Marshal walked into the amphitheatre. There were already people gathered inside waiting to hear his report. He descended the marble steps while passing rows of benches as his boots clacked on the hard stone. Marshal stopped when he reached the last step. He stood stiffly with his hands behind his back. The glass domed ceiling arched over him and the stars awakened above him. They shined down upon the whole assembly. Marshal stood under the stars silently and waited for the board to recognize him.
Members of the Board sat behind a long curved table that faced the audience of interested townspeople. They all wore serious expressions upon their faces but there was also a glint of excitement behind their eyes.
The audience waited with bated breath. Many Riders were sitting amongst them along with city officials as they all waited on the edge of their benches to hear Marshal’s report.
A hefty man with gray hair and a close-cropped beard sat at the center of the table. “Please, explain yourself.” He said.
“Sir, we found the Airwolf.” Marshal began.
“Obviously, we saw it fly in.”
“The egg was found by a young serving girl. She brought it to a safe place and, the Airwolf hatched. We did not realize the egg had already hatched. We were looking for an egg when we should have been looking for a hatchling.”
“Why did you bring the girl here?”
“The Airwolf has grown attached to her.” Marshal stated.
The man narrowed his eyes at Marshal. “What do you mean by attached?”
“They have formed an early Bond.”
“Can this serving girl speak to the Airwolf?” He asked.
“Yes.” Marshal said with a short nod. “I believe she has the All-speech ability.”
“Are you sure?” A woman to the right asked. She had blond hair that was turning gray. There were wrinkles at her eyes.
“I know for certain that she can speak to the sky horses, furlings and of course the Airwolf. She also seemed to understand the darkwings fairly well when we encountered them, but they are an easier animal to understand.”
The man, Senior Rider Nemek, rubbed his chin. “Is this girl of good character?”
“I’m afraid not.” Marshal shook his head. “I have encountered her before and she appears to be bitter, unsocial and self-centered. I would not have submitted her name for riderhsip.”
“If that is true then why did the Airwolf choose her?” He asked.
“She was the only person it had contact with and she was the one who rescued it from the Wildwood. I’m sure it chose her by default.” Marshal offered his explanation.
Nemek rubbed his chin again. “Humm…This makes things difficult. We had several worthy candidates ready should the egg hatch. What are we going to do about this girl?”
“We could try to sever their connection.” Marshal suggested.
The woman to Nemek’s right raised her hand. “Hold on a minute. How close are they?” She asked.
“I do not know how deep their connection has become but, the Airwolf is still young. If we put it in contact with other suitable Riders it will likely choose someone else; someone more appropriate.”
“Do you really think it’s wise to sever their Bond?” She continued. “We haven’t dealt with an Airwolf in ages. We don’t want to drive it away. We just got it back.”
“I am not suggesting that we take them away from each other but we can help the Airwolf realize the error of its initial choice.”
Nemek waved his hand in the air to silence everyone. “Regardless of what we hope the Airwolf does, we cannot sever their connection abruptly. It would cause harm to the girl and the Airwolf. For now, we will have to accept the girl as a Rider. If he chooses another Rider we will all breathe a sigh of relief but if he does not choose another Rider we will need to train this girl.”
“You’re not going to let the Airwolf stay with her?” It was the first time Marshal showed any sign of emotion. His stoic face was lined with worry.
“You know as well as anyone. The horse chooses the Rider. That’s the way it has always been and, the same is true for Airwolves. We cannot force the Airwolf to choose the Rider we want it to.”
“Do I have to remind you what happened to the last person who came here with the girl’s ability? She is dangerous. We cannot allow her to stay bonded to the Airwolf.” Marshal argued.
“I understand your concern but…”
“Concern!? This isn’t just concern. She could destroy everything with the Airwolf by her side.”
“We will keep a close watch on her.” Nemek assured him. “If she becomes too dangerous, we will do what we must.”
“Wait.” The woman interrupted. “Are we really sure this girl is dangerous? We allow the horses to choose for a reason. They are good at it. I have looked over the old manuscripts and I understand that the Airwolves choose only the most loyal and courageous people as Riders. Are you sure the Airwolf chose wrong?”
