Page 17 of The Silent Mountain
“You got me there, Pri-… Alana,” he admits with a crooked smile.
“Horse riding is a physical activity,” I tell him. “And also, a mental one. Your horse will feel when you are insecure and scared. Horses have a natural flight response; they are flight animals, and you always have to keep that in mind.”
“Got you,” he says. “My goal is to be secure enough to ride next to you through our lands.”
“Can my brother ride?” Elio asks me curiously.
“Yes,” I say. “Favian learned it from my brothers during his many political visits to our kingdom.” And he also learned it from me, but I don’t tell him that. It almost feels like I am sharing something too private. When I arrived here and Favian bought the first couple of horses, it was our way to bond, the first genuine bonding experience between us. I helped him improve his posture and his skills while spending time with him and learning a whole new side of him.
“He can truly do anything,” Elio says, his eyes shining in admiration for his older brother.
“The young king is truly amazing,” Ludwig agrees. I help him dismount the horse so that Elio can have his turn. “He already changed so much in such a short time. I think our kingdom will flourish again soon, just thanks to him.” He pauses. “Previous kings never had relationships outside of the Silent Mountain, so we had no allies. But King Favian is different, so modern and interested in his people. A commoner like me would have never had the opportunity of receiving such a high rank before.”
If Favian only knew and understood how much the dragon shifters look up to him. He feels guilty for surviving and for not saving more of them, but to them, he is their hero and savior. Without him, there would be no dragon kingdom anymore, and the dragon shifters would have died out because the golden dragon could not grant them their dragon spirits anymore. He is crucial for their existence.
While the three of us continue our training, a group of dragon shifters has started to watch us curiously. This was exactly what Favian and I were hoping for. First, they would just be curious, then hopefully interested, and then, they might want to learn too. It helps that Elio is one of the first to learn to ride. As the prince, he holds importance to them.
Elio passes the crowd and waves at them, making a group of young girls giggle while the elderly people wave back at him. One person in particular sticks out to me, an elderly lady who is standing a little aside from the group. I’ve seen her in the palace a few times. Both Favian and Elio treat her with a lot of respect and love.
Also, now Elio waves and nods at her when he passes her, making sure to greet her in particular. “Who is she?” I ask Ludwig.
“That’s Margarete,” Ludwig explains. “She used to be Prince Elio’s nanny.”
His nanny! The one person Favian trusted with his brother’s life. “She is the one who fled together with him!”
“Yes, she saved the young prince,” Ludwig says. “She and Theodor. Theodor was just a teen back then, but took responsibility as Elio’s protector.”
I know that story, but I didn’t know much about Margarete yet. “I haven’t seen her a lot here,” I admit.
“She is of weak health,” Ludwig explains. “The king made sure that she is attended to and has one of the best chambers in the castle. Elio visits her daily. She has only started to feel better recently.”
I turn around and smile at the woman. When I catch her eye, I wave at her to come closer. “I apologize,” I tell her once she approaches us. “I wasn’t aware you were family.”
The old woman smiles warmly at me. “I didn’t want to disrupt the training.”
“You are not,” I reassure her. “I am Alana.”
“The Warrior Princess of the werewolf kingdom,” she chuckles. “Elio talked about you a lot. And the young king, too.” She pauses. “I am Margarete, but Elio calls me Maggie.”
Maggie! Now, I am finally putting the pieces together. Elio has talked about a ‘Maggie’ to me, but I never made the connection to her being his old nanny.
She coughs, making me look at her in worry. “Are you not feeling well?”
“Oh, child,” she smiles. “I am not getting any younger or healthier.” She pauses, her eyes drifting toward Elio. “I am glad that the young prince and the young king have someone at their side who will protect them. It puts my mind at ease.”
Something about her words make me feel sad. It’s the finality in them, but although she is rather old, she is a shifter, and shifters are longer lived than humans. Even when they are older in age, they are still rather strong and healthy.
“Maggie,” Elio exclaims when I help him lead Constantia back to us. “Did you watch me? Did you see how well I did?”
Margarete’s whole stance softens, and she smiles gently at him. “Yes, my boy is truly amazing.”
I let Ludwig help Elio off the horse as a practice for him. I hope in the future, he will be able to help me with potential riding lessons for other dragon shifters.
Elio instantly runs towards Margarete and hugs her. “Are you feeling better?” he asks. “Can you really go outside?”
“Our healer told me I can take a few steps outside,” she says. “The fresh air will do me good.”
“I will help Alana and Ludwig clean and attend to Constantia, then I can accompany you.”
