They crossed the Fortress’ gate and the men standing guard there bowed respectfully to the monster, but glared coldly at him. And those were only the first of many similar glares Snow received.

When they had left he’d been carried upside-down so he hadn’t been able to see much of anything. But now, that he was walking on his own two feet, he could clearly see, even through his blurry vision, the way the other men stared at him, whispering amongst themselves, even stepping farther away from path. Some were openly hostile, others more fearful than anything. None of them looked remotely nice. That was until they reached a large wood shed. The smell coming from there was strong and different from anything he’d smelled before, but not completely unpleasant.

“We’ll have to ride, once we leave here. And since you probably have never even seen a horse you may as well get used to them,” the monster said, going inside. “I will tie you to my saddle if you fall. And believe me, that will hardly make for a pleasant trip,” he added bleakly and another man rushed to meet them, bowing respectfully even though a bright smile stretched his lips.

“Calzai,” he uttered before straightening his back again and then playfully peered behind the monster’s back. “Is he the one?” he asked, looking excited, his bright green eyes glowing, and Snow unconsciously took a step back.

“Yeah. Brat! This is MenTar. He’ll be riding with us as well,” the monster told him, stepping to one side, and Snow blinked, looking up at him. Somehow, something about those bright green eyes was strangely familiar, even though no one in that Fortress had ever smiled at him like that before.

“It is an honor to meet you, Tien’Elhar,” he declared, bowing even deeper than he’d bowed to the monster, and Snow took another step back.

The monster smacked the other man on the back of his head, even though MenTar was obviously older than him, and MenTar shot up straight again, rubbing his head with an indignant expression.

“How mean!! What was that for?” he contested loudly and the monster gave him a threatening glare.

“You know damn well!”

“And did you have to hit me so hard? I’ll tell brother that you’re bullying me again,” he complained but the monster ignored him. “So how am I suppose to address him?”

“His name is Snow,” the monster replied and MenTar gaped, in complete astonishment.

“Snow? Only Snow?” he wanted to confirm, and as he didn’t receive a reply that would deny it, he held his head between both hands, a panicking expressions distorting his pleasant face. “We’ll be cursed! We’ll most certainly be cursed! Disrespecting a Celestial like this! Certain death and agony will befall all of us!”

Snow turned the word in his head. Celestial. This wasn’t the first nor the second time people addressed him like that. And he couldn’t help recall ZenTar’s fake smile and his forced calm voice. “Do you know what a Celestial is?”

The monster slapped MenTar on the back of his head again, breaking that endless torrent of dramatic, end-of-the-world-prophecies that were now culminating in certain doom for all of them, and MenTar released a loud ouch, rubbing his head again.

“Cut the crap. I brought the brat here so he can have a look at the horses.”

“Ah, yes. This way, then,” he happily replied, his face back to that bright expression as if nothing had happened and, turning around, he gladly showed them the way.

Snow blinked in confusion, unable to understand what had just happened. But then the monster was waiting for him to follow them and so he did, looking around suspiciously, fearing he might be attacked by a four-legged beast at any moment.

Unlike what the monster had said, he had seen horses before, when he was a child. But he’d always done his best to keep as far away from their long legs and hard-looking hooves as possible. The men that proudly rode them had all dressed in fine, rich clothes, and such people never looked with kind eyes upon poor people like Sand and him had been.

Making a turn he immediately stopped in his tracks. MenTar was holding the reigns of one such animal, a black horse with even blacker eyes. Even though he’d seen horses before, and although he’d been much smaller back then, the horse in front of him still looked every bit as intimidating as what he remembered but, at the same time, incredibly beautiful. It was so black that it seemed to shine with every breath it took, and the soft snort that left his nostrils as it chewed on the bridle left his heart beating faster, he couldn’t tell if from fear or from excitement.

Taking a step forward, the dark monster covered his entire view for a moment until his darkness surrounded the horse’s head.

“Were you going to take him out?” he asked, gently caressing its front, and the horse happily nuzzled his chest.

“Yeah. I thought it better to work them out a bit, since we’ll be leaving on a such a long trip in just a few days,” MenTar replied and turned his bright smile to Snow. “You can touch him, if you want. I know he looks big and scary, but he’s been trained very well. Unless our Calzai orders him too, he won’t bite or kick.”

Snow took a step back, his eyes dropping to the horse’s large teeth.

“Come here,” came the order and he looked up at those blue eyes that always stared at him with such cold distaste.

