Eden-South (15 page)

As they approached the city gates, two
armoured guards came out to meet them.

“Good morning, Wolf,” the grey-haired one
called out. They both looked to be in their forties, and both men
were quite large. The grey-haired man had a short snow-white beard
on his face and clear blue eyes, and the brown-haired man had no
beard and dark brown eyes.

“Morning, Bryce, Albert.” Wolf nodded in
both directions. “I’m taking our wee young lad here out to the
horses.” Both men smiled at Aiden knowingly. Even they could tell
he was going to be in trouble, Aiden thought nervously.

“On you go then,” Albert, the grey-haired
one, said.

As they came out into the open area in front
of the gates, Aiden was amazed to see just how much space there was
between the city wall and the forest on the other side of the
field. When he had crossed it at night with Elisa, it hadn’t felt
that long, but now that he stood there he saw there was a
considerable distance. It would be very easy to see approaching
intruders from the top of the walls. Aiden thanked his lucky stars
no one had seen him that night.

“Here he is,” Wolf said from behind him. He
had been staring off at the distant forest, wondering what Diana
was up to, all by herself in that small cabin. He couldn’t help but
feel sorry for her, although he knew she had chosen that life
willingly. Turning to see what Wolf was talking about, Aiden was
faced with two large nostrils.

“Holy crap!” he yelled, falling back onto
the ground.

Wolf chuckled. “This is Ty,” he introduced
the horse. It was a massive beast, with dark brown hair and massive
hooves. He snorted as Wolf held onto his reins, and stamped one
hoof on the ground. There was a plain leather saddle on his back,
almost the same colour as his mane.

“Hello, Ty,” Aiden said feebly. He got up
onto his feet and created some distance between him and the
animal.

“Don’t be afraid, newbie,” Wolf said,
smiling. “You have to show him that you’re his friend. He will be
yours from now on.”

“Mine?”

“Yeah, you need a horse, so this one is
yours.”

“What about you?” Aiden asked, shocked.

“I already have a horse.” He nodded behind
him. Sure enough, there stood another horse, which Aiden had
somehow failed to notice when they first came out. It was even
bigger than Ty and was a light grey colour. He had no saddle on his
back, which didn’t surprise Aiden. He imagined Wolf could probably
ride a horse with his eyes closed. “That is Grumpy.”

Aiden gulped. “Why is his name Grumpy?”

“Because he is a miserable old bag. I’m
warning you now, he bites, so don’t get too close. Ty here is the
complete opposite, though. He is a big, gentle giant—perfect for
you. I’ve raised him since he was just a baby,” he revealed,
stroking the horse’s long mane. “I think you two will make a good
pair.”

Aiden was surprised he was so willingly
giving up the horse. Even though he had reassured him of the
horse’s nature, Aiden couldn’t help but be nervous around him. He
stood away from Ty, watching him carefully.

“Oh, come on, newbie. He won’t do anything.
Come grab his reins, and pet him. Make him see that you’re his new
rider. You two have to connect to make this really work; otherwise,
it will be more difficult for you.”

Nodding his head slowly, Aiden hesitantly
shuffled closer to the animal, reaching out with his hand. The
horse immediately pushed his nose into his palm and snorted into
it. Snot came flying out into his hand. Wolf laughed.

“Look, he already likes you! Now grab these
reins, and let’s go.”

He handed Aiden the reins, and walked over
to the grey horse. Aiden felt nervous holding such a large animal
by a small lead, but the horse seemed to be perfectly content. They
walked the two animals a little farther away from the walls, so
they’d have more room. Ty walked obediently beside him, never
pulling or complaining. Grumpy, on the other hand, continuously
gave Wolf a hard time, which Wolf seemed to take in good
humour.

“He’s just acting up because Ty is here.”
Wolf laughed, nudging the massive beast. “He gets jealous of him,
but that will change when he realizes you’ll be the one riding
him.” The reality of their situation dawned on Aiden, making him
break out into a sweat. It was one thing to walk beside the large
horse, but it was another thing to have to ride him. He couldn’t do
it, he thought in a panic. There was no way he could picture
himself on top of an animal this large. “This should be far
enough,” announced Wolf, stopping in his tracks. “Time to get on!”
Aiden instinctively froze.

