Rider (Spirals of Destiny) (15 page)

He flared both nostrils at her relaying contempt and replied,
“Unlike the others, I require no training or any other assistance from you. Quite the contrary, you could learn many things from me.”

“
You lash out like some kind of feral animal, Majherri. I had hoped that with your new rider, there would be some semblance of the brother I once knew. Even with her, you remain broken. I am concerned. You follow your human about, herding her like a newborn.”

“
Spare me,” he snorted.
“You claim to know me, but you know nothing! … less than nothing!”

“
No, I do not believe I know you anymore, but you will show restraint around the younglings.”

“
Or what, sister? Your human will continue her vendetta against me through my rider. Shouldn’t you be telling her the same thing you are saying to me?”

She flared her nostrils in response and butted her head against him.
“My rider is in charge of her brood and I am in charge of this herd. She has her way and I have mine. You will heed my instructions!”

He shook his mane in anger and answered,
“Dear sister, you were never my equal, so stop pretending you are my better. Do what you do best, teach the younglings to march in perfect, straight lines, show them how to position themselves during ceremonies, and teach them how to identify the human ranks. Should they want to know what it is like in battle, tell them what little you know, and if they can comprehend that, send them to me, little Misty with your arrogant rider. Now that I have a second rider, I want your orders even less than I wanted your pity when I didn’t have one.”

She backed away, but continued to stare at him.

Borrowing a human term he said,
“You are dismissed, T’rsa.”

T’rsa shook her head from side to side.
“There is something very wrong with you, Majherri. Your magic is not right. You can act like things are in balance, but those who knew you before your loss can sense the difference. I will be watching you, brother.”

“
Good. You can learn with the rest of them.”

She galloped away leaving him every bit as angry as he had been at the end of the demonstration. Majherri returned to his contemplation of the running water and the noises it made. He watched a leaf being carried by the current off into the direction of the great lake surrounding Sacred Island.

Am I like this water? It travels with purpose. I have a rider and thus a purpose. The water always runs, but is it running to something, or away from something else. Am I running to Kayleigh or from Danella?

Despite his request, the brook provided no answer to his question.

“There you are! I was beginning to worry about you,” his rider greeted him with an apple after setting down her pitchfork. After stroking his coat for a moment, she continued, “You’re angry about something. I can tell. Do you want some oats to go with that?”

He nodded and didn’t bother to hide his ire. Through their connection, he allowed a picture of his sister to flow to his young rider. They were alone in the stable with the exception of a slumbering youngling, who must have over exerted herself. The rest of the herd was out stargazing on such a warm and clear night. And avoiding the herd and the accompanying annoyances was precisely the reason Majherri was here.

Kayleigh crinkled her tiny snout in response. “Well, if T’rsa is anything like her rider, I can see how that would be a problem. You were great out there today. Everyone said so. Even Sir Dunlap said he’d never seen a unicorn move like that before! I’m going to need a great deal of practice at just holding on.”

It is ironic. The humans are impressed and my kin are frightened. The ways our two species look at the world are often at odds with each other. Still, it warms my heart that Kayleigh is pleased with my performance.

Majherri munched on the rest of the apple as she filled a wooden bin with oats. Setting the bag down, his rider rested her forehead on his side and seemed to relax while he ate. This lasted for a few minutes and eventually she began speaking at length about the rest of her day. “I found out where I need to store my knife. That empty space we thought was a broom closet and storeroom is really the barracks arms locker. Since no one in the class but me has a personal weapon in this year, no one mentioned it. She won’t be able to get me for that on the next inspection!”

He desperately wanted to congratulate her, but instead he felt skeptical and like everything else, she sensed it as well. Stepping back, Kayleigh stretched and affirmed his opinion. “You’re right. She’ll probably move on to the next thing she can award demerits for.”

“Captain Lynch could easily award you more extra duty for standing there and conversing with Majherri instead of working.”

With his greater field of vision, Majherri didn’t have to turn very far to see Lieutenant Sheppard. Kayleigh snapped to attention.

“At ease, trainee.” Sheppard waved her hand and approached. To Majherri, her movements were not terribly graceful, but filled with purpose. “I came to see you this evening.”

“Ma’am?”

“I wanted to make certain you weren’t being run into the ground. I’ve heard what happened on the demonstration field today and Majherri’s actions combined with the pressure you’ve been under to perform lead me to wonder if you’re having problems adjusting to life here at The Academy.”

“I’m fine, ma’am.”

