It Was Supposed to be a Fun Race

Aella (left) and Dione (right) were the luckiest children in Greece. Their family was fabulously wealthy and in particular, their father owned the finest horses to be found in the land. Among all of these, however, were two very special horses, Argyros and Thymos. Their coats were very fine and they were stronger and faster than any of the other horses. But what most set them apart were the long spiraling horns that grew from their heads.

People from all over the land would flock to even get a glimpse of these magnificent steeds.

Nothing pleased the children more than to ride them for the people to see. Argyros had a silvery coat that would gleam under the sun. He had a bright blue horn. In contrast, Thymos was all-black. He ran nearly twice as fast as Argyros, but was less sure-footed and more volatile. Only Dione could ride him without getting into difficulties. Thymos had a blood-red horn and red eyes which flashed like fire, especially when he was agitated.

The horses went without reins or harness, because they would not allow themselves to be burdened by these.

*

One fine morning, when Aella and Dione's father was away on business, they were sitting by the huge front steps, wondering what to do. There were no visitors to the stables and mother herself was out visiting some friends. Naturally, the children eventually decided to take the horses for a stroll. They had not been out the whole week.

They both raced each other to the stables and greeted their friends. Argyros was docile as usual and greeted Aella with a soft neigh. But Thymos was unusually restless when Dione approached him. His eyes were fiery and he was anxiously pawing the ground.

"He's just excited to be out," thought Dione. And opened the small gate to let the horse out.

They mounted the horses in the sunny courtyard and set off for a familiar haunt of theirs: a little-known path that led to a small lagoon. They would often have races here as there was no one to disturb. If it got too hot, they would dismount and have a good long swim in the cool water.

It was a particularly windy morning, the sand was dazzlingly yellow, the water sparkling blue-green.

"Let's race each other to the far end!" cried Aella and was off before Dione could give a word of command to Thymos.

But he would not get far. Thymos could easily catch up - he was the faster horse - and both siblings knew it.

"Go on, Thymos! Faster!" shouted Dione. It didn't take long before the horses were racing neck and neck.

Dione and Thymos were almost past Aella and Argyros. But something was wrong. Thymos was swaying side to side, shaking his head. Dione felt this. She patted the horse's neck to let him know it was okay if they didn't win the race. They could slow down.

But the black steed was swaying more violently and suddenly he stood up on his hind legs.

Dione felt a huge jolt as she was propelled backwards. Thymos had never done this before and she was caught off guard. She lost grip on the horse's mane and felt herself slipping off.

Aella, who had been, before this point, oblivious to Dione's difficulty looked back and saw with horror the exact moment his sister was sliding off Thymos's back.

end of scene...

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If you're still reading at this point, then this is the part where I explain that my drawing at the top is an entry to @opheliafu's Doodle Doodledaeyo challenge!

The three words this week are a secret and I didn't want to give it away so I wrote a story instead. I must say I didn't intend to make it so long. But as I was writing, it just sort of happened. Haha.

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Drawing Process

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^{Photo credits: Grecian Front Steps, Running Horses GIF.}

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See you next time,