Mwahahahaha another story! *cackles evilly* I should be finishing my other ones but no! OHOHOHOHO!

::The world of Valdemar belongs to Mercedes Lackey, and not me, sadly. But my original characters like Sable, Kav, Jeren, Bryna, Maun, and Sani belong to me! :D ::

:...::SABLE DREAMS::...:

~by Sanomi~

CHAPTER ONE

Horse manure did not smell good. Although, that was a given, considering where it came from. But it still stank. Of course, Sable was used to it at that point, as his only reprieve from -- Jeren -- was to clean out the stables. It was too lowly a job for the older boy to attempt, and the smell was too strong for his "delicate disposition."

Sable snorted. Right. Jeren was delicate, and he was herald. He rather thought they were both about as likely as happening.

So he mucked about in the stables, glad for the wide windows that faced the outside. Not only did they let in fresh air, but also made Jeren think twice about cornering him and -- never mind.

All it meant was that he had to make sure he was never alone in dark or shadowy places. Like reading in one of the storage rooms. That was a mistake Sable would never repeat. Of course, that reduced his reading time and often earned him bruises for daydreaming when there was work to be done, but after four years he was used to it. Besides it helped cut down the--the bad thing.

Sable shrugged philosophically. There wasn't anything he could do except avoid it. He was still too little to fight...

Looking morosely at his thin, wiry frame he sighed. He was still short, skinny, and far too tiny to do any damage. At fifteen, at least he didn't look as feminine as he used to. With long black hair, an elfin face, and large, innocent-seeming black eyes, things had been a lot worse before his voice had deepened and his shoulders had gotten broader.

But the exchange had been that he was so damned hungry all the time! Sable distinctly remembered the innkeeper's wife cooing over Jeren when he got his growth spurt, and giving him extra portions; no such thing forthcoming for Sable.

Oh, they weren't starving him, but as far as he could remember he'd never had gotten to eat as much as he'd wanted, even before he started growing rapidly.

Not that his mother cared. Although to be fair, Bryna was often busy helping out at the inn. He snorted again. Yeah, rendering her "services" to any man with a coin or two. What a loose-skirt.

A fact Jeren loved to parade around in front of him, although he never hesitated to fawn over his elder sister when she was present. Sable's lip curled in disgust. His uncle was only four years older than him, 19, yet Jeren seemed to be everything Sable wasn't. A conscientious employee at the inn, loving brother, hardworking, trustworthy, yadda yadda.

Never mind that it was Sable who did most of the work. And who cared if Sable got the brunt of Jeren's truly sadistic nature? No one did, that's who. Because Jeren was so damned perfect, it was inconceivable that he would do such a thing.

He forked hay into a stall with considerable more force then needed. Face it, Sable, he told himself pessimistically. It's a pitiful excuse for a life, and there's no reason to think it'll get any better.

He sighed again. Wasn't THAT just the whole truth...

A whicker interrupted his thinking.

He turned to see a shining white horse standing at the stable entrance patiently. A Companion? There didn't seem to be a herald anywhere near. That was unusual; most heralds preferred to tend to their Companions themselves. Well, perhaps the herald wasn't feeling very good, and the Companion sent its herald off to the common room to get a remedy. He decided that must be it.

Sable knew very well that Companions were intelligent, thinking beings. The inn was only about half a day's ride from Haven, so they got a lot of Heralds-plus-Companions staying over before making the last lap back home.

He bowed politely. "Lord -- or lady -- Would you like me to set you up in a stall, as your herald seems otherwise occupied?"

The Companion tossed its head and looked at him with amusement.

Stiffening, he said defensively, "Just because I'm small, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing!" It snorted in response. "Well then what is it?"

It stepped closer to him, hooves chiming against the cobblestone floor. The Companion didn't stop until it stood nearly nose-to-nose with him. He backed up a step. The seeming-horse went forward a step. He backed up again, and felt his back his a stall door. The Companion took another step forward. "What do you want?" Sable demanded, starting to get worried.

It turned its head to look at him with a great deal of amusement. Sable got the disconcerting impression that if it had lips, it would be smirking. The Companion closed the distance between them and he squeezed his eyes shut, only to open them again when he felt the not-horse lip his shirt contentedly. He blinked. "My, you are one strange Companion."

It whickered in agreement.

He scowled. "That wasn't meant to be a compliment." The Companion whickered again, this time sounding like a laugh.

"Talking to yourself, dreamer?" A familiar drawl came from the stable entrance. He glanced at Jeren's careless lounge against the door. "Have you finally cracked?"

Sable froze. Him! Not daring to make a sound, he gestured to the Companion.

Jeren raised an eyebrow. "Talking to a horse? How terribly simple minded of you. Of course, that's only to be expected from a simpleton dreamer like you." He stepped inside, eyes alighting on an object hanging on the wall. Jeren took down the whip and started uncoiling it without looking away from his nephew.

"It's a Companion." Sable told the older boy. He didn't even bother defending himself, knowing that it wouldn't make a difference. He did eye the whip and step sideways, away from the companion in case Jeren's accuracy wasn't as good as he bragged.

"Doesn't matter," his uncle said easily. "You must still be punished." His hand flashed and pain blossomed in Sable's cheek. "I like whips," he said with a cruel smile. "Don't you?" Again the whip lashed out, this time cutting his bottom lip.

The younger boy felt sick. It had been, what, a month, since the last time Jeren had wanted this much. He had seemed to be satisfied with verbal taunts and an occasional cuff for 'disobedience.' Sable had almost begun to dare to hope that the older boy had lost interest in his sadistic torture.

No such luck.

"Y-you can't -- n-n-not here!" he said desperately, knowing it was futile.

"Thinking you could hide from me here?" Jeren laughed. "I don't think so."

Hope died in Sable's heart. This was what his life would always be like; nothing but Jeren's play toy; used and abused by others. He would be lucky if he lived past twenty.

But it might be a kindness not to live much longer. His only thought was that his death would be very painful.

The expression on Jeren's face suddenly changed from cruelly cheerful to one of extreme pain.

They had both forgotten about the companion.

It had a mouthful of his uncle's arm. In what seemed to be a tight grip. Tight enough to crunch, in fact, unless bones did that naturally without Sable knowing. And there seemed to be blood staining the other boy's tunic. Oh my.

The companion looked truly enraged. Enough so, in fact, that it was beginning to frighten Sable.

"H-hey you can let him go now--Ah! No--don't shake him! Havens, please stop! You'll be gone tomorrow, and he'll take it out on my hide-- let him go--" Sable tried to make himself audible over Jeren's screaming.

The companion let go of Jeren, who crumpled into moaning puddle on the floor, and bared its teeth at Sable, as if to say 'only because you asked me to.'

"Um. Thank you for defending me. No one's -- no one's ever done that for me."

It snorted and shoved him with its nose. He was so surprised he lost his balance and fell to the ground. "Hey-- that's not very nice!"

Sable sat up and found himself falling into pools of sapphire. He was drowning in it, and hoped he was never saved. It was as if a part of him that he had never known was missing had returned to him. Like missing an arm, only not knowing it was gone, but then suddenly getting it back and all of a sudden there were so many things you could do with your new arm. Only even better, because he knew he would never be a alone again. No one would ever hurt him again. He was complete.

:Sable of Valdemar, you are my chosen.:

He flung his arms around Afodel's neck, and he knew that the companion--his companion-- was named Afodel and she was the bravest, most wonderful companion there ever was.

:Well, maybe not that great, but close enough.:

He smiled into her mane. "I don't care. Let's go to Haven?" he asked plaintively. "Before someone stops us."

:I'd like to see them try.:

~