Chapter 9: Princess Mia...Becomes Wind

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!”

Mia’s shrill scream could be heard throughout the riding grounds. Air, relentless and powerful, slammed into her like a wall, threatening to flatten her body. It was like galloping into a hurricane!

Fortunately, Malong’s large frame was behind her, ensuring she did not become airborne. The cost of this safety was the sensation of being squashed into a thin paste between two massive slabs, one gaseous and the other pectoral. The constant gale sent her hair whirling wildly around in little hair tornadoes, she feared the strands would all come right off. She desperately clutched the reins, forced her body forward, and tensed, trying to stay seated on the horse.

The world around her sped past in fuzzy streaks, blurred by the tears in her eyes. Everything, from the fence around the grounds and the surrounding greenery to the people watching them, had been reduced to smears of color, each lasting only a brief second before leaving her view. She vaguely made out some fallen leaves twirling into the air in the distance. The next thing she knew, they’d raked through her hair with an alarming shiiiick and were gone. She’d heard the sound before. It was the same shrill noise made by the arrows the Lulu tribe had shot at her!

“Fwaaaaaaaah! Gyaaaaaaaaah!”

She screamed as she began to regret the comment she’d made a few minutes ago.

Aaaah, why did I have to go and say something like that? Why...

Going back a few minutes...

After arriving at the riding grounds, Mia promptly began her test ride on the moonhare with Malong. They circled the grounds twice, going faster than even that time Mia had urged her steed into an uncontrolled gallop. The sheer sense of speed was almost violent in its intensity, and it wasn’t long before she let out a muffled teary squeal.

Noticing her discomfort, Malong asked, “Well, that was a decent warm up. Wanna call it a day for now? There’s no rush after all. You can take your time getting used to it.”

With great effort, Mia craned her head toward him and smiled. It was, of course, a very strained smile.

Warm up? You’re telling me this is just a warm up? she thought, secretly terrified by the implications.

She should have listened to her inner chicken. If only she’d been honest and said she’d had enough for the day. She could have gotten away with just the warm up... But she hadn’t.

“H-Hah, I can handle this no problem. You said this was a warm up? Well, it had better be, because I’m just getting started.”

Her damn ego didn’t let her. Not after saying a whole lot of big words about how she could handle the horse even if Malong didn’t ride with her. It was too late to back down. Worse was the fact that her mouth just kept flapping.

“Th-This isn’t nearly as bad as I expected. Easy peasy. It seems like the speed of the moonhares is all talk,” she said boastfully before putting on a smug face and adding, “Well then. Now that I’ve seen what this horse can do, I think I’ll let you off the hook for today.”

She’d meant it as an excuse to call it quits and get herself off this four-legged speed demon, but before she could ask to end the ride, she noticed something strange. The horse’s ears were bent at a weird angle, almost as if it were listening in on their conversation. Moments after, Kuolan let out a rising whinny, the cry akin to how a rotating contraption might sound when picking up speed. Behind her, she heard Malong utter two very worrying sounds.

“Uh oh—”

Before she could ask for clarification, he shouted, “Hold on tight, miss! And don’t talk or you’ll bite your tongue!”

“...Eh?”

His warning coincided with a second, more powerful neigh. A split second later, Kuolan exploded into motion. Fast-moving air slammed into her eardrums with a deafening boom, and she became wind.

You know, I really need to stop getting cocky. It’s definitely one of my worse habits...

Kuolan veered around a corner. The motion almost flung her straight off its back. She desperately fought to stay on, keeping her grip on the reins through pure will. With an intense effort, she managed to force her eyes open. The first thing to leap into view was Kuolan’s face, which had been briefly craned in her direction to display the parting of its big, horsey lips in a wide grin.

Th-This horse... Is he making fun of me right now?! Seriously?! I’m being mocked by a horse?! Indignance flared up, suppressing her terror. Her eyes had the fiery glow of someone rising to meet a challenge. All right, you stupid animal, if you think this is all it takes for me to admit defeat, then you are dead wrong. Compared to the guillotine, this... This is nothing! Having Dion out for your blood is way scarier! After going through that, I... I-I can... No, I can’t! I’m sorry! I lied! Please stop! Eeeeek! Let me off! I can’t handle this!

Only after having far more than her fill of the experience of riding a moonhare did Mia’s feet find steady ground again. Her trembling legs struggled to support her weight, and she staggered.

“Whoa, are you okay, miss?”

Malong rushed to give her a hand, only to be beaten to the punch.

“Careful, Mia. Watch your feet.”

“That felt uncharacteristically reckless of you.”

“...Eh?”

Finding a pair of arms supporting each of hers, she dazedly looked up to find the faces of a pair of princes.

“M-My... Abel and Sion... What are you two doing here?”

“Horse riding practice, of course...but since we found you speedriding, we decided to spectate,” answered Sion in a casual tone.

“I’m glad we caught your moonhare debut,” added Abel. “How was the ride? You look a little unsteady. Are you okay?”

She almost melted before his gentle smile, but forced her legs to remain solid matter and put on the bravest face she could muster.

“H-Hah, as if something like that could rattle me. I-It was a...t-total cakewalk.”

She thanked the two princes for their aid. Then with slow, elegant steps, she strolled over to Kuolan and gently stroked the tip of its nose. As she did, she whispered, “You were laughing at me back there, weren’t you? You’ve got some nerve, you stupid horse. Do you have any idea who I am— Hm?”

Kuolan took a big breath in, swiveled its head a little to point its muzzle at her head, and with a mighty hack-a-pchoo, unloaded the contents of its nose.

“Gyaaaah!”

A storm of air, snot, and drool swept past her, knocking her onto her rear. Dumbstruck, she looked up aghast at the horse, then down at herself to survey the aftermath of the sneeze. She could feel her hair stuck to her cheeks, covered in equine nose goo. Her shirt was wet and slimy. It was all very disgusting.

“Oh, just a heads up, miss. Kuolan can understand human words to a degree, so might be best to watch what you say around him. You don’t want him to think you’re a pushover.”

Almost in concert with Malong’s warning, Kuolan grinned and looked down its nose at Mia.

He... He totally does! This damn horse thinks I’m a joke!