SWNOVELS Chapter Mrs. Jodie's
When I woke up the first day of the competition, I felt almost physically sick. I curled up in a ball and moaned. “Why, oh why did I think it was good idea to enter the Trials?”
Just then Destiny snorted and I looked up. With the rising sun casting golden rays behind her, she looked amazing.
“That’s why,” I told myself.
I didn’t bother to eat breakfast. I knew it might just come right back up. I tacked Destiny and mounted.
She sensed my tension and started off at a quick walk, which I tried to slow down, only to realize she was never going to slow down unless I relaxed.
That’s where Mr. Blair found us. I was making circles in a field we often schooled in by ourselves. I was about to cry because I was tense and I couldn’t relax, which made me more tense, and so the cycle continued. Destiny had her head in the air and was walking very fast.
“Iris?”
I looked up to see him sitting quietly on Rejem. He had a slight frown on his face. “Mr. Blair.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’m tense and I can’t relax and I’m mad at myself and I don’t think we’re ready and we’re gonna make fools of ourselves and I’m not doing well by Destiny...” I blubbered.
He dismounted and grabbed Destiny’s reins. “Get off.”
I slid off and turned to face him. He grabbed me by the shoulders.
“I know the way you feel Iris, but you cannot give into that. If you do, then all those things you fear will come true. Don’t let the fear bait you into it. Stand tall. You deserve to be here. You’ve put in three months of hard work, and you did not do it for nothing.”
He handed me Rejem’s reins. “Take a ride on Rejem.” Then he swung up onto Destiny.
I mounted Rejem and found his stirrups a mite long, so I went without them. This was actually beneficial, as it forced me to keep my weight down.
Rejem mounted Destiny and worked with her, turning circles and doing transitions. Destiny was reassured by his expert touch and transformed under him, becoming more supple and responsive like she usually was.
Meanwhile I worked a bit with Rejem and enjoyed his lightness. As I performed leg yield and quarter turns, I realized this was what I wanted Destiny to feel like.
When I got back on Destiny, I felt better. I wasn’t as overwhelmed, although I was still a little jittery. “Thank you, Mr. Blair,” I said as I started off for Greenspire.
The big board had papers pinned to it, with the times listed. I caught my breath when I saw Section 10 was listed for the first day of competition. We were going to compete today.
I made my way closer to the board. There was Section 10. I waited until the space in front was clear, the moved up with Destiny trailing behind.
I traced my finger down the list.
Iris Backwood. Destiny. #192. 12.25
I let out the breath was holding. We were going in just a few hours, at the very front of the pack. I patted Destiny’s neck. “Well, here goes nothing, eh Destiny?”
I led her away from the board. The town was still crowded, but not nearly as much as it would be when the Trials started.
As I came up to him Mr. Blair asked, “What time?”
“12.25, that’s about three hours from now.”
He nodded. “Good.” He turned to Lillian, who was coming up with Checkmate. “What time?”
“6.50 this afternoon,” she replied.
He nodded, then urged Rejem forward. “You two wait here.”
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To find out what time Norah will compete.” He looked back. “Her father came to town and she wanted to spend time with him. She’ll be back before the Trials start but not in time to see what time to compete. I told her I’d find out for her.”
We watched him go.
“You’re blessed,” said Lillian out of the blue.
“What?”
“You’re blessed you don’t have to wait nearly all day before you compete.” She moaned and laid a hand to her stomach. “I think the nerves will kill me before I ever step in the ring.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But I still have to wait. I didn’t even bother to eat breakfast. I was worried it’d come back up.”
She smiled thinly. “Me neither.”
When Mr. Blair came back, he looked us over and then asked, “Did either of you have breakfast?”
“No,” Lillian said while I shook my head.
He frowned at us. “You have got to eat something. If you don’t, you won’t be strong enough when it’s time to compete.”
“The way I feel right now, I’m not sure I could force anything down,” I said.