For a moment Snow tried to see the man hiding within that mass of darkness, but all he could see was a restless mass of black. The man called MenTar, however, had no problems standing right next to him. In fact, none of the men he’d seen in the Fortress seemed to have any problems looking or interacting with him. Could it be that they really didn’t see what he saw whenever he looked at him?

Taking a deep breath for courage Snow obeyed his command and, in the next second, the darkness surrounded him too, and he was suddenly lifted up. A soft gasp of surprise escaped his lips before he could firmly seal them shut, and then he was sitting at the top of the tall, four-legged beast. Panicking, he quickly held on to the first thing his hands could reach, and the warm sound of laughter filled his ears.

“Relax, kid. He won’t drop you,” MenTar told him, looking up at him with an amused expression on his face, and Snow squeezed the front of the saddle as hard as his hands would allow him to. From the ground it hadn’t looked so big …

“I’ll take him out for a short walk,” the monster declared and then he was moving, and pulling the horse with him.

Snow clenched his teeth when the large body beneath him started to move, gently swinging from side to side. He squeezed his legs so hard that they were hurting even before they’d left the shed. And then the warm sunlight was over him again, forcing him to blink and filling his eyes with tears.

“Straighten your back and relax your legs,” the monster coldly instructed him, slowly pulling the horse as he made his way around the shed.

“You keep that up and you won’t be able to get up from bed tomorrow morning. Just feel how he moves and adapt your body accordingly. He’s bigger and stronger than you, so don’t try to go against him.”

They walked several times around the shed, Snow trying to listen and comply with his harsh demands. Eventually, he was able to relax a bit, though it wasn’t as if he had any choice. His legs hurt so much that they were trembling. The moment he relaxed, however, he became even more aware of the horse’s slow pace, of the warmth of its strong body, of the way it breathed. Pressing a hand against its smooth neck, he couldn’t help smile. It was strange and amazing, the thought, that something this big was alive, and that he was being carried on its back.

It was past midday when the monster finally brought them back to the shed where MenTar awaited them, and Snow couldn’t help feel a bit disappointed when he was grabbed again and pulled down from the saddle.

The moment he set his feet back on the ground, pain shot through his legs and back, making him wince, but he quickly ignored it, wanting to take another look at the horse, now that his eyes had stopped stinging. Who knew when he would have the chance to look at one from so up-close again? Sure, the monster had said that they would go on a trip and that they’d have to ride all the way to Wei, wherever that was.

But Snow knew better than anyone that plans and promises were never trustworthy. And so it was best to take advantage of the present moment as much as he could.

Rising a shaky hand he pressed it against the horse’s large neck and the horse snorted softly, turning its head to look at him. For a moment Snow almost stepped back, afraid he might bite him after all, but the black eyes staring at him didn’t look threatening at all. With a smile, he petted its head and the horse nudged him gently, making him take a small step back, but he still couldn’t feel threatened. On the contrary.

There was warmth in the black eyes looking at him, warmth the likes he hadn’t seen in anyone’s eyes in a long time, a kind of warmth that burrowed into his heart, making him sad and happy at the same time.

Chuckling softly, Snow bent his head and leaned his forehead against the horse’s forehead and, for a moment, his mind was filled with bright, beautiful images of golden hills and green plains. The sky above his head was a bright blue and the wind rushing through his hair felt like a thousand caresses. He was running, he knew, running as fast as the wind, and he did so effortlessly and with a deep joy, jumping over silver streams of clean fresh water. The world was a bright, beautiful place.

“Thank you …” he whispered in the smallest of voices and the horse nuzzled his chest, snorting gently.

“I’ll be damned,” said a voice, startling him, his head shooting up. He’d completely forgotten the presence of the man and the monster standing right next to him. “I thought he only did this shit with you,” MenTar commented with a surprised expression, and Snow quickly looked at the monster, fearing he’d done something wrong again, but he’d already turned around, making his way towards the door.

“Let’s go. It’s past lunch time,” the monster told him without even looking back, and Snow softly caressed the horse one last time, feeling sorry for having to leave him, but still not wanting to risk angering the monster by defying his command.

**********************

Language:

Calzai: Literally cal (bright) + zai (blade), or Blade of Light. It can be translated in common language as General, one of military leaders of the Empire. Each Province has it’s own Calzai.

MenTar: Literally men (lake) + tar (wind)

Tien’Elhar: Literally tien (Heaven) + el (supreme) + har (girl child). The Heavenly Beings also known as Celestials in the common language.

ZenTar: Literally zen (silent) + tar (wind)