“I’m sure.” Marshal said with finality.
Nemek held up his hands again. “There is no reason to argue. We don’t know what the Airwolf is going to do. We shall see what happens until then we will train the girl and the Airwolf.”
“Fine, but mark my words. The girl is dangerous.” Marshal said. “You will see.” He gave the board a small bow of respect and then he turned to leave. The sound of his boots against the stone echoed through the hall as he ascended the steps. He had said everything he needed to say. He didn’t need to explain the stakes to the board. The slow minded fools already knew.
----------------------------------------------
Gwinn felt the sun warming her face. It must be morning. She yawned and stretched. Her face rested against Alcor’s soft fur. She opened her eyes and smiled. His big familiar face smiled back. She had tossed and turned in her own bed for a long time before giving up. She left her nice comfortable room in the middle of the night to search for Alcor. She didn’t exactly remember the way back to the stables but somehow she could sense Alcor. She could feel his presence and she followed the feeling until it got stronger and she found herself in the stables. He was happy to see her and he scooted over to make room for her in the straw. She laid her head down and slept soundly after that.
She sat up. There were some people shouting outside the stables. “Is there something wrong?” Gwinn asked.
Alcor pressed his lower lip upward in thought. Then he sniffed the air. “I don’t think so.”
“Well, who knows? These Riders and their ways are strange to us. I guess we’ll have to figure things out as we go.”
“True, but I think I like it here. The stable assistant gave me a sweet treat.” He gave her a big wink and, she shook her head but couldn’t keep herself from smiling at him.
Kellin ran into the stables. He went passed them but then turned around and came back. He had a worried look on his face. “There you are!”
“Yeah, I’m right here.” She said with a yawn and stretched her arms.
He crossed his arms. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. I should have guessed you would be here.”
“Why were you looking for me?”
“Because you were supposed to be in your room and you’re supposed to start your training today.”
She laughed. “I still don’t understand why you’re so worried. No one’s ever cared about where I was unless they wanted the floor scrubbed.”
“This isn’t funny. Everyone’s really worried.”
“Are they afraid I would run away in the middle of the night? Ha, you shouldn’t worry so much. I’m not going anywhere. I have no idea how to get out of here.”
“They take training very seriously around here. If you want them to accept you, you have to take it seriously too.” He had a very stern expression on his face.
She grimaced. “Calm down. I only came out here because I couldn’t sleep. This is all very strange to both of us and we don’t know your ways. I wasn’t trying to cause a problem.”
His face softened. “I’m just glad I found you.” Another boy ran into the barn and stopped beside Kellin. “You can relax. I found her.” The boy ran off before saying anything. Kellin turned back to her. “You need to go back to your room and get ready for your training.”
“All right,” she said with resignation. When she got back to her room Mona was waiting for her.
“You certainly caused a stir this morning.” She said looking down her glasses at Gwinn.
“I didn’t think it would be such a big deal.”
“At any rate, I left you a new set of clothes on the end of your bed. They will be better for your training. I will take you to the training field when you are ready.”
Gwinn went to the end of the bed and examined the clothes. There was a pair or riding pants a thin plain tunic and a heavier double breasted blue riding tunic. She picked up the blue shirt with disgust, a Rider tunic. She dropped it on the bed and picked up the other clothes. The pants were fitted and hugged her legs. They were a little strange. She was not used to wearing pants but, they were comfortable enough. She put on the plain tunic but she couldn’t bring herself to put on the Rider’s tunic. There was a pair of new riding boots next to the bed. She slid them on and wriggled her toes. They fit perfectly. She stood up and moved around in her new clothes. They were a little stiff but, they felt crisp and new. She stopped to look at herself in the small mirror sitting above the dresser. Gwinn peered at her reflection. She certainly didn’t look like a serving girl anymore but then she frowned. She still felt like a serving girl. What am I doing here?