“Rider Welsh came to my quarters the other night and shared her concerns after she had given you a magical lesson. Perchance did you clear this with Captain Lynch?”

Majherri could tell by the reluctance in his rider that she did not want to answer the question.

“Begging the Lieutenant’s pardon, but I have been told that if I am not serving extra duty on my free day, the time is mine to use as I see fit.”

“Yes, yes and the rules state that a trainee practicing magic must have a trained observer and not a trained instructor. You are operating within the rules, Reese. However, there are rules and there is also protocol. This could easily be construed as an insult to your other instructors.”

“The monitored practices for the second and third year trainees occur when my extra hours are scheduled. Due to this, I have been able to attend only one of the practice sessions. Rider Welsh was kind enough to offer her services.”

“Yes she is and she clearly knows that she is also breaching protocol, but Rider Welsh won’t be working with the same group of instructors for the next five years. You will and you are getting off to a poor start with some of them. I happen to know you and have a better understanding of your situation than most, so I thought it best to make certain you know the lay of the land. I personally do not take offense and congratulate you on taking initiative when it comes to your education. Others may not be so charitable.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you for the warning.”

The stocky brunette nodded slowly and said, “You’re on pace to break the most hours of extra duty served in a single year.”

His rider shrugged, “At least I keep a tidy stable, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, I can see that you’ve become adept with a pitchfork. I’ve heard your stablemaster boasting to his ilk about how nice his building looks as a result. I assume you have extra duty tomorrow evening.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“In that case, tomorrow night, you will report to training field one. Under my direction, you will assist in mending the targets that will be used by the fourth year students in the morning for ranged weapon practicals. How good are you with a sewing needle?”

“I am not a seamstress, but I can perform the task.”

“Very good. Bring your knife. If you complete the mending quickly enough and time allows, I will arrange for you to have some time to put that throwing knife to use.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” His rider was genuinely grateful.

“Think nothing of it, recruit,” the woman said, pausing before smiling and continuing. “Otherwise, your weapon of choice when you leave our care may very well be a pitchfork and that wouldn’t look good on the battlefield at all.”

Majherri chortled in agreement at the image of Kayleigh on his back charging an enemy line and brandishing a stable tool. His rider looked at him and folded her arms across her chest before sticking her smallish tongue out at him.

“You’re right. We do spend a lot of time watching demonstrations.”

Ellen conceded Kayleigh’s point as the two sat in the stands and looked out over the training field. Currently, they were watching the fifth year students maneuvering in formation. But that wasn’t the reason for the crowd gathering in the stands. It was the end of the sixth week since the new session had started.

That meant one thing; it was open season on the upper classes’ lead riders and the fifth years were already clearing the training field and making their way to the stands.

Kayleigh and the girl who was the second year lead rider still had another six weeks before they could be challenged. It didn’t hurt to be prepared for the inevitable.

“So who do you think is going to be your first challenger?” Ellen asked. “I’ve got a couple coins on Morganstern.”

“I don’t think so, Ellen. She will probably let somebody else have first crack at me. That way she will see what I can do.”

“Well, she was the one to suggest that you resign for the good of the company, last week. Personally, I don’t think Captain Lynch will treat us any better just because somebody else becomes lead rider.”

“You’re probably right. The captain will be just as hard on the next person, if only to prove that she wasn't singling me out. I’m not worried and I certainly don’t intend to give Rebekah or the captain the satisfaction of seeing me quit.”

The vehemence in Kayleigh’s words was surprising and her face flushed slightly. Fortunately, it was still daylight out and no one was likely to notice. It was just one more thing that she couldn’t fix or even control. Becoming frustrated wasn’t productive and played into Captain Lynch’s hands.

Kayleigh spent the previous nine days waiting for any fallout from her private lessons with Rider Welsh. Instead, her next lesson with Annabeth passed without incident. So far, the captain had not treated her any differently than before. But she suspected it was only a matter of time before something happened.

Breaching protocol doesn’t qualify as outright insubordination, but Lieutenant Sheppard was right, the other instructors aren't exactly happy with me right now. The odd thing is, a trainee, in their fourth or fifth year, could probably get away with it without offending someone, but since I'm a first year, it's being frowned on.

“Do you ever wonder how old these benches we’re sitting on actually are?” Ellen changed the subject and Kayleigh wondered if she knew how uncomfortable the topic was.

“What?”

“Think about it; how many thousands of students have sat right where we are now over the years?”

