Centaurian

I saw her come into the stable in some concern, obviously for my health for she made her way directly to my stall,

“Are you well”
I saw her face express her thoughts as she gathered them in her mind before ever forming on her lips.

“I would have thee think of me as no foolish woman, I see and sense much about you that intrigues me especially after the events of today have had time to set in my mind”

“I see more in you than what you try so hard to hide, If you understood anything of what Timothy told you, then speak with me now, for I have little time to effect my plan and It will certainly involve you keeping up your masquerade to save your life.”

She looked at me hopefully then continued unperturbed.

I see from your rationing of the apples” she gestured towards the basket ”that you have at least the concept of saving for tomorrow and therefore are aware of its arrival. You seem more than what you present, deny to me that thou are not just a beast”

I looked to her face, unsure of what I should do but here I saw her concern and it made me careless without caring. I drew my breath and considered my words,

“I feel the walls confining me more than ever when the rain falls, the smell of the rain as it rides before the wind, the breeze that brings it gentle on my skin and face, and the sight of the water cascading down every surface as far as you can see while it washes clean the earth. The shelters my people build are little more than roofs with poles to hold them up where we may gather, these walls mean confinement to me, not shelter. I miss the rain on my body and its touch on my mind.”

I saw the wonderment in her face as I confirmed what she had already guessed, and I could not help but admire her quick mind and ability to accept.

Her small hands lifted clear the wet cloak she has used to shelter her on the walk here, but her hair was plastered down her face and she shivered as the water from it ran down the back of her neck. She hung the garment on a peg on the post nearby.

“With your life in danger on the morrow, you seek so little a thing?”

Her eyes suddenly flared in realisation that she had been revealing more than she should have all along and she blushed as she realised I had not been just a beast when she had enjoyed riding my neck. I saw her look guiltily towards my ribs and her hand reached out in genuine concern before hesitating, in fear of hurting me rather than touching me.

“Let there be no misunderstanding between us My Lady, I seek to escape thy husbands imprisonment, and I sense in thee a like desire, I would do nothing to harm thee, let alone put my life and chance at freedom in jeopardy, and yes that which is so little a thing to others is so important to me”

She unlocked the stall and beckoned with her hand

“come out boy”

she said beckoning, then blushing and going suddenly quiet. It was not hard to see him as more than an animal yet so hard to break old habits from years of dealing with horses.

She moved clear and watched as He took a few slow gentle steps forward so as not to rush her with his awesome size and leant down to touch her face in his hand. He let his hand cup her cheek, feeling it so incredibly smooth against his palm and let it trail down her moistened face with gentle fingers, till his fingertips brushed of the point of her chin and he realised that she had held her breath.

He lifted her chin ever so gently so he could look at her beauty and waited till she looked him square back, small eyelids fluttering yet not afraid to look upon him and he bent to kiss her lips with a tenderness he had not expected himself capable of. He smelt her so close and tasted the water on her lips as they pressed against hers and he felt no resistance or horror at his touch.

As he reluctantly lifted his face clear of the sensuous contact with hers, he realised that she had shut her eyes and he waited till she opened them, smiling at her in gentle reassurance before the smell of the rain reminded him of his chance.

He clopped across the cobbles, the noise failing as he reached the sand and then made his way to the door and turned to look at her. His smile even wider as he remembered it before truly feeling it, then his gaze turned to the outside with almost a rapture as he gently walked out into it's caress, feeling the cold of the water splash against his skin and begin to pool in the small of his back.

He moved till he was well clear of the roof and surveyed the yard, seeing the haze of the rain obscure distant mountains and feeling the gentlest of breeze's blow cold across the back of his neck. His nostrils flared as he filled them with the sweet air and he leaned his upper body back to let the rain fall on his face as he closed his eyes.

Its gentle hiss around him filled his ears as the drops, a myriad of sizes, splashed against his upturned face and into his open mouth, every sense now relaxed as he tastes the water of life and felt drops fall directly into his mouth and throat.

The drops pooled and flowed down his wet scalp and cheeks, larger drops running down his torso of human flesh to where his heavier hide dulled the sensation as it flowed, no longer tickling as it chased its erratic path ever down his legs to his hooves. He felt the bandages grow wet and clammy and cared not.

She followed him to the doors edge, her arms clasped about her more for comfort than actual cold and she looked at him, back arched and eyes closed as he let nature embrace him.

The water cascading down his body draws her eyes to his face, weathered yet not unhandsome, she watches it trace lines down his neck and trickle through the hair of his chest in gathering streams that flow across his firm stomach.

A chest and stomach crafted from an honest life and labour rather than the weights that the men at arms used.

The rain was growing heavier and he felt myself growing cold so he slowly made my way past her back into the stable. She followed, grabbing a large rubbing towel from the shelf as they made their way into the darkened stables. He stopped and looked at her and she held up the towel as if to reassure me.

“You will need to be dried off, I assume your are subject to most conditions required of a normal horse, the hour grows late and I would not disturb Tim lest needs be”

“Thank you my Lady, I expected a cold and wet night for my efforts”

Without another word she applied the towel across and down my back in large circles, her hands pressing it to my skin as hard as her small hands and strength allowed, she lost in the task and I in its pleasures, allowing my eyes to shut and the sensation encompass me.

All to soon she finishes, though she has taken longer than necessary, I sense her reluctance to leave, I see it in her face as she looks me at above the lantern before cupping the flame with a delicate hand and snuffing it with a gentle breath. I find the image of her small smile burns in my eyes long past the flame, and find a deep regret at its loss and the light to see her.

I hear her leave as my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see her small form in the moons gentle light shining through the barn door, pausing to look back before she lifts the shapeless cloak and envelopes herself against the rain and cold as she leaves. I miss her presence more than I care admit, finding the solace of sleep hard to find.