A 3rd place and a 2nd

From the moment the horses took off towards the woods on the hills overlooking the river you can tell that Alexia is holding nothing back. She's riding her roan hunter, a broad-chested beast that only Alexia got along with and when a grey gelding tried to crowd her the smaller horse and its rider both went tumbling into the newly mowed grass as Alexia disappeared behind a small hillock.

"That looks scary." Mara half rises from her seat, "is he alright?" Before you can even answer the horseman leaps to his feet and does a running jump onto the back of the accelerating mount. "Oh ... I guess so." It is hard not to think of Alexia's recommendation as you take in the curvy brunette's pretty figure. You had expected the twins to change into the full length of robes of an Athenian noblewoman, but the pair chose to stay in the short tunics, and the amount of leg you can see from behind her is pretty spectacular. The feeling of Sara leaning against you reminds you that the other twin is just as pretty as her sister if not quite as bold.

"Is it hard to ride a horse, your majesty?" The young woman in question rests her small hand on your arm as she speaks. "We've never had the chance to try ..." Is she deliberately flirting with you?

"Not as hard as it is to ride a drake, Sara." At this Mara returns to her seat slipping her arm around your back as she asks if you could take them for a ride. Sara too is excited by the prospect of soaring through the clouds.

"My father refused to let us ever go with any of the Riders who invited us to see the city from above." You can well imagine why Lord Micras would not want his daughters flying out of sight with a Rider on the back of his drake. Even in Kalion where the Riders are more integrated into the regular population, the flyers have a reputation for being ladies men. The Riders of Athenapolis most certainly have a much worst reputation because of the number of raids they fly each year and the single-minded goal of those sorties to find and capture innocent young maidens. You agree to take them up on Spook when the situation settles down and are rewarded by enthusiastic hugs.

It is a pleasant experience to sit in the shade in the arms of two pretty young women and chat with them about nothing of importance, but a little sooner than you expected you see the front runners returning. Four riders are urging their horses back down the slope from the woods above and you can see that Alexia is rapidly gaining on the first three. The twins jump up on their seats so they can see better and you feel their hands on your shoulders to steady themselves. In response, you wrap your arms around their waists holding them steady against your flanks. Their soft bodies mold against your torso and as they cheer on Alexia they jiggle and rub against you and your hands tighten to make sure neither of them falls. Once again, the conversation you had with Alexia about taking these two to your bed pops into your thoughts and you are starting to find the idea more and more tempting.

It is a close thing, Alexia passes the fourth place horse and almost catches up to the second rider wearing the colors of Polhermes. The winner, as you thought it might be, is Barticus riding his favorite hunter. This race through broken terrain is exactly what the light-cavalry troop that he leads specializes in, and Barticus is not only a superb horseman, but he has the money to spend on the very finest horses in the north. When Alexia pulls up next to him, he pulls her from her saddle and swings her around exuberantly.

"You are amazing Lady Alexia, if you hadn't got caught up in that mess at the final ford I think you would have beat me!" It is hard to be jealous of the way Barticus is holding Alexia when you have two beautiful young women on your own arms, but all the same you smile broadly when Alexia pushes the exuberant prince away and gives you a cheerful wave.

"Did I perform well enough to appease the mighty powers of Kalion?" She calls out as she heads for the stables.

"We'll see." You yell back, "It depends on how well you do in the next race." The saucy wave looks almost like a dismissal of you and your implied threat: you hear the twins gasp at her disrespect, but you just laugh and turn your attention back to the pair.

"She needs to wipe down that roan of hers," you explain as you lift the two from their chairs and set them back on the ground, "no other stable hands can safely get near that beast." More than once you suggested to her that she get rid of the bad-tempered horse, but Alexia refused assuring you that she was safer on the stallion's back than riding a less powerful mount. "She'll be back after the second race, but in the meantime would you like something to drink or eat?"

True to her word, Alexia did better in the second race, this time riding a much lighter mount from the hill-country that flew across the open grasslands like a drake in a full dive. Unfortunately, she was not the only rider who favored the speedy hill-country mounts, this time she was beaten by a Huntress of Polartemis who held the lead the entire race.

You hug your spymaster as tightly as Barticus had in congratulations and lead her back to the small picnic that a trio of servants had unexpectedly delivered just moments before.

"You are fantastic!" You declare fiercely in this quick moment of privacy. "You've made Kalion proud today."

"Is that so, your Majesty?" Alexia hugs you back, "what kind of reward do you think the King of Kalion might consider bestowing on his earnest servant?"