Chapter 30 - Bareback

*Note, link to ******* account now included in synopsis*

Lena took Samuel out to where the horses were. Stopping one of the workers who was hauling hay, she asked him some questions that Samuel couldn't quite hear partly because he voice was lower and partly because he was distracted watching the horses.​​

"Come on, I didn't just bring you here to watch them." Lena told him from behind, she bumped him behind the knees with her own legs which caused him to stumble and almost fall.

"Alright, alright." He replied, catching himself before he fell. He couldn't help but wonder if she did that just to be mean or if she had tried to get his attention before and he was too distracted to notice.

"Have you ever rode without a saddle before?" Lena asked as they entered the stable. The inside looked far larger than the outside had. It looked like stable was well taken care of considering the walls were white but there were no signs of stains or marks that would indicate muck, mud, or otherwise. Hay was stacked high in the loft above and on what appeared to be flat bricks, most likely to keep it from getting damp should any moisture leak in rain. In the front right corner, there were countless steel drums with labels indicating different types of feed. There was also metal shelves that were stacked with mineral blocks, and an assort of other supplements along with grooming tools and what looked to be dips most likely to deal with any parasites or flies.

"No, my parents worried it would be too dangerous for me to ride without a saddle." Samuel replied as he continued to look around. It couldn't imagine how much money and time it took to create such a well taken care of stable. From what he could see of the stalls were some horses were still penned up, they looked they were mucked at least once a day if not more.

"Well congratulations, you're getting ready to learn a new skill then." She told as she threw him a bridle that he barely caught. "Since it's your first time, you'll keep that one just for safety though none of these horses have been known for bucking a rider off, they're not used to you yet." The princess explained as she moved further into the stable where a metal shoe rack was located.

Swapping out of her shoes, she changed into black riding boots that matched the black jeans she had changed into. Once she put her shoes up, she came back over with a pair and set them down next to Samuel who was still standing in the same place as he waited to see what he was supposed to do.

"Put those on and put your shoes, then I'm sure you know how to put a bridle so we'll take care of that next." He did what she asked without so much as a word while she went over to the stales where a golden looking horse was sticking it's head over the stall and watching what was going on. She rubbed it's ears and it seemed content with this action as it lowered it's head. "Her name's Goldy Lox." She told Samuel as he came over to the stall.

"Is she your horse?" He asked causing her to scoff as she opened the gate of the stall so that they could enter.

"No, my brother named her. Though he was only eight at the time and prefers to pretend that he doesn't remember calling her that." She continued to pet the horse as she stood still and patiently waited to see what was going to happen. "You can put the bridle on if you nickering and hold it up, she should lower her head for you."

Doing exactly what Lena said, Goldy Lox did lower her head for him to bridle on. He spoke soothing words to her as he fitted it over her her head.

"What horse is yours then?" he asked once it was secured and he had made sure that it wasn't too tight or lose.

"His name's Abyss and his further back, take her out front and I'll meet you out there." Lena said as she closed up the stall once Goldy Lox was out before turning to head further back into the stable. Exactly how far back did it go and how many horses did they keep in here?

If it wasn't for the fact that she had told him to head out first, Samuel would've stayed there waiting for her just to try and see how far back the stable went until he lost sight of her, but not wanting to upset her out cause problems, he lead Goldy Lox outside and stood off to the side. She was indeed a beautiful horse and seemed happy to be out in the sunlight.

Despite the fact that the warmer weather was moving in, it was actually a rather nice day with the sun being out and a gentle breeze keeping the air cool enough but not too humid. He couldn't deny that it was an idle day for riding.

It took a few minutes before Samuel heard the sound of clacking hooves coming from the stable and the little queen emerged riding a sleek pure black horse. He could see why it would've been named abyss, everything about him including his eyes were dark. The way he moved was with controlled power and grace, he didn't exactly seemed thrilled that Lena was riding him, but at the same time he didn't show any sign that he was going to throw her off.

