Falling for Forever (12 page)

Bryn's heart was racing as she nodded and rose to her feet. She moved in front of him, his nose almost touching her stomach. "What's your name?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper as he sniffed her cautiously.

"I don't have one."

"Well, that won't do. Would you mind if I gave you one?"

The stallion pressed his nose against her open palm. His wide nostrils flared as he breathed in her scent. "
Does your Mariah have horses
?" he asked as her fingertips brushed his long, untrimmed whiskers.

"Sort of, but not how you are thinking. You see, Luca… that's her horse's name, and his herd live on the property, but he and Mariah are more like friends than master and horse."

The stallion snorted and shook his long mane. "
Preposterous. No human would befriend a horse."

"I would like us to be friends," Bryn said quietly.

He shot a hot breath of air into her hand. "
As I said… no human would befriend a horse."

"I am human enough," she retorted.

The stallion looked her over and nodded.
"You are Strytas, but you were sired by a human. That, though, does not make you any more than a half breed."
Her face flushed as her anger rose. She was about to start yelling, but he quickly cut her off with a sharp look.
"We are all mixes though, Bryn. I have not met a pure anything, ever. We each come from the crossing of many other things."

"How do you know my father was human? I have never told anyone," she said as she fought to get her anger under control.

"I can tell a great many things about you, Bryn,"
he replied with a playful grin.

She raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

He shook out his mane and went back to grazing on the patch of fresh grass at his feet.
"Just… things, really. Animal senses are better than yours are."

Bryn nodded and sat down on a large stone. Her temper had cooled to a dull numbness just below the surface. She hated that it could be brought forth so easily. Franklin had often scolded her for feeling her emotions too intensely.

"I have a name for you, I think."

He lifted his head.
"Oh?"

"Would Blackberry be okay?" she asked hopefully.

The stallion watched her carefully as he repeated the name..
"Yes, that is a good name, Bryn. I thank you."

She smiled at him and tossed the last half of bread at his feet. "You can have the rest," she said as she drank from the milk jug. Blackberry nodded and lay down next to her in the tall grass. He seemed more at ease around her now. Bryn studied him in the afternoon sun. His features were not as fine as Luca's, but he was larger. Blackberry was well-made for labor. Luca was a riding horse, built for speed and grace.

Bryn closed her eyes and dreamed of going on long rides with Mariah through the forest. She knew that it would be an even more beautiful place after the snow came. In the winter, they could bake pies and have hot cider. They could go for long walks through the bare trees and frozen fields.

With sudden realization, she was brutally knocked to her senses. Bryn had not meant to dream so far in the future. At any moment, Mariah could decide that she had overstayed her welcome and send her on her way, to be alone in the world. The thought of that terrified her. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Mariah. She was all Bryn had. She was even growing to love Mariah. She realized that now. Bryn thought that she should tell Mariah how much she cared for her, but she didn't know how.

She hadn't even been able to tell Sage, although he had told her often. She wondered if telling Mariah that she loved her would convince Mariah to let her stay.

Blackberry nudged her with his nose. Bryn blinked and met his gaze.
"If I do decide to come with you, will this Mariah of yours be riding me?"
Bryn shook her head.
"Will I be kept in a stall?"
She shook her head again.
"Then where will I live?"

"All of the horses are wild, so you would live outside," she said with a shrug.

"And if I decide to go with you, and I do decide to let you ride me, where will we go?"

Bryn was pleased that he was still considering her offer. "To town and back and through the property."

"No long, hard rides or work?"

She shook her head. "I don't travel and I don't transport anything. I was just set free less than a week ago."

Blackberry's ears twitched forward.
"How did you get away?"

Bryn went silent. That was still something she was unsure of how to answer. "I was living with someone that was not very nice. Then Mariah came and bought me, sort of." It was the simplest explanation, but it was the one she liked the least. Bryn only hoped that he would understand.

"So you are her slave?"
Blackberry asked.

Bryn bit her lip. "No, not exactly. Mariah owns me like I own you. I'm free to go wherever I want, whenever I want to. Just like you. Mariah bought me because the man that I was with wouldn't have let me go any other way."

