applepie

Chapter 15
The temperature outside the palace was a balmy seventy, perhaps seventy-five, degrees. Arabella was coming to find that each day the weather seemed perfect. She had seen rain only at night time, and the days always seemed to be clear and bright. From talking with Philomina she had found that this was the normal weather for them. They received a light rain most evenings. Not enough to cause flooding, but it was more than enough to ensure that bountiful crops grew all the year. There was never anything like snow, and Philomina had blanched when she described one of the hurricanes Arabella had experienced in Miami.

The people here didn’t know anything outside of their area, and it seemed the whole populated segment of the planet experienced perfect growing conditions. It explained all of the lush forests, and the constant state of bloom most of the flowers seemed to be in. The overall effect was spectacular. The wooded areas seemed to be nothing but shades of emerald dotted with flowers the color of the rainbow. The gardens that Allarick kept were are horticulturalist’s dream, and the crops would have made the farmers on Earth rich men.

With such a picturesque setting, it seemed impossible that Arabella would be as heavy in the soul as she felt. To an outsider, she was striking in her sorrow. One could see the cloud of sadness around her in the soft shimmer of her eyes, and the way in which she moved exuded a misery that one could only guess at the cause. It was this that drew the stable master’s eyes to her when she entered.

The stable master was unable to bear pain in both people and animals alike. It was the reason that Allarick had chosen him to be in the care of both animals and guests in stable. He was a tall, brawny man with long black hair and eyes of such a deep blue one was reminded of sapphires. His eyes were full of a warm compassion that showed as he tended to an injured borca. The animal had a gash running across her hind leg, and the stable master was cleaning and applying a salve to the wound. He murmured soothing words as he worked over the animal, and his hands were sure and gentle with their work.

As Arabella entered into the stable, and barely registered her surroundings. She was weighted with her own concerns, and she paid very little attention to the happenings around her. She was unsure when her mood had become morose, but she was being eaten alive by her sadness. She thought wistfully of Vern as she moved through the stable. Once the two of them had vacationed at an old style ranch, and the stable reminded her of the time together. They had ridden horses each day, and they stayed up late each night talking of work and life.

A long sigh escaped her down turned mouth. She didn’t know if she would ever see him again, and she had to work at building a life here. Each evening since she had arrived, Arabella worked with some of the equipment taken from the Ara X. She kept the navigation equipment hidden within her room as she attempted to pinpoint her location. She was unable to find any stars or systems nearby that were recognized by her computer, but maybe she could use the fainter radiation from the systems to pinpoint her place in the universe. It often seemed the different systems had identifiable chemical signatures that someone, with the knowledge, who was looking could trace. There were slightly different chemical traces that helped to distinguish what galaxy or galaxy cluster individual planetary systems were located within. The Milky Way had one finger print, but it wasn’t quite like any other. She hoped that by finding trace radiation from other surrounding galaxies she may be able to gain some bearing of direction. Perhaps she may be able to determine at least a rough heading to point her ship towards.

Any hope of finding a way back home was worth holding onto. She hadn’t been able to glean much information yet, but she planned to spend a day or so with the Ara X to conduct some further research. The scanners on the Ara X were much more powerful than those that she could carry into the palace. Once she had the system parameters set, she would talk with Philomina about taking a trip to her shuttle. She only wished that she could continue to avoid Allarick in the interim.

Arabella’s countenance started to transform itself as she reasoned things out. Her demeanor was changed enough that the stable master dared to approach her.

“What would have such a lovely lady looking so sad on a day like this?” He inquired. He had been hesitant to approach while she still looked so dejected, but the straightening of her back and shoulders betrayed her for the strong willed woman that she was. He decided that she would not turn to hysterics on him, and maybe he could help bring a smile to Arabella’s face.

“I’m just feeling a bit lost, I think. I hadn’t really noticed how blue I felt until I came out here. Would you mind showing me around, and maybe I can go for a ride just to clear my head a bit. I’m Arabella, by the way,” She extended her hand and offered a small smile to the man standing before her.

