse's direction. "It's just that you're the exact color of horse Deirdre's always wanted, and I'll be wanting to make a present of you to her."
It was true the mare was gorgeous; even Rohan thought so. Her coat was mostly dark grey, with swirls of lighter grey and pure white mixed in. Her mane and tail were coal black, her eyes a warm brown that glowed with mischief; as though she were taunting Rohan.
Rohan narrowed his own eyes as he studied the horse.
*What if I were to try Garrett's trick on this creature? With those powers Cathbad gave me last week, it just might work.*
"Look into my eyes, you mighty beast," he said softly, gazing into the mare's face. She tossed her mane again, as though trying to shake off the spell she was coming under even as she took a step nearer Rohan. "Come here. Come here and be tamed."
The horse walked slowly toward Rohan, her head bobbing up and down with each step. When she was roughly an arm's length from Rohan, where he could have reached out and touched her nose, she stopped and studied him. He studied her as well. Then the mare stretched her neck, touching her nose to Rohan's shoulder, nibbling on the end of his hair. He laughed and pushed her nose away gently, rubbing the small stripe of white along the bridge between her eyes.
"Ah, you'll make a wonderful present to Deirdre," he said, sliding the rope over the mare's head, leading her back to the castle. He laughed softly to himself. He couldn't believe that Garrett's trick had worked on this stubborn creature; and after a whole day of running after her, too.
"I told you I'd tame her," Rohan bragged to his friends. Garrett was especially impressed. He crossed one arm over his chest as he stroked the mare's nose with his free hand.
"She's a rare beauty, Rohan. I couldv'e not have tamed a wild beast any better."
"Well it was your trick with the eyes that helped me out, Garrett," Rohan admitted. "So in a way you helped me tame her." Garrett smiled; it wasn't often that Rohan complimented him so highly. Rohan looked around. "Where's Deirdre?"
"Meeting with the chieftains," Ivar said softly, smiling as he ran a hand along the mare's flank. "King Conchobar requested her presence especially."
Rohan scrunched his eyebrows together again. "Odd," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else. Angus elbowed him gently in the ribs and tucked his chin up toward the stairs.
Rohan glanced up...and did a double-take.
There stood Deirdre. She wore a pair of riding breeches, her boots were laced up to mid-thigh, her tunic of soft, velvety grey, billowing in the gentle breeze from the south. The tunic's sleeves were long but tight, hugging her skin. She had tucked her long reddish hair beneath a hunter's cap, and wore a belt around her slim waist. Her crossbow was laced to a tie over her slender shoulders, the weight of the weapon pushing into her back. The four young men below gaped in appreciation of such beauty as could show even through the boy's clothing. Not that the close-fitting slacks and the tunic did aught to hinder her figure; in fact she caught the eye of every soldier in the courtyard as she descended the stone steps.
She paused shyly before her friends, turning about slowly to show off her new apparel.
"Well," she asked, "what do you think?"
Angus merely opened and closed his mouth like a dying fish, his eyebrows moving up and down over his forehead so much that Deirdre put her hand on them, stopping them before they fell off. Garrett and Ivar smiled, and Ivar removed his helmet as they gazed over her figure. Rohan glanced at Deirdre, letting a tiny smile show through before he turned to study the horse.
"Your new horse, my lady," Rohan said, forcing his deeper thoughts to the back of his mind.
"Shouldn't there be reins? Or at least a saddle?" Deirdre asked, fear showing in her eyes, if only for a moment.
Rohan shook his head, clasping his hands for the princess to step up.
"You'll have no need of such things today. Not as long as you're with me, princess."
"Does she have a name?" Deirdre asked, grasping the mane carefully, but tight.
Rohan thought for a moment, and a niggling whisper in the back of his mind said Leandra.
"Leandra," he said aloud, a look of confusion in his eyes and he quickly turned his head to gaze at the horse. "I think she just told me herself," he added softly.
Angus raised his eyebrows. "You've been conversing with the horse? Rohan, did you get kicked in the head again?"