Kayleigh chuckled and said, “I wonder how many hours of detention they’ve earned?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll catch them. I have faith in you. Oh look, here comes the third year lead rider and her challenger!”

These girls were the same age as Kayleigh and she observed them carefully. Both walked with confidence. They had each completed two grueling years here at The Academy.

I wonder if I’ll ever look like that.

“I think it’s a weapons challenge. They’ve got their unicorns, but their headed toward the ring.” Ellen babbled smacking her hands on her kneecaps. The two stopped at a weapons rack and selected wooden swords wrapped in thick padding and lightweight shields. Each stopped and said something to their unicorn before entering the circle. A pair of seconds, each inspected both weapons to be used and nodded, deeming them safe for use. The weapons were dipped in a dye to make their marks noticeable.

A tall, thin blonde, with short hair gracefully stepped to the center of the ring. Kayleigh recognized Captain Heather Sycroft, the third year commanding officer. She held her hand in the air and waited for the crowd to go silent. “A challenge has been issued. It will be decided in the ring. When it is done, it will not exist outside this ring. We are all comrades in arms.”

The two third year maidens moved to opposite sides of the circle. Kayleigh didn’t know the name of the challenger, but she had met Laurel Whitaker, the third year lead rider, a few times. By default, she found herself rooting for Laurel.

With a signal from Captain Sycroft the two warriors circled one another. The challenger made two quick slashing feints with her practice sword and Laurel parried them both. Despite both battle maidens being shorter than Kayleigh, she could see they were much stronger, both due to the training and their partnerships with their bonded unicorns. They were easily as powerful as full grown men.

As the duo exchanged more blows, Kayleigh noticed that the challenger had a longer reach, but Laurel seemed to be quicker and more skilled. The lead rider moved in close and bashed with the shield. The follow-on slash was aimed for the girl’s leg and sent the challenger hopping backwards with a painful expression on her face, as the crowd cheered. The contestants returned to their starting positions.

Kayleigh was also cheering, but she couldn’t help a dark thought intruding on her mind.
If it had been a real sword, she’d likely have lost her leg.

Ellen nudged her, “Those girls are so fast! I don’t think the challenger is going to win.”

“Me either,” Kayleigh replied watching Laurel become more aggressive in her attacks and forcing the other girl to give ground.

The mock battle lasted a scant thirty seconds longer before the challenger was on one knee after being knocked out of the circle by another combination of sword and shield attacks. The dye stain on the challenger’s chest indicated a fatal blow. The match was over. Up until that point, Kayleigh had never really considered the shield as anything more than just a means of protection despite what Sir Dunlap had said during their lessons. It was truly an eye opener.

Laurel offered a salute to her vanquished foe and helped her classmate to her feet. Kayleigh wasn’t close enough to hear, but she was certain the lead rider said, “Better luck next time.”

The applause grew as the contest was officially declared over. Laurel would be the third year lead rider for at least another week and it would be a minimum of one month before that same challenger could issue another challenge.

The captain of the fourth year students came forward holding two blunt jousting lances as Ellen bounced next to Kayleigh. “I love jousting! It’s the first thing I thought about when I was chosen. My father would take us all into town every time a tournament was held.”

“My mother didn’t like them. She never said I couldn’t go, but I always felt like I was sneaking around when I went to watch one.” Kayleigh said and stopped to think about what she had just said. It probably explained a lot about her mother’s attitudes toward violence.

The two fourth year trainees led their unicorns onto the field dressed in full armor with closed visors. Again, Kayleigh felt a sense of awe watching their smooth movements as they walked to their company commander and received both their lances and their final instructions.

More interesting than the announcement of which girl was the challenger and which was the lead rider was the posturing and body language being exchanged by the pair’s unicorns. Kayleigh focused on them and saw the rapid tail swishing, the pawing of the ground, and the snorts. The two unicorns appeared to have something of a rivalry and it looked like a challenge or a wager of a different sort was occurring.

“I wonder what the unicorns really think of all this?”

“What did you say, Kayleigh?”

She pointed to the two magical creatures and said, “They’re having their own competition.”

“You’re right! Look over there.” Ellen pointed to the ends of the wooden bleachers they were sitting on. Dozens of unicorns were gathered. None of them were idly grazing, either.

Kayleigh didn’t need a reminder that Majherri and the others were every bit as intelligent as any human, but the proof was how intently they watched the unicorns and their riders take position on opposite sides of the hundred foot long wooden fence. Within the first few seconds, they’d be charging at full speed. Each rider had two assistants holding additional lances. Jousting was a best of three passes unless one rider unseats the other.

