There was a clamor around Iris, an excitement that could be felt through the crowd, and she let out a smile herself. She was an excellent horsewoman from her training as a warrior.
Turning away, she hurried to where her horse was located and, after checking her straps, climbed into the saddle.
“There now,” she cooed, patting its neck. “We are going tae be victorious taeday.”
There was a cheer that went up as Iris fell in line with the rest of the participants, grinding her jaw. She was a fine racer, but it looked as if they were going to ride through the moors. Riding through the moors could be dangerous for a rider in the daytime, but riding through in a deep, thick mist that they were staring at?
It was horribly dangerous.
Just her type.
“Ready riders!”
Iris’s hands started to sweat as she gripped the reins, looking at those that were around her. The key would be to get ahead of the swarm of riders so that she could sidestep the deep ruts and holes they would encounter. There she could be more cautious.
A particular rider caught her eye, and when he looked over at her, she felt the dull flush creep up her neck.
James.
He looked perfectly at ease on top of his horse, a big brown horse that was likely taller than she was. He wasn’t wearing the tartan of his clan, which she thought was interesting, and his hair was loose about his head, the wind blowing the strands into his face.
If nothing more, Iris had to best him. She had to rid herself of this obsession her mind had for him, for a man who was to be her enemy. Nothing would bode well out of any sort of further engagement in their meetings, nor would it bring anything of value to Iris personally.
She didn’t want to have any sort of attachment to anyone.
A lone horn sounded, and the group of riders took off, disappearing into the mist one by one. Iris dug her heels into the side of her horse and hung on as the horse shot forward, breaking out into a run nearly immediately. The mist swallowedthem whole; Iris found it hard to see anything before her, the faint sounds of hoofbeats other than her own all around her.
For a moment her lips broke out into a smile, and she relished the feel of the wind on her face, the feel of the horse as it moved under her body. She loved to ride like this without any cause for concern or dodging enemies as she did so.
“There ye are!”
She heard his voice over the rapid beat of the hooves before he materialized out of thin air, a wide grin on his face. He was racing at the same speed that she was, his horse’s hooves pounding the ground as they crossed over it.
Iris frowned and nudged forward, but he soon followed. She attempted to steer away, only to have him follow once more.
“Wot are ye doing?” she shouted. “Get away!”
“Nay!” he shouted back. “’Tis better if we stick taegether!”
She shook her head. No, it wasn’t better at all for them to be in the same vicinity!
“Get away!” she repeated, making a shooing motion with her hand as her horse surged forward.
“I am going tae just have tae best ye then!” he called out, causing Iris to grin.
Despite all that she told herself earlier, Iris found herself turning back in her saddle and calling out, “I would like tae see ye try!”
She turned before she could see his response, and once he was no longer in her line of sight, Iris allowed herself to draw in a breath and focus on the race ahead. She didn’t know how many of the other participants she had passed or where the race would end, but she imagined it would be a circular race, where they would turn sharply and head back to the camp in short order.
She just had to continue to gain ground until then.
With a shout, she urged her horse faster until the mist started to dissipate and she could see other riders ahead of her.
Finally. Now Iris could start making some headway in this competition.
After a few miles, it was clear that her assumption about the race was right. She could see flags marking the turn in the path, where they would head back the other way toward the camp.
Dodging a slower rider ahead of her, Iris guided her horse into the sharp turn, slowing down but not enough to make it. Suddenly her horse shifted as if she was losing her footing and Iris gulped, waiting for them to tip sideways.
