The monumental effort had left Jigano trembling. The horse's body was so much more powerful than his own, but even so it wasn't as if he were a great draft horse. He suspected that he'd had a little help - be it from a deity, luck, or some overarching desire of the story itself to be told, he didn't know. But that it was a story he now felt certain. The narrative was too pat, the changes in time and distance to get rid of tedious transitions too convenient.
When Samuel made it to his side the horse shook himself, finally taking the several steps needed to turn himself around so he could see what he had done. Ears laid flat back at the smell of burned flesh, he felt a brief moment of guilt - but no more than that. The King and Vizier had been lying, planning to kill an innocent man lest Samuel become too popular - and netting themselves a tidy profit which would, if he knew anything about kings and countries, have been used as an excuse to raise taxes to 'restore what had been lost.'
"Not yet," he consoled his friend tiredly. "But soon, I think. Where's the damn bird?" He was slipping, he knew, but it was hard to care. He was exhausted, and his silver tongue felt tarnished and heavy. Samuel was safe, though, and so everything else could just sort itself out without him being charming for awhile.
Indeed, as they watched iron halberds were brought in and levered under the edge of the cauldron. It was tipped off the bodies that had been caught beneath it - two men, thankfully face down and quite, quite dead.
The firebird was nowhere in sight, but rising from the wreckage, where she had been curled into a ball to protect herself, was a woman in cloth-of-gold accented with crimson. Her long hair was bright red, and her eyes a clear amber as she looked around, confused for a moment. The light streaming in from the upper windows caught the coronet on her head, sending flashes of gold around the room.
Her eyes settled on Samuel and lit up - literally, flashes of fire leaping in their depths for a moment - as she daintily stepped away from the dead King and his Vizier. Her smile was brilliant as she made her way over to him, reaching out her hands in welcome as the courtiers began to shift and whisper in awe. "Huntsman, you and your horse have broken the curse and saved me! I was once a princess of this realm, but an evil wizard turned me into a bird and locked my memories away until my magical flames could be extinguished. But because of your good heart and courage I am now free, and the evil King is no more. Will you marry me, my hero, and rule by my side?"
She reached out her hands to him joyously--
--and Jigano adroitly stepped back and used his head to try and give Samuel a nudge into her waiting arms. "If you say anything other than 'yes'," he muttered, voice deceptively amiable, "I am going to bite you."
When Samuel made it to his side the horse shook himself, finally taking the several steps needed to turn himself around so he could see what he had done. Ears laid flat back at the smell of burned flesh, he felt a brief moment of guilt - but no more than that. The King and Vizier had been lying, planning to kill an innocent man lest Samuel become too popular - and netting themselves a tidy profit which would, if he knew anything about kings and countries, have been used as an excuse to raise taxes to 'restore what had been lost.'
"Not yet," he consoled his friend tiredly. "But soon, I think. Where's the damn bird?" He was slipping, he knew, but it was hard to care. He was exhausted, and his silver tongue felt tarnished and heavy. Samuel was safe, though, and so everything else could just sort itself out without him being charming for awhile.
Indeed, as they watched iron halberds were brought in and levered under the edge of the cauldron. It was tipped off the bodies that had been caught beneath it - two men, thankfully face down and quite, quite dead.
The firebird was nowhere in sight, but rising from the wreckage, where she had been curled into a ball to protect herself, was a woman in cloth-of-gold accented with crimson. Her long hair was bright red, and her eyes a clear amber as she looked around, confused for a moment. The light streaming in from the upper windows caught the coronet on her head, sending flashes of gold around the room.
Her eyes settled on Samuel and lit up - literally, flashes of fire leaping in their depths for a moment - as she daintily stepped away from the dead King and his Vizier. Her smile was brilliant as she made her way over to him, reaching out her hands in welcome as the courtiers began to shift and whisper in awe. "Huntsman, you and your horse have broken the curse and saved me! I was once a princess of this realm, but an evil wizard turned me into a bird and locked my memories away until my magical flames could be extinguished. But because of your good heart and courage I am now free, and the evil King is no more. Will you marry me, my hero, and rule by my side?"
She reached out her hands to him joyously--
--and Jigano adroitly stepped back and used his head to try and give Samuel a nudge into her waiting arms. "If you say anything other than 'yes'," he muttered, voice deceptively amiable, "I am going to bite you."
