I was not far behind Lina when we reached the others. And I bore witness to her leaping at Ulrich to throw her arms around his neck and nuzzling her cheek into his fur.

“What are you doing, woman?! Get off!” His words were followed by a low groan of discomfort.

 Herman looked mortified. “Milady! Please stop! That’s our Sheriff!”

So, it’s true. I had been speaking with a horse this entire time. Ulrich began to shake his head in an attempt to throw Lina off. But she held on. Her feet even rose a few inches.

At the sight of Ulrich beginning to stamp his hooves and grind his teeth, I began to fear retaliation from him.

“Lina, do as they said. Let the poor horse go!”

“Awww, but he’s a good boy! He won’t hurt me!” Though she did let go of his neck, she moved to his face and began to stroke his muzzle. “Aren’t you, boy? You’re so good!”

“Ma’am, I am not a boy! I’m twenty-seven years old! An old man! I’m gonna to ask you one more time to get off before I have to use force.”

But Lina ignored him and began to pet his ears, which were no longer pinned back. 

“You’re such a good boy, Ulrich. Such a hard worker, yes you are!”

“Don’t touch my ears! Nobody rubs them unless I…I…” Ulrich fell silent as Lina continued to stroke them, humming a quiet but cheerful melody. The horse’s jaw relaxed as he let out a soft whinny.

“Poor, Ulrich,” cooed Lina, “You’ve been locked up in the dark for so long! When was the last time someone loved on you?”

I was curious as well. Not about how much Ulrich’s been “loved on,” as Lina so ineloquently put it, but rather why was a horse locked in a human jail cell in the first place? Even if he had the capability to speak, it was rather odd.

Ulrich’s ears drooped as he let out another whinny.

“That bad, bad Jurgen threw you in there all alone!” Lina continued, “All alone without thought for how cramped it was for you.”

“It was…pretty cramped,” muttered the horse in a rather pathetic tone.

“Of course, it was. You deserve to run free in wide-open meadows. The wind in your mane and eating fresh grass. Not shoved into a hole like a rat!” Lina continued to stroke the horse’s muzzle, which seemed to relax with every brush.

I and the other two stood there, watching Lina and Ulrich in silence. Dietrich was as calm as I was, though he was smiling, and I was not. Yet it was not for want. There was something sweet about Lina’s cheer. I would even call it endearing.

Poor Herman, on the other hand, was not amused. He looked quite aghast as he stared at the pair. “Uh…Sheriff?”

As if the boy had shouted, Ulrich stood erect and promptly backed away. I had no idea what an embarrassed horse looked like, but if Ulrich were a man, he’d be scarlet as a Blood Slime. He backed away from Lina’s grasp, who let him go with a smile.

“Erh-hrm! Yes…well, let’s get a move on. We don’t have much time.” With a toss of his head, the Horse sheriff plodded away with Herman in his wake. The boy still looked stunned as he walked past us. I did not blame him. If I saw my idol melt in the way Ulrich had, I’d be livid.

Lina waited for Dietrich and me to follow after before she fell into step beside us. I gave her one of my side-long glances. She looked completely content, a stark contrast to her panicked state only minutes before. I could barely fathom what she was thinking!

“How did you know Ulrich wouldn’t throw you off his neck?”

“Oh, I didn’t!” She beamed at me.

I sputtered at that, “You mean to tell me that you threw yourself at a horse without the faintest caution? Do you know how dangerous that is? You could have been killed!”

“But I wasn’t. I’ve always been good with animals. They love me!”

“I wouldn’t exactly call assaulting a beast being ‘good with animals.’”

There came a snort from ahead, “Y’know that I can hear you, right?”

I was grateful for the darkness of the dungeon as my own cheeks reddened. Ulrich had stopped before a wall that contained a wooden door large enough for him to walk through. His head pivoted back to look at us. His dark eyes regarded us for a moment.

“All right,” said the horse. “On the other side is the guard chamber. How many are on duty, Herman?”

The boy scratched his chin, “Actually, nobody’s out there. They’re all flocking to the bard.”

I glanced at Lina, whose smile remained intact with no sign of strain. I did not believe that smile for a second.

Ulrich grunted, “Makes sense why nobody’s come to investigate the noise. If I were in charge, I would’ve flogged them for leavin’ their post.”

