Chapter 13: Black Beauty (III).
Rowan slept well thinking about the words of the kind doctor, she tossed and turned thinking of how many ways of gaining the horse's trust.
She decided to visit the open pen, in more casual clothes. The formal suits were really tight and stuffy but- at least now she won't be able to be mistaken as a man.
"..." (Rowan) fixes herself before getting out of the guestroom, beginning to look forward to seeing Spirit. It was bright and early in the morning, half of the estate was still asleep.
The other servants were awake and preparing for the day ahead and saw someone familiar but…
"Hey, isn't that the man whose feet you were admiring?" A maid yanks her friend's uniform pointing at Rowan looking busy as she walks.
"W-Where?!" The Maid asks, looking at where her finger pointed and frowned upon realizing it was not the same man as yesterday. "Pah, your eyes must be blind that is not a man, that's a woman. You can see from her chest- but… they really do look the same."
"Not denying the part about the feet huh." The maid gives her a momentary eye glance before her co-worker shrugs, ignoring that part.
"Of course, in any case maybe it's his little sister? Let's just get back to work… I'm barely awake and I need to organize the plates for breakfast time."
"Right, I'll get back to cleaning the windows then."
All of the servants got to work, but it seems that someone else was listening in. The doctor sees that her patient that was supposed to be resting is in a hurry to go back to the stables. "Vous réessayez? That patient is certainly determined. I should watch how it goes."
…
At the open area of the farm…
"Go on now, it's alright." The red haired girl was determined to take another approach just like what the doctor has said. "I promise it's safe."
A bunch of sugar cubes in her hand were being offered to Spirit, the black beauty of a horse but she wasn't too happy to see the human so soon.
"Neigh!" (Spirit) rejects her offerings by slapping it out of her hand with his chin.
"Oh." (Rowan) seeing the cubes in the ground, frowned at what a waste it was but she also understands that it won't be easy. "It's okay." She pats the part where it was dirtied and tries again.
Another attempt was made and the results were still the same.
"You know I said take on a different approach, I never expect it to be bribery, chérie."
"Doctor Lisette-!"
The doctor with her glasses held the sides of her shoulders, looking over the guest and her cute little attempts at taming the wild horse. "Oui, a good morning we are having. So I heard from a few maids that you were bright and early up to go on someplace. I could only think of you being here."
"How is your shoulder?" (Dr. Lisette) leans over a little to see if the shoulder were healing and it seemed to be doing fine after a goodnight's rest.
Rowan turns away, looking a little shy with the doctor being in her presence. She was supposed to be resting but she got caught playing around the horse's pen without permission. "Thank you for your concern, my shoulder is fine now."
"Dr. Lisette but I really am trying to well… tame him." She gestures to Spirit who snorts.
"Now, now you can't expect it all to go smoothly after only a day." (Dr. Lisette) assures her that there is no need to rush when it comes to horse taming, it really takes time and it's different for each horse.
Rowan shakes her head. "My academy exams are close…"
The doctor holds her chin and really, the solution there is quite simple if there's a race against time. "Oui, it might really be best to pick another horse instead of him, chérie. If you want to get there quickly, I suggest you don't waste any more time."
"Ah." (Rowan) couldn't help but play with the sugar cubes in her hand sadly, looking at the doctor, her chest feeling heavy knowing she was right.
She really didn't need Spirit on being her horse but-
"I-I know." (Rowan) replies before trying to give the sugar cubes to Spirit for the fifth time and the ending was well-
"Mrrph!"
Tack!
"..." The cubes rolled down into the dirty ground as it fell, looking a bit pitiful as Rowan bends to pick up what has fallen.
Dr. Lisette watching everything couldn't believe the effect of the rejection this horse was doing. It looked like Ms. Rowan's heart and determination were being broken into pieces while slowly getting fixed back.
"Ah… ce sont de jolis yeux." The doctor sighs, looking frustrated and stops Rowan from picking up the dirty sugar cubes that were on the ground. "I cannot stand seeing you like this, I'll… teach you a secret."
"What secret?"
"You'll see." The doctor walks forward to the open pen- holding out her hand to the wild horse that was in front of them.
"Doctor you shouldn't hold out your hand he's not-"
"Mrrph." (Spirit) recognizes the doctor, as his eyes shine at the sight of her looking happy. He snorts at her hand before licking and rubbing his head against it.
The doctor chuckles softly, like a beautiful clear melody you rarely hear. "C'est bien." (Dr. Lisette) calls him a good boy, and the horse couldn't help but wag its tail excitedly.
"You're… not getting pushed away?" The sugar cubes that Rowan was holding were ignored and instead, the horse preferred to have an empty hand that it trusts.
Spirit looked happy just being with the doctor. "Oui, I made a friend when I first stayed in the family estate."
The doctor shows her bond with Spirit giving the very top of his head a very light scratch. "I tamed this one by accident you see, we frunc people are well adapted in this area- horse taming."
"I am not a professional but I tell you, you mustn't do anything hasty- one must be calm, collected and never afraid."
"I did… sort of… all of that." (Rowan) looks down at the ground, feeling ashamed because she just threw herself at the horse hoping she could last long into the saddle to the point the wild horse would see her as the new master.
"I treat this one like my patient, he's lovely. A lovely horse, mistreated and experienced… such actions that must never be inflicted. I'm sure when you were given the chance to ride him, you heard the rumors of whoever stays the longest will be his new master?"
"Yes."
"That's just a dumb rumor, you'll never tame a horse like that." She shakes her head, continuing.
