“Steed?” It wasn’t as funny this time.
“How did you do it?”
I raised my brow, unsure what he was asking.
“The snake,” he clarified.
“Oh. I… I don’t know.”
“Was it transfer magic, did you simply push it there?”
That wasn’t what I’d meant. I didn’t know how I’d controlled it, but it wasn’t from the outside. Should I tell him?
“How else?” I asked, innocently.
He nodded. “Some of the others, well, they seem to think you encouraged the snake to go under its own power. Silly, I know.” He was watching my response.
I tried sidetracking him. “Ruby says no one can control animals.”
“You’ve been talking to Ruby about it?”
Oops. “Well, Ruby just talks.”
“Mm-hm.”
“So, some of the others... who, exactly?”
He smirked, I'd given too much away. “You couldn’t tell by the way they looked at you in the clearing?”
I had noticed. Anvil, Grey. It brought back a memory. “Who was the old guy with the stick?”
“Staff.”
“Staff.” I waited.
“Shouldn’t you be preparing for the trip?”
“Shouldn’t you?” I countered.
“I am babysitting.”
I stuck my tongue out at him.
I was tired. I settled back into my seat. “Steed, tell me about breeding horses.”
He sighed. “How much detail do you want?” I giggled.
He smiled as he started into the subject, explaining what he’d been taught about breeding techniques and dominant traits when he was young. His father had imparted to him all he had learned in his lifetime and all their ancestors had passed down before. They bred the animals methodically, striving to combine certain traits, bring them together in a single horse. With each generation, they strengthened the line, even bringing in new breeds from other lands to add to the list of desired attributes. Smoother gait, better endurance, stronger health, longer life.
I faded off somewhere during the part about bloodlines.
I woke late in the evening when Ruby switched places with Steed. She had brought some meat back with her and we supped together before I headed off to bed. Ruby didn’t question why I would be sleeping again so soon, but she was busy being excited about her upcoming trip.
I didn't share her enthusiasm, so I retired to my room and read more of the journal. There were many sad passages after the passing of the writer’s mother, though their bond didn’t seem traditional, it seemed more... formal. And there were many complaints about the additional workload, both with the castle duties (which were described in more detail) and her training. I couldn’t be sure how much time had passed without the entries being dated, but her mood had definitely shifted.
Father has been merciless in my practice and testing with Rune. Unrelenting sessions are wearing on me. I can barely concentrate. I don’t have the energy for the simplest tasks, let alone the new and wild trials he’s created. He thinks he has to test every possible idea he has or else he won’t know what I might be capable of. He’s gone much more often lately but Rune doesn’t let up in his absence. I wish there was a way to handle him, some way he’d give me a break when father was away. I can think of nothing short of begging, and that would only result in punishment. Sometimes, when he’s away, I remember my mother. I try to see her room but it is sealed. I am sorry that I destroyed the only thing I had of her, this insignificant journal, tore her pages out and tossed them away to make it my own, a silly child. I remember most of it though I can’t recall the tone of her writings, whether she was happy in the beginning. My father’s indiscretion was no secret. The entire kingdom knew of his notorious action, stealing a light elf for his bride, though the stories vary. Some insist he was overtaken by love and she came willingly. Others that he raided her village and took her in the night. A servant once told me he heard of her extraordinary powers and beauty and sought her out, bargaining with her parents. I had scoffed at that. What kind of person would trade their child? But now that I am older, I see. I see what power and greed can become. My doubts of the more outlandish stories, those of the obsession with power and ideas of breeding a stronger line are gone. But maybe they were in love. Maybe she was impressed by his station, maybe she had her own ambitions. Or maybe she lived a nightmare and only hung on so long for her children.
I was able to piece together some things about her life. She didn’t go into much detail about the magic, which I would have found useful, just that she practiced often and was apparently unusually talented. But she did tell more about her duties in the castle. Her father must have ruled a vast kingdom. And she was his second.
I heard someone in the front room and knew I had read through the night again. I hurriedly slipped the book into my pack and pretended to sleep. Ruby was waking me minutes later to head out to the ridge.
Chapter Fourteen
Traveling