He turned a keen eye on her.
"I can leave if I wish to?"

Bryn nodded, "Of course, you can. I'd like it if you came to live with me. But in the end, it is your life and your decision to make."

"Could I stay for a while, then leave, and then come back?"
he asked as if he was beginning to fully consider her offer.

Bryn smiled warmly at him. "Of course, you can." He tenderly touched her bare shoulder.
It was a sign of his appreciation for giving him a choice he had never been given before.

Blackberry nickered softly to her and softly  thanked her. Bryn blushed and gave him a delicate pat on his neck. He didn't shy away from her, so she let her fingers wind into the thick mass of hair that was his mane. Blackberry watched her with seeming apprehension, but she could tell he was starting to soften. She removed her hand and leaned back, letting the sunshine wash over her.

"It's so beautiful out here," she said as she kept her eyes closed.

"Will this other stallion accept me if I go back with you?"

She smiled peacefully and shook her hair, allowing her long blonde curls to fall down her back. "He's good. You'll be okay if you come back with me. I won't let anything happen to you there."

Blackberry snorted.
"I wasn't asking if you would protect me. I have done my fair share of fighting through the years. I only asked if he would accept me."

Bryn shrugged and opened her eyes so that she could look at him. "I honestly don't know. He's a good stallion, of course, but he is still a stallion." She wished she had a better answer for him, but the truth was better than a lie.

Mariah wandered through the crisp, green grass of the field, recalling her recent travels. The sun was midway in the blue sky and wispy clouds tried to hold their form despite the intense, golden rays. A small fawn scampered through the field without fear of the tall figure traversing closely to it. The animal need not learn of fear in this garden, much to Mariah's intentions. All creatures were provided with sufficient food, water and shelter so they never had thought of quarrel over these necessities. The entire garden was a lush and magnificent place, but this Mariah could not enjoy at the moment. Unpleasant thoughts scrambled though her head, but soon all that was changed when her eyes befell the sight in front of her. Upon a small hilltop, Bryn sat with her Strytas wings draped over her lap.

Apparently, she was conducting a conversation with a horse that was resting beside her. Mariah could not recall seeing this horse with the rest of the herd that lived in the garden, so she wondered what mischief Bryn had been up to now. She had not noticed her yet so Mariah considered sneaking up and goosing her, but thought better of it since it might scare the horse. Mariah approached from a distance and greeted them.

Bryn returned Mariah's hail in kind and the horse immediately sprang to its feet. The stallion reared slightly and flared its large nostrils at the stranger. Mariah figured the horse was young and fairly inexperienced with humans since he was so startled by her when most animals weren't.

"Who is your handsome friend, Bryn?"

*~*~*

Bryn quickly ran into Mariah's arms, happy to finally see her after almost an entire day of missing her company. Her wings wrapped tightly around Mariah's broad shoulders for a quick embrace before she went back to her stallion's side. Blackberry nuzzled her open palm, all the while keeping a cautious eye on Mariah. Bryn rested a calming hand on his trembling shoulder. "Mariah, this is Blackberry," she said. Bryn could scarcely believe how much seeing Mariah made her heart flutter. She finally had to force herself to look away from her as she felt her cheeks flush.

Blackberry snorted angrily and pawed the ground as he continued to stare at Mariah. Even Bryn's gentle reassurances were not enough to calm his temper. She softly spoke to him, hoping to ease his discomfort. He slowly relented and lowered his head. Blackberry pressed his forehead to her shoulder before returning to the patch of grass at his feet. Mariah's hand went to the hilt of her sword. It was a gentle movement, but Bryn caught it and so did the stallion by her side. He screamed loudly and pawed the air as Mariah's hand tightened on its hilt. Blackberry took a few steps toward the woman, his ears flat back against his long neck.

Before he could reach him though, Bryn was between them, the point of her dagger pressed firmly against the stallion's heaving chest. His nostrils flared as he watched her. Bryn held his eyes as she twisted the tip against him. Blackberry took a step away from her, submissively lowering his head as a small red drop of blood formed on her blade.