"No," Rohan said, shaking his head. He grabbed a handful of mane on his own horse, preparing to jump up; but then he paused, looking over his horse's back at the double-doored gate beyond. "Maybe it's those powers Cathbad gave me. I don't know. Maybe I can speak with animals now. At least with this one."
"Ah," Garrett said, and he joined in laughter with Ivar and Angus.
"Well I believe you, Rohan," Deirdre said from her seat on Leandra. Rohan grinned his boyish grin at her, pulling himself onto Moonlight's back.
"If we're not back by sunset, come looking for us," Rohan told Angus. His friend nodded sagely, smacking Moonlight on the rump. The princess trotted off behind the warrior Draganta, and soon they had disappeared over the brow of the hill, into the forests of Kells.
"Ah, I wish him luck," Angus said.
"Wish Rohan luck?" Garrett asked in surprise. "If I were the princess, I'd deem myself lucky to be courted by such a man as Rohan."
"Well, I cannot share in your feelings," Ivar said. Rohan is a brave warrior, and a proud young man; but Deirdre could not marry him even if she wanted to. He is no prince."
"Have you forgotten who his mother is? He is the prince of Temra; or would be if he wanted to claim the title."
Ivar nodded. "I had forgotten. But being Maeve's son does not automatically make him a prince."
"His father's King Fin Varra. He may be the prince of tir na nOg." Angus stated factually.
"Only if he were to claim the title, Angus," Ivar said. "Besides; he cannot be the only one the princess will be courted by." The prince gazed with narrowed eyes at Angus and Garrett. The three of them looked from one to the other, seeing the same thought go through all their minds as they immediately turned to rush into the castle, shoving each other out of the way as they tried to think how they could woo the princess of Kells.
"It's nice being alone again, Rohan," Deirdre said, glancing down at their clasped hands as they rode side by side on the path. "I haven't seen you for nearly the whole week; I'm sorry."
"No, princess, it's not your fault. You have your duties, and I have mine. We must face the fact that we'll never spend a whole day alone together."
Deirdre sighed, nodding.
"I know," she replied, and they rode in silence for a while.
*I wish he would kiss me again,* she thought, glancing at Rohan. *It was very nice. And maybe this time I would run my fingers through his curls; just to see if they're as silky as they look.*
"Deirdre;" Rohan said, tugging on his horse's mane, bringing both of them to a standstill. "Did you say something?"
"No. I was thinking."
"About me kissing you...was that it?"
Deirdre nodded, her eyes wide.
"Yes, but...how could you know?"
"I heard you."
"What did I think? Exactly?"
"You said 'I wish he would kiss me again.' And something about running your fingers through my hair."
Deirdre smiled, nodding. "Yes. That's exactly it. How is this possible?"
Rohan shook his head, then smiled. "I don't know; but why don't we fulfill that wish of yours?"
Deirdre returned the smile, inclining her head toward him.
"Where could they be?" Ivar wondered, glancing once again out the window from Conchobar's throne-room. "It is almost the witching hour, you know."
Angus appeared in the doorway, crossing his bare arms over his equally bare chest. As Ivar turned to look at him, he noticed that the thief's bare skin glistened wetly in the dim candlelight.
"Are you alright, Angus?" He asked, to which the thief nodded vigourously.
"Yeah," he said, grinning lopsidedly. "I just felt like going for a run, that's all. Then a bath. I feel better than I have in days." Then he glanced around the room. "Aren't they back yet?"
"No," Garrett replied from a corner, where he sat in a chair by the dying fire. "And I'm getting worried. They should've been back hours ago. It's not like Rohan to be careless; I don't think he'd let them get lost in the forest, especially at night."
Angus pulled up a chair next to the prince. He reached out hesitantly, finally letting his hand rest on Garrett's shoulder. He sighed. "They'll be back soon. I know Rohan; they'll be alright."
Ivar studied Angus' face; then glanced at the floor before turning back to the window.
"How long has it been since Deirdre last went riding?" Ivar asked Angus, and the thief grinned, rubbing his hands together. He lifted his eyebrow.
"Now that's a story for the telling, if ever I heard one," he said. "The last time she rode was when I was eleven; Rohan and Deirdre would've both been ten, I think. She had been learning to ride side-saddle, because it was..."
