Saddle the Ocean by Kateri Eichler (little readers txt) 📕

    Solay wished that she had went to bed earlier. If she had, the hands grabing her would have woken her. But she had stayed awake late, trying to wish away the pain in her stomach, and more importantly, her heart. Now, she was tierdly walking along beside a caravan of horses, struggling to keep up with the Arabian horses. She stumbled over and over again, and each time, the nearest rider kicked her.
    "Please, I can not keep up." she said in Arabic.
    "No excuses! Keep up untill the next city. We will get you a horse there. But you must walk until then. Now keep on your feet and keep up." said one of the men who had taken her from her street-side excuse for a home.
    "Really? You will? Please, a mare. I will need an easy ride." Solay said.
The man almost seemed to smile. "If you live that long, little street princass." he said, laughing a little.

Solay had no idea what these men wanted with her. She came from a poor family with no money to pay any ransom. most of her family's income came from her. She sang on the streets for money while her mother worked weaving textiles. Solay's only skill was her very small knowlage of english. She knew a little bit, as her father had been British. But he had to leave them to go back to England after after his military unit was sent back home.

It took only a few more hours to reach the next large city, which made Solay think that the man had been kidding about her surviving long enough to reach it. He kept his promise to get her a horse, though. While the others set up camp, he took her to a farmhouse near by.
    "We often buy new or replacement horses from this breeder" the man said. Solay knodded. She followed the man to the front door. "May we... look around?" the man asked the farm's owner.
    "Yes. I will come out with you. I think I have just the horse for the little girl." the owner said.
    "She's new, Thantos. Off the street. So I hope your horse is a good, steady mare." Solay's captor said.
Thantos made a face. "Mare, yes. Good and steady? Ehh, you will see. I don't have many horses anymore, Kato" he said.
    So Solay new the name of her captor now. Big deal. she thought to herself.
    "Oh, but it is, little one. While we are on the topic of names, will you tell me yours? Oh, but think it." said a voice. Solay jumped, and Kato looked at her with concern.
    She shivered, then consentrated all her will on a single thought. "I am Solay. Who are you?"
Solay and the two men apoched a fence, and Solay saw a grey Arabian mare inside. "That's Nivia. She's the only one I can sell right now, for she is no good for breeding. I took her in when my sister died, but she has no papers." said Thantos.
    "Yes. Thats right, silly human. Sell off a perfectaly good mare because she has no papers." snaped the voice in Solay's head.
    Solay's eyes widened. "Your Nivia? The Arabian?" she thought to the horse.
    "Yes. Come on, darling. Hop on. I won't hurt you, no matter what stupid Thantos says. You are the one that is prophisized, I believe. Come on, mount up." replied the beutiful mare. Solay only hesitated a second before scramleing under the fence.
    "Stop! That mare is insane!" cried Thantos. Kato lept the fence and grabed Solay's hand. She turned to him, and met his eyes. Then, Nivia walked calmly over to them and nuzzled the girl's shoulder. Thantos's jaw droped and Kato slowly let go of her hand.
    Slowly, Solay reached out to Nivia. Despite the mare's confusing promise not to hurt her, she was careful. "Come along. Hop up." the horse thought. Solay crept forward and tentitavly swung up onto the horse's back.
Before Kato could even look at Thantos for an explaination, the farmowner, still aghast, slowly said, "If that girl can ride that horse, she can keep it. I think the damn mare should go burn in hell."
    Solay almost laughed when Nivia thought, "Me, burn? I'm the Goddess of water." Then the meaning sunk in.