Herman saluted, “As they deserve, sir.”

Ulrich ignored this as he addressed Lina, “You, Miss Animal Lover. Tell me what you know about this bard.”

He was back to being a Sheriff, with no sign of the softened stallion. His voice was cold.

Lina nodded, “Her name is Heide Allinger. She is—or she was a bard for Queen Ermine.”

Ulrich tilted his head, and I could swear he raised an eyebrow. It must have been a trick of the light. “Y’mean Queen Ermine of Blumentau?”

“Yes. Heide was the flutist in the court symphony, with unparalleled talent. Not only could her playing bring tears, but it also has a power all its own.”

I folded my arms, “Let me hazard a guess. Her music draws people to her.”

A crack appeared in Lina’s smile. “That’s right. I’ve only seen her use it to lure people, but I know there’s more to her powers. She refused to tell me more about her flute and got defensive when I almost touched it. It’s not a normal instrument.”

“What makes you say that?” said I.

Lina’s façade broke as fear twisted her lips taut. “It’s made of bone. I think it’s human. Not a good omen.”

Silence echoed through the prison.

She continued, “I can’t be sure, but I have a feeling…She’s normally kind but under Darling’s influence…I worry that she’s going to do something drastic like Gertie.”

I pushed past a rise of irritation. Why was she still calling that worm darling when she knew perfectly well the evil he was committing? But that was not important right now. We needed to think of a plan to restore her mind.

The gears in my head turned. That was until Dietrich stepped past me, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go take her down!”

I gaped as the gears screeched to a halt, “Where do you think you’re going?! We need a plan!”

Dietrich stopped and looked at me expectantly, “Yeah? Like what?”

I opened my mouth and found that nothing came out. What could they do? They were just a band of three accompanied by a horse and its boy. We had Lina, who could purge her mind with her golden power, but what could we do before that? She was surrounded by guards who were no doubt willing to kill us at her word. As strong as Dietrich was, even he would no doubt succumb to numbers.

I looked to the horse for help. Surely he would see sense! Ulrich tossed his head, “I agree with the Deborn.”

I threw up my hands in exasperation, “And I suppose you have a death wish, then? Be my guest!”

Ulrich shook his head, “Not really, but we can’t stay here, now can we?”

“No, but there has to be more than walking up to her and socking her in the face.”

Ulrich wickered a chuckle. “When did I say that?” He faced forward and pushed the door open with his head. A shaft of sunlight burst from the doorway, causing all but Herman to shield our eyes.

Past my arm, I could see Ulrich look back at us with another tinny chuckle, “Whoops. Shoulda warned you. How foolish of me. Not that a beast would know any better, right Mr. Prince?”

Note to self: The horse can hold a grudge. But I supposed I deserved it. After all, Ulrich was more than just a beast. He had listened to Lina and set us free.

I hooded my eyes with a hand as I stepped out into the sunlight and into a familiar room, though I had seen it in reverse when being marched from the outside into a prison.

It was horizontally narrow, with barely enough room to contain two chairs and a table, let alone an entire horse. However, Ulrich navigated it with ease, leaving plenty of room for us to walk through. It was obvious he was familiar with this room.  

A small chest brimming with cloth and armor was shoved without care for symmetry in a corner. It was to this chest that Ulrich clopped to. He raised a hoof and began to prod its contents, which clanged and rattled as he did so.

“Hmm,” he grunted, “Not nearly as much as I’d hoped. Enough for one full set and a half-a-one. Lotta junk. Can’t blame Jurgen for all this mess! They’re gonna get it for throwin’ their uniforms in the lost and found.”

He glanced back at Herman. “Know where anymore are?”

The boy saluted, “Yessir! There are a few more pieces left behind at the tavern. The others forgot them when they heard her playing.”

“Good boy, hurry and get ‘em. Quick as you can. We’re gonna need enough for three.” He turned an eye to Dietrich. “And make sure you find an extra large one.”

Herman saluted once more and made a show of striding out of the front door, making it way too obvious that he was hiding something.

I had understood Ulrich’s plan the moment I’d seen him approach the boxes. “Not a bad idea,” I said, squeezing through the small gap between Ulrich and the stone wall to peer into the box’s contents. He was right. There was a lot of junk within. Discarded papers and assorted plates and cups were among random articles of clothing. As I had hoped, I spied a shirt that looked close enough to my size and seized it immediately.