“I can’t,” he breathed.

“Don’t be nervous,” he warned him. “He’ll
sense that from you, and then you’ll make him nervous. Just get up
slowly, and wiggle around until you feel comfortable. It will take
a while for you to feel really comfortable on the saddle, but that
is normal. If you get good enough, we can take it off.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You never know,” Wolf replied, smiling.
“Now get on, and don’t be scared. He won’t just take off on you;
he’ll wait for you to instruct him.”

“An … and how do I do that?” Aiden
stuttered.

He looked at Aiden with an inquisitive brow.
“You really haven’t ridden before, have you?”

“Why would I lie about something like
that?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he walked up to
Aiden and bent down, cupping his hands below him. “Step into my
hands, and hoist yourself up. We’ll take this one step at a
time.”

That was exactly what they did. Aiden almost
felt humiliated, except for the fact that he sincerely appreciated
the effort Wolf was putting into his lesson. It was as if he were
teaching a toddler how to ride. The men on the walls watched them,
most likely laughing at how ridiculous Aiden looked, but he didn’t
care. As long as he got it in the end, he didn’t care how he got
there. They started with Wolf walking with the reins in his hands,
while Aiden sat on top. Wolf taught him all the leg and hand
movements that would instruct Ty what to do. He also taught him how
to speak to the animal, and how to reward him when he did well. The
horse responded well to praises, clearly aiming to please the
person who was riding him. They never went faster than a trot. Wolf
saw how unsteady he was in the saddle, and said he didn’t want to
risk an injury to him by making the horse run.

“That will be for another day,” he said,
pointing out that it was better to get his balance and the basics
down first, before they moved on to more advanced commands. They
spent the whole day out there, not even stopping for lunch. The sun
began to fall in the sky, finally making Wolf call it quits.

“I think we’ve done enough for now. You did
a great job,” he cooed. Aiden was about to thank him, until he
realized he was talking to the horse. “You too,” he laughed,
looking up at Aiden.

“Gee, thanks,” he replied sarcastically. “My
ass is numb,” he complained, igniting laughter from Wolf. “It’s not
funny. Help me down.” He started to walk toward Aiden, when
suddenly Ty reared his front hooves and took off. Aiden began to
scream, while Wolf broke out into sheer laughter.

“Looks like he doesn’t want to let you off,”
he yelled after him.

“Wolf! Tell him to stop!” He bounced around
on the saddle, holding on for dear life. He could feel his body
slowly slipping to the side as the horse continued to race around
the field. He was doing wide circles now, staying far enough away
from Wolf that he couldn’t do anything. Just as he had dreamt the
night before, Aiden found himself flying off the saddle as Ty
jumped over a log that was lying in his path. The wind rushed past
his ears as he flew through the air. Bracing himself for the
inevitable impact, he closed his eyes tightly and let himself fly.
The impact came—much, much harder than he could have ever imagined.
Screaming out in pain, he lay in a crumpled heap on the ground,
while the damn horse continued to run around frantically.

“Aiden!” Wolf yelled, the first time he ever
heard him use his actual name. “Are you okay? Don’t move!”

“I wasn’t planning to,” he replied through
clenched teeth.

Rolling him over onto his back, he started
to check Aiden for any broken bones. “That was quite the ride.” He
smirked, obviously trying to lighten up the situation. Aiden felt
ill, and rolled back over to vomit beside him. “Easy there,
newbie!” He was checking every limb, making sure nothing was
broken. Aiden lay still, scared to move in case he had done
something to himself.

“Is he all right?” he heard someone yell.
There were numerous feet running across the field toward them. The
setting sun shone right into his eyes, making it hard for him to
see their faces. As they came closer he saw they were the Captain,
the King, and another man he hadn’t met. All three wore faces of
anxiety, watching Wolf do his inspection.

“I don’t feel anything broken,” Wolf said at
last. “I think you’ll live, newbie! Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” Aiden replied sarcastically.
Slowly, he sat up and stayed there, still feeling too ill to
stand.

“Are you okay, Aiden?” the King asked,
crouching down in front of him. “How is your head?”

“I’m fine,” he lied. “Just a little taken
aback is all. I wasn’t expecting that to happen.”

