Mearch had only come calling, in Si'Wren's rather short-lived experience, with a direct regard to the pursuit of her education with horses, and as she looked on with no small degree of excitement and anticipation, she suspected that today was to be the day she had been awaiting anxiously for so long.
"Si'Wren," Mearch beckoned, his face impassive.
Si'Wren had long since discovered that Mearch had a deep and subtle sense of pride and good will, in spite of his frankly ugly features. She felt curiously safe with him, as she still could not with so many others who never smiled at her, and had come over time to count Mearch as an unspoken ally, until it seemed that the less either he or she acknowledged it, the more each became aware of this secret bond of trust between them. Today, with his flashing eyes, he regarded her with a look of satisfaction and unvoiced promise, for he was, she suspected, come to fulfill his duty to Ibi on her behalf, and it evidently gave him great pleasure, though he dared not show it lest Ibi misunderstand his motives and give him another chewing out.
"Today, little one, you shall ride the horse I have promised," said
Mearch. "Behold."
With a flourish, he flicked his razor sharp stone knife through the binding of thongs and swept aside the chamois skin, and revealed a stunning black leather harness and saddle, intricately trimmed with ivory and silver.
Si'Wren looked on with astonishment, as he held it out to her.
This, she reflected, clutching the riding gear with both hands and smelling the fine black leather, was for a horse. A horse of her own! She held the saddle as she smiled at Mearch, and shut her eyes momentarily in thanks to the Invisible God.
Chapter Six - Coming Out
The following year passed uneventfully, with Si'Wren on an endless course of private study and practical exercises both in and outside of court, during the course of which she found little time to think on other, less pressing concerns.
Emperor Euphrates declared one day that he had decided to review his kingdom and would greet his loyal subjects openly in the city streets, and so a date was set.