Brightly Burning

'Forbay,' she said, with a shrug.

'On Lake Evendim, a little south of the midpoint, the end of the Hollyton Road,' he said instantly. Fyllia's mouth formed a little 'O' of surprise, and everyone at the table clamored to see him perform.

By the time the baked apples in cream came around, he had attracted the attention of the occupants of the tables on either side. He was greatly enjoying himself when the bell rang, sounding clearly over the chatter, warning them all that it was time for classes again.

The rest of the Trainees hurried off to their classes, except for the ones whose task was to clear up after the rest. Although it was not strictly his job today, he decided to help, his spirits buoyed by his first encounter with his fellow Trainees.

'Thanks,' said one of the older girls, one of the ones who was probably about eighteen, as he handed her a stack of plates. She piled them into the hatch of the contrivance that took them down into the kitchen. 'You were with that scamp Tuck, weren't you? What were all of you chattering about over there?'

'Tuck found out that I've got a pretty good chance of recognizing where a person's home is,' he said honestly and modestly. 'It looks like a conjuring trick, I suppose, but it's only because I've got most of the trade routes memorized, at least in Valdemar proper.'

'You do? That's better than we can do at your age,' the girl said with surprise. 'Are you that youngling from a Merchant family that was in the fire in Haven?'

He nodded, and she tilted her head to one side. 'I wondered what it was they could be studying in that school of theirs; trade routes, hmm?'

'And accounting, and currency conversions, and—'

'Enough!' she laughed, holding up her hands in surrender. 'Obviously, there's a lot more to being a merchant than I thought. Forgive me for my uncharitable assumptions!'

He laughed and went back for another stack of plates.

When the dishes were cleared away, he nipped back to his room for his cloak. It was far too cold to venture out without it today. This was going to be his final day of freedom from classes, and he intended to make the most of it.

Out the door he went, wrapping his cloak closely around himself, heading across the gardens to the fence that separated Companion's Field from the rest of the Palace grounds.

Kalira waited there, the river between her and the largest portion of the Field. :It's about time,: she teased. :You're spending too much time with other women. I'm going to get jealous!:

:lf you think you'd be of any use cleaning up after a meal, you're welcome to join me,: he retorted :The only thing I can think of is to use your tail to dry dishes.:

:Ugh! What a vile idea! I'll meet you in the stables instead.: She trotted into the long building that housed the Companions in bad weather and cold nights; he sped up to enter the door on his own side.

She had already found a stable hand, or he had found her; the two were standing side by side waiting for him next to a stall with her name over it and her tack hung and draped on its sides.

'Training ride, or pleasure?' the stableboy asked, reaching for one of the bitless bridles that Companions used.

'Pleasure ride,' Lan replied, wondering why he had asked. 'Ah, actually, it's my first ride with her.'

The stableboy turned back to look questioningly at him. 'You didn't arrive here with her, then? Done any riding at all before this?'

'A lot, actually.' Lan wondered why all the questions. 'I used to have my own hunter.'

'Ah, then! That'll be good.' The stableboy grinned, and took down, not a saddle, but a light pad with a bellyband; hardly more than a couple of layers of cloth cut in the shape of a small saddle. He threw this up over Kalira's back and pulled the girth tight. 'D'ye need a leg up, or can you hop up yourself?'

:Is that a bareback pad?: he asked Kalira, not wanting to ask the stableboy.

:It is, and you'll like this,: she replied.

He'd heard of bareback pads, but he'd never seen one; used either by the most excellent of riders or with the most exquisitely trained horses or both, the pads were a more secure form of bareback riding than doing so with only a blanket as the wild Shin'a'in were said to do. There was just enough material between the rider and the horse to avoid chafing the skin of either.

'I think—' He wanted to say that he could mount without help, but a sardonic glance from Kalira made him change his mind. 'I think I'd better get a leg up,' he admitted sheepishly.

The stableboy cupped his hands and braced himself to take Lan's weight without comment. Lan put his left foot in the hand and tried to put as little of his weight on it for the shortest time he could manage, quickly swinging his right leg over Kalira's back and settling onto the pad.

'Them reins is mostly to give you something to grab to and balance with,' the boy reminded him with a wave. 'Have a good ride.'

Kalira walked out of the stable sedately enough, but once out in the open she broke into a brisk canter. Lan found himself moving with her rhythm within a few paces, and was swept up in the most incredible surge of joy he had ever experienced in his life.

She trumpeted a neigh and moved into a full gallop. The wind caught Lan's cloak and blew it out behind him, but he was too exhilarated to be cold. They pounded across one of the bridges, Kalira's hooves making a sound like bells on the hard surface, then out into the wooded expanse of Companion's Field itself.

She took him on a whirlwind ride around the perimeter; up the river to the wall surrounding the entire