Juniper

I ran down the plaza and found a horse that a rider had just dismounted. I vaulted myself on top of the horse, not quite sure how exactly to ride one. The rider yelled at me, extremely upset at his horse being ambushed, but the horse quickly yanked the rope from his handler's hands and took off towards the woods. I clung to the saddle for dear life while trying to keep myself from slipping off the side.

Once in the woods the horse slowed down evenly until it came to a complete halt. My heart was racing and my fingers were white as Edgar's fur from gripping so tightly. The horse turned its head and stared at me, seeming highly confused. It nudged me with its brown nose, like a mare would to a foal to tell it to get up and walk. I slid off the horse and tried it again, placing one foot in the stirrup and swinging the other over the horse. I ended up backwards, but got it right after that attempt. As soon as I had hold of the reigns the horse bolted once again, practically causing me to fly off the its back.

Somehow the horse seemed to know where it was going, and I had no plan of action, so I let the horse do as it wished, hoping by some miracle it would take me to Aurelius. The woods seemed to never change, as if it was an eternal loop of trees and birds and rocks. Eventually the trees did grew closer together and the sunlight grew dimmer and lower, causing visibility to greatly decrease. I decided to stop for the night, seeing as, at least where we were within the woods, we could walk over a cliff and have no idea that it was coming.

I grabbed some stray logs and sticks while the horse began to nibble on the grass. With the sun going down it grew cooler, so I ignited the wood with fire and sat down on a fallen tree, warming my hands. I took the letter out from a pocket that was sewn into the inside of my cloak, an odd thing I had never heard of, but Camelot seemed full of oddities, myself included.

Reading over Aurelius' words again I felt certain I could not have acted in any other such way. I ran a finger over his signiture. Ari. He had told me no one had called him that since his mother, and surely to sign his name like that he knew I would read this, and in writing this letter to Merlin in turn he wrote it to me. Edgar had spoken of love before I rushed away, a feeling I had never understood. Is this what it was like to be in the stories Edgar would read to me? I knew not. I simply knew I could not sit by and know he was going to die without trying to save him.

The horse moved over and made a move as if to nibble on the letter I was holding before the fire to see better. I yanked it away and folded it back up.

"No, bad horse." I said, trying to shame it.

The horse shook its head and sniffed my hair oddly and then snorted.

"Thank you so much, I greatly enjoyed that." I said sarcastically, wiping the snot from my neck. "Now, I am certain you have a name, but I did not take the time to ask before I stole you." I stood up and rubbed the horse's neck. "I wonder what it might be." Then I noticed a round piece of leather hanging from the bridle. On that piece of leather was the name, "Juniper" inscribed upon it. Juniper was a kind of tree that had berries usually harvested for gin. I suppose it makes sense, considering I found the horse  outside of the local tavern. "Well, Juniper, glad to have you along for the ride."

Juniper shook its head up and down and nuzzled its head against mine briefly before walking away to nibble on some leaves from a nearby bush. I hunkered down on the grass and leaned against the log, watching the fire dance across the wood until it died out, and with it I drifted into a fitted slumber.