Monica road away from the stables unaware of the attention she was getting from the groom Ewan and the unknown watcher.
Monica reveled in the feeling of wind blowing her loose curls about her face as she urged her mount up old Druid Hill. The steed was performing beautifully as always. The sweat dripped from his sides, but his gait never faltered. It seemed as if the ride through the heather covered moors had been nothing to his stamina.
As the slope began to level out, Monica's eyes fell on the familiar sight of the oddly shaped stones that dotted the top of the hill. No one living had any idea of who put the stones in place or why they were arranged in a rough circle. The lack of knowledge did not detract from the wealth of theories.
Most seemed to agree on some sort of Druidic influence, hence the name of the hill. The fact that all of the mysteriously placed rocks had strange symbols etched into their surfaces added to the overall legends.
Monica loved to walk between the stones, running her fingers over their rough surfaces, tracing the symbols. The feeling of ancient power that she felt in the engravings made her tummy twitch delightfully.
She found one of her favorite resting spots between two of the stones where she was protected from the normally stiff breeze blowing in from the northwest but also bathed in the afternoon rays of the sun on the days when it was not playing hide and seek with the clouds.
It was not unusual for her to drift into a brief nap sitting there, but she did not do so on this day. Instead, she watched the birds flitting in and out of the heather under which the wild mountain thyme was in full bloom. She hummed a popular tune softly as she took in all the color and activity.
After about an hour, Monica decided that time had come to head back home. She knew that her excursions were a worry to those that cared for her and did not want to cause them undue stress.
She retrieved Kenna from where the horse was idly grazing and mounted with an alacrity that would have greatly surprised her groom. No stool or boost seemed necessary. A secret smile played across her lips as she imagined the muscled young boy's reaction.
Tugging lightly on the left rein, she pulled Kenna's head around and the pair loped back towards home for one and the comforting stables for the other.