king of legend
They passed by a fenced-in field with several horses. Orion noticed that most of the horses were standing in one corner of the field, pawing and jittering, while one white horse stood alone near the front of the fence, watching the three of them pass. Orion was puzzling about the horses' strange behavior when his large, black steed, Steel, stopped dead in his tracks. No matter how much prodding Orion gave him, he wouldn't move. He looked behind him and saw that Tanya and Alex were having the same problem with their mounts.
"Whatsa matter with this horse?" Alex said, digging his heels into the his horse's ribs, trying to make it move. "You'd think it never saw other horses before. Come on!" Alex whipped the reins, but to no avail. Orion kicked Steel hard in the ribs, making Steel move forward one step, and stop again. Orion groaned and gave up. "Orion? I don't know too much about horses, but I think these three are afraid of something," Tanya said, "That's why they're not doing what we want. I think they sense something up ahead." "Come to think of it, those horses in the field are acting the same way," Alex added. "Not that white one," Orion pointed out. The white horse was the only one that seemed at ease with it's surroundings. It flipped it's tail a bit and watched the three riders. "What white one?" Alex asked. "I don't see a white one, or even a cream-colored one among the group." |
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"It's not in the group, it's standing right there, by the fence," Orion said, pointing to it. "It's standing by itself."
"Uh, Orion? There's no horse by the fence," Alex said. "Do you see a horse by the fence, Tanya?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I only see the brown and black horses huddled in the corner over there." Orion let his mouth hang open. How could they not see what was right in front of them? Steel let out a whimper and started to shake. Orion couldn't deny that something was spooking the horses, but why wasn't it spooking the white horse? Unless the white horse is what's spooking the others, Orion thought. He looked more carefully at the white horse, and found that he couldn't see it very well. It's outline looked blurry, and he couldn't tell the difference between the horse's mane and it's flanks. He glanced down at the horse's hooves and gasped. The white horse didn't have any hooves! It's legs faded off into nothing. The sun was shining bright, but the white horse didn't cast a shadow, either. Orion began shaking uncontrollably.
"Orion? What's the matter?" Tanya asked.
"I, uh, think I, um, know what's gotten the, uh, the horses so spooked."
"Uh, Orion? There's no horse by the fence," Alex said. "Do you see a horse by the fence, Tanya?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I only see the brown and black horses huddled in the corner over there." Orion let his mouth hang open. How could they not see what was right in front of them? Steel let out a whimper and started to shake. Orion couldn't deny that something was spooking the horses, but why wasn't it spooking the white horse? Unless the white horse is what's spooking the others, Orion thought. He looked more carefully at the white horse, and found that he couldn't see it very well. It's outline looked blurry, and he couldn't tell the difference between the horse's mane and it's flanks. He glanced down at the horse's hooves and gasped. The white horse didn't have any hooves! It's legs faded off into nothing. The sun was shining bright, but the white horse didn't cast a shadow, either. Orion began shaking uncontrollably.
"Orion? What's the matter?" Tanya asked.
"I, uh, think I, um, know what's gotten the, uh, the horses so spooked."