By the time her mind was done ‘rebooting’, Crystal found herself being held firmly in Emilia’s soft, gentle embrace, although she was still a little too high above the ground to be truly comfortable.
The blonde heroine had no idea whether it was the tender palm rubbing her arm up and down that made any pain fail to register, or the soft, supple lips pressing against her own, but she could barely bring herself to care about it as she snuggled against her gorgeous girlfriend with a contented sigh.
Of course, the blonde girl was quickly brought back to reality by the sound of excited squealing and exclamations.
Being stuck with the ‘dead-faced’ Adele and the ‘fun-killer’ Dixie, Koko seemed to have taken it upon herself to run a one-woman show.
”Princess is so cool!”
”Too dashing!”
”Ahh! I can’t wait for my turn already~ Is there room for another up there?”
Emilia wasn’t sure if it was her illusion, but she could feel that the horse seemed to be vehemently against the idea of letting Koko join in. ‘It shouldn’t be hard for him to carry the three of us because of weight, right? Could it be… because she’s too noisy?’
Although the idea was somewhat amusing, Emilia could only wave it off with a smile. “Watch and learn first, and I’ll take each of you on a ride later as well, alright?”
Even Crystal couldn’t suppress her smile after listening to Koko’s cheers when Emilia led the horse forward into a trot. “What a kid.”
The crimson-haired girl chuckled. “It’s good to know how to have fun. Are you less nervous now?”
Leaning back into the gorgeous girl’s soft embrace, Crystal could only sigh happily, a feeling of contentment in her heart. “Yeah. Though I’m not sure if I can learn much in this state.”
Emilia’s smile turned gentler as she pressed a loving kiss against the blonde girl’s hair, and seeing how the adorable little heroine turned her head away shyly, she couldn’t help but chortle in delight. “Don’t worry, angel, horse riding isn’t so complicated. All you need is the right attitude, some balance, and a little bit of control, and the rest of it will come naturally.”
Crystal wasn’t sure if it was quite so simple, but listening to the soothing voice in her ear, she could only nod, feeling overwhelmed with both happiness and embarrassment. ‘D-Does she not realize everyone must be watching us?!’
Emilia smiled as she pushed the horse to go faster, and Crystal couldn’t help but tighten her hands on the reins even though she was secured in the crimson-haired girl’s embrace.
”Don’t be scared. When holding the reins, you must keep your hold both firm yet relaxed, and whenever you want to make a turn, you only have to give it a gentle tug, like this.”
Crystal couldn’t help but feel her heart thump in excitement when they turned around. Even though she knew that the maximum speed of horses wasn’t that high, it almost felt like they were moving faster than she could imagine. Of course, she knew it was only her illusion.
”If you hold them too tight or tug around too hard or randomly, it can make him confused, so be confident and precise with your instructions, and trust that he will understand you. Okay, turn right.”
The blonde girl nodded subconsciously, and it was only when they had already made that turn did she realize that Emilia had already wrapped her hands around her waist, leaving the reins entirely to a complete newbie like her!
Feeling the cold sweat on her back, Crystal couldn’t help but feel like the world could come crashing down if she made even the slightest mistake. ‘I-I have to remain calm! R-Right now, both of our lives are at stake!’
Of course, the crimson-haired girl didn’t let her girlfriend’s little heart hang for too long, and before Crystal could fully start panicking, Emilia had already brought the horse to a slower trot as they arrived right back where they started.
The crimson-haired beauty dismounted effortlessly on her own, leaving the few trainers who had been stepping forward to help feeling both embarrassed and impressed, and then helped Crystal down by picking up the terrified and blushing girl by the waist.
”Y-You almost scared me to death! What if I lost control?!”
Emilia booped the indignant heroine’s adorable little nose with a smile. “Wasn’t I right there with you?”
The blonde girl could only sigh helplessly, but before she could retort, she felt Emilia pat her butt in ‘encouragement’.
”Come on now, it’s time to try it on your own.”
Crystal couldn’t help but be stunned. “E-Eh? A-Already?!”
Emilia tilted her head with a smile. “Of course.”
The heroine gulped. “B-But I don’t even know how to mount yet?”
Although the one she had chosen was the shortest horse among the ones here, being at around 15 hands, or sixty inches, Crystal knew that she couldn’t jump and mount it without any help like the crimson-haired girl even in the wildest of her dreams.
Emilia smiled as she tapped her shoulder. “You can use my hands to climb up. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you everything as we go.”
Although Crystal felt helpless in front of her girlfriend’s smile, she still refused to step on her hands to mount the horse, so Emilia could only ask one of the trainers to bring a mounting block.
Once the blonde girl was up on her horse again, this time by herself, she couldn’t help but gulp. “W-Why do I feel like I’m higher up than before? It’s just my illusion, right?”
Emilia giggled as she adjusted Crystal’s boots till they were firmly inserted in the stirrups. “Wiggle that cute butt of yours to make sure you’re properly balanced before you start, alright?”
Crystal couldn’t help blush from shame. “I-I’m fine!”
Recalling how she had even been kissed in front of so many people today, she almost wanted to bury herself into her quilt back at home and squeal in both delight and shame.
Emilia hummed as she pushed the girl’s thighs and butt slightly before tugging down at her right arm before she nodded in satisfaction. “Now you’re perfectly straight.”
Crystal almost rolled her eyes. ‘Every time I see you, I get about as far from that as I can.’
But of course, there was no way she could dare say that out loud. Fortunately, Emilia couldn’t hear her thoughts.
The crimson-haired girl patted the blushing girl’s butt with a mischievous grin. “Remember, don’t be too rigid. Of course, if your body hurts later, I can always give you a massage.”
Crystal felt like her face was going to be set on fire if she continued to let Emilia tease her any more. “D-Don’t just tease me, you haven’t even told me how to get started!”
Emilia giggled. “I know you’re a fast learner, but don’t rush. See how your legs are positioned right now? Make sure you keep them like that, facing inward. When you squeeze your legs a little, he will start walking, and a light kickback will get him to trot—!”
The crimson-haired girl blinked as she watched the blushing heroine move right past her, quickly making the horse trot away without daring to look back.
”I wonder when she’ll realize that she doesn’t know how to stop?”
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