“Ugh, can you be any ruder Jahrra?” Gieaun complained, trying to get Aimhe to stand still.
Jahrra just beamed at her friends, suddenly in a good mood. It was a really nice day after all, and she felt like a queen sitting in her new saddle, the one that Scede was now eyeing with a combination of envy and wonder.
“That’s not Phrym’s saddle,” he said plainly.
Jahrra grinned even wider, forgetting her irritation at who the gift was from.
“It is now,” she asserted.
“Where did you get it?!” Scede demanded.
He had a look of disbelief on his face. Having been raised by parents who bred horses, he knew good leatherwork when he saw it.
“I got it for Solsticetide,” Jahrra sniffed. “I just haven’t used it yet, since Phrym’s old saddle was still good.”
“You’ve had it that long and you’re just now breaking it in?” he continued, looking even more flabbergasted than before.
“Who gave it to you?” Gieaun had brought Aimhe around to get a better look at the object of conversation.
Jahrra tensed up suddenly, her smile vanishing. She felt her face give a slight flush and was suddenly at a loss for words. “Uh . . .” she stammered.
“Who did you get it from? You said you got it for Solsticetide, did Master Hroombra get it for you?”
Jahrra flashed her eyes to the ground and took a swift breath.
“Jaax sent it,” she said in a low voice.
She gritted her teeth as she felt her friends’ surprised glances wash over her. They knew how much she disliked the dragon; she could only guess they were surprised at her obvious delight in his Solsticetide gift.
“Wow,” Scede said. “That was kind of him. It’s the nicest saddle I’ve ever seen.”
“Did he bring it himself?” Gieaun added hesitantly.
“No, no. He sent it,” Jahrra answered.
An awkward silence followed, all three of them wondering what exactly had caused it. Jahrra sighed, deciding to break the quiet.
“Well, let’s get going. If we linger here any longer we’ll never get to the coves.”
Jahrra let out a whistle and kicked Phrym into a full run, leaving Bhun and Aimhe behind on the wide dirt road. A few moments later she heard her two friends riding up behind her. She glanced back and smiled at them, bringing Phrym to a slow canter as they wound down the side of the hill. The morning was cool, but it was early yet and the sun was still low in the sky. The trip to the coves would take a few hours, but they were meeting Pahrdh and Rhudedth in Toria Town first.
The moment they reached the bottom of the hill the three riders encouraged their horses into a steady trot. They cut through the rich and fruitful fields, waving at passersby along the way. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede laughed and shouted as they raced and wove through the farmlands, open fields and small crops of trees as they headed west. At one point along their route, the three of them passed around a small hill crowned with eucalyptus trees, their branches full of cream-colored flowers.
Two miles later, they reached the outskirts of Toria. The horses thumped over the wide bridge that crossed the delta of the Raenyan River and Jahrra stood up in the saddle to peer over the railing. From her standing position, she noticed that the four small channels spreading to sea like blue fingers were no deeper than Phrym’s shoulder. Cliff swallows darted erratically to and from the underside of the bridge, their metallic purple and green feathers flashing in rhythm with the shimmering water below. Several small boats were tied to shrub willows along the banks of the delta, where men were busy hauling great nets filled with fish and clams from their hulls.
Jahrra sat back down in the saddle and inhaled the salty ocean air as the bustle of the approaching town grew nearer. Carriages and wagons passed by as they crossed over the last bridge into town, and the deep thumping of the horses’ feet upon the wooden bridge soon mingled with the sharp clipping of more hooves and wooden wheels playing against the cobblestone streets.
The outskirts of town were decked with tall, stone buildings housing two or more tiny stores each. There were jewelry merchants and fabric suppliers, shops that sold crafts and businesses that specialized in trade only. Open markets where vendors and fish mongers sold their merchandise and daily catch were set up along wide sidewalks. The intense smell of dead fish, cleansed every now and then by a salty breeze, made the air all but putrid. Noisy seagulls and sea birds soared above the bustling crowd, diving every now and again in attempt to steal fish from the purveyors. Jahrra had to laugh to herself at this sight, for more often than not, as a vendor was busy shooing away one seagull, another was sneaking behind his back to take a fish. Playing solemnly in the background of this strange orchestra of sights and sounds was the monotonous rhythm of the ocean, its waves rushing back and forth upon the shore just beyond the great stone wall that kept the town out of the water’s reach.
Jahrra led Phrym away from the crowded road so that she could get her bearings and figure out where they were. Bhun and Aimhe followed them, Gieaun screeching as a flock of pigeons was startled into her path.
“Jahrra!!”
Jahrra turned and looked around, surprised to hear her name being called above all the ruckus.
“Jahrra, Gieaun, Scede! Over here!”
It was Rhudedth, her auburn hair and moss green summer dress standing out among the majority of dark headed, plainly dressed pedestrians.
“Rhudedth!” Jahrra smiled as her friend came rushing over, pushing her way through the crowd.
“You’re late!” Rhudedth chirped, out of breath and pink-cheeked from the effort of working through the throng of people.
“Sorry, we left later than we expected. Where are Pahrdh and the horses?” Scede asked, scanning the crowd for them.
“Oh, Pahrdh is just on the other side of the plaza talking to a group of street magicians. We left the horses in the stables by the pier. And,” Rhudedth’s eyes glinted with mischief as she glanced back up at Jahrra, “Mahryn is here visiting as well.”
Jahrra tried to don a pleasant smile, but she was afraid that Rhudedth noticed her cringe. She quickly straightened up when she saw the two boys cross the street to come over and stand behind Rhudedth.
“Hello, Jahrra,” Mahryn said quietly, blushing rather profusely.
He had sandy hair and quite a lot of freckles. Despite the fact that he was a few months older than Jahrra in reality, he looked a few years younger and was a few inches shorter as well. Rhudedth rolled her eyes in a loving fashion.
“I hope you guys don’t mind, but we invited Mahryn along as well,” Pahrdh said with a slight look of apology. He knew how Jahrra felt about his cousin’s admiration of her. “He came with our aunt and uncle yesterday and we couldn’t leave him behind at home.”
“No, that would have been rude! Besides, we always enjoy the extra company,” Gieaun put in, grinning at Jahrra. “Are you three ready to go now?”
“Sure,” said Mahryn, his voice sounding parched, “but we need to get our horses from the stable. It’s towards the beach and not too far.”
“Alright,” Scede said, “we’ll walk with you.”
Once they were all atop their horses, they made their way back to the main street. Moving through town proved cumbersome for six horses and their riders, especially with all the merchants, shoppers and delivery carts buzzing about. Rhudedth and Mahryn were nearly knocked out of the saddle by a very old, wiry man shouting at a donkey who was pulling a cart carrying much more than it was intended to.
“That was quite an ordeal!” Rhudedth breathed once they got out of the way. “Poor old donkey! That load looked far too heavy for him!”
She turned to see where the old man and his donkey had gone, but they’d already disappeared into the torrential crowd.