"...how a lady should ride, Deirdre," said King Conchobar, lifting his ten year old daughter into the saddle. "It was how your mother rode, and how you shall too if you really desire to ride horses at all."
"But daddy," the little princess said, frowning, "I want to ride like Rohan and Angus do."
Conchobar laughed. "No; get those two ruffians out of your mind. They're only here to assist Cathbad; they'll be leaving as soon as they're old enough, I'd wager."
Deirdre pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I don't want them to leave."
"Enough, daughter," the king said gently. He motioned to one of the ladies who helped care for his daughter. "Make sure she stays out of trouble, Jenny," he said. "And be certain she is careful with this horse."
"Yes, your majesty," said the young woman, bowing her head as she and Deirdre trotted off.
Behind a tall hedge just outside of the castle, two horses stood in wait.
"There she is," said one of the riders. They watched the princess and the servant ride off across the moat. "Come on."
"Wait," said the other rider. "I'm none so good at this as you!"
"Stop your belly-aching; you've done this a hundred times, same as me."
"Yeah," admitted the young boy, "but I'm still none so good as you."
Rohan grinned and dug his heels gently into the horse's hide. He cantered off after the princess with Angus close at his heels.
They followed at a distance from Deirdre and the nursemaid; just doing their duty. After all, King Conchobar had ordered Rohan to protect his daughter the first time they'd met; and the young boy was determined to take those words to heart.
Suddenly they heard a gut-wrenching scream; Rohan dug his heels even harder into his horse's ribs, galloping away toward the sound. Angus followed, trying desperately to keep his horse under control.
They arrived at a steep embankment; Deirdre was there, but there was no sign of the servant girl, Jenny.
"Princess, what happened?" Asked Rohan, jumping off his horse and approaching the embankment.
"Jenny got too close to the edge; she fell..." Deirdre said. She scrunched up her face and began to cry, turning her face into Rohan's boyish chest. The boy didn't know what to do, but he felt that he must comfort her. He put his arm around her, pulling her close to him, letting her cry. She sniffled and looked up at him.
"She was my friend," she sobbed, crying onto his shirt again. Rohan looked up at Angus helplessly.
"Angus," he said, "go back to the castle. Find Cathbad and tell him there's been an accident. I'm bringing the princess home, but we may be a while, for she is quite distraught."
Angus' mouth hung open for a moment; and even Rohan was surprised. He had never spoken so formally; but it sounded like the best way to inform the king and his teacher of the misfortune. Jenny had been a good servant, and a friend to Deirdre, almost like a mother to the child. Angus nodded and kicked the horse into action, turning to gallop back to Kells Castle.
"Come, Princess Deirdre," Rohan said. He felt his tender heart melt as he helped her up to sit in front of him on the horse, taking the reins to the one she'd ridden, leading it along behind them. The princess rested her head against Rohan's thin shoulder, her longish red hair combining with his own red-gold locks. He felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth, his arms keeping her penned in close to him as they rode back to the castle. He realized at that moment that he must be falling in love with her; he'd never seen her so vulnerable in the three years they'd known each other.
"They got back to the castle, and that night there was a feast in Jenny's honor. After that, though, Deirdre never rode again. I think the experience of losing a friend was too much for her; or maybe she was afraid that the same might happen to her if she went riding again. I don't know."
Angus took a long drink of nectar as he finished his tale. Ivar nodded, and looked out the window again.
"It's begun to rain," he said nonchalantly. "If they aren't on their way back yet, I hope they've found someplace warm and dry to wait it out."
Garrett agreed.
"You're right, Angus. Rohan will make sure no harm comes to either of them...won't he?"
There was silence in the throne-room as each wondered where their friends could be; if they were safe or in danger...should the knights be on their way to the rescue, or would it be best to leave them be? Three pairs of eyes, two brown and one blue-green, gazed out at the pouring rain in thoughtful watchfulness as darkness spread over the land.
"This looks like a good place to wait out the storm," Rohan said, leading the horses into a warm, dry barn. "And there's plenty of hay here; we'll have a good sleep tonight."
