Princess Mia Cheers! … for the Horse.
“Nope! All done! That was the last thing! “I’m done!” Mia yelled as she led Kuolan back to the stables in a rough way.
She used a cloth to wipe off as much as she could, but some of the stuff was still on her hair. Gross stuff…
“Ugh, I need to take a bath right now… But first, I need Malong to find me a different horse!”
She decided to go find Malong, so she went to the special stable where he was supposed to be. But when she got there, it was empty.
“Huh? “That’s weird…”
There were no people or horses there at all.
“This is the first time I’ve been here,” she said to herself as she looked around.
When she got closer to the room, she saw that she was wrong. There was a horse in there that was out of sight. At the back of the building, it stood still.
“Oh my, what a beautiful horse…”
Its beauty drew her in. Its body was covered in pure white hair, and it had the air of a queen. It looked right at her when it turned around.
“You’re…”
“That’s Kayou. “Like Kuolan, she’s a moonhare.”
Malong came up behind her with a huge pitchfork, which suggested that he had been moving hay for the horses while he was gone.
“A moonhare… Oh, yes, I do remember you saying, ‘There’s a horse that can’t be ridden because it’s about to give birth.’”
The horse’s body did look rounder than usual when you looked at it more closely.
“She is so pretty…”
She gave Kayou a smile, and it looked at her quietly with a soft look in its eyes.
“Her eyes are so soft…”
“She sure does. One of the more tame moonhares for sure. I’d let you ride her, but she can’t run right now.”
She thought about the new possibilities and said, “Oh, what a terrible shame.”
It won’t be ready for the Horsemanship Tournament, but what about later? Like the cold season? Mia was said to have gone on a long ride on the night of the Holy Eve Festival, where she was killed by bandits.
What if the horse she had been riding was replaced by a faster one, like a moonhare? She might have been able to get through the situation. Kayou seemed like the kind of horse who would listen so that they could work together and run as one.
The other horse was stupid, but…
Mia looked at Malong with eyes that were bright and full of hope.
“By the way, I’m just wondering: when exactly is this horse going to have a baby? How long before she can run?”
“Well, let’s see. I might give her ten more days. She can run around on her own almost as soon as she gives birth, but if you want her to go full speed while carrying a rider, give her another week.”
“So just a little over two weeks? If that’s the case…”
It would be ready a long time before winter. She had a lot of time before the Holy Eve Festival started. She looked over Kayou again, this time with more interest. It kept looking at her with those beautiful, smart-looking eyes.
It’s almost funny how different she is. Kuolan and his stupid face are on one side, and Kayou is on the other. Some people do say that moonhares are very smart horses. Seeing this one, I have no doubts. That dumb Kuolan must be the only one who doesn’t fit in.
She thought that maybe he had been dropped on his head as a foal or something, because compared this other one, she was so smart and majestic.
And if she’s smart, that must mean she’ll remember when someone does something nice for her. Even if Kuolan is annoying and doesn’t know what to do, I bet Kayou will know what to do in return. In other words…
Mia’s instincts were telling her to make friends with this horse. To do so many nice things for her that she couldn’t help but like her.
She turned to Malong with a firm nod.
“Sorry, Malong, but I’d like to help you take care of this horse. Would that be all right?”
“Hm? I don’t know, sure I guess? About what kind of help are we talking?”
“Stuff like cleaning up the stable and washing the horse so she stays clean, among other things.”
Even though Mia and her friends were in the horsemanship club, they did not take care of the horses. Staff at the academy took care of that. Since they came from a good family, they only had to worry about things that fit their status, like getting better at riding.
Malong, who was from the Equestrian Kingdom, thought that taking care of horses was an important part of being a good horseman. This way of thinking had rubbed off on Abel, who often helped with the less important parts of the experience, like cleaning the stable. However, he was the exception, not the rule.
The fact that the princess of a powerful empire like Tearmoon then asked to do the same was not just unusual; it was unthinkable. So, Malong was completely caught off guard by the question, and all he could do was stare at it with his mouth wide open.
“Of course,” Mia added, “within reason.”
“I’ll try to help. I don’t know if I can get up so early every day, but you look like you need help here, so… I mean, it’s a hard thing to do, right? Having a baby?”
Self-interest was a big part of why she did what she did, but it wasn’t the only thing that drove her. Mia had been openly curious about how those big birds brought babies to people’s houses until not too long ago.
She knew more about the real world now that she didn’t know such nonsense and had added real facts to her knowledge. It was a very important question for her, since the history book said she would have to have eight children.
When she innocently asked Chloe where babies came from, her well-read friend gave her a long, silent stare and then gave her a book without saying a word. When asked what it was about, she said, “It’s all explained in there. Just…don’t be too surprised.”
Mia was a little scared by this strange order, so she carefully opened the book and read the truth. She now knew that giving birth was a very hard thing to do.
Am I going to be all right? E-Eight kids?
Her eyes went to Kayou’s swollen stomach.
She gave it a gentle rub.
“You can do it. I want the best for you. I hope you have a wonderful child.”
She smiled at the horse and felt like she had a strange connection to it.
