can't lead a horse to water }} [caspian]

[vyx]

Sarcasm was a terrible thing. The day within the castle had been one of many messes, including a basket of royal laundry being regretfully dropped into a puddle of mud outside the castle walls. One of the garments stained in the dirt was of fancy stitching and was a pain to wash that not all the dirt came out. Irritated the servant girl had brought the cloth to the head maiden of the servants, where Tasya had been loitering nearby. If only her fellow servant would have warned her, perhaps the brunette Tasya would have kept her mouth shut. As it was the head maiden had turned to Tas and instructed for her to attempt to get out the stain, leaving wide open room for an involuntary remark of, "Well why don't I just take it down to the river to see if the water God can remove it since normal water obviously doesn't work." Thus, after a quick smack on the mouth for her smart-alec words Tasya had been given a stable pony and sent out towards the river as some sort of strange punishment.

The pony beneath her was a rough and irritable ride, with it's gait choppy from it's lack of proper riders. The only other people who used the fat creature were servants sent out on errands much like hers, of course theirs had actual purpose where as she was suffering for letting something slip past her lips. The saddle was hardly that, and the rough leather that was unkempt could be felt through the thin beige material of a boys shorts she had pulled over her legs. The endings of the hems came halfway past her knee, leaving many inches of skin open with her feet only covered by sandals. The bay's coat itched at her legs, his hair shedding slightly while all covered with dirt. He would need a bathe in the river as well.

The large body of water came into view after about a half-hour of riding, and she clucked her tongue and urged the beast down towards the water. She slipped from the saddle, her white blouse billowing about her thin body as she moved down towards the shore with the fancy royal wear in her hands. She went to her knees smoothly, the pebbles jutting slightly into skin but not breaking it, as she dipped the attire into the water. She set to work with that and a washing board for a good while, longer than necessary, before realizing that the stain would indeed not come out. With a sigh she set the object aside and looked back to the beast behind her. Well, at least perhaps she could make something more clean. She grabbed hold of the reins and attempt to pull him into the water, but the stubborn attitude of the pony soon won out and he pulled back so sharply the reins snapped from her hands and he bolted back towards Miraz's castle. "Stubborn beast!" Tasya shouted to the animal before flying after it, knowing she wouldn't catch it. She barely made it a few feet before throwing her hands up in defeat and annoyance. "Come back!" No luck.

[caspianx]

“Bring me my horse,” King Caspian said in a voice that did not leave any room for further discussion. “Yes, milord,” the groom responded with a short, polite bow. He hurried down the breezeway, whistling a tune to himself. Caspian followed behind him, annoyance showing in his every step. He could have easily overtaken the man, but he forced himself to keep a few paces behind him. Caspian had been in council all morning and his head pounded. He could not take it anymore! He had to be free! Just for a few hours at least. As he walked he rubbed incessantly at his temple. Oh, how it pained him to be sitting inside for so long on such a glorious morning. The groom stopped infront of a large stall. There within stood a large grey charger, his coat was dappled and shone even in the dimness of the stable due to the hours of currying and fair treatment he had recieved over the years. He was a lean and well muscled horse and had served Caspian well in battle, hunts, and on journeys for quite some time.

A small smile graced Caspian's face as his eyes fell upon the fair beast. It was certainly nice to come face to face with a creature that did not require any more from Caspian than a firm, gentle hand, a soft word, and a pat on the neck every now and then. The horse tossed his head, his long mane flying as the groom tethered him. The muscles in his neck rippled. As he was saddled, Caspian put his hand upon the horse's large head with its Roman nose. It was not a beautiful head, but it provided the balance that such a long legged creature needed. The King stood in the stable and took in the scent around him. It wasn't musty like that of a stable you might find in and around Tashban. It certainly could not be compared with the stable that Miraz had kept. Everything in the stable was the best of the best, save those items that they kept around for sparring, short journies, and other matters when ceremony and opulence were not called upon.

The gray accepted his bit with a slight twitch of the ear and the groom lead him from his stall. "Here you are milord," he drawled handing the reins off to Caspian who nodded at him. "Thank you kindly, sir" he responded mustering as much respect for the man into those small words as he could. The annoyance was still there and it showed in his words without his meaning them to. The groom turned away as Caspian lead his horse out of the stable. He flipped the reins over the large equine's ears and taking a light hold on them, swung himself up into the saddle. With a click of his tongue the horse took off at a trot. Caspian did not wait to warm up his horse. He wanted to be off and away from the castle. With another click Caspian felt the horses's body surge beneath him into a canter and from there to a gallop. He rode on a straight course for a while, up through the forest and down again.

