They shared a glance. In turn, Lord Evergreen took a deep breath and hooked his thumb and finger against his lips to whistle into the barn.Nothing happened.He looked at us and whistled a second time.Nothing.
“Excuse me,” he said.
After a moment inside, the lord emerged, leading a trotting white horse. The breeze around me swept into my lungs, and I ran toward the beast.
“Whoa!” Cyrus called. He sent his hand up to me as the mare threatened to rear, stomping into the dirt. “It’s ok. She’s alright,” he said to her.
“I’m sorry,” I told the horse. I knew my eyes were wide, but I had lost all means of control. “I’m sorry.” I held my palm out for her to sniff, slowly stepping forward. “Is… Is she for me? Just me?” I asked.
“Do you like her?” Sam wondered.
The horse startled and might have knocked Lord Evergreen over had he been any less skilled, but he eased her back onto all her shoes.
Ser Elías moved to my side and looped my arm, pulling me back a couple of feet.
“She’s absolutelyperfect,”I whined. “She’s perfect.” I inhaled sharply, inspecting her every angle and whispering as if she might understand me if I spoke softly enough. “You are quite fierce, aren’t you, girl?” I asked. “Yes. A woman after my own heart.”
Cyrus patted her mane.
“What...What is her name?” I asked.
Sam shook his head. “Uh. Well. What would you like to name her? She’syourhorse.”
“You haven’t named her?” I looked at her, then past the rein to Cyrus’s hand, flat against her neck. “...What haveyoubeen calling her?” I asked.
“Me?” He didn’t answer.
“Yes, you. Are you not charged with breaking her?” I asked.
“I am,” he said. “I found her, too.”
I made it close enough to touch her face. “Surely you have been calling her something? How can you love her without her name?”
Evergreen watched me, narrowing his dark eyes. “...Isaac,” he said finally.
“Isaac?”Sam asked. He laughed. “What a silly name for her. She is a girl, isn’t she?”
“I think it’s pretty,” I replied. “She’s a warrior. I can tell.”
“And, uh, Ice, for short,” Cyrus added.
“Ice.”I smiled. Isaac relaxed, sighing loudly from her nose, and I sang, “Oh,” flattered by the sound. “Hello. Hello, Miss Ice. I’m Svana Eisson. How do you do?”
Someone signaled to Sam from the Palace. He gave them a curt, simple wave.
“...I’m afraid I must leave you now, love,” he said. He slid his hands into his pockets and craned his head. “Duty never rests. It seems I can no longer prolong my appointments, you understand?”
“Of course. Appointments are a truth I am well acquainted with.” I petted Isaac’s shape a little longer. “Would you have me join you?”
“No,” he said. “No, of course not. Stay here. Enjoy yourself. Go for a ride,” he suggested. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Sam bowed; I curtsied. He turned to go, but then I was suddenly overwhelmed with an urge tostophim.
“Are you not available to come with me?” I asked.
He knit his brows together. “With you? Where?”
“Riding,” I said. “You could postpone your affair one more time? I’m sure they would understand. This is our first day together, after all.”
