Enid had taken a detour to her room, her lady-in-waiting, Amelia Webberly, the daughter of a Marquis, following close behind as the woman ranted to herself.
"Mother, what are you thinking?! Only a year? Is it really that big of a deal if I wait a few years to marry?"
"Did you and your mother get into another argument about marriage?" Amelia asked as Enid sighed. "I'll take that as a yes," she sympathetically said while opening her bedroom door. "Are you going to change?"
"Yes, I'd like to take a ride with Nolan and Mateo. Help me with this corset would you?" She asked as Amelia smiled kindly.
"Of course my lady. Would you like me to attend the session or leave you with your friends?" She asked as Enid tilted her head back and forth before deciding.
"Join us. I'll lend you a riding outfit. You know how right?" She asked as Amelia nodded vigorously.
"Oh yes! My father had me learn when he learned you were an avid rider. It was incase you were injured and needed to be brought back on a separate horse." She smiled as Enid laughed.
"Well, luckily we haven't needed that." Enid replied as her dress fell to the floor and Amelia handed her a blouse. After Enid was dressed, Amelia worked her long, blonde hair into a low ponytail. "I feel so jealous that you don't have to tie up your hair. My father absolutely vetoed the idea of me cutting my hair when I suggested it. Yours looks so easy to managed compared to this thing." She muttered as Amelia changed into the spare riding outfit.
"I won't lie, it is easy to manage. Oh! Though I did hear of a method from a neighboring kingdom when I attended a tea party."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Well, Lady Iddison was bragging about how her father brought a 'hair wrap' to her as a gift and her hair has been silky smooth. It barely requires brushing now!" She grinned as Enid blinked.
"No brushing? That does sound nice... did she mention where to get any?" Enid asked as Amelia shook her head.
"Unfortunately not. She wanted to be the only one who knew. I'm assuming her father is going to start a trade partnership with the company for these hair wraps." She sighed. "I really wanted one too."
"It'll probably be the next trend in the kingdom. I'll get one of my maids to get one in advance... actually, I'll get one for you too." She grinned as they exited the bedroom and went back into the hall.
"You will?! Oh thank you, thank you!" Amelia laughed hugging Enid as the young woman hugged her back.
"Of course! You're my inside source, but also my friend. Why wouldn't I do that?" She asked as they made their way back to Mateo and Nolan. They chatted away like the day would never end. What they found were the boys bickering in the distance but stopping when they realized the two were back.
"How'd it go?" Nolan asked running up, Mateo following up behind him.
"Well... I... have to find a husband within a year." She cringed waiting for their reaction. All they did was stare before Mateo placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's all go for that ride. Lady Webberly, you'll be joining us again?" He asked as Amelia nodded confidently.
"Yes! Princess Enid's safety always comes first." The look on her face was friendly but serious. And the two knew it. After all, besides them, Amelia was the closest friend to Enid. Perhaps her one female friend in the kingdom that wanted nothing but her company.
"Well, let's get to the stables before it gets late!" Enid called taking off. "Last one there has to bathe the horses!"
"Wait, that's not fair!" Amelia yelled as she began running. The two men just laughed before taking off. Nolan hung back for a moment, seeing Amelia struggle to keep up. With only a moment's hesitation, he scooped her up and started running faster. "Wah! Lord Moore! What are you doing?!"
"Helping you out. Unless you'd like to try and run against me and Mateo on your own?" He asked raising an eyebrow as she pouted before shaking her head. "Alright then, hold on!" He called before running past Mateo and just barely beating him with Amelia in his arms to the barn.
"Aww, how sweet of you Nolan." Enid teased as Mateo ran up. "You lose, Mateo! Guess you have to bathe the horses." She laughed patting him on the shoulder. "Alright, let's saddle them up." With a twirl of her finger, she had everyone putting saddles on the horses, with Enid selecting a horse, who's normally black hair had been bleached by the summer sun. "Hey Maximus. Are you going to behave today?" She asked as the horse snorted at her.
"Don't worry, Blaze will whip him into shape if needed," Nolan laughed.
"I think you mean Marie over here." Amelia huffed as they began a back and forth argument while Mateo walked up to Maximus.
"Hey there, be good for her. We don't need the Princess to get hurt." He cooed as the horse seemed to melt into his hands.
"If I didn't know any better, I would think Maximus likes you better than me." Enid pouted as Mateo laughed.
"No, I'm just good with horses. Besides, even if I did ride him, Jolie wouldn't forgive me." He tilted his head to the Chestnut colored horse snorting at him in the stall. "Do you need help up before I get back to my lady?" He asked, holding his hand out.
Enid gracefully took his hand but he turned his body into hers, and grabbed her waist. This sent a shockwave through her body and her heart began to race.
'Why is my heart racing? And when did Mateo... get these muscles? I don't remember that.' She thought to herself as he lifted her onto the horse. "Wow, you've gotten strong."
"You can thank Nolan for that. He's always begging for a sparring buddy." He chuckled, patting Maximus on his stomach. "Behave. We'll be watching." He warned the horse before going to his own. Enid left the stable and waited as one by one, they each came out.
"Where to, Princess?" Nolan asked as she thought.
"How about the lake? We haven't been there in a long while." She suggested as the rest agreed. "Well, let's go then!" She laughed nudging Maximus to trot forward. "Let me know if anyone needs a break!" She called from the front.
"You just focus on directions, Princess!" Nolan called as his horse almost seemed to snort in agreement. Enid rolled her eyes while smiling as they focused on the trail ahead. The group managed to get into a small formation so conversation was easy.
"Oh, Princess! How is Empress Mira doing?" Amelia asked as Enid's eyes seemed to light up.
"She and her kids should be coming into town next week for the yearly summer visit! Oh I can't wait to show them the city. They'll be nine this year so Mira said they were old enough to go into town with supervision. I can't wait to see her again!" She squealed in excitement.
"Wow, you're never this excited when we visit, Princess." Mateo teased as she laughed.
"I see you two all the time. And Amelia is practically family. I only see Mira and the kids twice a year! I only see her husband once a year when we go visit them." She huffed.
"I'm surprised the Empress can afford to take time to visit for two weeks. Especially in the summer time!" Amelia commented as Enid explained.
"Well, she's sort of a place holder for Polit's mom. I noticed on their wedding night, but she's fairly ill. With what, I'm not sure, even that is a mystery to our family. So Mira has taken over half of her mother-in-law's duties while Polit is currently taking over his father's duties bit by bit. It's a whole process over there and there's a stress on spending time with kids when they're younger before they head off to school. From what Mira tells me, it's a fairly smooth process and makes it easier to balance. So, she just gets a bunch of work done in advance so she can visit. Polit is almost always busy with affairs of the empire though." She explained as the group became more aware.
"That seems like a lot of work to rule an empire. Is it the same with the kingdom?" Mateo asked as Enid shook her head.
"No. Here we take over when the king and queen reach a certain age or pass away. Luckily, thanks to my mother's efforts, and my father's people skills, we've remained fairly peaceful. I thought I would have more time for marriage because of that." She muttered the last part but it was still audible to the rest of them.
"Well, I think your mom is ridiculous. You should be able to wait until you're an actual old hag to marry." Nolan teased as Enid turned and stuck her tongue out.
"And with your reputation, you'll have a bunch of illegitimate babies if you aren't careful." She teased back. Nolan deflated and conceded defeat.
"Hurful, but you win."
After another twenty minutes of riding, they reached the lake. The group each swapped out the bits for halters and lead lines to tie to the nearby stand, allowing the horses to graze as need be.
"Just as I remember," Enid spoke with nostalgia in her voice, looking back at a well of memories before her.