Through Her Paces

Her father stepped toward her as if by instinct. “Elisa?! He said in surprise then came down to a knee before her. He lifted up her pant leg to rub at her calf. This happened alot when one had to stoop to shoe animals. It put pressure on the calf muscles and a cramp hurt something fierce. With his head down Theodred saw Elisa wave at him. Theodred nodded then silently scuttled around back into the smithy where her father had come. He mouthed the words, “I Love You,” toward her before he disappeared into the shop.

Eagan sat on a water barrel and watched as Narisa put Farling, a young, red mare through her paces in the exercising ring. There were several here and there around the city but this one was attached to the royal stables. Farling was tall and lithe, one of the elven bred that her Grandfather had given to her mother. Her coat was a fiery red that almost glowed in the sunlight.

Two years ago Narisa and Eagan were much closer than they were now. They were best friends once but no longer. He had...embarrassed her in the worst possible way and it was to late to take it all back. More than once they had even went skinny dipping down river. It was something they liked to do when the summer grew hot and long. They did a fair bit of kissing but never with their clothes off and Narisa was young, still filling out and he had remarked about that and not in a flattering way. He had said it was like swimming with another boy though what he meant by that was how much rough housing she did...not about how she actually looked. Ofcourse though she took it completely wrong and that..was that. She barely even looked at him as she rode. A picture of practiced indifference about him being there.

Farling would buck once in a while. She still wasn’t used to a saddle. She had a stubborn spirit and as Narisa turned a corner to sharply Farling bucked and narisa flew off of her and landed hard behind her. Without thought Eagan flew off the barrel to help her up. “Are you alright?!” He asked as he put his hands on her to help her up. The fall did hurt, her bum would be sore for days but the embarrassment was what really grilled her. And all happened in front of...HIM! That galled her more than anything else. His hands on her surprised her and she lashed out without thinking and hit him in the nose. He hadn’t let go immediately though as he helped her to her feet and blood began to trickle down onto his lip.

Narisa had been riding horses since before she could walk. She felt more comfortable on them than she did anywhere else. Whenever she was having a bad day or just needed to escape for a while she knew exactly where to go...to the stables. She had three horses in total, but Farling was the newest. She had immediately fallen in love with her fiery spirit...and fiery color. Farling was still quite young and hadn't yet been fully broken. Narisa was working with her a little each day and her training had been coming along.

That day Narisa was working Farling in one of the round pens. She had her in a steady trot around the outside edge of the pen. Narisa rode with confidence and elegance. However, as she came around the pen once more she spotted Eagan out of the corner of her eye and sighed a little to herself. They had once been best friends...and then had been in a relationship, but things had ended badly between them. She had once believed she could marry Eagan and they had even quietly spoken about just eloping, but now she felt angry whenever she looked at him. She did her best to ignore him and focus on Farling, but it was too late. She hadn't been paying attention and tried to turn Farling too sharply and the young mare bucked hard and Narisa found herself seconds later on the ground behind her. Farling trotted off and Narisa groaned a little as she tried to pull herself up. She felt strong hands on her and realized that Eagan had rushed over to help her. She couldn't believe her luck. She hadn't been thrown off a horse in years and Eagan has to be there to see it! Just that thought alone made her angry with embarrassment and as Eagan tried to help her up she struggled to get out of her grip and in the process hit him in the nose.

"I don't need any help!"

Eagan blinked as he felt her blow but he didn’t react to it. He tasted the metallic flavor of blood but he continued to help her up. “Don’t be a goose!” He exclaimed feeling a brush of anger suddenly to her ungrateful attitude. He had seen seasoned soldiers break arms or legs form a fall like that. “You could have been,” he started but when she swayed back into him suddenly his voice cut off. “You ARE hurt,” he said as he continued to hold her up. She was light but still he was surprised at how much of her weight he had to hold. “Just give yourself a moment, will you!” He argued as she still tried to fight herself away from him. She actually felt...good in his arms but he was to concerned for her to think much about that.

Narisa felt some pain in her right ankle. It wasn't broken, but it did hurt. She tried not to allow Eagan to see this, but when she tried to stand on her own she felt a sharp pain in her ankle and she swayed back into his arms. Damn him for not only seeing her fall, but also for being there to know she was hurt! And damn his arms for feeling so good around her. Old feelings started to bubble up and she had to force them back down.

"I'm fine!" She said as she pulled away from him. She started to walk over towards Farling, trying not to wince in the process.

Eagan started after her and took a pace next to her as she walked. “You are being foolish Narisa...and I don’t understand why you are still so angry with me. I apologized...long ago and I still find myself trying to make up for it still. Can you not find it in yourself to forgive me?” he asked as he watched her expression as she had to slow down and hobble. “You’d injure your foot further instead of letting me help you. Do you really hate me ‘that’ much? Can’t we just admit we still have feelings for one another and move forward?” He said before his mind caught up to his mouth. He cringed at what he said.

Narisa wanted to get away from Eagan, but she couldn't walk fast enough because of her ankle. Farling turned and cantered away before she could get to her. She sighed because it was now going to take time to calm her down. However before she could tell Eagan to leave she heard him tell her that he still had feelings for her. She looked over at him slightly. She did still have feelings for him, but would not admit it out loud.

"Eagan, I'm with Thane now..."

OOC-can't remember if we've already used this name or not lol

Eagan seemed to stagger at mention of that name. Thane was among the boys he had known when he came to learn soldering and horses over the summers. They got along alright, Eagan was easy to get along with but Thane was somewhat jealous of Narisa’s attentions toward Eagan. Now, hearing that she was ‘with’ him he stopped abruptly in his tracks. It wasn’t that he could have expected any different, Narisa had grown into a very beautiful young woman. But hearing it out like that made him feel sick to his stomach. It was then that he noticed his nose had been bleeding and the red blood appeared on his hand when he wiped at it. It was difficult to stop the hurt that he felt just knowing that another man…’Thane’ was with her now.

“You know he doesn’t ride well and doesn’t even like horses much don’t you!?” He said loudly as she continued on without him. “How could you be with someone that don’t like horses!?” He said even louder as she stepped even further away. He turned away himself and started back toward the house. They were all supposed to have dinner together and he doubted that that was going to be fun. No fun at all.

Narisa glanced at Eagan and was surprised to feel a twinge of guilt at his reaction. However, she didn't say anything. She suddenly wished she could get out of this dinner, but she knew only great sickness or death would allow that. She sighed a little as she watched him go before going back to calming down Farling. It took her 45 minutes to finally get her back in the stables and unsaddled. As she removed Farling's bridle she began to think about Eagan again. She sighed and shook him from her mind before going inside to dress for dinner.