Chapter 73: The Race of Hooves
Lyolis assumed they'd be alone, riding into Sundown City, just her, Zoar, their mounts, and the wind. Free at last from their duties. And free from the confinement of the estates, but she was sadly mistaken. Zoar's fear for Mitch wouldn't leave that simply.
They decided not to take the carriage, instead riding down the hill, winding like a snake, on the barebacks of their horses. The pioneers used their saddles and stirrups to keep them upright, while the Cyoakian used their legs and back; one had to have strong legs and a sturdy back to ride this way, and only Cyoakians had mastered it. Since young, Lyolis remembered being pulled up and down the mountain on a donkey, at first, only until she was strong and tall enough to mount a proper pony.
Lyolis rode close to Zoar while the two large, tan men, mounted on blacks, with builds thick as boulders and hair like black serpents, rode behind them. Their eyes ever watchful. Armed with tomahawks and bows while wearing their most protective, blunt faces.
Though she knew the answer Lyolis asked, "Why must we have company? The mounts and the night will protect us." She spoke lightly, not wanting to ruin the night.
"Droom and Brylax will keep their distance … You know they look to you like you are their own blood." He smiled. "And my mind will be at ease with them by your side."
"I have you by my side … the general of the Cyoakian armies. Are you not enough?" She joked.
Zoar sat tall, looking off towards the shadows that cloaked the road. "If only I were..." He mumbled. "That's why we need each other if we are to survive." He stroked his brown and white spotted mount. One he'd ridden into battle and had since he could ride. His closest friend, he once told her. "Though I've thought many a times of taken Moliek and riding off to a land far from eyes and distant from tales."
Lyolis tilted left, slightly kicking the horse, guiding her around the next bend. "And why have you stayed?"
Zoar sooke soft, "for you..."
Lyolis smiled warmly. Out of all the things he could've said, these were the words she expected least. And they brought beauty into her heart and love into her soul. A man willing to confess his love, and would die to protect his partner was a rare wonder, she knew. How have I grown so lucky? A thought she often wondered.
"Why do you mock me?" Lyolis teased. "You know I do not take kindly to flattery."
"Though your cheeks say otherwise." Zoar pointed out. "They blossomed like roses."
Lyolis giggled, kicking her horse into a light sprint. One she could manage around the turns without giving too much guidance and effort. Zoar pursued as she hoped he would, along with the two boulder-sized men, which she had prayed they wouldn't.
"Why must you ride so fast?" He asked. "You're not even sure of our destination."
Lyolis yelled above the wind, "our destination is the path we make for ourselves … we must carve our own, and not be bound by gates and borders."
Zoar bit his lip. His horse kept pace with his heart. "Then our own path we shall take!" He yanked Moliek towards the right, and they took to an trail swallowed in trees and grass. An unmarked trail, with many uncertain paths. Lyolis smirked and then pursued.
The pair had ridden together many times in the back woods behind totem, through trails beat down by horses; and when her people walked the woods to borrow from the forest, never taking too much, but only enough to provide for their Kingdom. Those trails she knew like the ones that marked her palms: the trail to the base of the falls that provided drink to her people; the trail to the springs that cleansed them near the mountain's peaks; there was even the sacred trail where the dead were buried and the forbidden trail where the witch doctors would go and ask what was needed from their ancestors. All trails she'd explored, even at the dismay of her parents.
But this new trail was as unknown as the City that kept it's secrets. Full of quick zigzags and branches that could dismount one if not focused. Zoar didn't ride to her comfort neither, whipping around the turns with ferocity, like he and Maliek were being chased by fire.
It took an hour for Lyolis to feel comfortable upon her new mare. She was used to the larger horses in Totem, but once she positioned herself low, holding tightly to the hairs that formed the horse crown, the two felt connected, moving as one around each bed, ducking beneath branches and hoping over logs that broke the trial.
Dirt kicked up behind the horses hooves, gliding right around a bend until the tail of Maliek whipped only a foot in front of her. I caught him! She thought, more determined than ever.
For a good thirty minutes she had rode alone through the woods, trying to get a handle on her horse while Zoar left her in his wake. But the mare was faster than Moliek, Lyolis only needed to gain her trust, which was quicker than she ever thought possible. Together they slowly gained ground while becoming one spirit, ready to take back the lead.
"You better rider faster than that!" She yelled though her words my have fallen lost to the wind.
The trees and woods around them had the lilac glow that cloaked the sky, while the wind brought a calm, soft fragrance. One she was all too familiar with though couldn't place where she'd smelt it.
They whipped around a final turn and the path widened, a stretch of open road to the finish. "Come, my friend," Lyolis said, "let's show them how wild at heart we are!" With that, the mares pace quickened, legs moving in a blur, driving alongside Maliek and Lyolis love rider.
Zoar looked at her determined not to give her an easy win. A competitor true to the end. The pair rode neck and neck, faster and faster the mounts took them. The lilac woods a painted blur on both sides of them, while the trail glowed like a velvet carpet.
The horse's panted. Lyolis leaned low, her chest nearly pressed against the beasts back. Her thick legs now screaming, squeezing tight while her crotch ached and lower back throbbed. Behind her, the wind yanked at her hair, pulling it towards the lilac sky, waving it fiercely.
"Now!" Lyolis yelled, "Nows our chance!"
Weekly Power Status
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