A Horse, A Horse! My Kingdom For A Horse! (Varjo)

[Basha'ir]

Fall 2, 512 AV

Basha’ir lifted Nondi in her arms, and the little girl leaned forward eagerly, stretching out her tiny hand towards the fence. “Can I pat one?” she asked, her eyes round with taking in the beauty of the horses that were ranged about the field.

Basha’ir hesitated, and then shook her head. “No, little one, I think we had better not. I’m not sure it’s allowed. And besides, I don’t want you to get bitten.”

Nondi accepted the answer philosophically. She had never been very close to a horse, and they did seem quite large to her little self. But with a child’s curiosity, she would have been willing to brave getting closer in order to stroke one of those silky necks or soft noses. She tried a different tack.

“Can I wide one?”

Basha’ir smiled, shifting the child to rest on her hip. “No, I’m afraid not. It costs money to ride and I don’t have any to spare.” She was trying to be very, very frugal with her funds and her salary from being a seamstress wasn’t so very much. Leasing a horse to ride for a day was far beyond her budget. Besides, her own riding skills consisted mainly of sitting quietly on the animal’s back and hoping it would follow it mates sedately along the trail. When Theodoric had brought her to Syliras, she had ridden the whole way, and had the sore muscles to show for it, though after a week or so, it had definitely gotten better. But her former master had no interest in teaching his precious slave how to really ride, probably for fear she might just try to ride off and escape. As if she would attempt to negotiate the Wildlands on her own! Basha’ir sometimes thought she was the most useless of women. She was so very vulnerable, and always at the mercy of others who were stronger or more skilled. What did she know how to do? Entertain men, and sew! Thrilling! Of course, she did have a little skill in hypnosis and arutistics. But as she was now trying to live a life not dependant on magic, especially not her gnosis of Ranuri, that left her with very few real skills. Well, she would like to change all that, but she’d need to find the time, and teachers who wouldn’t charge an exorbitant fee.

Nondi again made no protest, but looked at the beautiful creatures for a few moments more, before posing a third question, though this one was not a request.

“Do you know who to wide, Basha?”

Basha’ir laughed. “Well…not exactly. I can sit on a horse and hope not to fall off. I’d like to learn though. Maybe one day we can learn together, hm my little love?”

She kissed the child’s cheek and pressed her nose into the little girl’s neck. Nondi giggled and squirmed, and the young woman lowered her to the ground. “Come. We still have our errands to run,” she said taking the child’s hand. The stables were not at all on the way to the Bazaar, but Nondi had asked if they could come and look at the horses in the large field, and they hadn’t been in any particular hurry. This was her day off from her job at An Elegant Weave and they had plenty of time to do as they pleased.

Within a short while, the woman and the little girl were wending their way through the crowds of shoppers and vendors in the Great Bazaar. Passing one stall, Nondi tugged at Basha’ir’s hand and pointed. The young woman allowed herself to be pulled over to look at what had caught the child’s eye.

“Look! Horses!” Nondi said excitedly, her dark eyes fixed on the small, brightly painted wooden toys. “Can I have one, pleeeeease?” she asked, bouncing up and down on her toes.

Basha’ir shook her head. “No, my love. Not today.”

The canny merchant had moved out to assess the likelihood of the will of the child versus the will of what he assumed to be the parent, and the likely weight of said parent’s purse. He smiled toothily at the dark haired little girl, who did look a good bit like the young woman who had a hold of her hand. The assumption was an entirely natural one.

“Ah, you have a magnificent eye for horseflesh, little lady,” he said, endearingly, clasping his hands together. Then he picked one of the toys up and held it out temptingly. “This is a beauty, indeed.” Almost reverently, he placed the toy in Nondi’s eager hands.

Basha’ir looked on with a smile and Nondi’s face was lit with complete and utter rapture. Already beginning to cave, Basha’ir asked, “How much?”

A few chimes later, woman and child were walking away from the stall, the bright blue horse held carefully in the girl’s little fingers. Basha’ir sighed, knowing that she should not have given in so easily. But she doubted that Nondi had ever owned even a single toy in her young life, and she had been very good about the real horses. They walked through the bazaar, Basha’ir making several more purchases. They stopped to have a bite of skewered chicken from a stand and then to watch a little puppet show. Finally, it seemed time that they should be gone. Basha’ir rose form where they had been seated on the floor before the puppet stall, and she looked down at Nondi. “Come along, darling. It’s time to head home.”

The little girl stood up and looked about around her feet. She turned in a complete circle, staring frantically at the floor. Basha’ir bent over, asking, “What is it…” when the child interrupted her with a loud wail.

“It’s gone! My horse is gone!”

Basha’ir looked about too, and a look of distress almost one to match the child’s washed over her face. For nowhere could she see the precious new toy.