"Did you at least ask politely at Spirit if you could touch him?" (Dr. Lisette) asks as Rowan blinks in reply.
"I… it's a horse, doctor." (Rowan) could not fathom her logic, asking consent to ride a horse who couldn't even understand their language is a bit-
"Oui, it is a horse I am not blind." The doctor chuckles, placing both of her hands into the pockets of her white uniform. "Do you think they don't deserve consent? Ms. Rowan clearly you are inexperienced, the horses that you've only ridden must've been already trained ones."
Rowan Bonheur, being trained with the knights in the Duke's mansion where they have their own personal stables…
The doctor's statement was true.
The horses in her home were all tame and obedient, she has never encountered something like this before.
"..." The red haired girl could say nothing and just nod in reply, she has never ridden a horse that needed this much attention. "All the horses back home were all behaved, I never had a problem like this so this is new territory for me, I'm sorry doctor."
The doctor smiles faintly, admiring her honesty. "Je devine bien."
"Mrrph." (Spirit) comes a close right where they stand, the doctor blinks and suddenly thinks of an idea that she could do.
"Give me your hand."
"M-My hand, doctor?"
"Oui, may I have your hand?" The doctor asks again, holding out her palm for her to take.
Rowan eyes it before feeling something a bit strange. She's been used to advances but this was something her mind considers different from the other times.
"I… um."
"Oui?"
"Okay."
Rowan gave her hand to the doctor, soon it was taken and held gently, "Trust me, won't you, chérie?"
"Yes."
"Close your eyes, and don't look- not until I tell you to." (Dr. Lisette) instructed and Rowan could only follow, having no choice, for some reason the doctor's soothing voice was very calming.
It was of no wonder why Spirit was tamed with her calm manner of speaking.
"Y-Yes doctor."
Rowan closes her eyes and trusts the doctor who places something inside her palm. It wasn't heavy, and it feels like the same texture of-
'Sugar cubes?'
"I'll be placing my hand under yours, I'll guide you, chérie."
"...!"
"Can you feel it? My hand."
It was not helping that her eyes were closed as they were doing this.
She didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable but it was making her feel something else. The heightened senses, she could feel the warm hands of the doctor as she was waiting for whatever she's prepared for her.
Something wet was licking her hands, it startled her for a bit before hearing a satisfied hum.
"Well done."
"Huh?"
"You can open your eyes now."
Rowan opens her eyes and sees Spirit who was eating gently out of her hands with a few sugar cubes left. "So that's… what the wet feeling is."
It felt like sandpaper was scratching her skin, the sugar cubes were disappearing one by one.
The doctor hearing her words chuckles and whispers in Rowan's ears, "Were you expecting something else chérie?"
The tone of it was very sultry and seductive, Rowan's heart didn't feel normal with all of her whole body feeling it beat so fast but she couldn't grasp what it could possibly mean.
"No…?" Even she wasn't sure herself.
The doctor who was liking the new patient they have in town couldn't help but have her cheeks turn into a lovely shade of pink.
She tucks in a loose strand of pink hair before taking a lollipop out of her pockets, taking off its wrapper and plopping it into her mouth. "Thought so, you can keep feeding him now. I'll put in a good word for you so you can get to ride him next time."
"R-Really doctor?"
"Oui Spirit is a good horse, as long as you never mistreat him then he's yours."
"Thank you doctor!"
"My pleasure."
"Do you have any more of those…?"
"Oh lollipops? They're only for obedient girls and well-" (Dr. Lisette) takes another lollipop out of her pocket and gives it to Rowan who smiles in delight having something sweet in her hands.
"Wah, thank you again doctor." She really has said her many thanks to the doctor who was slowly finding her patient so adorable and cute.
Dr. Lisette being a person from a different kingdom who has ways of her own flirting decided not to wait and shoot her shot.
"And I have something else."
"What is it-?"
Rowan was happy holding the lollipop in her hands before feeling something soft in her cheek. "...!"
Dr. Lisette has kissed her, perhaps with no consent but- it just shocked Rowan that her lollipop almost fell out of her hands.
"You kissed me." (Rowan) touches her cheeks before turning into a bright beet red. The smell of sugar lingered as the doctor continued to eat her sweets.
Dr. Lisette winks in reply, "Oui, you were so soft and cute that I couldn't help myself. Did you not like it?"
"I… don't know." Her feelings were being conflicted, while she found the doctor very pretty she also remembered that the crown princess was also very pretty. "I think I did, I um… is this a common greeting in your kingdom?"
"A greeting?" The doctor mutters and realizes that she seriously doesn't think that she's doing this in a friendly way. "Hahaha! You are a little slow, chérie! Sure! It's a greeting, it technically is! You are wonderful to be around with!"
"T-Thank you."
"Now go on, have your sweets, I'll take my leave and you can try bonding with Spirit now, he likes you."
Spirit has indeed suddenly taken a liking to Rowan, no longer being afraid and even playfully trying to catch her attention.
"Je t'en prie!" The doctor tells the young woman that she's very much welcome for her free kiss and possibly, a new awakening.
…
The oblivious Rowan now had the privilege to touch Spirit, asking first if she could and then getting the confirmation that she was allowed to.
Rowan gently caresses her mane as she walks front and back a few times asking the horse some questions. "Spirit… So do you think girls can like other girls or is the doctor just being nice to me?"
"Mrrph." The horse couldn't care less and just wanted more sugar cubes.
"Okay, whatever it is-! It's a distraction to my mission, father- I mean Sir Arthur would be disappointed in me if I don't make it to the academy time."
Rowan decided that romantic feelings or any form of that will just be a distraction.