    Solay couldn't stop smileing as she rode beside the caravan, prounly mounted on Nivia. Next to them rode Kato on his own Arabian. "You like the mare?" he asked, still in Arabic. Solay smiled even more and knodded.
    "Yes, Nivia is beutiful and smart." she said to the young man.
He smiled back at her. "Like you."
    Solay thought he was kidding. "You need to wipe the sand out of your eyes, Kato." she said with a laugh.
    "Eyes on the prize, Solay. Keep on with this one." said Nivia in her head.
    Then, Kato wiped his eyes. "No. I still see a very pretty girl. She does need to brush her hair, though." he said, tossing her a hair-brush, which she caught. Her eyes widened. "I'm serious. About both things. Brush your hair, or I'll do it for you when we stop. And I am not used to brushing long hair." he added, gesturing to his buzz cut.
    She did deside to wait for a stop to brush out her hair, though she intended to do it herself. But as she sat down, Kato walked over to her. "Let me." he said. She hesitantly handed him the brush and sat infront of him.
    "He's a keeper, if you want my opinion." thought Nivia.
    Solay rolled her eyes in the horse's direction. "But I don't. So please, Miss Nivia, leave my personal afairs out in our little conversations?"
    "Fine." snorted the mare. Then, he mind was gone from Solay's.
    Kato gentaly ran the brush threw Solay's knotted hair. The repetitive motion soothed and calmed her and made her drowsy. "Done. Oh, how beutiful!" Kato finally said.
    "Thank you." Solay whispered.
    Kato smiled. "No problem. Now, why don't you go to sleep?" he replied.
    "If its as cold last night, there's no way that I can. I think I'll just stay up for a while." Solay said. Kato tilted his head and scooted closer to her, putting an arm around her thin shoulders.
    "You could have told me you were cold. No one here knows how to treat a lady. Do you need a blanket?" he asked.
    Solay shrugged. "If there is one to spare. Don't bother if its to much trouble." she said.
    Kato got up, returning a second later with a blanket. "We can share, if it's okay with you." he said. Solay knodded, so he sat down next to her, spreding the blanket over both of there legs.
    "Much better." Solay said with a smile.
    "I thought so." Kato replied. "So, tell me about yourself, Solay."
    She had to think. "I'm really never knew anyone in my family other than my mother. The only life I have ever known was the street. There's nothing else, really. Every day, I'd see people who were happy. Couples, merchants, people like those. I always wanted a life like one of them. But I learned a little english from my father, a british soldier, before he had to leave. I think I was three." she finally said.
    "Compeling story. Now go write a book." thought Nivia.
    "Shut up." Solay mentaly snaped at her.
    Solay fell asleep beside Kato that night, and in the morning, she woke to see that he had already saddled Nivia for her. "Thank you." she said, the Arabic words flowing easily from her mouth.
    "It was no trouble. I woke up and decided to make myself useful." Kato replied. But Solay could tell that he was pleased.
    "Still, it was kind of you." she said, smileing kindly at him.
    The rest of the band of theives was already awake and almost ready to leave, so Solay and Kato mounted up. The group set off a few minutes after that, the pair riding side by side.

    The band of theives, including Solay and Kato, rode all that day without to much trouble. But that night as Solay and Kato lay side by side, Nivia woke the girl. "We must get going, girl. Come over and mount up." she thought.
Solay sat up and thought back, "Where are we going? Will we be returning?"
   "Yes. We will return soon. Don't worry." though the mare. Soloy did worry, but she kept it to herself.
   When they finally landed, they were on a cloud with two other horses. Nivia knodded at them before standing perfectly still. She didn't speak until a lrge black stallion landed. "Welcome, Dervisa. What held you?"
    The stallion, Dervisa, knodded."Thank you, Nivia. And I was kept back waiting for the right one." he replied.
"Hush. It is time for introductions. I am Kravan..." Solay understood little... until Kravan charged at Dervisa. Then there was a tence silence.
    Finally, Nivia broke it by thinking, "I am Nivia..." introduceing herself, and then Solay. After that, Nivia left her to socilize with the other eenagerwho were present.

Text: Kateri
Images: Google
Editing: Kateri
Translation: Kateri
Publication Date: 03-22-2012

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