"Sleeping on hay?" Deirdre asked quietly, her brow wrinkling in consternation. Rohan sat down on a particularly soft pile of the golden stuff, placing a strand of it in his mouth, chewing quietly. Deirdre reached over and tried to pull it away, but Rohan held onto it with his teeth, and Deirdre gave him a kiss, not quite touching his lips but enough to make him let go of the straw. She drew away, tossing the strand aside with a grin on her face. Rohan reached for another strand, but Deirdre flopped down on her knees before him, grabbing both his hands and smiling warmly.
"You put another piece of that in your mouth," she said, "and you won't be kissing me for some time."
Rohan smiled, raising one of his bushy eyebrows.
"Oh no?" He said. Deirdre shook her head. He leaned forward and seized her lips with his own; she only held the kiss for five seconds or so before moving her head back.
"Uh-uh," she said. She leaned back against him, and he held her, his arms curving around her midsection. She sighed happily.
Rohan bit his lip, moving his hand from Deirdre's stomach down along the side of her hip, letting his hand rest on her thigh. He frowned and rolled his eyes, wishing she'd worn that skirt of hers on a day like today; but pants were just as well. Her legs were crossed at the ankle, and Rohan let his fingers tickle along her upper thigh and down to her knee, then up again. Deirdre whimpered a little, and Rohan placed a tender kiss upon her soft lips, to which she replied whole-heartedly.
Just as she was beginning to turn over...her fingers had been running through his curls for quite some time now...the rain stopped. Rohan groaned, coming back to himself as he opened his eyes, remembering that he could not go through with what he wanted unless he was married; it was the vow he and Angus had made when still children, no older than twelve was Angus and Rohan had only just turned eleven.
"Rain's stopped," he said. "We should be getting back; it's late and your father will be worried."
Deirdre nodded, reaching up to smooth Rohan's hair and take out a few bits of straw.
"Leave those in there and they'll know what we were doing for sure," Deirdre said. Rohan looked down at her face, tracing his finger down the side of her cheek.
"I've loved you for so long, princess," he said. Deirdre smiled and leaned her face into his large hand.
"And I've loved you," she said. "Since that day when you held me all the way back to Kells Castle. The day Jenny died," she added, and Rohan nodded, hugging her close. She wrapped her arms about his waist, and he rested his chin on top of her head, closing his eyes as he breathed in the scent of her; lavendar and apples; an odd scent for a woman who spent so much time indoors, out of the sun.
"Come on, princess," he said, just like he had so many years ago. She loked up at him and nodded, and they rode back on Moonlight, Deirdre in front of Rohan, leading Leandra behind them on a vine that Rohan had fashioned into a rope for the occasion.
"They're back," Angus said, pointing down into the courtyard as they rode up. Garrett and Ivar rushed to the window, looking at the two small figures climbing down from the tall black horse.
"Act natural," Ivar said, taking a seat at the table. Garrett turned and leaned against the window ledge.
Angus shook his head, sitting down on the throne.
"If we were natural at all we'd be in bed now, not waiting around in the throne-room like worried parents," he complained, tossing a leg over the arm of Conchobar's throne.
Rohan and Deirdre strode into the throne-room; and stopped dead at the sight of their friends already there.
"Where's King Conchobar?" Rohan asked, smiling slightly at the sight of Angus in the king's chair.
"He went to bed hours ago," Angus said, approaching Rohan. "What were you two up to all night?"
"Angus!" Ivar said, appalled that the knight would dare to ask such a thing. Then he gazed at Rohan and the princess.
"Well?" He said.
"We got caught in the rain," Deirdre replied, looking up at Rohan, "and had to take shelter in a barn a few miles from here. Fortunately we were already well on our way home when the storm hit, so it wasn't as long a journey home as it might have been otherwise."
Rohan nodded, looking grateful that the princess had covered it for him.
"Yeah," Angus said. "Right."
Rohan smiled and shook his head, and Garrett, Ivar, and the princess laughed. Angus merely looked a little put out as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"What." He said, looking at his friends. They were always laughing at him. He didn't think it was all that funny...whatever he'd said.