His riding cloak billowed out behind him, not at all providing warmth, though it was hardly needed. Caspian crouched low over the horse's neck as he ran. In pure exhilaration Caspian gave out a loud and long cry. He felt like a hawk, flying fast over the ground; faster and faster still. His breeched thighs held him tightly in place as he came around a bend. The footing beneath them became slightly stony, though they were still in the woods. He could here the roaring sound of the Great River nearby. Suddenly, Caspian's horse shied to the right and tossed his head as he tried to flee from whatever was in front of him. The horse was usually intelligent, even though it was not a Talking Beast. Caspian fought his mount only for a moment for his head. "Whoa there boy, Shh...It's only another beast," He crooned, stroking the gray's veined neck. The horse's nostrils flared red and he pranced in his place nervously before finally settling down.

To Caspian's surprise the horse nickered. It was not a frightened nicker, but a whinny of greeting. An obese little pony galloped towards them, the stirrups of his saddle flying. Caspian was suprised to see a horse of his size run so fast. The bay returned his new aquaintances whinny and slowed to a trot. Over the noise of the horses and the river could be heard the slight voice of a woman. Caspian felt like an idiot for not realizing before that the pony would not be out with a saddle on his back and no rider. Dismounting, Caspian ground-tied his horse and walked quickly forward. Perhaps the pony's rider was in peril. Coming out of the forest he caught sight of a rather defeated looking maiden. She looked familiar to him, though he could not name her. She was probably one who worked in the castle, though he could not be certain. He lessened the gap between them in a few strides. "Milady," he said, amusement peppering his voice, "You seem to have lost something. You're not harmed, I trust?"

[vyx]

She knew it was childish to stomp her foot, but she could hardly contain the action as the sound of her sandal slapping the earth rang in a small expanse of air. A huff of irritation left her lips as she watched the pony scurry his way up towards the trees, taking the immediate path home. "Stubborn, irritable, pudgy, no good..." the words spouted out of her mouth before she just gave up, settling into silence as the silhouette of the equine slowly but surely slipped away into the foliage. Now what? Tasya, confused and unsure, turned to the items that were left scattered on the ground. The stained garment was laid over a nearby slab of stone, while the means to wash it sat in disarray around the stone's base. Otherwise she hadn't carried much else with her.

A pack of bread was tied about her waist, a snack for the short travel just in case. It wasn't much, but it seemed a decent enough idea to eat a fair amount of nutrients before she began the trek back to the castle on foot. Shifting over the shirt to make space, Tasya sat herself down on the rocky slab and removed the pouch of grain from her side, unfolding the thing like a napkin to reveal the bread pieces inside. Her hands, palms especially, burned from where the pony had ripped his reins through her hands, and she could see the red lines along her skin from the friction's burn. Muttering an incoherent word she plucked up a piece of bread between her thumb and pointer finger and began, not eating, but nibbling more so on it. A few small bites and a piece would be done, and she had about a dozen ripped up pieces, all ranging at about one x one inch. It was no wonder the girl had no meat on her bones.

She was half way through her second piece, still nibbling away, when she caught the echo of the pony's whinny, and her eyes looked up with hope that the obese animal was returning. Instead she was greeted by a few moments of nothing before a man's shape silhouetted against the trees. She immediately rose off of the slab of stone she'd been sitting on, watching with curious eyes as the man drifted closer. It was upon closer inspection that she realized who it was, and her eyes went like saucers in shock. Her hands fumbling she managed to re-cover her bread and place it on the rock beside his shirt. Oh! His garment. Crap. She grabbed the thing swiftly and held it behind her back, not so sure she wanted to be the one to confess that the item was dirty. After all, why should she take the fall of someone else's mistake? Then again, as a fellow servant she could help shoulder some burden, so the poor girl who probably felt bad enough didn't have to take on any more than she needed. Still, with a blush of nervousness in her cheeks, Tasya kept the shirt behind her back, a breeze billowing through her blouse as her King approached, and as soon as he was within a few feet her head dipped out of pure courtesy.

His voice left her trying to clutch for words, and she wondered with question if she should speak at all. She was no deaf mute, but she was hardly on the level to speak with one such as she. Still, he'd asked her a question and spoken directly too her, not answering would plainly be rude and she couldn't have that either. With her head still low, her wavy dark hair curtaining her face, she shook her head slowly. "No my lord. Not at all. Thank you kindly for your concern." She murmured to him with a hesitance and softness to her voice. "Not to speak out of place, but my lord has enough to worry about without bothering over some silly servant like myself. I merely just couldn't gain control of my pony - I'm sorry...,!" she quickly corrected "...Your pony." For after all, she hardly had the money to her name to own a beast, and the equine was a part of his stables. Her cheeks flamed red and luckily he could not see the progression of such for her head was still low, eyes averted to the ground.