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The Ice
Queen
A J/7 Advent
Calendar Story 2008 by Gun Brooke
Disclaimer
9
Seven
looked suspiciously at the large creature. She had made
first contact with many species both as a Borg drone and as
a member of Voyager’s crew. Eyeing this new acquaintance,
Seven wondered why the young girl Tina, Tilde’s younger
sister, regarded the animal with such devotion.
“Isn’t he
just amazing?” Tina asked breathlessly. “His name is
Galahad.”
“He
is…impressive.” The horse was huge, well above 170
centimeters
tall. “And you ride this animal? Is it safe?”
Tina
laughed. She was seventeen and looked a lot like her sister,
reddish blond hair, green eyes, and with freckles across her
upturned nose. “He’s a lamb.”
“I thought
you said horse.”
“You’re
just being silly.” Tina held out something resembling a
helmet. “Here. You will need this.”
“I will?”
“Nobody in
our family ever rides without a helmet, that’s the ground
rule.”
“Ride?”
Seven was not afraid of many things, but this situation was
beyond alien to her, and she had no idea what was expected
of her.”
“I am not
sure. I think I am too heavy for this animal.”
“And I
think you’re stalling. I promise you, he’s safe. I’d never
let anyone near him if he wasn’t. He takes little kiddies
for long rides all the time.” Tina looked so sweet and
sincere that Seven found it oddly impossible to be her
normal aplomb self and merely refuse.
“Very well.
I will attempt to mount this Galahad of yours.”
“Oh, good!
Put your helmet on and I’ll help you up.”
Seven knew
Tina would find that impossible since her body mass did not
betray her weight. She looked slender, but she weighed more
than most humans.
“I think I
have figured out how. You place your feet in the…” Seven
quickly researched her memory cells, “…stirrups, and swing
your leg at approximately—“
“Are you
stalling again?” Tina wrinkled her nose at Seven.
“No. Well,
perhaps.” Seven donned the helmet, braised herself and took
hold of the back and front of the saddle. Placing her foot
in the left stirrup, she inhaled deeply and pushed herself
off the ground with her free foot. She noticed halfway up
that she’d miscalculated the height of the horse, and that
she moved too fast. At the last second, she squeezed her
legs together and managed to keep from hitting the ground on
the other side of the horse.
“Wow! Great
save. You’re stronger than you look, Annika.”
“What do I
do now?”
“Here. Like
this.” Tina showed her how to hold the reins. She adjusted
the stirrups to fit Seven’s much longer legs, and then
started leading Galahad around the snow covered yard outside
the stable. “How does it feel?”
“Unstable.”
“Just let
yourself get used to the rocking motion. Don’t fight it. Sit
up straight, but not rigid, just let your pelvis move with
him.”
After a few
laps, Seven found she was actually starting to enjoy the
feeling of the powerful animal beneath her. Galahad was
obviously a mild mannered horse, who did not seem set on
throwing her off, or running amok.
“You’re
doing great. Now, if you want him to turn left, pull gently
on the left side of the reins, and press with your right
foot against his side, and vice versa. Galahad is really
responsive, so you don’t have to use any force at all. I’ll
walk next to you, but you have the reins now.”
Her mouth
suddenly dry, Seven wanted to grip the reins tighter, but
willed herself to relax since she suspected that Galahad
would pick up on any such feelings in a negative way. She
gently steered the horse in a wide circle and when Tina told
her to pull both reins toward her, she did so, and to her
surprise, Galahad obediently came to a full stop.
“You are a
natural,” Tina said, her face beaming. “Before long, we’ll
be able to ride through the wilderness together. I can
borrow Tilde’s horse, she’s a bit less obedient than
Galahad.”
“I think I
will need to practice more before we head out into
wilderness,” Seven said. “But I admit, this was more
enjoyable than I anticipated.”
“I’m so
glad! You’re a godsend, Annika. I don’t know how Tilde and
Lars managed before you got here.” Tina’s face turned
serious. “Once the baby is born, they’ll need you even more.
You’re staying, aren’t you?”
Seven
thought of the Delta Flyer and how slow the repairs were.
“For now,” she allowed.
Just as she
jumped off the horse, she thought she heard a static noise
from her comm badge, hidden under several layers of clothes,
but when she held her breath and listened more closely, all
she heard was the wind and sound of the horse breathing. “I
have no other pressing engagements.”
“Super.”
Tina hooked her arm around Seven’s, and led both her and
Galahad toward the stable.
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