"Move,"
he snorted at her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Blackberry, but I will gladly kill you before you can harm Mariah," she replied coldly.

The stallion nodded and took another step away from her.
"I will not hurt your human,"
he said under his breath.

Mariah released her grip on the hilt of her sword. The horse retreated from her a few paces in seeming fear as Mariah approached. "Bryn, your friend appears quite wild. It is lucky he has not brought any harm unto you."

Bryn saw Mariah glare at Blackberry, and in her heart she knew what Mariah had meant by her words. Blackberry was lucky he had not hurt her. Silence spread across the field like a wave and not even the birds sang their melodies.

She turned to Mariah and rested a hand on her broad shoulder. "Please Mariah, he didn't mean anything by it," she said, her blue eyes wide as she looked up at Mariah. Bryn rose up on her toes and brought her lips to Mariah's cheek. "Thank you for being worried, though," she softly said to Mariah before she moved away.

Mariah smiled at Bryn and returned her kiss. "I am happy to see you have a new friend. Just please be careful around him." Mariah took her delicate hand into hers and stroked her palm gently. Mariah's fingers glided over her silky skin easily, and she witnessed goose bumps beginning to form on Bryn's body.

She found herself looking into Mariah's perfect light blue eyes. "Mariah…" she started,
unsure of what she wanted to say to her. Bryn felt as if her heart would explode with everything that she wanted to tell Mariah, everything that she wanted to share. Bryn wanted to scream how much she cared for her but found herself unable to breathe past the lump in her throat.

A twig snapped as Blackberry moved through the grass, grazing as he went. Bryn hooked a piece of hair behind her ear and turned her attention back to Blackberry. She kept one hand on the tight muscles of Mariah's back and looked Blackberry over.

"Can he come back with us and stay for a little while?" she asked softly as she tried to mask how afraid she was of her new horse. Never before had she been so worried about someone she cared for.

Part of her wanted to tell Blackberry to go away, but she wanted to give him another chance. She had reacted in a similar manner when Franklin had introduced her to his friends for the first time. Just as they posed a threat to her, Mariah was a threat to Blackberry, at least in his mind. Bryn understood what he was going through, and part of her wanted to be there for him like no one was for her.

Mariah turned her gaze toward the horse and watched him chew a mouthful of grass. She appeared to ponder the question for a moment and finally nodded her head. "You may keep him here as long as he can live in peace with the other animals. I understand that he is young and some aggression I can tolerate, but actions such as today's cannot be overlooked forever. No creature in the garden need live in fear, and it shall remain so."

"Thank you. He'll be good," Bryn promised. "If you're done here, we can go back now. I have some things I'd like to talk to you about, Mariah. One of which is where you were today." She had missed her. But she had also been worried.

Of course, she didn't know if Mariah leaving in the middle of the morning without any word was normal. Luca had said that Mariah hadn't had company in many years. The people in town seemed to say the same thing. Mariah herself had told her that it had been a long time. Maybe she simply wasn't accustomed to having someone else there with her? Perhaps Mariah had forgotten what was appropriate? Although Franklin was cruel, he always told her where he was or where he was going. She had gotten used to knowing where everyone was at all times. Not having any idea where Mariah had gone to had been unnerving.

"There are some other things I'd like to discuss," she told Mariah quietly. Bryn wouldn't meet her eyes. There was so much she wanted to say. It was time. She needed to let her know everything about herself.

*~*~*

Mariah was somewhat taken aback by Bryn's sudden shift in demeanor. Her eyes were serious and yet somewhat sad. Her full lips were pressed tightly together, forming a thin line across her pale face. Mariah had expected her questions but not so soon, and dark thoughts still swam within her mind. Finally, she nodded at her and turned away towards the cabin.

The walk was in utter silence, though tension burned in the air. It seemed a lifetime before Mariah reached the oaken door, though a hundred lifetimes would not be enough. The cabin was dark, gloomy even though the torches were lit. Their light was being forced back upon them by quivering shadow, or it seemed as such this day. Mariah walked toward the center of the living area and suddenly turned to face Bryn. Her tone was hollow, yet echoed throughout the house, like the sound of thunder in the depths of a chasm.