Demeanour

It was a sight to behold: a young Fjord horse stomping across Ishgard’s midday market and the impeccably-dressed equestrian on his back who was unable to control the chestnut-coloured gelding. ’Misty!’ The brunette’s voice echoed over the many stalls, followed by a subdued screech. As Leyla felt the eyes of a few other market-goers burning in her back, she leaned forward, as if the heiress of the Iskandar family could disappear in Misty’s short mane.

No, she wasn’t the most skilled amazon, but Leyla was everything but ready to have that conversation right now as she tried to stay on her horse’s back. Yes, she had ignored her father’s crystal-clear instructions to not go to a busy place and yes, Mistral was a young horse and newly trained, but what could possibly go wrong?

Everything that could go wrong was going wrong at the minute, or so it seemed. Leyla helplessly watched as Misty halted in front of a stall of fresh apples, already sticking his nose into the fruits. ’Come on-‘ The brunette whispered, pulling away the reins – but the gelding didn’t move an inch. ’Mistral!’ Leyla hissed, raising her high-pitched voice just a bit, but it seemed like the horse wasn’t impressed at all – not even when his rider called him by his full name. After Leyla heard a crunching sound, she muttered a quick ’Sorry’ to the market trader who was seconds away from exploding into a frenzy of curse words, looking back to see if anyone had already come to her rescue.

Her dark eyes scanned the crowd, eventually pointing out a man who seemed like he could handle a rebellious horse. ’You – yes you!’ Leyla beckoned as if her life depended on it (and it did, in a way – the lady was not exactly a fan of being the centre of attention for something else than her outfits or overall presence). ’Sir, could you help me, please?’ Leyla pleaded the dark-haired man again, a little more charming this time, her voice as sweet and saccharine as honey. ’He’s been such a pain today…’ She pulled her horse’s reins one more time to absolutely no avail, looking back at the knight. Pretty please?

@Octavian Aetos