“I’m Tamarin, but my friends all just call me Tam. I would be happy to show you around, and you can have that ride in exchange for a promise. When you come back, I want to see you smiling,” the last was said with a wink, and Arabella couldn’t help but grin at him.

“I will be happy to come back a much happier lady if you will offer me a way to escape for a while. I just need some time to think and be alone, but there is nowhere within the palace that I can really go. My room would suffice, I suppose, but it isn’t the same as having the wind in your hair and the suns beating down upon you.”

Tamarin motioned for her to follow him further into the stable. As they moved he began to tell her about the different animals within his care. She learned that he was the head stable master, and that all which occurred here fell upon his head. He showed her the stalls which housed the borcas, but he also showed her some smaller stalls in the back. The area of the stable that housed the borcas was composed of massive stalls, but these stalls were much smaller. They were only large enough to house something the size of a small thoroughbred horse. Within were the most amazing winged animals that Arabella had ever seen. They stood with their eagle like wings tucked against their bodies. Some slept with their heads hidden beneath one. They had long slender bodies and legs, neither of which leant Arabella to believe that the animals were for riding. The colors ranged from a golden yellow with black wing tips to a russet color with deep chocolate brown staining the wings.

“These have been specially trained to carry a rider. The lorelilla were not initially bred for their strength, but here we try to strengthen them and create ones which can be ridden for pleasure. These are sixth generation, and they are capable of carrying someone your size for periods of an hour or more.” Tamarin looked at her expectantly as if she should know the implications of the lorelilla being trained for riding. The only problem was that she had no way to know that this was a feat that had never been undertaken. The lorelilla were not known for their gentleness. They were not fierce, but they were shy creatures that tended to avoid others if it was possible.

“They’re beautiful animals. Are they really able to carry someone like me,” Arabella looked awestruck by the lorelilla. They were the things of fairy tales on her world, and there had never been anything similar found on the other places in which she visited. It made Arabella feel like a little girl again. The little girl who had once wished that she could fly away on Pegasus in the same way that Hercules did was now being granted a child’s greatest dream.

“Of course my lady,” Tamarin grinned like a schoolboy at the obvious pleasure he had given to Arabella, “would you like me to ready one for you?”

“I would be so grateful to you if you would,” then Arabella’s face fell again. She was not familiar with this planet, and even if Tam did saddle her one of the winged beasts, she would not know where to go.

“What makes you look so sad at the thought of riding?”

“I’m not saddened by the thought of riding. I’m afraid that I don’t know of any where to go. I am only a guest here, and things are very different than they are at my own home. I’m not sure where to go or if Allarick… I mean the Syine would even permit me to go.”

“The animals are all for the pleasure of the Syine and his guests, so do not fear that he will be angry if you ride,” Tamarin gave her a thoughtful look, and then he added, “If you would like I’ll saddle two and take you to the place along the water that I frequent when I need to be alone. I’ve never shared it with anyone, but maybe you can use it too when you are sad.”

Arabella blushed to learn that she was so obvious in her sorrow. She had always prided herself on her strength and the resilience that just came naturally to her. It was embarrassing to find that her strength was deserting her when she needed it the most. She feared that she may just be turned into the emotional type of woman that she had always avoided. She was strong because she had refused to be anything else, but what she hadn’t known is that she was denying much more by holding herself away from almost everyone but Vern. She had never been seriously courted by someone, and even her friends were held at arms length. For someone who wished that Prince Charming would come, it seemed odd that Vern was the only one who had broken through her defenses just as she had done to him. They had then erected an impenetrable wall around their charmed relationship and not allowed access to any others. Here she was all alone, and her defenses were crumbling without the support she was so accustomed to.

“I would appreciate you showing me your special place. I need somewhere to just be alone once in a while, and that is much too hard to find within the palace walls.”