The captain held up two flags, one blue and the other red to signal both riders to the ready position. Instinctively, Kayleigh held her breath until the flags went down. The unicorns bolted toward each other as each rider leveled her lance.

Wincing, Kayleigh felt the impact as the blue rider scored a clear hit on the red rider, but failed to unseat her opponent. Wood splinters shot into the air, like an angry swarm of insects. The captain waved the blue flag and signaled which way the point was awarded.

At the end of the fence, each rider took another lance from their assistant and wheeled around for another pass. The collision was just as powerful as last time, except the blue rider was thrown completely from her saddle, and landed in a heap.

Loud cheers greeted the red rider, who pumped her gauntleted  fist in the air. The defeated blue rider slapped the ground in frustration, anger, or injury. Kayleigh held her breath for a second time. An instructor walked briskly over to the downed trainee and knelt. Words were exchanged and the instructor summoned one of the assistants to help the girl up. From the way the blue rider was protecting her left arm, Kayleigh could tell there was an injury.

“It looks like the fourth years have a new lead rider!” Ellen said while standing and clapping. “That was incredible!”

“Oh, I agree,” a voice came from behind them. They both turned to find the gleeful face of Rebekah Morganstern. “Change is inevitable. Isn’t it Reese? But don’t worry, Kayleigh, you’ll be bounced quick enough. I’m glad you’re worried about me though.”

“Eavesdropping is such a lady-like trait, Rebekah.”

The girl rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in defiance before saying, “It’s not eavesdropping, if you two are blathering like the village idiots you are. I was just sitting here and being observant, just like my father always said I should be. Might I ask what pearls of wisdom your father imparted upon you, Kayleigh?”

“That’s uncalled for!” Ellen gasped.

“I suppose you’re right,” Rebekah said. “Reality can be so very harsh.”

Kayleigh took her time before answering. She drew herself up and said, “We’re still early in our training. You haven’t really matured very much, Rebekah. I’m sure it will happen, eventually. If you’re thinking about replacing me, I’ve already been recommending you be demoted from squad leader.”

Rebekah grinned and replied, “Obviously, the captain pays
so very much attention
to your recommendations. You’ve probably been trying for weeks.”

“You’re not worth that much personal attention. Your squad’s performance, or lack thereof, is well documented. I don’t have to sink to your level of pettiness, Morganstern. I just have to stick to the facts.”

“We’ll see about that, Reese.”

Kayleigh’s field of vision expanded from the spiteful thirteen year old over her shoulder and to the group that was following their heated exchange, while the fifth years were setting up for another jousting challenge. It dawned on her just how many ears were listening in.

“I guess we will, Rebekah. But for now, this conversation is over.”

“Because you say so?”

“Yes, squad leader. Our personal issues do not belong in a public forum. It shows a lack of discipline on both our parts and if you pursue this matter further, I will place the two of us on report and we’ll get to explain ourselves to the captain.”

Three hours later, Kayleigh was standing at attention in front of Captain Lynch’s desk. “Trainee Reese, reporting as ordered.”

The woman left her at attention and continued looking at the documents in front of her. With several quill strokes, she made notes on the parchment. Captain Lynch stood and disappeared into the next room leaving Kayleigh bewildered. The other time she had been summoned to stand in front of her commanding officer, Captain Lynch acknowledged her and immediately began dressing Kayleigh down for her shortcomings as a lead rider. She had expected that.

This silence was even more nerve-wracking. Internally, she fought her panic while remaining as still as possible.

She’s going to fire me right now! I just know it! Just keep standing at attention. She obviously knows what she’s doing. Don’t play her game!

Kayleigh remained still, but allowed her eyes to scan Captain Lynch’s office. The desk was old and worn, but it was kept orderly. Behind the wooden chair was a bookshelf. It was mostly empty, with only the books used for instruction pushed into one side. An ornate box, perhaps two feet long, rested atop the book shelve. There was no clue as to its purpose, but it was the first thing she’d seen that gave the room anything sense of personality.

She caught her breath at the second thing. It was a small portrait done in oils. The subject was an armored battle maiden on one knee. Her sword was inverted, with the point in the ground and one hand resting on the base of the pommel. The other arm cradled a helmet with a garish feathered plume to the woman’s side. Blonde hair cascaded down onto the front left side of the warrior’s chest plate. Green eyes and a mischievous smile completed the painting and there was no doubt that she was looking on the likeness of her predecessor, Danella Lynch.