Roses by Rose Mannering

Author:Rose Mannering
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2016-04-12T04:00:00+00:00

A few days later, Beauty and Owaine were exercising the horses in the next valley. Beauty was riding a gray gelding in smooth circles, teaching him to arch his neck as he cantered and pick up his dainty feet.

“What d’yur think?” called Owaine.

“Perfect!” she yelled back. “He has better strides than the bay mare. He is a dream to ride.”

Champ was watching nearby as always. Someone had once suggested that he be trained as a carthorse to work in the fields. His huge build would lend itself to the job, there was no denying it, but the suggestion had been quickly hushed up by others. Beauty and her stallion had become something of a charm in the Hillands and the superstitious Hill folk did not disturb their charms.

“Shall we work the black stallion next?” called Owaine.

“I will be over.”

As Beauty was dismounting the gray gelding and petting and untacking him, Hally approached. He greeted his cousin warmly with his usual backslapping, but then he pulled him into a tight hug.

“What be the meaning of this?” laughed Owaine.

“Yur’ve brought much to Imwane since yur been back, Cousin, make no mistake!”

Hally waved a folded piece of paper in front of him as Beauty approached.

“What be that, then?”

“This be from a horse dealer in the Forest Villages. They wants to have first pickings of yur herd this autumn. News of yur quality steeds has traveled far!”

“They be more Beauty’s than mine, Cousin.”

Hally was grinning so much that he barely heard what Owaine said.

“Yur must travel first to the Forest Villages and let this man pick from yur herd, then sell the rest at town. This be an honor for us, Owaine, a true honor.”

He passed the message to Owaine, who opened it and read for himself.

“Look here, Beauty! This man says he’s already bought some of our horses from other sellers and they be the best he’s ever seen!”

Owaine showed her the dots and lines on the page and she nodded vaguely, for she had never learned to read and never told him that she could not.

“I wonders how many he’ll buy?” said Hally, looking over the various horses they kept grazing in pens.

“I thank yur for this news, Cousin.”

Hally nodded and he went back to overseeing the men working in the fields.

“We must prepare for a longer journey,” said Beauty once he was gone. “We will need to shut up the cottage, and perhaps we should start out sooner, while the weather is good?”

She looked to the drizzly, teal sky.

“Beauty, I’m not sure that yur should accompany me.”

“But I must. Why would I not?”

“I brought yur to the Hillands for safety. I feel the Forest Villages are too far and unsafe.”

Beauty frowned. “We would only travel to the outskirts of them,” she insisted. “If this dealer is so keen to have our horses then he can surely meet us halfway?”

“I’m worried. We hear no news in these hills, but Pervorocco’s a dangerous place.”

This was true and Beauty knew it. The Hillands were

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