The Girl with the Fire Heart
Chapter 33

Valentina steps up to the stable door and places her hand gently on the wood slab that extends slightly into the stable itself.

She watches the body of the horse tense, like he can sense her presence even though he refuses to look up. Valentina places her other hand on the slab, and waits for Grey to turn towards her and away from the corner he’s placed himself in. When he does, she clicks her tongue, calling him over.

Damon and the official stand silent, watching the encounter with worry and admiration. It’s just then that Damon notices just how quiet the barn has gotten. He glances behind him to see all the patrons and the officials watching Valentina engage with Grey. Even the other horses look to be frozen in place, like they know that something monumental is about to take place. Damon turns back to Valentina and watches as she continues clicking her tongue at the horse, waiting for something to happen.

Valentina leans into the door, and whispers to the horse, “You can come out now. I won’t hurt you. I just want to see your eyes.”

Damon can’t help but think that that’s such an odd statement to make. While he is familiar with horses, and he even tends to his own every now and then, Damon is fully aware he likely knows less about horses than Valentina. She grew up tending to them, training them, working with them, feeding them. Damon assumes that her statement, while odd to him and every other patron in the barn, is commonplace for her.

Valentina waits patiently for Grey to look at her. She knows rushing a temperamental horse can result in a serious accident and she is in no way interested in rushing this horse. But something about what the young official said struck her. This horse was predicted to be the best but his temperament took him off of the track. She wonders if the real reason is because no one took the time to be patient with him. Standing here, leaning against the door with her palms pressed flat against the wood slab, she promises to be the first.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity of clicking and whispered reassurances, Grey looks up and directly at Valentina. Immediately, she stops clicking her tongue and falls silent, smiling widely at the horse. She tilts her head in the direction of the official without taking her eyes off of the horse.

“Would it be possible to open this door and let me inside?” she calls out.

She hears a collective gasp from the patrons and officials and trainers watching the encounter but she refuses to take her eyes off of Grey. She feels the official hesitate before moving towards her.

“The door swings into the stable. I’ve just unlocked the gate,” he says, before stepping back and resuming his place next to Damon.

Slowly, Valentina pushes the stable door open, letting it gently rest against the stable wall to her left. She takes one step into the stable when Grey takes a step back. Valentina raises her hands in a sign of surrender, and resumes clicking her tongue at him. She stops after a few moments and then takes another step. This time, Grey doesn’t move. Neither Grey nor Valentina take their eyes off of one another.

Valentina takes a few more steps, leaving her hands raised and waits to see if Grey will make a move. When she’s two more steps away from him, Grey snorts at her. She chuckles and leans down, bowing at the horse just a little. Then, catching everyone by surprise, Grey takes a step towards Valentina. He moves until he is directly in front of her leaving little to no space between them. He pushes his muzzle into one of her raised hands and leans down onto his right knee in a bowing stance. When he lifts himself, Valentina knows she has gained his trust. She places her hand on his muzzle and gently strokes him allowing Grey to get adjusted to her touch.

A voice speaks up from behind her, breaking the trance the entire barn was in.

“How did you do that?” an unfamiliar voice calls out.

Valentina jumps, forcing Grey to take a step back. He snorts again, this time more aggressively and he steps up beside her. She feels Grey’s neck hovering over her head, like he intends to protect her as his own.

She turns around to face the voice and sees a burly man in an all white three piece suit standing next to Damon. His cheeks are rosy and he has dark eyes, almost pitch black. He has a slight beard and tan skin and wears a monocle, one that Valentina wonders if he truly needs or is just for show. For some reason, he appears to look like a cartoon character and it takes everything she has not to laugh, even more so when she locks eyes with Damon and sees he is thinking the same thing she is.

“My apologies, sir. I was incredibly fascinated by Grey here and attempted to gain his trust-,” Valentina is cut off by the burly man in the white suit, noting the bronze pin in his suit for the first time.

“How did you do that?” he asks again.

This time, Valentina is confused.

“Pardon me? Do what?” she asks in return.

“How did you get him to stay calm? No one has ever done that before. Not even the best trainers in the kingdom. Not even the palace trainer could get him to respond the way you did just now,” he demands.

“I- I don’t know. I was simply patient with him. I let him know he could trust me and let him know that he had no reason to fear or hurt me, because I wouldn’t fear or hurt him,” she responds.

Grey snorts besides her, stepping impossibly closer to her. Instinctively, she reaches her hand up to stroke his neck, shushing him like a fussy child.

“Are you from around here?” the burly man asks.

“No sir. I’m here for a blessing ceremony and celebration,” she responds.

The man nods, seeming to know exactly who she is talking about.

“Do you think he can race?” the man asks.

The official, who was silent, finally speaks up.

“Sir, would you allow him to race?” he asks.

The man does not spare the young man a glance. He keeps his eyes focused on Valentina and looks expectantly at her for an answer. Valentina looks up at Grey and asks the horse the same question.

“Do you think you can race, Grey?” she asks.

The horse looks down at her and stares at her with his dark and beady eyes. Looking into them properly now, she sees a slight hesitation in the horse’s gaze. She feels a whoosh from her necklace as a wave of sorrow passes through her at the way the other horse trainers must have treated him. Expecting the horse to be frightened of the symbolic flame in her necklace, she raises her free hand up to cover it. But Grey doesn’t move an inch.

Valentina looks up at him in surprise and she wonders if she is making up the amusement she feels coming from the horse’s limited expression. She laughs lightly and turns back to the burly man in the white suit.

“He’ll race,” she tells him. Grey snorts beside her in confirmation and when she looks at Damon, she sees him smiling softly at her, just like he did in the lounge. She is taken aback at how open his expression is. Based on how things went last night at the ball, she expected him to be just as closed off today as he was last night. But it seems he’s turned over a new leaf, allowing others to see the side of him she knows and loves.