He smiled a little. “I’m not asking to force anything down.” He winked at us, then motioned for us to follow him as he turned.
He led us through the town, which was getting more crowded by the minute. I didn’t know where we were going as we crossed into a section of town that I did not recognize.
He led us down a winding street and stopped in front of a little well-kept shack, which had flowers blooming vigorously. A delicious smell was wafting into the street. Or rather, it would have been delicious if I had been in the mood to eat.
Several other horses were tied there and we tied ours up next to them. We completely filled up the tiny hitching rail.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“This is Mrs. Jodie’s. She’s an expert at making nervous horsemen and women before the Trials so hungry they inhale her food. She’s been doing it for a couple decades now, every single year she opens up shop.”
I glanced doubtfully at Lillian as my stomach did another double flip with a twist at the mention of the Trials.
Mr. Blair stepped up between two flower beds and pushed open the door. A little bell rung above his head, and that delicious smell roiled out in a great wave.
Inside there were three tables to the right with other people gathered around them, and a bar with stools to the left. At the bar was a slightly plump smiling women in her sixties or seventies.
“Hello Mr. Blair, it’s good to see you again,” she sang out.
“You too Mrs. Jodie.”
She peered behind him at us. “I see you’ve brought two others with you.”
“Yes, this is Iris and Lillian, they’re both entered in the Trials. I thought I’d bring them here.”
I couldn’t be sure but I thought Mr. Blair wink again at Mrs. Jodie.
She beamed. “Good of you Mr. Blair, good of you. Come sit down here, and tell me what you’ll have.”
We pulled ourselves up onto the bar stools. Mr. Blair was in between Iris and me.
“Now, what do you three fancy?” Mrs. Jodie’s voice seemed to positively sing, and it made me feel better, but not enough to eat.
“Let’s start off with three of your raspberry teas.”
I perked up a little. Raspberry tea was one of my favorites, and I thought I could drink at least that.
“Coming right up.” She disappeared behind a little door into what I assumed was the kitchen.
“I’m glad you brought us here, but I don’t think I’ll be able to eat.” Lillian drew circles with her finger on the bar.
Mr. Blair shrugged. “Wait and see. You might get hungry.”
I was wishing I would. The smells were absolutely wonderful, but my stomach recoiled at the thought of solid food.
Mrs. Jodie came back with three of the cutest little tea cups and laid them out before us. “There you are, drink up.”
I picked up mine and inhaled the steam. “Hmm. Smells good.” I took a careful sip so as not to burn myself. “Say, this is great!”
Mrs. Jodie beamed, showing where all those smile wrinkles had come from. “Thank you darling.”
She and Mr. Blair chatted about the Trials while we sipped our tea. As time went on and I drank more of it, I realized my stomach wasn’t quite so flippy-floppy.
Mr. Blair leaned back a bit as he took a drink of tea and then set it down. “Well, Mrs. Jodie, I think we’re ready for the main course now.”
And surprisingly, I found that he was right. I had relaxed more and actually felt a little hungry.
“Alright then Mr. Blair, what’ll you have? I have rabbit stew, oatmeal, bagels, chili, and corn muffins, with freshly picked blueberries for dessert.”
“Rabbit stew with corn muffins please.”
Mrs. Jodie turned expectantly to Lillian, who also ordered rabbit stew and corn muffins. And when she turned to me, I found myself saying, “Make it stew and muffins for me too, please.”
As Mrs. Jodie left for the kitchen, Lillian said quietly, “I don’t believe it but I actually feel hungry.”
I nodded. “Yeah, so do I. I guess the tea helped settle my stomach.”
Mr. Blair took another sip. “It wasn’t just the tea itself.”
“Oh?”
“Mrs. Jodie puts an herb called Fomen in her tea. It works wonders for upset stomachs. More than one horseman has come here for her tea so that he could eat.”
I looked down in my glass. “Well, I guess I don’t care, so long as I can partake of whatever’s causing those delicious smells.”