Dining Room

ERIK

I rode Troi into the stable at a run. It had been a long time since she got to go out and ride hard like that. Tova was too large and too far along in her pregnancy to ride, but she still came down to the stable to pet and talk to Bo. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to ride him, including me, so he had to stay when I went out with Troi.

I gave the reins to one of the stable boys and then went into Bo’s stall, patting him.

“She’s doing okay, boy,” I murmured to him. “It’s just too cold for her to come down and see you.”

The new year had come in with a bang, the snow falling enough to cover the first story windows in the castle. After the snow came the winds, biting and freezing everything into a glossy, slippery mess. Tova was large with child and clumsy, so venturing outside wasn’t a good idea. She was going stir-crazy inside the castle. She recently began rearranging the baby’s room for the third time.

I dropped a handful of oats into Bo’s feed bucket and carefully made