Dmitri didn’t feel great about it, but he had no other option. He went back into the stable and woke Jenny. Jenny snorted at him, clearly upset that she had been awoken.
“I would ride Clover, but she is not yet used to a rider,” Dmitri whispered. Jenny swished her tail, but stood obediently as Dmitri put a bridle on her and then mounted. He didn’t have time to saddle her, so he would have to ride bareback. He dug his heels into Jenny’s sides. Jenny bolted.
Jenny was remarkably fast, even without Dmitri using his magic to enhance her speed. Nevertheless, he did magically enhance her speed, utilizing her Witch’s Pony talent to move faster than possible for a regular horse. It took mere minutes for them to catch up to the stablehand, a teenage boy named Arlo.
“Arlo!” Dmitri called. Arlo, riding an old but reliable gray stallion named Silver, obediently came to a stop. Dmitri rode alongside him. “I forgot to put something in my letter.”
“Oh, sure, sir, go ahead,” Arlo said cheerfully, handing the letter back to him. Dmitri sighed in relief. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and began to add a post script, explaining that Clover had been impregnated. He wasn’t sure who the father was, though he wondered if it was perhaps the prince, given Anya’s employment in the Prince’s Harem. If that was the case, there would be two foals that could conceivably be heirs to the kingdom.
But Dmitri left his musings out of the letter, merely sticking to the facts. Clover was pregnant. He didn’t know the father. The family needed to find a way to protect both mares and their foals. Dmitri finished his post script and handed the letter back to Arlo.
“Thanks, Arlo.”
“No problem, sir!” Arlo chirped. He looked at Jenny curiously. “I haven’t seen that mare around before.”
“My family sent her and another mare, so that my wife and I could leave if we needed to without borrowing one of Olsen’s horses,” Dmitri lied. Arlo nodded.
“She’s awful pretty, sir.”
“Yes, she’s quite a fine pedigree,” Dmitri said, patting Jenny’s neck. “Safe travel to the post office.”
“You got it, sir!” Arlo said, saluting. The two parted ways. Dmitri stroked Jenny’s neck.
“Thank you, Jenny. It was an emergency.” Jenny snorted curiously. Dmitri hadn’t cast the charm to communicate with her, but he still understood her. “You want to know what was in the letter.” Jenny nodded. “Merely the information Clover told me earlier.” Jenny’s ears twitched, like she didn’t quite believe him, but she continued the ride back to the school without any gesturing.
At the riding school, Clover was still asleep when they arrived. Dmitri dismounted, removed Jenny’s bridle, and directed her back into her stall. Before long, Jenny was asleep again. Dmitri leaned against the wall, watching the mares sleep, his mind racing. He had to decide what and when he was going to tell them.