The Green-Eyed Man

Chapter 3

3

After lunch, Maud excused herself, saying she wanted to check that the horses were ready. So Stefan was a little surprised when she wasn’t there to see them off on their tour around the property.

“Hello,” said Jayhan when he saw Stefan approaching. “I’m sorry we got the giggles. I promise it wasn’t about you.” He indicated a beautiful, quiet, grey pony. “This is my pony, Slug.” He shrugged. “I called him Storm when I first got him but…”

Stefan grinned. “He sounds perfect for me.”

Jayhan smiled back. “That’s what I thought, but Mum wants you to ride Maisy.” He nodded at a solid, dark brown mare that Sasha was just leading out of the stables. “She’s not much bigger than Slug but she is definitely kinder. Slug’s a pain. I have to turn myself inside out to make him trot and when he canters, he acts like I’m trying to kill him. He’s a lazy little layabout. We’re hoping Maisy might be able to sort him out.”

Seeing Stefan’s confusion, Sasha stepped in. “You know, like dogs affect each other’s behaviour sometimes. If the other two horses keep up a good pace, maybe he won’t want to be left behind.”

Stefan looked dubiously at Maisy standing stolidly beside Sasha. “I hope she doesn’t keep up too good a pace.” He walked up to her and, just as Sasha was about to offer to give him a leg up, leapt lightly into the saddle. He took the reins from her and gathered them, holding them lightly but firmly.

Sasha frowned at him. “I thought you couldn’t ride.”

“I didn’t say that. I just said I like placid horses.”

“Huh.” Sasha swung herself up with practised ease onto her wilful little pony. “This is Tosser,” she said, as her pony promptly lived up to his name by tossing his head and trying to nip Slug.

They walked their horses down the gravel road between the fields, with Jayhan and Sasha pointing out particular trees with bird’s nests in them, waving vaguely at the mob of sheep, introducing the farmhands, Jake and Thompson, to Stefan, and telling him about their tree house and the various adventures they had had together. Stefan’s apprehension that he might have to deal with being the butt of their teasing lessened. He wasn’t afraid of the possibility; it just wearied him.

As they neared the bushland behind the paddocks, Sasha asked, “Do you mind if we canter for a short while, just to the tree line so Mau… Maisy can try to sort out Slug?”

“Go on then,” said Stefan. “Come on Maisy, a canter if you please.” He pressed with his legs, increasing the pressure until the horse beneath him responded, changing straight from a walk to a canter. She had a rocking horse gait which Stefan found very comfortable. As he came up alongside Jayhan who was kicking Slug futilely, Maisy turned her head and nudged Slug sharply in his side behind the saddle. Slug kicked out a back leg then forced himself into a bone-shattering trot, but no more. Maisy cantered ahead then slewed into his path, forcing him to skid to a halt. Jayhan jerked forward in the saddle, nearly going over his stubborn little pony’s head. On Maisy’s back, Stefan sat firmly despite the sudden change in direction and made no move to direct her. Maisy tossed her head up and down, baring her teeth and even snapping a couple of times.

Slug backed up, the whites of his eyes showing. Maisy snorted, then swung around abruptly and bolted up the road towards the bushland. Sasha put her heels to her feisty little pony and bolted after her.

Even though he was being carried at a full gallop, Stefan looped the reins over the pommel of the saddle before letting go of them entirely. Then he looked back over his shoulder, completely unconcerned at the pace, to see Slug galloping after them, his tail flicking in irritation. He leaned forward and patted Maisy on the shoulder. “Well done. You got that naughty little bag-o-bones moving.”

Then as the bushland loomed, he leaned even further forward and whispered into her ear, “And now I would like you to pull up.” Her ear flicked back and forth. For a moment, he felt her muscles bunch as she actually increased her pace. Stefan chuckled. He leant over again. “Now please, or I will have to use the reins.” Immediately, he felt the drumming lessen as her hooves hit the ground less forcefully and she gradually slowed to a stop. Stefan chuckled again. “I don’t know exactly what is going on, but you are no ordinary horse. I thought you might understand me. Usually, I teach my horses to respond to my voice, but you already do so with no training of mine. Interesting.”

Sasha and Jayhan caught up with them and pulled up their ponies. Tosser was, predictably, tossing his head with the excitement of a good run. Slug just stood there as placid and boring as ever, although Jayhan was a bit breathless. His face was glowing as he praised Slug and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder.

“That was better,” he said enthusiastically. “So do you want to come and see our creek? It’s not too far.”

They had stopped fifty yards short of the bushland and Stefan ran his eyes along the fence line to the left and right of him before asking, “Isn’t there a magical ward at the rear of the property?”

Jayhan shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. This isn’t the end of our place though. We have two hundred acres of bush out the back here. Miles more land than we have with sheep on it.”

“It makes a great playground,” said Sasha, grinning. “Maud and Sheldrake wanted to save some of the bushland before all the houses from Highkington took over. The outskirts of the city aren’t here yet. We are still quite a way out of town, but the city is growing.”

