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Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Stoke that fire!
Man those bellows!
Keep the flames burning hot!

Bend that iron!
Swing the hammer!
Make the metal do the work!” The old familiar smith song reached my ears long before I saw the forge. I could hear Alton’s father keep his rhythm with the pounding of his hammer. I finally saw the familiar old shed. I ran up to the forge. “Uncle!”

“Ah! Rose!” Colt stopped singing and looked up at me with a smile. “I’ll be done in a moment. But I can guess why you’re here. Alton must have told you about our new mare.”

“You bet he did! Where is she?”

Alton came in then. “She’s in the back. I’ll show you.”

“She just loves her animals,” he said. “Nothing comes before them, even family. Don’t worry though, son, she’ll get over that when she falls in love.”

“Shut up, Dad.” Alton headed toward the back and I followed.

“Your dad really wants us to be sweethearts,” I commented.

“So?”

“Do you remember when we were kids?” I asked, not wanting to show how much I cared. Because he would just assume something else, read too much into the question.

“That’s a lot of time. What are you wondering about?”

“When you kissed me,” I kept my face away from Alton to hide my traitorous blush.

My friend was silent for a moment or two. “Yes. I remember. What of it?”

“Why’d you do it? You never got to tell me.”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, Rose.”

“You always say that!”

He stopped abruptly and faced me. He caught my chin and pulled my gaze to his. I stopped breathing for a moment, caught in those green eyes, uncharacteristically serious. I could only stare and wonder what it would be like if these were the eyes I saw every morning when I woke up. And despite that fact I usually never considered such things, the thought of waking up to see Alton’s teasing grin didn’t bother me. Rather, it comforted me in an odd way.

Like I knew something bad was going to happen to me. But if I woke to see him leaning over me, I would be safe.

“I’ll tell you on your birthday. Surely even you can wait two more weeks.”

He let go of me and continued to lead the way.

“Alton!” I called out to him before I could stop myself. He turned back to me. “Promise me that no matter what happens to us, you’ll always be there for me.”

“You didn’t have to ask,” was his reply before he resumed walking.

We reached the stable and soon I was happily rushing over to the mare.

She was a beauty, coal black save for the four white stockings. Her eyes regarded me curiously as I opened her stall and joined her.

“Hey there, girl,” I murmured, stroking her nose. “What’s your name?”

She tossed her mane as she answered. “Moondancer.”

“What a pretty name. You very fast?”

“The fastest!”

“I can’t tell you how odd it is to watch you talk to them,” Alton interrupted with a sigh.

“Why’s it odd?”

“All I can hear are a bunch of neighs and stuff. Watching a human make those noises is just a little odd. Not that I don’t like it. You just never fully get used to it. What’s it like for you? Do you hear words or what?”

“I hear her just the same as you. To me, all I hear is a normal conversation. Do you want me to tell her anything?” I asked, feeling generous.

“Not really.”

“He loves you,” Moondancer said abruptly.

“What?”

“The boy,” she clarified. “He loves you very much.”

“Of course he does,” I scoffed. “We’re best friends.” I denied the obvious. Because what did a horse know of human emotions? Let alone Alton’s, who would stump the best mind-reader.

“No. He loves you as more than a friend. Surely the long-lost Princess Aurora, gifted with wisdom, could see that.”

I laughed then. “You must have me confused with someone else. I’m not a princess and certainly not Aurora. She was stolen by the fairies. I don’t know any fairies.”

Moondancer looked at me seriously for a moment but let it drop. “I must have heard wrong from the others.”

“What’d she say?” Alton asked.

“Nothing important. I should get back to the laundry. I’ll see you tomorrow, Moondancer!”

I left then, not even suspecting that the horse had spoken the truth.