"I still have one question." Nicolette turned in her saddle to face Josette. Two more hours had been put into their journey, and once again, they were on their way to Knife's Edge.
"Just one?" came the rejoinder. "You are far better off than I am."
Nicolette smirked back. "More than one, I suppose. But one that I keep coming back to. One that really confuses me."
Josette continued to study her new sword, and without looking up, asked, "what is it?"
Her companion blew out a long breath. "Why now? If I do have some ability that allows me to speak to horses, or at least one horse, why did it start now? And why did I hear my own voice in my head, and not hers?"
"I meant to ask you about that," Josette replied, finally glancing toward her charge. "You are sure that it was your own voice that you heard?"
Nicolette nodded, her long hair falling over her shoulder. "Yes," she answered. "I know my own voice."
And I know mine, Josette mused. It was not my voice that I heard in my head. It had not been Nicolette's either. The voice had been light, airy, and seemingly very far away. It came to her like a whisper, like a dream. Had she experienced something entirely different than the Salvarian? Josette was less inclined to believe that she also acquired a new ability, as she had been told her magic was water-based. Was it the horse herself who had changed the way she was received?
"Penny for your thoughts?"
Josette glanced up to find her companion watching her, eyebrows lifted quizzically. Nicolette found so much joy, so much excitement, in her new magic. The knight had planned to share her own experience with Nicolette, informing her that she was not the only one who could talk with the horse. In that moment, she decided against it.
"I think you are something," she answered with a hint of a smile. "Talking with horses, and what-have-you. Magical is a fair description."
Nicolette beamed, all lingering doubt melting away like ice beneath a warm sun. The girl was like the sun, Josette thought again. She envied that, and she would do her best to keep her that way.
"You are quite magical too," Nicolette quipped. "I saw you using the water to slow the Cassarian down. What else can you do?"
Josette's blue eyes flashed devilishly. "Summon great waves. Raise mountains from the earth. Call down storms, the likes of which you have never seen before."
"Liar," Nicolette shot back. Then, more hesitantly, "you are lying, right?"
The older woman merely shrugged. "Perhaps," she answered, finally. "What do you think?"
"I think," the blonde answered, "that you will be unstoppable with that sword. If anything is magical, it is that thing."
Josette could only nod her agreement. Something about the sword she clutched to her chest felt very powerful. It seemed to buzz with a life of its own, and it appeared to glow just a bit too brightly, even beneath the hot sun.
"It has been a magical trip so far," Nicolette concluded, settling back in her saddle. She draped her reins over Willem's shaggy neck, and stretched her arms out wide, taking in the nature that surrounded them. She felt so at home among the hills, the trees, the rivers. The events of the day had only intrigued her more, and she knew she would have to make more time in her schedule for exploring.
Josette also reflected on changes she would soon make. Magical was just the word she would use to describe their adventure, and despite her reservations, she had enjoyed herself immensely. She had found wonder in magic, even the small magic, like a girl talking to a horse.
Perhaps, she decided, a little magic was not such a bad thing.
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