“Huh. That’s good.” Stefan let his gaze travel across the canopy of eucalypts, their leaves glistening in the sunlight and then lowered his gaze to the grevilleas and wattle growing between them, little gold pompoms and red intricate flowers dotted amongst their foliage. He watched a little family of blue wrens darting across the grass near the bushes at the edge of the forest and nodded at the brown wrens. “You know the duller brown ones are called Jenny wrens? And only the males have that glorious blue? Sad for the ladies really, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so,” said Sasha dubiously.

Stefan stored away the knowledge that Sasha wasn’t totally pleased about her future role as a lady of the court but didn’t comment. Instead, he said, “I come from the forest myself, you know. I grew up among trees and bushes and birds and animals. I’m glad someone wants to look after them. Let’s go and see your creek.”

As they urged their horses into motion, Sasha asked, “Which forest do you come from?” As soon as she asked, she realised she probably wouldn’t know it anyway. But surprisingly, she did.

“The Great Forest, the forest between Carrador and Kimora. My parents own an inn deep in the forest called…”

“The Creeping Vine,” chorused Jayhan and Sasha.

Stefan was surprised. “You know it?”

They nodded enthusiastically but then fell silent, glancing at each other.

For a few minutes they walked on in silence before Stefan reined up. He leaned forward and asked quietly in Maisy’s ear, “Can you hear or smell anything untoward in our surroundings? Is this a safe place for me to talk to these two?” Maisy did not respond but her ears flicked back and forth. “If all is clear, stamp your front left hoof.”

Maisy stamped her front left hoof and Stefan patted her shoulder in thanks.

“Excellent horse you have here,” he said conversationally to the children. “Now, before we go any further, let’s sort out our trust levels. You don’t have to tell me about Maisy here, but I can see you’re worried what you can and can’t tell me. Given your situation, Your Highness,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes and a slight bow to Sasha from the saddle, “I applaud your caution. I know who and what you are, Sasharia, and I know you, Jayhan, received a medal for saving her life. Not only that, I have also been told about the extraordinary power of your eyes, Jayhan, and the extraordinary power of your amulet, Sasha.” He grinned at them. “I don’t know everything, but I know enough that you can trust me with the rest when the time is right and it is relevant.”

Both children let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

“So your inn, The Creeping Vine,” began Sasha, “is where we all met before we went into the forest to tell a small group of refugees that I… well, tell them who I am and that Jon is to be regent for me until I come of age.”

“And that’s where the attackers came and nearly hurt Sasha,” added Jayhan. “In the forest, not at the inn, although they did stay at the inn before going into the forest.” Catching an irritated frown from Sasha, he gave a lop-sided smile. “Okay. I’ll shut up now.”

“Aha!” said Stefan, ignoring the last little interchange. “Well fancy that! Then you probably met my father – he’s the innkeeper – and one or two of my brothers.”

Sasha thought back. “The innkeeper was nice; big and round and cheery. I think I saw one other man working there. Yes, he looked quite a lot like the innkeeper, now you mention it. Both had pale faces but black hair. I don’t remember what colour their eyes were, but not green. I would have remembered if they were green.” She hesitated then added, “They were a bit taller than you, I think.”

“Yes. A lot taller than me, actually. A good six inches.” Stefan gave a rueful grimace. “I’m the runt of the family, I’m afraid.”

“Who else is in your family?” asked Jayhan. Maisy sidled and grunted, making him add hastily, “if you don’t mind telling us.”

“No, I don’t mind telling you, but we might as well keep walking now that we’ve cleared the air a little bit.” When the other two horses moved forward, Maisy fell into step beside them with no instruction from Stefan. He noted it but kept to the topic under discussion. “I have two older brothers and an older sister and I also have two younger brothers. They all look alike… well, similar, and none of them looks like me. Even my sister, Marjorie, is taller than me.”

“Do you mind?” asked Sasha kindly.

Stefan smiled at her. “Thank you for asking. No, I don’t mind how I look or how I’m built, but I did get sick of being the brunt of the family’s jokes and being bullied by my bigger, stronger brothers.” He shrugged. “I guess that is part of the reason I became so good at fighting.”

“What? For revenge?” asked Jayhan, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

“No, young sir.” He reached over and ruffled Jayhan’s hair. “Not for revenge. To protect myself.”

“Oh.” Jayhan thought about it for a minute. “Hmm. I can see that if you tried to take revenge on them, there’d be five against one coming back at you even worse.”

“No, they didn’t usually gang up on me. Usually just one or two poked fun at me or sometimes started to get physical. Sometimes the ones not involved would even tell them to lay off. Mostly they thought they were being funny. But if anyone outside the family picked on me…” Stefan gave a short laugh. “Well, you don’t pick on the Vine family; that’s all there is to it.”

Jayhan considered him. “So would you protect your sister or brothers if they needed it, even after they treated you badly?”

“In a heartbeat,” said Stefan.