the great head table with an empty chair upon her left where her husband would normally reside and enduring the unpleasant and unnerving presence of the young Lord Alden to her right.
During these forced attendances, she tried very hard to neither look at nor directly converse with the young Lord Alden for she had learned rather quickly that she was rather uneasy around him. When she was forced to do so, she strived to leave her responses cordial yet to single words and had effectively only answered most of his inquiries with either a cold "yes" or a stilted, "no".
Kaye had learned almost immediately to be quite wary of the younger lord and spent her time avoiding him as much as was feasible, for his words were never kind and his stares always appalling. After the evening meal when she knew that his work was done for the day, she would immediately retire to her chambers alone for it was well known that he occupied the large chamber for the full of the evening. As soon as she was able to excuse herself from the hall and from the uncomfortable presence of the young lord, she did so. With a continued sadness upon her heart each night too, shortly after she took to her room she would hear the decisive lock as she was bolted in for the evening. Each time she heard the scraping of the key, another portion of her heart became permanently frozen and she died just a little bit more inside.
During the days, Kaye took to going to the stables so she could ride her newly gifted horse as much as possible. She had been endowed the smallest of the three beasts, though she was not disappointed for it was still a large and very fine young mare and provided an excellent diversion from her everyday solitude. The horse was a deep grey in color and a little spirited and much more so than any other horse she had ever had the chance to ride.
Kaye was determined yet a bit nervous the first time she was allowed to mount the beast's back. The stable master proved to be quite patient with her for when she had seated the horse for the first time, the mare flared her nostrils and pounded the ground in irritation at her presence. Kaye had never experienced such a reaction from any of the beasts she had ever had the chance to ride, since all her previous outings had always been upon very tame and mostly aged ponies.
U nder the master's sound and kind tutelage, she learned that she must have a firm hand and not show her fear. She soon understood that the horse could sense her apprehension and would react negatively upon it. So Kaye spent long hours each day in the courtyard learning to properly mount and ride and care for her beast where she ultimately developed a fondness and bond with her mare.
As the days passed by, she was eventually instructed on how to most effectively control the animal and now understood that she could manipulate the mare's movements by simply compressing her knees into the horse's sides. For long hours she continued to train, working to become accomplished at understanding the animal and effectively learn to be one with the beast.
After three longs weeks of daily instruction, the master felt she was quite ready for the next lesson and knew this was quite a feat to be sure. He took Kaye outside of the keep's walls to the grassy pasture beyond the drawbridge with the openness of the land laid out before her. For long hours she walked, trotted then cantered the horse as she was instructed to both value and control the beast while she learned to garner a new mutual respect for the animal.
Outside of the keep's walls and upon the back of her strong gray mare, Kaye found a certain release from her sadness as it allowed her to discharge her melancholy state if only for a short while. The power of the beast below her legs brought a faint smile to her face and a slight relief to her heart. The cooling breeze of the fall was upon them as Kaye cantered along as she allowed the gentle wind to
During these forced attendances, she tried very hard to neither look at nor directly converse with the young Lord Alden for she had learned rather quickly that she was rather uneasy around him. When she was forced to do so, she strived to leave her responses cordial yet to single words and had effectively only answered most of his inquiries with either a cold "yes" or a stilted, "no".
Kaye had learned almost immediately to be quite wary of the younger lord and spent her time avoiding him as much as was feasible, for his words were never kind and his stares always appalling. After the evening meal when she knew that his work was done for the day, she would immediately retire to her chambers alone for it was well known that he occupied the large chamber for the full of the evening. As soon as she was able to excuse herself from the hall and from the uncomfortable presence of the young lord, she did so. With a continued sadness upon her heart each night too, shortly after she took to her room she would hear the decisive lock as she was bolted in for the evening. Each time she heard the scraping of the key, another portion of her heart became permanently frozen and she died just a little bit more inside.
During the days, Kaye took to going to the stables so she could ride her newly gifted horse as much as possible. She had been endowed the smallest of the three beasts, though she was not disappointed for it was still a large and very fine young mare and provided an excellent diversion from her everyday solitude. The horse was a deep grey in color and a little spirited and much more so than any other horse she had ever had the chance to ride.
Kaye was determined yet a bit nervous the first time she was allowed to mount the beast's back. The stable master proved to be quite patient with her for when she had seated the horse for the first time, the mare flared her nostrils and pounded the ground in irritation at her presence. Kaye had never experienced such a reaction from any of the beasts she had ever had the chance to ride, since all her previous outings had always been upon very tame and mostly aged ponies.
U nder the master's sound and kind tutelage, she learned that she must have a firm hand and not show her fear. She soon understood that the horse could sense her apprehension and would react negatively upon it. So Kaye spent long hours each day in the courtyard learning to properly mount and ride and care for her beast where she ultimately developed a fondness and bond with her mare.
As the days passed by, she was eventually instructed on how to most effectively control the animal and now understood that she could manipulate the mare's movements by simply compressing her knees into the horse's sides. For long hours she continued to train, working to become accomplished at understanding the animal and effectively learn to be one with the beast.
After three longs weeks of daily instruction, the master felt she was quite ready for the next lesson and knew this was quite a feat to be sure. He took Kaye outside of the keep's walls to the grassy pasture beyond the drawbridge with the openness of the land laid out before her. For long hours she walked, trotted then cantered the horse as she was instructed to both value and control the beast while she learned to garner a new mutual respect for the animal.
Outside of the keep's walls and upon the back of her strong gray mare, Kaye found a certain release from her sadness as it allowed her to discharge her melancholy state if only for a short while. The power of the beast below her legs brought a faint smile to her face and a slight relief to her heart. The cooling breeze of the fall was upon them as Kaye cantered along as she allowed the gentle wind to
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