The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince Read Online Free Page B

though in times past she had been indifferent to riding as a pastime, and only enthused for the hunt. Now, however, she began to find time each day for riding, and I, perforce, had to accompany her, regardless of how little I enjoyed it.
    So it was that I saw how she was with her new stablemaster. Shy he was, this Lostler, flushing pink whenever she addressed him. But she spoke him soft and gentle, in the very way in which he spoke to the horses. So also he listened to her, standing still, eyes downcast. Some said that she charmed him with her quiet words even as he charmed a hesitant horse.
    Soon she declared she would ride the Spotted Stud, although all knew the beast’s temperament was uneven and sometimes savage. “Only Lostler can manage him when he is in a temper,” her nobles said to her, beseeching her to be more considerate. “If you ride such a beast for pleasure, few other riders shall take pleasure in accompanying you.” To which she replied, “Then Lostler shall ride out at my side whenever I ride my Spotted Stud. He shall be there, to help me manage him if he becomes difficult. As for others, they may come along or not as they will, for I’m sure it will not matter to me.”
    So it transpired, despite what other folk thought of that and much to the king’s displeasure. I, however, was never excused from such expeditions. Lostler chose a horse for me, one so gentle and spiritless as to be the equivalent of a cushioned chair. On that creature, my panniers laden with the morning repast, I trailed daily after the Queen-in-Waiting and her stablemaster. Most often we left the keep at a spirited gallop, something I did not enjoy and an exercise at which they quickly outpaced me and my decrepit mount. Yet before long, I would catch up to them and find them letting their horses plod sedately along while Lostler rode at Caution’s side in quiet conversation with her.
    Only I observed them: I knew what others only guessed at. When Caution stroked the muzzle of her Spotted Stud, or traced her fingers down his neck, Lostler was the one who shivered with pleasure. When she mounted the horse and rode him, it was as if she embraced the man. Beast and man were alike under her spell, and I began to see in my lady a sensuality that I had only suspected in all our years together. It was all the more painful to me that she lavished on this Lostler all her attention and charms while I became ever more unseen and forgotten.
    So the days passed, and with each passing day, she paid more heed to her riding pleasure than to her throne. Still, noble youths came to seek her companionship for courtship, but as often as not, to find time to speak with her they must try to court her while she rode her Spotted Stud and the Stablemaster shadowed them, mute and mournful. Never did I stop loving my lady, and yet I will admit that I saw her take a sort of delight in how this tormented the shy man who followed her as she flirted with these suitors. And privately I thought the attention she paid any of these young nobles was not for the man himself, but only for how it pricked the heart of the Stablemaster.
    Came a day in the following autumn when the mists cloaked the morning and all the court rode out to the hunt. The Queen-in-Waiting said she would ride her Spotted Stud. So it was, but on that day, the king’s will had prevailed in another matter, and Stablemaster Lostler was commanded to remain behind at the stables. There was a young man the king favored who was to ride in the hunt, and the king made it most plain to his willful daughter, in a conversation not intended for my ears, that he expected her to pay attention to this young man and his courting. This vexed Caution and she did not fail to show her irritation, being short of speech with those around her and riding her horse most aggressively. Very soon the hounds took up a scent, and streamed forth and all the horses and nobles followed them. The Queen-in-Waiting on her