A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor-Chapter 605: A Stronger Foundation - Part 7

"Right," Oliver agreed.

"That idea that you were coming by earlier," Verdant murmured. "I would hear it, when you are ready."

Oliver had neglected to share the insight he’d had when he’d made that joke to Nebular earlier. It had required a surprising amount of concentration for him to merely feed Casper an apple or two, and the thought had almost slipped his mind.

"Oh, right," Oliver said.

"Don’t distract him, Lord Idris, one thing at a time," Nelson admonished.

It was strange seeing anyone tell Verdant off for anything, least of all a stablehand, but the priest took it with grace and merely nodded. "Quite right, Nelson. My apologies my Lord. We can discuss it once you are done."

Then it was back to concentrating on the horse for Oliver. Now that he didn’t have an excuse to talk while he was hefting himself up, he was forced to acknowledge the situation for what it was. The horse was gigantic. Its back was up above his head as he stood on the floor and somehow he needed to get up high enough to swing his leg over the saddle.

That in itself wasn’t impossible, not for someone as agile as Oliver had become, but to do it without disturbing or even alarming the horse, that seemed like quite the trick.

Oliver eyed Casper nervously. He had one hand on the side of the horse’s thick neck and could feel the strength of its heartbeat as it ran through its veins. Casper, for his part, seemed as calm as a nursemaid. One would never have thought that it had been years since anyone had last ridden him.

The creature’s eyes on the side of his head seemed to be able to keep track of Oliver even when he was behind it. It was watching his every move and he used those eyes to judge whether he was in the wrong.

"Steady…" He murmured to Casper, gently tapping his side to warn him that he was about to hall himself up. One foot in stirrups. He took a second to balance himself and then he launched himself upwards, not daring to touch Casper with his hands at all after Nelson’s warning.

He made it into the saddle nonetheless. It was both further than he had expected to be, but also far easier to reach. He hadn’t tested his newfound athletic abilities to their limits. He was still using the judgments of his abilities as he had years ago.

There was rarely any time in his day when he needed to jump as far as he could, and now he discovered that he would have been able to jump far higher if he’d wanted to.

He’d made it to the saddle all whilst hardly letting his movements disturb Casper. He’d moved as gracefully as if Casper was water and he was trying to avoid making it ripple.

"Masterfully done, Ser," Nelson acknowledged. "A kinder way to do it for the horse, it is. I’m sure Casper appreciates it. In time, it’ll be second nature, the more you do it, so I ain’t gonna nitpick you all the way. Just do as feel comfortable for now, for both you n’ the horse."

It was strange to see just how far away Nelson was as he spoke to Oliver. In the span of an instant, Oliver’s height had been doubled. He towered over both Verdant and Nelson – the floor seemed quite a distance away.

It was hard to feel relaxed in such a position. The saddle was far harder beneath him than he had expected it to be. If he didn’t keep his weight in his feet through the stirrups, he could quite easily guess how sore his arse would become after even a short time of riding.

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He grasped the reins as Nelson said, despite his own nervousness. He did so gently, so as not to give Casper any commands. He’d never ridden a horse, but he knew the basic principles of how it worked.

It was through his heels in the horse’s flanks and through the reins behind the horse’s neck that he was meant to steer it – of course, knowing that and putting it into practice were two very different things.

"That’s good," Nelson praised. "Yer sitting right too. You want to keep your toes pointed inwards, if ya can. It’s all the same to me, but for a noble rider such as yerself, you don’t want to be riding like some common bandit the first time on a horse."

Oliver tried turning his toes inwards, so his feet were flat against the horses’ side. It seemed… strange. Especially since he was meant to be controlling the animal with his heels. What of the spurs as well? It was another one of those noble customs that seemed like it looked better than it actually functioned – but Oliver hadn’t been riding long enough to make that kind of judgement.

"Good," Nelson said encouragingly. "Now, keep the reins slack and why don’t you give Casper a little nudge with your heels, and tell him to start up with a walk, eh?"

"Casper is fond of a full gallop, my Lord," Verdant warned him. "Be careful not to get him too excited. Warhorse though he may be, he seems to have a racehorse’s spirit in those legs of his."

"Oh, aye, he still flies," Nelson does. "Still loves a good gallop. I’d take that warning to heart, Ser Patrick. You don’t want to let Casper get the wrong idea, not yet."

It was beginning to feel more like he was riding a bomb than a horse. For all the praise that Nelson had given Casper, Oliver thought that he was beginning to sense a mischievousness to the beast. With the way he’d snuffed out the apples before and the way he tossed his tail now merely out of impatience, the horse’s personality was shining through.

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Oliver nudged the animal with his heels, gently, as he prepared to keep his balance.

Lazily, Casper responded and started walking at a leisurely stroll towards the nearest tree, whereupon he immediately lowered his head and began nibbling on the few straggling bits of grass that the snow had not yet buried.