The Captain walked over and slapped Wolf on
the back of the head.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Wolf cried,
holding the back of his head.

“For not keeping control over the
situation!” the Captain replied, looking down at Aiden.

“It’s not my fault!” he defended himself.
“Ty was just excited; he hasn’t been able to run all day.”

“Well, he is your horse; therefore, this is
your fault. You’re supposed to be taking care of the boy, not
getting him thrown off a bloody horse.”

Wolf looked like he wanted to argue further,
but the expression on the Captain’s face kept his words from
escaping. He simply swallowed and looked back to Aiden.

“It really isn’t his fault,” Aiden said,
trying to help.

The Captain ignored him. “Shall we get you
up then, boy? We’ll have the doctor take a look at you.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Aiden said,
holding up his hands. “I feel fine, nothing feels broken, and I
didn’t really land on my head, so no harm done.” Wolf smiled at him
approvingly, probably appreciating the brave face Aiden was trying
to put on. He must have known how Aiden really felt.

“Fine. Wolf, take him back to the dorm while
I take the King and Chancellor Ottman back to the palace.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied, reaching his hand
out for Aiden to take. As the three men walked away, Aiden wondered
if he should have gone to the doctor. He did hit the side of his
head when he landed, and it was quite possible he had a concussion.
On the other hand, he hated doctors, and he had no idea what they’d
be like in a place like Eden. It was medieval, and he was afraid
the doctors would be too. Shuddering at the thought, he looked
around for Ty, and saw him farther down in the field eating
grass.

“Stupid beast,” Aiden muttered. Walking over
to him, he grabbed his reins and told him he was bad. The horse
just snorted, seemingly uninterested in what had just happened.

“You did all right today, newbie,” Wolf said
conversationally as they walked back to the city gate. “I’d say in
a couple more days you’ll be comfortable enough to ride around on
your own, and not fall off.”

“Doubt it,” he replied sullenly. Wolf
laughed at his attitude.

“Why must you always be so pessimistic?
Don’t you believe in yourself?”

Shocked by the question, Aiden looked at him
in surprise. He didn’t know how to answer that question. Did he
believe in himself? Lately he had been flipping back and forth.
Some days he felt like he could do this, and then others he felt
completely useless, like today. There was just so much riding on
his shoulders that he felt like even if he were to achieve some
level of skill during his time in Eden, it still wouldn’t be
enough. They were going to be facing a whole army, not just of men,
but apparently also of huge magical beasts. How does one compete
with that?

Wolf continued before Aiden could think of
an answer. “If anyone is going to believe in you, it should be
yourself. Look—” He stopped, turning to face Aiden. “I don’t know
what is going on, or why you’re here, but I trust the King, and I
trust the Captain. Most important, I trust myself, and I know
whatever we come up against, I’m going to be there to stop them
with whatever abilities I have. I can’t do it on my own, though, so
I need to know the people who will be around me are also going to
be ready.”

Aiden stood silently, as each word that came
out of Wolf’s mouth caused goose bumps along his arms.

“So, are you going to be ready?” he asked
Aiden, his face an image of sincerity.

Looking around at the high walls of the
city, and thinking about the beauty inside them, and all the
people, he knew that even though it wasn’t his home, he couldn’t
let it be destroyed. The city, the forest, the land itself had a
magical feel, a feeling of peace. There was no way he could stand
by and let that be ruined. Turning back to Wolf, Aiden nodded his
head.

“I might not be ready now, but I will be, I
promise,” he replied. “I’ll do everything I can to get there. You
have my word.” Smiling, Wolf reached out and grabbed his arm in a
firm grasp.

“Then let’s get to work!”

Without speaking a word, both boys turned
back to the field and started away from the walls. The horses,
confused by the sudden change in direction, followed obediently as
they headed back to the area where they had just been. The sun was
lowering in the sky, and soon the city walls would be shut, but
that didn’t seem to bother either of them. Jumping back onto their
saddles, they started to go through the same exercises Wolf had
made before. This time, Aiden wasn’t scared, his body filled with
adrenaline and confidence. Ty could feel it too, and the two of
them rode like Aiden had been riding for days instead of hours.