A Riding Lesson (Tag: King Henri)

[HENRI D'ARTOIS]

[style=font-family: times; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: lowercase; color: #989898; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;]458 WORDS FOR VICTOR Notes here: So Eager. LESSONS [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #6d6d6d;] [style=padding: 10px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; height: 475px; overflow: auto; color: #1e1e1e;]Henri's focus was on keeping his posture straight and his seat steady (once he managed to pull himself back up on Atys' back without falling) - a harder task than one might imagine when one was riding with no hands and nothing to rest his feet in - though he supposed that was the point of the exercise - get him to be comfortable on the horse without anything to hold onto or rely on - though why that was necessary he wasn't sure. After all, who rode around with no stirrups on a daily basis? Oh well.. he certainly wasn't about to complain. He currently felt a bit like a little sponge soaking up every piece of information he was given, and he wanted to do the very best that he could so that he would continue to garner compliments from his new riding master who actually wasn't seeming as scary or overwhelming as he had done at the beginning of the lesson. He was talking now and seemed fair and not particularly scary or fierce. He was curious and interested about what Captain D'Anthès has to say about life at Saumur - for, like any boy of his age, he was curious about those sorts of things - particularly about the man's time at St. Cyr. He wanted to hear all about what life was like as a soldier and an officer, what real battles were like and how it was to be in the cavalry and all of that. However, he supposed he'd have to be patient a little bit before he overwhelmed the man with questions and until they knew one another a little bit better. He supposed he could ask a few questions about it maybe though. "So what kinds of things do they do? I know they're arch rivals of the Spanish Riding School and they must put on shows.. but what are they like? Did you ride in them? What kind of horses are there? What are the horses like? Was Atys ever one of them? How do you get in?" His questions all burbled out in his boyish excitement far faster than he'd expected them to, but he supposed it didn't matter. He nodded at the comment about the gait. He had begun to think he was becoming much more comfortable with it. His whole body had loosened up, a seemingly opposite thing of what he would have expected to happen, after his near brush with falling. So what if he fell? He would fall. And he would get up again and try it over. It wasn't as big a deal as he'd been a bit afraid of. "Do you think I can try it on my own?" He inquired. [/style]

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[VICTOR D'ANTHÈS]

“Well, I'm not sure we can really be considered true rivals.” Victor looked up at his student, taller than him as he sat on the horse's back. “Neither of us compete against the other, at least not aside of the battlefield should we go to war with the Austrians.” Saumur was, first and foremost, a school for cavalry officers to perfect their riding and knowledge of cavalry command. The Cadre Noir did display their finer skills, but far from every man at the school rode in their ranks.

“I was—am, technically—part of the Cadre Noir, and we do give demonstrations. Mostly it's supposed to be for your benefit,” he smiled, amused by the boy's questions. It was strange how far removed the young king was from the operation of his own army, though he supposed that he could not assume any lack of knowledge on Saumur necessarily reflected a lack of knowledge on everything else regarding France's military.

“The horses are generally simply those purchased by the government as cavalry mounts. Atys is of the same type as the others, though he was never a display mount. His former rider used him as a service mount, but we've been using him for lessons for a while now.” He patted the grey's neck.

“Generally, cadets at Saumur come because they are already cavalry officers and they show promise. So their superiors recommend them, and they come to learn more. Cadre Noir... is chosen from among the people permanently stationed there.” Victor's talent with the horses combined with his record—not for off-duty discipline, certainly, but his performance during the fighting that surrounded the restoration had been praised.

“I'll give you a demonstration later if you like. It's just me, so it won't be as striking as something performed in formation, but...” He glanced at the king again, a slightly crooked smile on his face.

Hearing the boy's request, Victor stepped slightly away from Atys' side, gently letting go of the reins once he saw that Henri was holding them again. The horse continued forward, well-trained and seemingly aware of what he was expected to do.

[HENRI D'ARTOIS]

[style=font-family: times; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: lowercase; color: #989898; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;]356 WORDS FOR Victor Notes here: N/A. LESSONS [/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: #6d6d6d;] [style=padding: 10px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 10px; height: 475px; overflow: auto; color: #1e1e1e;] Henri gave a grin, though most of his attention was still on carefully keeping his seat on Atys' back having no desire to quickly again experience that terrifying feeling of falling and having to climb back up on Atys' back by use of his mane like a rein. Despite the fact that Atys didn't seem to mind this, Henri couldn't help but find himself wondering if he'd hurt the horse and hoped he had not. He carefully patted his neck and gave it a gentle circular rub with the affection of a boy who likes all form of animals and the outdoors. He could imagine himself having all sorts of interesting adventures for certain. Both with horses and Chasse and maybe even Captain D'Anthès if he proved himself a friend. Henri desperately hoped that he would, for the amount of close friends he had that he felt he could truly trust was a slim amount. But he sensed in this man the possibly of kindredship.. of real companionship. At first he'd been rather hard and almost caused Henri to cry, but the ice around his exterior was beginning to crack a bit as he realized.. what? That the boy was not one of his hardened soldiers? Perhaps. Henri watched the back of Captain D'Anthès' head thoughtfully as he said he hadn't had a lot of free time. He supposed it would be true enough - he knew that military life left little time for personal enjoyment or satisfaction - probably the one thing he disliked about it or thought he would dislike about it should he ever have cause to become a soldier. He refocused his attention on following his instructor's suggestions, focusing on the horse again. "This is not as hard as I expected it to be. Can I try something more difficult?" He asked with a grin, half serious - half in good humor. . [/style]

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[VICTOR D'ANTHÈS]

“More difficult?” Victor was somewhat amused by the boy's change in tone. He had gone from nearly falling off the horse to deciding their calm circling was much too easy in only a few moments. Victor brought Atys to a halt. “Sit deeper into the saddle when you're coming to a halt,” he explained quickly. “It's a signal to the horse.”

Most things were a signal to the horse, in some way or another, but Victor didn't expect the boy to learn all the cues at once. Many of them were only developed slowly, over the course of years of practice. It truly was unfortunate that he had not begun his horsemanship training at a younger age, more appropriate to someone who would eventually be expected to be quite a proficient rider.

Victor almost wished they were at the ring in Saumur, for there he would have assistance from other officers to bring him whatever equipment they might need for different exercises. Here, he was having to improvise a great deal. He wondered how the apparently much more formal instructors the boy had previously tried to learn from had taken it.

“Here, try to turn around in the saddle. All the way around, so that you're facing backwards.” It was a balance-building exercise, though Victor kept a close watch on the boy to make sure he didn't fall. Eventually he would have to have at least a few falls to become a confident rider unafraid of falling, but there was no sense in letting his confidence be ruined the first time he was on a horse.

“How did it happen that you went through several instructors without ever actually riding a horse?” He hoped the question did not seem impertinent, but as the lesson wore on he was finding himself more able to see the boy not so much as his king as his student. And a much younger student than the ones he had typically worked with, at that.