Answer Me, Please

With those words, Rashid spurred his horse into a run. Akal whinnied as if he was sore from the wait, and broke into a brisk trot.

Once they were out of the forest, the land stretched out before them. The early morning sun shone brightly. Everywhere was filled with the fragrant scent of unknown flowers blooming in the meadow.

As she rode, Rosetta took in her surroundings for the first time. Until now, she hadn’t taken the time to look around. She’d been too busy thinking of ways to escape. But now she was actually enjoying it. Sitting in the saddle is actually bearable now that she’s gotten used to it.

‘So this is why Rosie rode horses.’

Rosie used to say that you can forget all your worries when you’re riding a horse. It didn’t make much sense to Rosetta at the time, but now it all makes sense. Running into the wind is the most freeing feeling in the world, at least for this moment.

“But what was Shika trying to tell me earlier?” Rosetta asked, suddenly remembering what had happened earlier.

Rashid looked down at her for a moment, then sighed. Rosetta now knew what that sigh meant. That is, why don’t you know this?

“Just tell me, what is it?”

“Well…”

Rashid opened his mouth, then closed it again, unable to finish.

A man and a woman riding together was a vulgar term that implied a sexual relationship between them, and it was therefore taboo here for a man or woman in a relationship to ride with another man or woman except in very exceptional circumstances.

Rashid had managed to keep Shika from finishing his words, but now he was faced with this situation.

When he didn’t say anything, Rosetta sighed in annoyance. “Tch, if you don’t want to tell me, then don’t, I can ask Shika later.”

Rashid clenched his molars. “Here, you can’t ride with anyone other than your partner.”

“So you can only ride with your partner?”

“Yes.”

“But Shika isn’t a man, he’s just a boy.”

Rashid stared at Rosetta’s face. “Do you know what they call Shika on the battlefield?”

“Nickname? You mean Shika has a nickname, just like the call you Nazar Quat?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“Traka Kanin.”

“What does that mean?”

“Mad dog.”

Rosetta’s mouth fell open. “What a harsh thing to say to a cute little boy!”

“He may be young and cute to look at, but he’s worth a few warlords on the battlefield. As soon as you two ride together, it will be rumored that you have fallen in love with one of my men.”

Rosetta nodded hastily. “O- okay, I’ll only ride with you from now on.”

At that, Rashid swallowed a silent groan. Hopefully, this woman would never say this to him in front of others.

Rosetta reached out and stroked Akal’s mane, oblivious to Rashid’s complicated thoughts.

“By the way, this is the first time I’ve ever realized how beautiful a horse looks, not that I haven’t been exposed to horses before, but I wasn’t interested in them then.”

The way she looked at the horse with such a mesmerized expression reminded Rashid of yesterday. Yesterday, she looked at him with a similar expression and told him he was pretty.

That word, usually reserved for small, cute things, was being used by her for a grown man and a large animal, and Rashid truly questioned her aesthetic.

“What makes you say something is pretty?”

Rosetta tilted her head at the sudden question. “Yes? I call something pretty when I see it pretty.”

“You must have some criteria for saying that.”

“Are you asking me to explain that to you?”

Rosetta looked like she was being asked a bizarre question, but she soon began to think seriously.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve had a habit since I was a little girl of picking up unusual things and calling them pretty.”

Rashid narrowed his eyes and looked at Rosetta.

“…unusual things?” he asked.

“Yes. My nanny told me that from the time I was a baby, the things I picked up as gifts were not what you would call pretty, but unusual and strange. Worms, pine cones, snail shells… things like that. I even gave my mother a scarab once, because I thought it was so pretty, with its shiny, fluorescent shell, and I remember how stunned and surprised she was when she got it…”

Giggling to herself, Rosetta shut up when she realized he wasn’t smiling at all.

“…in any case, what I call pretty is mostly unusual things.”

Rashid laughed at her absurdity. “So you’re saying that unusual things are pretty.”

“And what is pretty in your eyes?”

Rashid flinched at the unexpected question.

“There is no such thing.”

“How does it make sense that nothing is pretty to you when you have two eyes?”

“I never thought about it.”

Until now, he had never thought about such things. It was hard enough living for the tribe, so the idea of choosing what was pretty, pleasant, and delightful was a luxury to him.

“Why don’t you think about it now? Maybe you can find out.”

“Why would I do such useless…”

“I came here and got two more pretty things: pretty blue eyes, and a nice black horse.”

Rosetta grinned up at him, her eyes wide. Rashid pursed his lips in response, but Rosetta continued.

“And be sure to tell me if you’re sick.”

“Sick?”

“Like where you hurt yesterday, and I don’t want you to make it worse by taking me for a ride like this.”

“Do you think I’m sick?”

“No, but you seem like the kind of person who’s used to putting up with pain.”

Green eyes were staring at him, full of concern, and Rashid looked away, unable to resist the innocent kindness.

This woman strangely kept touching his heart again and again. It was as if a butterfly had suddenly entered and fluttered around him.

“By the way, when are we arriving?” Rosetta asked.

And he answered immediately, “Tomorrow.”

“Ah, so my horseback riding will be over soon, then.”

Rashid remembered that she had struggled with riding from the beginning.

“If it’s because it’s hard…”

“No, it’s because I’m disappointed.”

Rashid looked at Rosetta, a little surprised.

“You’re disappointed?”

“It’s a shame that I’m just now discovering how much fun it is to ride a horse, and soon I won’t be able to anymore.”

Rosetta reached out and stroked Akal’s face. It was a gentle, loving touch.

Rosetta quickly turned sullen and bowed her head. “I’d love to learn how to ride a horse even if it’s too late, but I know it will be difficult…”

Rashid then spoke impulsively, “I can teach you if you want.”

Rosetta turned and looked at him, her eyes wide. “You mean if I come to your estate, you’ll teach me how to ride a horse yourself?”

Rashid realized he’d said something he shouldn’t have, that he was going to take on such a nuisance when he had enough on his plate with the tribe, but he couldn’t help what he’d already said.

“Yes, if there’s anything else you want to do, let me know.”

“You’ll listen to me?”

“Anything that’s realistically possible.”

Rosetta stared at him blankly for a moment. Rashid couldn’t understand why she was making that face.

“Why are you making that face?”

“Because… before, you told me to do nothing and just stay still.”

Rashid thought back to the night he’d said those words to her, the night they’d first met.

At the time, he had thought that she would offer no resistance, as women who had been plundered usually did; she was too small and frail to fight back, and yet she pulled out a hidden knife and swung it at him. Funny how that reminded him of his mother.

He already knew from experience. At times like this, it’s best to just give in and submit to the man, because that’s what everyone wants.

If you try to fight back, you’ll only get scolded for doing such a futile thing. Just as he had always been told that his mother had left a knife mark on the chieftain’s face, provoking his anger and ultimately leading to Riga’s death.

So…

“…I changed my mind. You can ride a horse or learn something else, anything other than running away.”

The moment the words fell out, mixed with a low sigh, Rosetta smiled brightly which he had never seen before.

“This is the first time I’ve heard something like that.”

“Like what?”

“That I can do whatever I want. All my life I’ve been told not to do anything,” Rosetta said, laughing out loud like a jade ball rolling.

“Thank you. I mean it.”

Rosetta turned back to look ahead, and Rashid lifted his head to stare in the same direction as her, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.