At the sound of the word<i>Go! </i>from the young stable lad, Cassiopeia and her horse took off in a flash. Orion wasn’t too far behind as the princess got a blazing start. Nice timing on her part, he thought. The Prince, however, was kicking himself for not taking note of what horse she was riding. Information like that could come in handy, since he knew of all the steeds in the stables, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.<br/><br/>Oh well, water under the bridge, he mused. And from this slightly-behind-her angle, her mount bore no identifiable markings. He wouldn’t know who this mystery horse was until the end of the race.<br/><br/>Besides, Orion believed he held two distinct advantages over the Princess. The first was the horse. Shade was far superior in everything a horse was capable of, compared to any other animal in the stables. The second was his knowledge of the lay of the land. For that matter, Shade knew the terrain better than he did. The Prince was well aware of the fact that had this race been held on her grounds, she would likely hold the upper hand.<br/><br/>He could sense an annoyance coming from Shade. She’s probably thinking I’m holding her back or something, he thought. “All right, go then!” he shouted in her ears over the din from her galloping hooves. The black horse began to close the gap.