She didn’t give herself time to think about it. She ran down the hallway and flew down the stairs to find Mona who led Gwinn to a field near the stables. It was away from the main city and there was plenty of open space to use for training. They walked up to a group of people and stopped.
“This is Gwinn, the Airwolf Rider.” Mona said to them. *
Gwinn felt a little uncomfortable with all of their staring eyes on her. She straightened her shirt and stood up taller. Most of the people in the group looked about her age. There was an older woman with blond hair with them and she addressed Gwinn. “You are late and you have delayed our training for the day.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were waiting for me. No one told me I was supposed to be here.” Gwinn said.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were waiting for me. No one told me I was supposed to be here.” Gwinn said.
“Well, do not let it happen again. We do not put up with lazy individuals here.”
Gwinn stuck out her chin but, she bit her lip back. It stopped her from saying what she wanted to say.
“And where is your Rider’s shirt? Didn’t they give you one?”
“I…I didn’t put it on.” Gwinn said truthfully.
“Why not? It is part of your proper attire.”
Gwinn stuck out her chin again. “I didn’t want to wear it.”
“But it’s what all Riders wear. It is a sign of your official status.”
“I know.” Gwinn said stiffly.
“Then why didn’t you put it on?” The woman asked.
“Because I don’t want to be a Rider.” A few of the others gaped at her and the woman looked completely baffled.
“What do you mean? Everyone wants to be a Rider.”
Gwinn shook her head defiantly. “I don’t know why anyone would want to be a Rider. Every Rider I have ever met has been rude, arrogant and ungrateful. I do not wish to become someone like that.”
The woman stared at her. Gwinn stood still and held her ground. She was expecting a backlash. Would they beat me here, like Rochelle did? Or just throw me out right here and now? After staring at Gwinn a few long moments the woman finally responded. “I do not train my Riders to be rude. That is unacceptable behavior.”
“Yet their behavior is accepted by everyone.” Gwinn retorted.
“Young lady, you are trying my patience. Next time you come to a training session you will put on your blue tunic like all the other trainees.” When she was sure Gwinn was not going to respond she went on. “My name is Darolyn and I will be your trainer. You will be learning how to properly mount your Airwolf today. There are times when you may need to leave in a hurry and you should be able to mount quickly and efficiently. The other trainees have already gone over this.” *
Gwinn caught a glimpse of pink out of the corner of her eye. She looked up along with everyone else. Alcor circled above the field and Gwinn shook her head. “Sorry, I’ll go get him.” She went out to the middle of the field and waved at him. “Come down.” He turned his head toward her circled a few more times and then landed. “Quit showing off. We already got in trouble this morning.”
“I didn’t get in trouble. They brushed out my coat and gave me a brand new saddle.” He turned so she could see his shiny coat.
“Fine, I got in trouble. Everybody loves you.”
“I’ll tell them it was my fault.”
“Thanks.” She said but, she doubted it would help.
“Look at this saddle. I bet you’ll have an easier time staying on with it.” He said bending down so she could get a better look. It smelled like new leather and it felt stiff to the touch. It was more like a harness. Two straps went over his shoulders around his chest and under his belly then attached to the sides of the saddle. It was intricately carved with wings; the symbol of the Riders.
She swept her hands across the carvings. The bumps and bulges were smooth underneath her fingers. “It is a nice saddle.”
“They tried to get me to wear a bridle on my face but I wouldn’t let them put it on. I don’t need one.”
She put her hands on her hips. “But how am I supposed to steer you when you get unruly?”
He turned his nose up at her and gave her a look of disdain. She laughed at him and he relaxed. “I don’t get unruly.” He huffed. She laughed even more.
Darolyn and the trainees came over to join them. “Would you like to share the joke with us?”
“He likes his new saddle.” Gwinn said. Alcor pranced around for them all to see him and his new saddle. “And he likes the attention.” She added. He stopped and grumbled.
“So this is the Airwolf?” Darolyn said admiring him. “Do you have any idea what you have here?”
“No, I really don’t.” Gwinn admitted.
“That’s why we’re training you.”
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