It was a simple blue button-down that seemed too plain for a prince to wear, but I’d rather have simple than nothing.

I slipped it on, feeling a wave of modesty wash over me. At last! I was somewhat presentable! Still filthy, but at least clothed. I started to walk away, but a thought occurred to me, which made me stop beside Ulrich’s flank.

I began to button my new shirt closed. After a moment, I verbalized my thought, “Forgive me for assuming unintelligence, Sheriff Ulrich. I just…well… I didn’t—”

“You didn’t expect me to be a horse.” Ulrich’s head appeared to the left of his flank as flashed his teeth in the closest approximation to a smile that I’d ever seen a horse make. “I get that all the time.”

“Yes, well, can you blame me?”

“Can’t say I do. Nobody expects that a horse can do the job of a Sheriff.”

I finished my buttoning and adjusted the sleeves. It wasn’t a perfect fit, as they were a bit short on my wrist, but it would do. “I wouldn’t say that, exactly. Frankly, I’ve never heard a horse speak before. If I may be so bold, were you a man cursed to the body of a horse?”

Ulrich snorted. “No,” was all he said.

Lina, who had been sitting with Dietrich at the table, sprang up, her chair screeching behind her. The sparkle had returned to her red eyes. “Ooh! Then were you a familiar summoned by a powerful wizard?! Or or or…a Unicorn born with black fur and shunned by your kind. So, you had your horn cut off to sever your ties with those who abandoned you! How tragic!” She clasped her hands to her chest as she awaited an answer.

Ulrich and I exchanged looks. I couldn’t quite read his face, but I could guess his answer before he said it, “No to both.”

Lina deflated. That was when Dietrich stood with a most serious look on his cracked face. “Then, I guess it’s my turn.” He took a deep breath, “You’re a demon who’s trapped in the body of a horse!”

Lina reinflated as she nodded with enthusiasm.

“No.”

They flopped back into their chairs and looked at Ulrich with disappointment.

“You wanna know my story?”

They nodded.

Ulrich snorted once more, “I suppose we have the time. Herman’ll be back any minute, but it won’t take long to tell.” With that, he began to back up into the prison doorway so he could turn to face them properly.

I made sure to steer as clear as I could as he did this and ended up tripping back into the box. Luckily, the lid shut with a snap, so I only sat atop it and tried to pass it off as having done it on purpose.

Nobody seemed to notice my bruised buttocks as Lina and Dietrich stared at Ulrich with rapt attention.

Ulrich was silent for a few moments, drawing out the suspense as long as possible. “Y’see. I am…just a horse. Born just yonder south to a mare and stallion.”

“Huh?!” Lina slumped forward over the wooden table, her face full of disappointment. There was one last glimmer of hope as she raised her eyes again, “Are you a magic horse?”

“Nope.”

“Aw…” Lina rested her face on the table so that her hair splayed across the wood. I rolled my eyes at such a melodramatic response. I half expected her to cry.

Ulrich scraped a hoof across the floor, “Whoa, didn’t mean to crush your dreams there, Miss, but I’m just your ordinary garden-variety steed.”

Lina turned her head so that her cheek was squashed against the table, “Then how did you learn to talk?” Her eyes pleaded up at Ulrich. His ears twitched.

“The same way you did. I just listened and learned. Mostly from my rider, the previous Sheriff.”

That made as much sense to me as anything I’d seen in the past two days. I was inclined to believe him.

Ulrich continued, “I was a wild young colt, threw off all who tried to break me. My parents were worried that I was too wild for honest work. They wanted me to pull carts and plow fields, but I wanted to run free like my ancestors. Until, one day, I learned of a higher callin’, when he showed up. They called him Kurt the Wrangler. Said to have been the fiercest horse tamer in Cross.”

Lina raised her head slightly, “So, then, he managed to tame you? That’s why he’s your rider?”

Ulrich tossed his head. “I didn’t say he was my rider. It was actually—”

But he was cut off by the sound of the door banging open. Herman had kicked it wide as his arms were laden with armor.

“I couldn’t decide what to take, so I just grabbed everything I saw.”

Ulrich bobbed his head in approval, “Good job, boy. All-a you, put on what he’s got, and let’s get outta here. We’ve gotta town to save!”