"Hand me the reigns and go get the mounting stool, you're going to need it to get on top of her." Lena was already reaching for them before he handed them off to her. "He's a good horse, but if I have to get off him now, he's not going to let me get back on so easily." She told Samuel as he handed her the reigns to the bridle. "So you're going to have to get yourself on her, she shouldn't be hard to mount though as long as you don't get scared yourself or panic."

"You make it sound easy." Samuel replied, a hint of nervousness in his voice as he went to get the stool from where she had pointed.

"It is easy as long as you remain calm and stay in control. It's not like I have never been thrown off a horse before. I've just learned what not to do from it." She told him as he ran her hand down Abyss main to keep him calm as he snorted and stomped his front right foot, he was beginning to get impatient about the fact that they hadn't started riding yet.

"Well unlike you, I haven't rode more than a handful of times and that was almost ten years ago. Never without a saddle or whip." Lena scoffed after he said the word 'whip'

"You're never going to find or use a whip here. They've never been used on these horses before and there's no reason to. Whips are only for pertinent humans who don't know better when to listen and only in very serious cases even then." Samuel felt slightly surprised to hear her say such a thing, she didn't come across as the kind of person who would extend kindness to animals.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself as he carefully moved to mount Goldy Lox, although she looked back at him in such a way that told him she felt he was being clumsy and indelicate about getting on her, she made didn't react or move. This helped him feel slightly more comfortable, but he couldn't deny that it was still intimidating to have no saddle beneath him to help him keep a grip as he managed to get one leg over her and shift his weight so that the other followed as he mounted although rather awkwardly on her back.

"Take the reigns and shift your position, riding like that is just asking for her to throw you off." The princess told him as she handed back over the reigns. He felt a little offended that she spoke to him in such a critical way over something he didn't have much experience with.

"Is this better?" Samuel asked as he shifted his position to one that felt more comfortable and sturdy to him. She gave him a nod of approval before turning her attention to back to Abyss.

"It should be good enough since you have the bridle, just watch how you're holding it when she takes off. You'll be following me so make sure you keep up if you don't want to get lost." Samuel wanted to ask her where they were heading, but he didn't have a chance as she made what sounded like a 'click click' sound with her mouth and Abyss took off. He was far faster than he had expected and was surprised that Lena didn't at all seem concerned or phased despite the fact that she was using neither a saddle or bridle to direct him and only had his mane told onto for balance.

Not wanting to get too far behind and seeing that Goldy Lox seemed impatient to follow, he did his best to repeat the noise that Lena had made, even though he probably didn't do that great of a job, the horse seemed to understand well enough and took of quickly after her partner.

It was certainly a different feel without a saddle and much harder to maintain his balance and stay still in once place between the friction and how fast she was riding. It was evident she was trying to catch up with the other while being mindful of the rider on her back who was probably holding the reigns of her bridle a little too tightly.

Even with how fast they were going, it took a moment or two for them to catch up with Lena and even then, it appeared that it was only because she had slowed down when she realized that they were taking too long to catch up.

"She's holding back because she can tell you're not confident enough." Lena explained as she got Abyss to slow down to a trot so that she could ride next to Samuel "Plus, you don't need to grip that so tightly, she's going to feel the tension." leaning over she readjusted his handles on the reigns to show him how much slack he should give and how to hold it so that it wasn't uncomfortable for her.

"I'm not sure if I can handle her going any faster than she was." Samuel admitted but all Lena did was roll her eyes at him.

"Of course you can, you just need to believe that you can stay mounted on her and trust that she won't drop you. It's not fun to ride if the horse isn't allowed to go as fast as they want." She told. Samuel sighed in response.

"If I end up dying because I get thrown off while we're going too fast, it's going to be your fault." He replied causing the princess to tsk and clip him around the ear.

"If you die because of that, it'll be your own fault and serve as evidence that you weren't fit to be my fiancé. No loss there." He couldn't stop the sound of surprise that escaped his mouth at her rather cold response, he lost his chance to reply back however as her and Abyss had already taken off again. If he wanted to say something, it meant that he was going to have to try his best to catch up.