Page 104 of The Other Side

She sighed. “Okay. I’ll saddle Dream and Ginger while you start shovelling. Work fast.”

Working together, he and Drum quickly cleaned half the stalls and had laid down new bedding and fresh water before Will came in on his crutches followed by his sister.

“I’ve told him he’s an idiot,” Fi said and handed Osian a backpack. “Lunch.”

“Thank you,” Osian said.

Fi handed Will his helmet and he clipped it on. Osian took Rogue out of his stall and spoke quietly to him in fae. “Behave, beautiful boy. Will is going to ride you today. Be kind to him. Be patient. He needs your love and your energy.”

Rogue stood still while he was tacked up. Fi waited nearby holding the reins of Dream and Ginger. Ginger was a black gelding. Fi had bought him with that name and was too superstitious to change it. Osian waited until Drum had mounted Dream before he gave Will a boot up into the saddle. Rogue was like a rock. No nervousness at all.

“Good boy.” Will stroked his neck while Osian adjusted the stirrups.

“Feel okay?” Osian asked.

“Yes,” Will said.

Osian put on the backpack, vaulted onto Ginger, and the three of them headed out into the yard. He kept Ginger alongside Rogue as they moved towards the gate, giving Will plenty of space without making it obvious he was making sure he was all right.

“How does he feel?” Osian asked.

“Huge.”

Drum laughed. “That’s because he is huge.”

“He feels steadier than I thought he would,” Will said.

“He likes you,” Osian said. “If he didn’t, you’d know about it.”

“That’s comforting.”

Fi opened the gate herself, one hand on the latch, the other absently rubbing Dream’s nose as they passed. “Be safe,” she called after them, trying to sound casual and failing. “No heroics. Walk nicely. Absolutely no trotting.”

All three of them laughed. The horses too, probably.

For the first ten minutes nobody said much. Osian was watching Will and Rogue, ready to act if there was a problem. Whenever Will tensed, Rogue slowed of his own accord.

Good boy, Osian thought. You’re looking after him.

“You can loosen your hands a little,” Osian called.

Will did. Rogue nodded his head.

“There you go.”

They walked until they reached the edge of one of the fields where the grass had been cut and baled. Along the edge was a wide strip of flat, uncultivated ground. Perfect to let the horses run.

“Halt,” Osian called.

All three horses stopped almost as one. Hooves settled into the turf, ears flicking back as they waited for the next command.

“Now walk on.”

The horses stepped forward together, calm and unhurried.

Osian put them through a few more simple exercises. A turn to the left. Another to the right. Halt. Back two steps. Walk on again. Nothing difficult, just enough to make sure horse and rider understood each other.

Rogue answered every cue without hesitation, shifting his weight smoothly and responding almost before Will had finished asking. Watching the gelding patiently guide his uncertain rider, Osian felt a grin spreading across his face.