The stable was huge. Minus the beast pin, it held 12 horses, each one with its own stall. On top of that it had a loft area that spanned the entire building. It was convenient for storing food, it was also an excellent hiding spot, not just for me, but for things I wanted to keep hidden, like sweets.

Of course, it only worked because the fruit and honey never went bad, which I was grateful for.

The floorboards creaked under my feet as I slowly walked up them. It felt strange wearing boots. I didn't like the way he made me unsure of where my feet were, almost like I was disconnected from the ground.

Still, they kept me warm, and with Finlo’s cloak covering my shoulders and wrapping around my whole body I couldn't complain.

Some of the things I had stashed were missing, but to my delight most were still there, and the fruit was still fresh. I brought it all downstairs and sat next to her stall with the fruit, a jar of honey, and a bucket to put the food in.

As I got everything ready, she stood up, silently staring as I prepared the food.

First I scooped in some grain from a feed container. Then I smashed the bananas into goop with my hands, mixing it in with the oats while the honey warmed up between my legs. By the time I was done, the honey had melted enough for me to pour some of it in to finish it off.

I mixed it again and I was done. The consistency was a lot thicker than I had planned, and it ended up being more like a thick porridge, likely because of the cold air. Regardless, it still tasted good.

When I finished, I looked back up at the stall, but I couldn't see her head poking out over the door anymore. ‘Did she get bored already?’ Licking the honey from a few of my fingers, I dragged the bucket over closer to the door.

“Oh Fritz?” I peeked over the stall door on my toes to see her sleeping peacefully on the ground. Cute wasn't a word that I personally wouldn't normally associate with horses, but it seemed fitting for her.

“Come on, you fell asleep?” I glanced back at the bucket, “You better eat this after all the work I put into making it…” I mumbled.

I hesitated for a moment. ‘I'm not supposed to go inside but…’ Without putting too much thought into it I opened the stall door and dragged the bucket inside, placing it against the wall. “You're right though I think, a nap sounds like a good idea…”

Normally I could handle much more, but for some reason watching her sleep there made me tired too. I do have the whole day off, a nap might be good if I'm tired. I sat down against the stalls wall and stared at her blankly.

She didn't even look like the same breed as the other horses, her dark hair had a golden tint to it and her mane was a deep blue that faded to white.

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It was easy to relate to her, which may seem odd since she was still just a horse, but it was what it was. Even her hair was a different consistency, more akin to that of a wolf or a bear than a horse.

In that respect we were the same. I was the only one in my family with silver eyes, and my hair also seemed unusually thick. That might have just been from the dirt though.

While the other horses were giant beasts with thick black fur, she was small and incredibly toned. Neither of us bore any resemblance at all to our families. It was hard to believe, but her parents and all of her siblings were the same. She was a pure breed like them, so it made no sense that she would look like a completely different animal.

I smiled. As she enjoyed the food. Slowly picking up the bucket with her mouth and moving it closer.

“Hey Fritz guess what. I found someone to spoil me too, I got to try Anise milk for the first time the other day.”

She lifted her head out of the bucket and raised an eyebrow.

‘That's another expression I've never seen any other horse make.’

I was still tired, but I figured I should at least wash off my hands, so I stood up and rinsed them off at a nearby basin. When I came back, the bucket was completely empty, and Fritz was resting again.

When I saw her lying there I was nearly overcome with tiredness. “There, you ate it all, that means you forgave me for going missing for a week.” I propped myself up against her, using her as a warm pillow.

I layed against her, nearly instantly falling asleep.

As I woke up the first thing I made out was Fritz staring right at me, waiting for me to move. It took me a second to realize, but when I did I instantly moved away. “Fritz… You could have gotten up, you know…”

I looked over to the door. There was a bucket full of grain that she had been ignoring. ‘Aren't you still hungry?’

She brought her forehead to my chest and closed her eyes for a brief moment before standing and walking to the door and digging in.

I gently scratched behind her ears before walking to the side of the stall to grab a brush. “You're ridiculous…” Turning around, I sighed at her messy mane and coat. “You still won't let anyone else take care of you huh…”

She paused for a moment, glancing back at me, but continued eating as I started trying to fix her fur.

“I get it… Those were the same people that nearly killed you trying to make you useful to them. I wouldn't blame you if you hated them... You were being kind of stubborn though.”

She slowly shifted her weight onto her two left legs and leaned against me pinning me to the wall with another snort.

I laughed, “Yea yea I know i'm no different. Well, I guess I'm not as brave as you are. I always end up doing what they tell me too eventually. Although I guess maybe brave isn't the right word… Headstrong?”

She finished eating and knelt down. Gesturing with her head for me to get on.

“You wanna go for a ride?” I paused, I was only allowed to ever actually ride the larger horses, they were slower and easy to control, even if I couldn't get onto them myself. Mara had declared Fritz too dangerous. “You… you know I can't.” I looked down at my hands. They were hurting from holding the brush, and my arms already felt tired from just using it for a while.

She neighed again, whining.

I rolled my eyes, “It shouldn't be this easy to communicate with you, you're a horse.”

She made a noise that sounded like a laugh, which I thought was odd, but it was unmistakable.

“Siya?” I heard one of the guards voices and ducked down. Oh no… I'm not supposed to be here. When I feed Fritz I'm supposed to get a stool and hang the bucket on the stall door for her… If I get caught I'll get in trouble and it's back to my room… I raised a finger to my lips and looked at Fritz.

‘Please just go away!’

“Are you here Little miss?” His footsteps slowly got closer and closer to the stall door. I covered my head and looked to the ground. ‘No, I'm not here.’ “Hm, maybe not?”

A wave of relief came over me, despite his footsteps being right outside the stall. ‘I'm in the clear right?’